I was curious about this song's history. I just started singing this song to my 3 year old daughter,its her favorite this month, my grandmother taught it to me from her front porch rocking chair. As I got older it seemed funny she would teach me such a morbid song. She was born 1916 and lived in Columbia, MO., she was orphaned at about 7 and lived around the state with several families and in an orphanage, so who knows where she learned it.

   These are the lyrics she taught me.

Mr. Jonnamabek (John M. Mcbeck?) how could ya be sa mean, I told ya you'd be sorry for inventin' that machine, now all the neighbor's cats and dogs will never more be seen, they'll all be ground up sausages in Jonnamabeck's machine.

Oh--One day a boy went walking, he walked into the store, he bought a pound a sausages and laid em on the floor, the boy began to whistle and he whistled up a tune and all those little sausages went dancin round the room --- hay!!

I always thought it sounded like a vaudeville tune making references to meat packing plants using questionable meats.