Jeri, thanks, good catch!

If Marcoux heard "Les Fraises" in the cradle, that puts it around 1890-1900, all right. I've heard another French-Canadian source use it in the 1930s as a children's song, probably learned at about the same date. It evidently has its origin in Paris -- perhaps a music-hall song of the late 19th century???

I suppose the composers of "I Don't Reckon It'll Happen Again" could have heard "Les Fraises et les Framboises," say from a French source in New York c. 1910 (I'm not sure when the original was written -- anyone know???), either on the street or on the stage -- stranger things have happened.

I wonder, though. Is the French children's street rhyme really the original? Are there any British or American children's songs that also use the tune? What about rope skipping rhymes?

And could there be an earlier common ancestor? Still sounds like a march to me.

Also, only the first two lines of the four-line "Fraises" refrain really match the "I Don't Reckon" tune. I still think there's a different tap root someplace.

Masato? Joe Offer? Anyone want to weigh in on the tune's origins in the dim and distant past?

Bob