I am developing a theory that the most efficient way of collecting folklore is to use the Net.

First three responses are all gold dust.

Doctor John – you and Bob Bolton both locate versions in Lancashire, suggesting a drift south from Scotland. Plus, is 'oor' for hour Lancashire pronunciation? [I assume it is, but know not. If so, how much further south would such a pronunciation run, think you?]

Was your (great) quoted verse to the first strain of the tune, or to the same strain as Aunty Mary? (I had by the way an initial image of dancehall teabag abuse, then recollected other brown liquids.)

Bob – thank you for two new variant lines – 'cursed' instead of 'frightened', and the "When it came down" line. Incidentally, which version of the song known is maybe a fair indication in some areas of when the pronunciation shift from Boer (boor) to Boer (bore) happened. Maybe.

Your Sister Mary song is brilliant as a possible source [or indicator of shared origin] for the fist line of Aunty Mary.

Murray – I know the Nicht at Eeenie and Montgomerie sources, [since music in both is by the same hand, I wonder if the Montgomeries had a hand in Nicht at Eenie?] but not the Barke one – thanks for that. Aunty Mary is in JRR Ritchie, but I've not found her in the Opies or Frank Shaw's You Know Me Aunty Nellie? She turns up in Scottish single person recollections a lot.

I'd assumed from Nicht at Eeenie's version that Sister Mary was a nurse in the Boer War, but as always in this game the more information I get the less I know for sure.

Most likely rhyme for breeks that occurs to me, because of the double meaning, is 'leeks', as in say

Aunty Mary had a canary,
Up the leg o' her breeks
It whistled for oors among the floors,
And piddled among the leeks.

There was a Mudcat thread at the end of May on 'Nonsense songs to dance tunes' which produced a possible source for the entry of the drawers to what can be polite enough:

To the tune of Cock of The North:

Chase me Charlie, Chase me Charlie,
Lost the leg of my drawers
Chase me Charlie, Chase me Charlie,
please will you lend me yours?

Prince Charles' party piece, learned from his Scots granny I expect, is

Aunty Mary had a canary,
whistled the Cock of the North
It whistled for hours, and frightened The Boers,
and won the Victoria Cross.

One other point in what is rather long for a posting – the final line of Sister Mary is shared by another squib which begins "Jean McPherson is a person with bonny yellow hair".

Thanks again.