I have a feeling that this song may have more tall tales and legends of its origin than facts. Here's a summary of a couple I've found so far.

From: "Folk Songs of Old New England" by Eloise Linscott (1939). She includes "POP" in the country-dance section and gives some instructions for the contra dance. She also says that the dance was an old English singing game and was popular with children back into the 17th century. She does say "the dance" which might only refer to the tune not any lyrics, but she also says "Singing game" in the same sentence which suggests more than just the tune. She said it was introduced to New England as a contra dance and is fairly terse in stating that "the origin is unknown" (So that didn't really clarify things much, did it?)

From: "Popular Songs of Nineteenth-Century America" by Richard Jackson (1976) Jackson supports Linscott by saying that "not a great deal seems to be known about the origins of this famous song" He claims published editions appeared both in England and the US in 1853. The first English edition had no text and was described as an old English dance. The first American edition, published by Berry & Gordon, had a rather unusual text. Jackson reprints an 1859 edition published by S T Gordon which was very similar to the 1853 version. The text contains a mix of comedy verses in dialect typical of the minstrel stage, some satire of English society and politics, some directions for dancing, and some topical references to the temperance movement and the World's Fair. Jackson claims that more familiar versions with the phrase "all around the mulberry bush (cobblers bench et al.) the monkey chased the weasel did not appear until the 20th century.

"POP GOES DE WEASEL" 1859 arranged by Charley Twiggs, published by S. T. Gordon

When de night walks in as black as a sheep
and de hen and her eggs am fast asleep
Den into her nest with a sarpent's creep
Pop! goes de weasel

Oh all de dance dat ebber was plann'd
To galvanize de heel and hand
Dar's none dat moves so gay and grand as
Pop goes the weasel

De lover, when he pants t'rough fear,
To pop de question to his dear
He joins dis dance, den in her ear
Pop goes de weasel.

John Bull tells, in de ole cow's hum
How Uncle Sam used "Uncle Tom"
While he makes some white folks "slaves" at home,
By Pop goes de Weasel

He talks about a friendly trip
To Cuba in a steam war-ship
But Uncle Sam may make him skip
By Pop goes de weasel

He's sending forth his iron hounds
To bark us off de fishin'-grounds
He'd best beware of Freedom's sounds
Ob Pop goes de Weasel

De temperance folks from Souf to Main
Against all liquor spout and strain
But when dey feels and ugly pain
Den Pop goes de Weasel

All New York in rush now whirls
Whar de "World's Fair" its flag unfurls
But de best World's Fair and when our girls
Dance Pop goes de Weasel

Den form two lines as straight as a string
Dance in and out, den three in a ring
Dive under like de duck, and sing
Pop goes de Weasel

By the way the dance instruction in the last verse are compatible with the mopre detailed instructions given by Linscott

rich r