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Origins: Frog in the Meadow/Froggie in the Middle
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Subject: Origins: Frog in the Meadow/Froggie in the Middle From: Joe Offer Date: 02 Feb 22 - 07:12 PM Somebody asked me about this song, and I had to admit I knew nothing about. I'm guessing it's a play party song. Anybody have any information on it? It's not in any of the many children's songbooks we have indexed here. But hey, it has an entry in the Traditional Ballad Index and TWO Roud numbers:
Frog in the MiddleDESCRIPTION: Children's game: "Frog in the middle And can't get out. Take a stick And punch him out." (Or "Frog in the meadow, Can't get him out; Take a little stick And stir him about.") AUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST DATE: c. 1921 (Brown/Schinhan-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore5); 1925 (Scarborough) KEYWORDS: playparty animal FOUND IN: US(Ap,MW,SE) REFERENCES (5 citations): Scarborough-OnTheTrailOfNegroFolkSongs, p. 130, (no title) (1 short text) Brown/Schinhan-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore5, p. 535, "Frog in the Middle" (1 short text, 1 tune) McIntosh-FolkSongsAndSingingGamesofIllinoisOzarks, pp. 81-82, "Froggie's in the Meadow" (1 short text, 1 tune) Skean-CircleLeft-FolkPlayOfKentuckyMountains, p. 8, "Froggie's in the Meadow" (1 short text, 1 tune) NorthCarolinaFolkloreJournal, (Rachel Cranford, collector), "Games and Game Rhymes", Vol. 1, No. 1 (Jun 1948), p. 13, "(Frog in the Mill Pond)" (1 text) Roud #14047 and 21632 ALTERNATE TITLES: Frog in the Meadow NOTES [122 words]: I suspect that there is a good deal more to this game than Scarborough describes. But until we find another version, we're left guessing, e.g., as to how one becomes the "frog" (whom she describes as a child in the middle of a circle, and poked out into the ring). The Brown/Schinhan-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore5 version is no help; it's just a few words and a tune, with no description. McIntosh-FolkSongsAndSingingGamesofIllinoisOzarks is only a little better; he had a short description, and an informant claimed the game had a moral: "You will be punished if you steal." Roud seems to split this in two based on whether the frog is in the MIDDLE or in the MILL POND. But the rest is the same, so I regard them as the same. - RBW Last updated in version 6.1 File: ScaNF130 Go to the Ballad Search form Go to the Ballad Index Instructions The Ballad Index Copyright 2021 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.
Hey! Hey! Hi! Frog in the middle and there shall lie; He can't get out and he shan't get out—Hey! Hey! Hi! |
Subject: RE: Origins: Frog in the Meadow/Froggie in the Middle From: Joe Offer Date: 02 Feb 22 - 07:15 PM FROGGIE IN THE MIDDLE Froggie in the middle And he can't get out, He can't get out, He can't get out. Froggie in the middle And he can't get out. Here's a fly to lure him out! Source: https://www.kididdles.com/lyrics/f055.html |
Subject: ADD: Frog in the Middle From: Joe Offer Date: 02 Feb 22 - 07:17 PM Hoffman Academy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckWTBJvB7Ss FROG IN THE MIDDLE Frog in the middle, frog in the sea; Frog in the middle, can't catch me. |
Subject: ADD: Frog in the Meadow From: Joe Offer Date: 02 Feb 22 - 07:28 PM from Paul DeNovi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeNMTJsUkGk FROG IN THE MEADOW Frog in the meadow, can't get him out Take a little stick and turn him about One more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awOPLPhFaRs FROG IN THE MEADOW Frog in the meadow, can't get him out Take a little stick and stir him about |
Subject: ADD Version Froggy in the Meadow From: Joe Offer Date: 04 Feb 22 - 02:44 AM This is from Jean Ritchie's Kentucky Mother Goose, by Jean Ritchie with Susan Brumfield, 2015 (Page 16) FROGGY IN THE MEADOW Jean taught this game to me in 2005. She explained: It's not really a song it's a chant, I think they circled around, and they kept their eyes shut. They weren't supposed to watch where he went. And he could hide, but he didn't have to; if there wasn't any place to hide, he would get behind somebody or something like that. The chant almost a tune, but it was always the same. They'd walk around in a circle, but he's in the middle. But as soon as they start to sing, he ducks out and hides hiimself. And they'd sing: Froggy in the meadow; can't get out! Take a little stick and stir him all about! Kick 'bout, kick him 'bout! Froggy's gone. Where's Froggy? And that almost a tune, you know, but it was always the same. And when they said "stir him all about," they would go in with their arms and fry to hit him, if he was in there. And when they said "kick him 'bout, " they'd kick into the middle, all with their eyes closed. But they kicked first one foot, and then the other, and they would kick each other sometimes. If he hadn't gone, they'd kick him! |
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