I thought I had a copy of the song, but couldn't find it anywhere obvious. Strangely, I keep hearing it in my head in German rather than English, and I wonder now if it was in my school German book, which had a song (with music) in most of the chapters (Heute und Morgen, was the book. I have vol2 of this series, but it's not one of the songs in there; perhaps it was in vol1). On the other hand, maybe it was printed in one of the Sing Out! books - it's the sort of thing that appeared from time to time; I haven't time to check now.

Sat definitely better.

As regards the magic words, that was the title on the forum thread not mine. But the association with Sim, sim, salabim as a magical incantation, is easy to see.

Mick