With regard to the phrase "a-lary":

There are a number of examples of this rhyme in Mudcat threads and there may be more than one thread that focuses on this rhyme.

Here's the link to one thread:

thread.cfm?threadid=11034

And here's an example of one form of the rhyme:

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: One-Two-Three-O'Lairy (Count Basie 1940)
From: GUEST,Ann J Scotland - PM
Date: 25 Jun 09 - 02:32 PM

round about 1966, i would play ball games againt a wall using 2 balls and sometimes only one hand!! (impressive!!)

i remember:-

one two three o'leery
four five six o'leery
seven eight nine o'leery
ten o'leery
out of it.

-snip-

I haven't read the entire thread so I'm not certain why the subtitle is Count Basie 1940 unless that jazz musician recorded a song that included this phrase in it.

**

"One two three o'leery" (That spelling is the way I think it's pronounced in the USA) is usually a ball bouncing rhyme. I think the tune is like "Ten Little Indians" (which isn't a culturally sensitive song-but that's another subject).

I have a very vague memory of singing this song while bouncing a ball between my legs not throwing it against a wall as I think was/is? the custom in the UK from what I've been reading on Mudcat threads. But ball bouncing, like single jump rope or jumping rope with two people holding the ends-is rather a dying art, for a lot of reasons including electric dryers.

At any rate, I've been collecting children's rhymes among African American children in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area since 1997-going out to schools and community centers etc, and asking children what play songs they know. And no one has ever mentioned "One two three aleery".

In addition, since 2001 I've had a website for children's playground rhymes http://www.cocojams.com/, and no one has ever submitted the rhyme "one two three aleery" or any other ball bouncing rhyme to that website.

Thus my unscientific conclusion is that few[er] children are singing that rhyme.