The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #11190   Message #82671
Posted By: Penny S.
29-May-99 - 03:13 PM
Thread Name: Counting Songs
Subject: RE: Counting Songs
Sussex shepherds' counting, of sheep in twos:

one-erum, two-erum,
cockerum, shoe-erum
sitherum, satherum
wineberry, wagtail
tarrydiddle, den.

which makes twenty, a score on a stick.

Though my great grandad was a shepherd on the South Downs, I got this from a book, possibly by Bob Copper. I use it at school to count the children into the swimming pool - to their amusement. I heard one saying to another "which one are you?" and comparing where they were in the chant.