Origins: The Palace (Laura E. Richards)

Subject: RE: Origins: The fishes swim in at the windows
From: Louise Blyton
Date: 10 Dec 08 - 09:49 PM

Hi Charley and Leeneia

Glad you both liked the poem!

Subject: RE: Origins: The fishes swim in at the windows
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 25 Nov 08 - 09:52 AM

Thanks for the poem, Louise. I'm going to send it to my nephew so they can sing it to my little grandniece.

Subject: RE: Origins: The fishes swim in at the windows
From: Charley Noble
Date: 24 Nov 08 - 09:39 PM

Louise-

Quite a delightful poem and isn't it wonderful that even a verse survived via your father?

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: Origins: The fishes swim in at the windows
From: GUEST,Louise Blyton
Date: 24 Nov 08 - 09:26 PM

Hi,

My Dad used to sing the following verse to the tune of "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean":

The fishes swim in at the window(s),
And the fishes swim out at the door;
The crabs and the lobsters go dancing
All over the beautiful floor.

I found out from Google that something almost identical had been published as part of a poem by Laura E Richards in 1890. I can't recall whether Dad ever sung the other verses of this poem or whether he merely sung this verse as part of the regular verses of My Bonny (or both!). Does anyone recall either of these two alternatives being done?

Here's the full text of the poem as far as I can make out from the slightly garbled version at the Internet Archive:

THE PALACE.

IT'S far away under the water,
And it's far away under the sea,
There's a beautiful palace a-waiting
For my little Rosy and me.

The roof is made of coral,
And the floor is made of pearl,
And over it all the great waves fall
With a terrible tumble and whirl.

The fishes swim in at the window,
And the fishes swim out at the door,
And the lobsters and eels go dancing quadrilles
All over the beautiful floor.

There's a silver throne at one end,
And a golden throne at the other;
And on them you see, as plain as can be,
"Queen Rosy " and "Queen Mother."

And I will sit on the silver throne,
And Rosy shall sit on the gold;
And there we will stay, and frolic and play,
Until we're a thousand years old.

from In My Nursery by Laura E. Richards: Boston, Roberts Brothers, 1890.