Lyr Req: Oh my, I want a piece of pie

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oh my, I want a piece of pie
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 22 Jul 08 - 08:32 AM

Azizi, does the number 22/7 hold no significance to you? Did you never study geometry?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oh my, I want a piece of pie
From: Azizi
Date: 22 Jul 08 - 07:25 AM

How appropriate that I can post to a pie thread on 22/7 (in my time zone, if not in yours).

Gerry, would you please explain this statement. [I got the 22/7 is the same as Americans' 7/22-today's date. But I don't understand what the significance of today's date is in your time zone or elsewhere.

I ask this question hoping to learning something new and interesting. But even it is old news, and you think it's rather boring, please clarify.

Thanks.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oh my, I want a piece of pie
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 22 Jul 08 - 01:50 AM

How appropriate that I can post to a pie thread on 22/7 (in my time zone, if not in yours).

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oh my, I want a piece of pie
From: Azizi
Date: 21 Jul 08 - 11:12 PM

A-B-C
abc, easy as 123, my momma takes care of me, my daddy watches mtv, ooh ahh i want a piece of pie, pie to sweet i wanna piece of meat, meat to rough i wanna ride a bus, bus too full i wanna ride a bull, bull not black i want my money back, money back too green i wanna jelly bean, jelly bean not cooked i wanna read a book, book not read i wanna go to bed, bed not made i want some lemonade, lemonade too sour i wanna take a shower, shower too cool i wanna go to school, school too dumb i wanna suck my thumb, thumb to dirty i wanna ride a birdie, birdie too slow and thats all i know, so close your eyes and count to ten, whoever messes up starts all over again, 12345678910...noone messed up so thats the end!
-elle ; 4/3/2007; http://cocojams.com/handclap_rhymes.htm

**

TAKE A PEACH TAKE A PLUMB
…here's one we used to play at school. ( some words are not really words but are pronounced that way, this is not really the beginning to the song but the middle because I didn't know how to pronounce those words)

Take a peach take a plumb take a piece of bubble gum
No peach no plumb just a piece of bubble gum

Oche Iche, I want a piece of pie
The Pie to sweet
i want a piece of meat
the meat to rough
i wanna ride the bus
the bus to full
i wanna ride the bull
the bull to black
i want my money back
my money to green
i want a jelly bean
the jelly bean to white
goodnight sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite
if they do get a shoe an beat the black and blue
down by the river with the hangy pangy
where the bulldog jumped from bang to bang
there set a
A
E
I
O
U
That's all there set a
A
E
I
O
U
Listen to the beat
-R.S.; http://blog.oftheoctopuses.com/000518.php ; November 7, 2003

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oh my, I want a piece of pie
From: Azizi
Date: 21 Jul 08 - 11:02 PM

Wow! This is one of the families of rhymes that I'm focusing on in the book I'm compiling about the structure, text, and possible sources of "contemporary" {1950s on} English language children's rhymes.

Thank you, Seth for starting this thread almost 8 years ago. And thank you, Georgia A for posting an example that served to bring this thread to my attention and to the attention of others. I didn't even think to check to see whether Mudcat had an archived thread of this rhyme.

**

I've found a number of different versions of this rhyme-some in books of American children's rhymes, some posted to other Mudcat threads, and some examples posted on the handclap rhymes page of my website. These rhymes are usually performed as partner handclaps. And their text is usually made up of two {and usually more} verses that are found in other children's rhymes or which could be recited alone. What makes this family of related rhymes difficult to pin down is that there's no one name for the rhymes. I usually call them "Take A Peach. Take A Plum" or "Oosh Ashe". However, children {usually girls between the ages of 6-12 years} who "sing" these rhymes now, and those adults {usually women} who remember them from their childhood, rarely call them by those names. The names given to these rhymes are literally all over the place. I usually use the first line of the rhyme for its title, even though the first line may be part of an introduction to the rhyme, and not the "actual" rhyme.


I'll add two examples in this post and then I'll add to examples in my next post to this thread. The "titles" are given in capitol letters and aren't recitd.


SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE
Shake, shake, shake
Eeny meeny
That's a queeny
Ooh ba Yhumbalina
Ah cha ca che Liberace
Oh baby I love you
Yes I do.
Take a peach
Take a plum
Take a piece of bubble gum
No peach
No plum
Just a piece of bubble gum
Oooshe ahshe
Oooshe ahshe
I want a piece of pie
The pie too sweet
I want a piece of meat
The meat too tough
I want to ride the bus
The bus too full
I want to ride the bull
The bull too black
I want my money back
The money too green
I want a diamond ring.

-Barbara Michels, Bettye White, Apples On A Stick, The Folklore of Black Children {Houston, Texas 1983, p. 17}

**

TAKE A PIECE, TAKE A PLUM
take a piece, take a plum take a piece of bubble gum. no piece, no plum no piece of bubble gum. i like coffee, i like tea, i like the preety boy and he likes me so step back dumb boy, you dont shine, i'll meet you round the corner and beat your behind. last night, the night before, i met my boyfriend at the candy store. he bought me ice cream, he bought me cake, he bought me home with a stomach ache. i said "mama, mama, i feel sick. call the doctor QUICK,QUICK,QUICK! doctor, doctor before i die. i close my eyes and i count to five. 1..2..3,4,5 i'm alive." see that house on top of that hill? that's where me and my boyfriend live. cook that chicken, burn that rice. com on baby, lets shoot some dice!
-lesa; http://blog.oftheoctopuses.com/000518.php ,"Schoolyard games", April 10, 2005

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oh my, I want a piece of pie
From: GUEST,Georgia A. H
Date: 21 Jul 08 - 10:09 PM

123, My mama takes care of me.
My daddy watches ABC.
Ohh ahh! I wanna piece of pie.
Pie too sweet. I wanna piece of meat.
Meat too rough. I wanna ride a bus.
Bus too full. I wanna ride a bull.
Bull too black. I want my money back.
Money too green. I want a jelly bean.
Jelly bean not cooked. I wanna read a book.
Book not read. I wanna go to bed.
Bed not made. I want some lemonade.
Lemonade too sour. I wanna take a shower.
Shower too cold. I want a piece of gold.
Gold too shiny. I wanna pet a kitty.
Kitty too fat. Now that's the end of that.
Now close your eyes and count to ten.
Whoever messes up has to start all over again!
1, 2, 3, 4, 5....

Subject: Lyr Add: OH, MY! NO MORE PIE
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 20 Aug 02 - 09:44 PM

Copied from a Korean site: http://www.cje.ac.kr/~aspira/game1.htm

OH, MY! NO MORE PIE

Oh, my! No more pie.
Pie's too sweet. I want a piece of meat.
Meat's too red. I want a piece of bread.
Bread's too brown. I think I'll go to town.
Town's too far. I think I'll take a car.*
Car won't go.* I fell and stubbed my toe.
Toe gives me pain. I think I'll take a train.
Train had a wreck. I fell and broke my neck.
Oh, my! No more pie.

*There is a similar version at http://www.gp4k.com/stories/Article.asp?ID=395, with the following variants: 1. "I need a trolley car." 2. "Car's too slow."

The following variation is quoted in a short story, "Big Boy Leaves Home," from "Uncle Tom's Children" by Richard Wright (1938). The story concerns a group of black boys who entertain themselves by singing and chanting rhymes.
(from http://xroads.virginia.edu/~drbr/w_right.html)

Bye 'n' bye, Ah wanna piece of pie.
Pie's too sweet. Ah wanna piece of meat.
Meat's too red. Ah wanna piece of bread.
Bread's too brown. Ah wanna go t' town.
Town's too far. Ah wanna ketch a car.
Car's too fas'. Ah fall 'n' break mah ass.
Ah'll understan' it better bye 'n' bye.

The following version was found at http://www.ket.org/education/guides/oldmusic.pdf

NO MORE PIE
(Traditional; new words and variations by John McCutcheon)

Oh my, no more pie.
Pie's too sweet. I want a piece of meat.
Meat's too red. I want a piece of bread.
The bread's too brown, so I gotta go to town.
The town's too far, and I don't drive a car.
But I won't make a fuss. I'll just hop on the bus.
I finally got to town, where I met baker Brown.
He said, "Oh my, there's no more pie.
No chocolate pie, no strawberry pie,
No banana creme pie, no mincemeat pie,
No apple pie, no pecan pie,
No butterscotch pie, no kitty litter pie!"
Oh my, no more pie.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oh my, I want a piece of pie
From: GUEST,Chocolate Pi
Date: 26 Oct 00 - 12:51 AM

I learned it at summer camp as a clapping game:
Winston tastes good just like a cigarette should
Just like an - ooh, ah, I want a piece of pie
Pie too sweet, I want a piece of meat
Meat too brown, I want to go to town
Town too far, I'll have to take a car
Car too black, I want my money back
Money too green, I want a limosine
..... I want some lemonade
Lemonade too sour, by now we have the power
To close our eyes and count to ten
Whoever messes up has to do it again.

And at this point, the clapping pattern got more complicated and the players closed their eyes and counted to ten.


Chocolate Pi

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Oh my, I want a piece of pie
From: Hotspur
Date: 25 Oct 00 - 10:55 PM

Gosh, I can hear the tune in my head, but I can't remember any more words! I'm pretty sure I heard it by Sharon, Lois and Bram, though. I couldn't find it on their website, but there are lots of other children's favorites you might find useful (Five little monkeys jumpin' on the bed, etc. etc.)The address is www.skinnamarink.com wish i could do blue clickies, but they don't like to work for me.

Subject: Oh my, I want a piece of pie
From: Seth
Date: 25 Oct 00 - 09:42 PM

Ella(Etta?) Jenkins made some great kid's records for Folkways. I'm trying to find a very simple song she put on a record for teaching kids about music that went from simple repetitive songs to jazz.

"Oh my, I want a piece of pie.
The pie's too sweet; I want a piece of meat.
The meat's too brown; I'll have to go to town.
The town's too far; I'll have to use my car."

...and so on. This song might be a little dry for TV saturated American kids, but my Chinese first and second graders learning English would love it.

Thanks Seth from China