Law Officers in Songs & Children's Rhymes

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Bert
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 03:19 PM

There's Billy Connolly's - Two Little Boys in Blue

The Liverpool Barrow Boy has a female police officer "A Judy Cop came and took me away"

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: mg
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 02:36 PM

I fought the law and the law won.

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Azizi
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 01:56 PM

Thanks, Snuffy.

It's something isn't it how you UK guys and gals got to keep teaching us UnitedStaters how to speak the English language.

:o)

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Snuffy
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 01:01 PM

Azizi,

LEO - Law Enforcement Officer (cop)

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: GUEST, Sminky
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 11:56 AM

Bernard - it's also on Deep Lancashire (various artists).

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Bernard
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 11:34 AM

On the croft, on the croft,
Where we played pitch and toss
And a copper come and chased us away
So I 'it 'im on the 'ead
With a bloody big lump of lead
And the slimy little bugger ran away...

Recorded as part of the 'Coal Hole Medley' by the Oldham Tinkers on (I think) Owdham Edge, Topic label.

Croft - Spare land (often near a mill or factory)
Pitch and toss - a game involving coins and a wall
Copper - Policeman
Bugger - Cockroach exterminator...(!!?)

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Azizi
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 10:21 AM

PMB, I got the meaning of those words. It's the word "bum" that might be a tad confusing to some folks outside of the United Kingdom.

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: GUEST,PMB
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 09:56 AM

Copper on the corner
Eating apple pie,
I asked him for a skinny bit
And he hit me in the eye.

I went and told my mother,
My mother wouldn't come,
so I got a red hot poker
And stuck it up his bum.


A few words of explanation:

'Apple pie' is a popular dessert.
'Mother' is a female parent.
'Red hot' is the colour of a heated object between about 500 °C and 820 °C

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Azizi
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 09:29 AM

Oops!!!

I outghta be arrested for that mistake.

Not really. Hush my mouth! I'm just jokin'. {You can't put stuff like that in the atmostphere without hurriedly taken it back} .

But anyway, please disregard the second hyperlink in my 15 Apr 08 - 09:21 AM post.

I meant to post this quote:

"I Shot the Sheriff" is a song written by Bob Marley. The song was first released on The Wailers' album Burnin'.

Eric Clapton recorded a cover version that was included on his album, 461 Ocean Boulevard and reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Shot_the_Sheriff

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Azizi
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 09:21 AM

And just because I love Bob Marley's performance of "I Shot The Sherrif", here's a link to a YouTube video of that reggae superstar and his group singing that song:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=XAixXMbyOBc

**

See this quote from Burnin'.

Eric Clapton recorded a cover version that was included on his album, 461 Ocean Boulevard and reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

-snip-

Click here
for the lyrics to "I Shot The Sherrif" as well as the lyrics to some other Bob Marley hit songs.

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Azizi
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 09:06 AM

Snuffy, what's "LEOs"? You wrote "..here's a couple from childhood days with LEOs in"

**

Oh! So judges can be included among law officials? Well, why not! I guess judges are officers of the law, right?

Therefore, here's one example of what appears to be a relatively widely known children's jump rope rhyme that mentions "judge":

Fudge Fudge Call The Judge
Fudge fudge
Call the judge,
Mama's got a brand new baby.
Wrap it up in tissue paper
send it down the escalator,
First floor-stop!
Second floor miss!
Third floor turn around
Fourth floor touch the ground,
Fifth floor,
Get out of town!
-Butirfli; 5/26/1999; http://www.streetplay.com/discus/ Girl Games: Clap & rhyme Archive through June 8, 2000

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Bill S from Adelaide
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 08:38 AM

Waltzing Matilda
The Village Pump
The Laughing Policeman
I shot the Sheriff

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: GUEST, Sminky
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 07:24 AM

Erin Go Bragh.

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Snuffy
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 04:06 AM

Not many kid's songs in that lot. But here's a couple from childhood days with LEOs in:

Good King Wenceslas
Knocked a bobby senseless
Right through Woolworths window
Up came a copper with a rusty gun
Right you beggar, I'll make you run.

On the croft, on the croft
Where we played pitch and toss
And a copper came and chased us away
So I hit him on the head
With a bloody great lump of lead
And the slimy little bugger ran away

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: MartinRyan
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 03:05 AM

Mor-i-ar-i-ty

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Joe Offer
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 01:53 AM

See what Wee Willie does with a "peeler" (policeman) in this song (click).
-Joe-

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: mg
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 01:47 AM

Hm...the moonshine can..

I'd like to know how moonshine's made the magistrate did say
From yeastcake and molasses sure that's the proper way
From yeastcake and mollases sure that's the cutest plan??
The magistrate was happy then he took my moonshine can


Boston Burgler:

The judge he found me guilty the clerk he wrote it down
For robbing of that Union Bank you are sent to Charlestown

21 years..

The judge said stand up son and dry up your tears
You're sentenced to Dartmouth?? for 21 years


Black Velvet Band:
The judge he says my young fellow
You're sentenced to Van Diemen's land..
7 long years penal servitude....
---


Same old shilleguggiii me father brougtht frome Ireland..

I'm off to join the police force it's the only thing to do
Instead of having one night stick begorra I'll have two

Hills of Connemarra
Swing to the left and swing to the right
The excise man he'll dance all night

Streets of El Paso..was the law after him or bad guys?

Anyway, one little kiss and Felina goodbye.

Waltzing Matilda
Up came three mounted troopers Kelly Davis and Fitzroy
And that is how they captured him the wild colonial boy

mg

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Padre
Date: 15 Apr 08 - 12:21 AM

East Texas Red - A Sheriff
Otto Wood the Bandit - Several lawmen in it
Rose Connelly -
Little Sadie - the sheriff from Thomasville
Feel Like I Gotta Travel On - High sheriff and police
The Texas Rangers -

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Sorcha
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 10:39 PM

PS--ref peeler...it's British slang.

"[Origin: 1835–45; special use of Bobby, for Sir Robert Peel, who set up the Metropolitan Police system of London in 1828]"

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bobby

Surely there must be song references to 'bobbies' too?

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Azizi
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 10:32 PM

Well, Snuffy, it's a good thing I didn't bet the farm I don't have that Mudcatters wouldn't be able to come up with a song about a female law officer.

Thanks for posting the words to that song. And thanks to all those who have posted to this thread thus far!

Keep those examples coming!

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Sorcha
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 10:23 PM

Wee Willie's Lost His Marly/Geordies Penka. Just one verse:

So he went and got a peeler*,
he went and got a peeler,
He went and got a peeler,
down the Springfield Road.

Peeler--slang for a police officer.

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Snuffy
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 07:22 PM

Here's a challenge to Mudcat members and guests: Name a folk song or any other song that mentions a female police officer

Hows about this one, as sung by a Mudcatter with the handle of Lady Policeman:

I'm a lady policeman, ever so ladylike
Ever so ladylike, ta-ra-ra.
When I draw my truncheon, nobody gets the spike,
Ever so ladylike, ta-ra-ra.
Every night at ten,
I go on my beat
All the naughty men
Go "tweet, tweet, tweet"
I'm a lady policeman, ever so ladylike
Ever so ladylike, ta-ra-ra.

That's the chorus: there are two or possibly three verses, but I can't remember them.

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Azizi
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 05:58 PM

Off-Topic.

This is definitely off-topic, but re-watching the video of The Fairfield Four singing "Po Lazarus", I'm stuck by how their percussive foot stomping, handclapping, and body slaps sound so much like the sounds made by step teams that are part of African American Greek [letter] fraternity & sororities.

Before I saw this video, it occurred to me that the body patting that some of these university based fraternities & sororitues do is a survival of the 19th century {and probably earlier} music custom of pattin' juba. But I hadn't realized that old time gospel groups accompanied their singing with foot stomps also {and they were doing that long before steppin came on the scene-around the 1960s.

Of course, there are a lot of differences between step show performances and gospel singers stomping their feet while singing. The main difference is that the fraternities & sororities move across the floor, while the gospels singers stand in place. But still, I wonder if anyone else has noted this connection?

Here's a link to a university based fraternity step team:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZodkMUwotqo
Iota Phi Theta, Inc

**

In the last ten years or so step teams have become a feature of some high schools, community centers, and churches. Here's a link to a short video of a co-ed community step team:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDM_R529UQ4&mode=related&search=
a high school or community step team-no name given

**

I should also note that steppin' isn't limited to only predominately African American university and non-university organizations. Since the 1990s, an increasing number of Latino, Asian, and White organizations on the university level and outside universities arre fielding competitive step teams.

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: MartinRyan
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 05:24 PM

Woah! TWO policemen.....

Regards

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: MartinRyan
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 04:42 PM

Often syncopated into " wo policemen and a Special Branch man.."!

Regards

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Thompson
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 04:13 PM

Eela weela waulia (unfortunately, only illustrated by an album cover: Three big men came knocking on the door, eela weela waulia, two policemen and a man, down by the river Saulia.

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Azizi
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 03:33 PM

Here's a jump rope rhyme that mentions police officers that I remember from my childhood. Fwiw, I don't remember "I Don't Want To Go To Macys/Mexico" from my childhood:

Policeman Policeman Do Your Duty
Policeman, Policeman, do your duty.
Here comes Debby
An American beauty,
She can wiggle
She can wobble
She can do the split.*
But I betcha five dollars
She can't do this.
Lady on one foot, one foot, one foot
Turn all around, around, around.
Lady on two foot, two foot, two foot
Touch the ground, the ground, the ground.
Lady on three foot, three foot, three foot
Say your prayers, your prayers, your prayers.
Lady on four foot, four foot, four foot
Jump right out.
-Azizi Powell, Atlantic City, New Jersey, mid 1950s.

*Substitute the name or nickname of the girl who is jumping rope. "Do the split" was sometimes given as "do the flip" {meaning the acrobatic movements}. However, these words were changed to "do the twist" in the 1960s when that dance became popular. Btw, I've also seen this rhyme written as "Mailman, Mailman Do Your Duty" and "Postman, Postman, Do your Duty".

**

Here's a variat form of that rhyme that I collected from my daughter. She performed it as a jump rope rhyme in the 1980s, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:

Police Lady Police Lady Do Your Duty
Police lady, police lady. Do your duty.
Here comes Keisha
with ah African booty.
She can wiggle.
She can wobble.
She can do the split.
But I betcha five dollars
She can't do this.
Lady on one foot, one foot, one foot
Turn all around, around, around.
Lady on two foot, two foot, two foot
Touch the ground, the ground, the ground.
Lady on three foot, three foot, three foot
Say your prayers, your prayers, your prayers.
Lady on four foot, four foot, four foot
Jump right out.
-TMP; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, mid 1980s

*Substitute jumper's name or nickname. Btw, "an African booty" means "a big butt". Here's what I believe are the meanings of "one foot, "two foot" etc. Someone please correct me if I'm misremembering this: "One foot" means hopping. One foot touches touching the ground when you jump. Two foot" is jumping with both feet off the ground. "Three foot" is two hands touching the ground and then one foot . "Four foot" is jumping with both hands and both feet touching the ground.

I think the change from "policeman" to "police lady" is significant. When I was growing up, there were no female police officers that I knew of.

Here's a challenge to Mudcat members and guests: Name a folk song or any other song that mentions a female police officer.

I betcha can't.

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: SINSULL
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 03:09 PM

Sargent Krupke from West Side Story
I Shot The Sheriff
The Bowery

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Azizi
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 02:42 PM

Here's a children's rhyme that mentions a policeman.


I Don't Want To Go To Mexico {Example #3}
Shame Shame Shame.
I don't want to go to Mexico
no more, more, more.
There's a big fat policeman
at door, door, door.
He'll grab you by the collar
and make you pay a dollar.
I don't want to go to Mexico
no more, more, more.
"Shut the door!" 
-Breeana W. & Tonoya W.{Philadelphia, PA};


**

I collected this rhyme at a family reunion in 2001. I asked several of my young cousins at a family reunion if they knew any handclapping songs. They performed this one as a partner handclap {two people stand still, facing each other and alternately clap or slap one or two of the other person's hands}. Each partner tries to be the first to say "shut the door!" Whoever says it first, lightly flicks the other player on the side of their forehead and then points to them in a "Got ya!" manner. Each girl leans back to try to not get flicked or tapped on the forehead. It's possible for both of them to get flicked or tapped at the same time. But no one is supposed to get angry about this. This is just one of several rhymes that I have collected that involve children getting flicked or tapped or hit during a rhyme or at the end of a rhyme.

"I Don't Want To Go To Macy's" {and similarly worded titles that include the word "Macy's"} is probably the source for "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" and other related children's rhymes. Roger Abraham documents in his collection Jump-Rope Dictionary that "I Don't Want To Go To Macy's" was performed by American children in 1938."Macy's" is the name of a chain of department stores. The most famous Macy's store is located in New York City. 

My theory is that these children substituted "Mexico" for "Macys" since they weren't familiar with the "Macy's" store or the word "Macy's". While I've seen a number of children perform "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area [as well as seeing my Philadelphia cousins perform it], I've never seen anyone recite the words "I Don't Want To Go To Macy's". Also, no example of "I Don't Want To Go To Macy" that I have read includes the "Shame Shame Shame" introductory phrase or any introductory phrase. I've noticed these kinds of introductory phrases in a large number of African American children's rhymes. Often there also may be an ending phrase such as is found in this example.

One seven year old Pittsburgh girl recited the same version that is presented above, but she started the rhyme by saying "Shine, shine, shine". Because it appears to me that children try to make sense out of their rhymes, and being ashamed of being caught by a policeman makes more sense in these rhymes than the word shine, I believe that "shine" is another example of "folk etymology" with the source word being "shame".

For more examples of this rhyme, including an example of "I Won't Go To Macy's", visit this page of my website: http://cocojams.com/handclap_rhymes_example_0104.htm

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Azizi
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 01:52 PM

Okay, I'm not gonna comment anymore about songs posted on this thread 'cause I'll just show my ignorance and [further] confirm that I'm not a real folkie {whatever a real folkie is]. :o)

But I hope y'll will keep on posting those songs I know and don't know.

**

Here's the lyrics to Po' Lazarus as performed by Bob Dylan at Riverside Church Folk Music Hootenanny, WRVR-FM, New York, NY, 29 July 1961.

Transcribed by Manfred Helfert.

Po Lazarus

Oh, the new sheriff sent a letter,
"Go out an' get me Lazarus,
Dead or alive,
Dead or alive."
Oh, the high sheriff, then he wondered:
Where should I find him?
I don't know,
Great God, I just don't know.

Well, they found poor Lazarus
Between two mountains
An' they blowed him down,
An they blowed him down.

Oh, they killed poor Lazarus
With a mighty number,
Number 45,
Number 45.

An' they took poor Lazarus
To the commissary office,
An' they walked away,
An' they walked away.

Oh, Lazarus' his little sister
She come to the funeral,
Lord, didn't have no shoes,
Didn't have no shoes.

An' Lazarus' his poor mother
Come a-walkin' down the road,
Cryin', "My only son,
My only son."

Oh Lazarus', Lazarus' father,
When he heard his son was a-dyin',
Said, "Let the fool go down,
Let the fool go down."

"Oh Captain, have you heard the news,
Your old men are gonna leave you
Next payday,
On next payday."

Oh, the high sheriff told the deputy:
"Go out an' get me Lazarus,
Dead or alive,
Dead or alive."

http://www.bobdylanroots.com/poor.html

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Melissa
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 01:48 PM

The Bouncing Ball (Stanley Holloway, What Happened at the Zoo) has a policeman.

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Azizi
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 01:47 PM

Is that "Gang down your head tom dooley? Poor boy, your bound to die?" I have a vague memory of that song.I had forgotten the officer's name was "Sherrif Grayson".

Thanks, greg.

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 01:47 PM

How 'bout the police in Woody Guthrie's Hobo's Lullaby

---

Please note that anonymous posting is no longer allowed at Mudcat. Use a consistent name [in the 'from' box] when you post, or your messages risk being deleted.
Thanks.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Azizi
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 01:45 PM

Here's the link to the YouTube video that I referred to in my first post to this thread:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=P3lxCuJa8JA&feature=related
Po Lazarus - Fairfield Four


**
This song is sung in acapella style with no accompaniment but the singers' percussive foot stomping. I admire this video not just because of the groups' tight singing, but because this video raises awareness of, and helps foster appreciation for a traditional style of African American gospel singing that is very rarely heard nowadays.

Note that there are five vocalists in this legendary gospel quartet. See this comment that was posted in response to a question about why a quartet would have five vocalists:

"Gospel quartets kept the name "quartet" regardless of the number of members, one reason being a practice the old Soul Stirrers popularized, having a first and second lead singer....when one would take the lead the other would go back to singing harmony, thus keeping the four part harmony."
-jzzlvrmee

Subject: RE: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: greg stephens
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 01:38 PM

Well, where to start? OK, Sherrif Grayson in Tom Dooley.

Subject: Law Officers in Songs &Children's Rhymes
From: Azizi
Date: 14 Apr 08 - 01:35 PM

I just came across a great video clip that I'd like to share with other Mudcatters & guests.

This video [whose link I'll share in my next post to this thread] has inspired me to start yet another category thread. The real title for this thread is "Sherrifs, and Other Law Enforcement Officers Who Are Mentioned In Songs and In Children's Rhymes", but that title was way too long to fit in the title box.

Please join me in posting titles of songs & children's rhymes that mention a sherrif or another law enforcement officer. Also, please add song lyrics, links to YouTube videos, and comments in this thread.

Thanks, in advance for posting to this thread!