Lyr Add: Oh, Jemima, Look at Your Uncle Jim...

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: GUEST,Alison davis
Date: 22 Nov 10 - 06:27 AM

Oh, Jemima, look at your Uncle Sam.
He is the pantry eating all the jam.
First he tries the blackberry, then he tries the plum.
In comes his grandma and hits him on the—
Don't be mistaken. Don't be misled,
In comes his grandma and hits him on the head!

Oh, Jemima, look at your Uncle Clive.
He is in the motor car learning how to drive.
First he tries the first gear, then he tried the top.
Now he's on the highway learning how to stop.

Oh, Jemima, look at your Uncle Jim.
He is in the bathtub learning how to swim.
First he tried the backstroke, then he tried the crawl.
Over goes the bathtub, Uncle Jim and all!


Came Googling here to find some more verses but thought I could add these to help you all.

Cheers Alison

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: Northerner
Date: 22 Oct 10 - 12:21 PM

Good to see this up here! My version is very close to Louise's:

Oh Jemima look at your Uncle Jim!
He's in the duck pond learning how to swim.
First he does the breast stroke, then he does the side,
Now he's under water, swimming against the tide!

My Dad used to sing this. My parents were Scottish, but we lived in Lancashire for a few years (guessing that's where he picked it up) before moving over the Pennines to Yorkshire. I had an uncle called Uncle Jim - maybe that's why this little ditty stuck in my head. I sang this little song to my old friend Stanley Robertson a few years ago at Whitby Folk Week.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: GUEST,Chris Murray
Date: 22 Oct 10 - 12:04 PM

My dad was in the RAF and I learnt RAF songs alongside nursery rhymes. His version was:

Oh Jemima, look at your Uncle Jim
Diving in the duck pond, learning how to swim,
First he did the left stroke, then he did the right,
Then he did the belly flop and vanished right out of sight.

I like his version best.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: GUEST,Jemima
Date: 21 Oct 10 - 05:24 PM

These crack me up!

My uncle, from Birmingham, used to sing:

Oh Jemima, look at your Uncle Jim
He's in the duck pond learning how to swim
First he does the over, then he does the crawl
Now he's under water swimming against the wall

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: GUEST,Louise
Date: 24 Aug 10 - 07:33 AM

The lyrics I know are:

Oh Jemima look at me Uncle Jim
He's in the duck pond learning how to swim
First he does the breast stroke, then he does the side
Now he's under the water, swimmin' against the tide.

Wish I knew more lyrics too!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: GUEST,emma
Date: 17 Jul 10 - 05:06 PM

Oh Jemima, look at your Uncle Clive,
He's in the motorcar learning how to drive.
First he puts the brakes on, then he does a skid.
Now he's in his coffin waiting for a lid.

I remember these from school.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: GUEST,Berenice Still
Date: 03 Jun 10 - 03:14 AM

Hi, 2 years ago I went on a trip to a place in Dorchester for a week with friends, and they taught us a song there that none of us could ever forget. So when I was bored just then, I typed in random stuff in google and I saw oh jemima come up, and it reminded me of the song I knew straight away, so I just searched it, and saw what all of you had written, but here's the version that I've always known and so many other people.

OH JEMIMA

Oh jemima, look at your uncle jim
he's in the duckpond learning how to swim
first he does the breaststroke then he does the side
now he's at the bottom swimming against the tide, tide, tide, tide, tide tide, tide tide.

(the word 'tide' can go on for ever!)

I HOPE THIS HELPS?!
PLEASE GET BACK TO ME!

P.S I REALLY ENJOYED THE VERSION WITH THOSE 3 VERSES ( WHERE IT ENDED WITH A HEARSE!)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: GUEST
Date: 13 Mar 10 - 05:35 AM

Correction. I have just listened to the clip posted by Jim Dixon. Definately Soldiers Chorus not Hebrew Slaves

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: GUEST
Date: 13 Mar 10 - 05:28 AM

My Dad, born in London in 1925 used to sing this, but only the Frogmore verse. He did not seem to have any more. Always amused me as a child. so very pleased to have more info. I thought the tune was the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: GUEST,Ley
Date: 02 Mar 10 - 02:10 AM

I have one from my mum, who got it from her grandfather who was born in England.

I remember the duckpond verse. @ Robyn, the verse you're trying to remember goes like this:

Oh Jemima, look at your uncle Jim
Washing out the passage, water, soap and Vim.
First he kneels on the left leg, then he kneels on the right.
And now he's knelt on the bar of soap and slid right out of sight.

Subject: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: GUEST,Pete
Date: 14 Jul 09 - 02:05 PM

Found it written down after all. (So much for oral tradition)

OH JEMIMA

Oh Jemima look at your uncle Jim.
Someone called him fat so he's trying to get quite thin.
First he feeds on dry toast, then on bread and ale,
Now he's living on monkey nuts and growing a curly tail.

Oh Jemima look at your uncle Jim.
Playing a game of rugby, risking life and limb.
First he tackles the referee, then he joins the scrum.
Now their picking the pieces up, oh there's poor uncles thumb

Oh Jemima look at your uncle Jim.
Learning to drive a motor, looking very grim.
First he jams the brakes on, then he tries reverse.
Now he's driving along in peace in a nice, quiet, safe, slow hearse

Hope this is what you wanted.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: Silas
Date: 14 Jul 09 - 02:02 PM

The cosmotheka song is "Don't do it again MATILDA".

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: GUEST,Pete
Date: 14 Jul 09 - 01:53 PM

I learnt it round the campfire in the Scouts. (Real oral tradition, no song books!)I have another verse possibly created for Scouts.

Oh Jemima, look at your uncle Jim,
Out for a hike oh don't you envy him
First day he does ten miles, second day barely four,
The third he meets a furniture van so we won't say any more.

I'll come back if I remember any more.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: GUEST
Date: 13 Jul 09 - 04:40 PM

It's water soap and vim

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: GUEST,agrowe1
Date: 02 Jul 09 - 01:03 PM

The version a work mate sings to his niece goes

Oh Jemima, look at your uncle jim
He's in the duck pond learning how to swim,
first he does the back stroke, then he does the side
now he's in the river swimming against the tide

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: GUEST,William Skinner
Date: 01 Apr 09 - 10:38 AM

My mother taught me Frogmore's version of the words and she sang them to the Gounod tune mentioned above. She learned them from her father   born in the 1870s and hailing from Sheffield, although he spent much of his early life in the Workington/Maryport area.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: GUEST,Austin P
Date: 11 Mar 09 - 06:09 PM

The Cosmotheka song is 'Don't do it again Jemimah' I think. Different song.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: Little Robyn
Date: 11 Mar 09 - 02:31 PM

Oh Jemima look at your Uncle Jim
Down in the duckpond teaching the ducks to swim
First he does the .... then he does the ....
Nows he's under the water teaching the ducks to dive.

There were lots of verses and I'm sure it used to be on the radio in the 50s.
But I can only remember bits of it.

Oh Jemima look at your Uncle Jim
Scrubbing the floor with .... soap and vim,
First he kneels on his left leg then he kneels on his right
Now he kneels on a bar of soap and goes skidding out of sight

Robyn

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: GUEST,Georgina Boyes
Date: 11 Mar 09 - 01:42 PM

My grandfather, John Robert Page (1898-1961) a Sheffielder born and bred, used to sing us Frogmore's "Lancashire" version to the tune of "The Soldiers' Chorus" in the 1950's. I don't know what he'd have thought to being told it came from "the wrong side of the Pennines".

Georgina

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: goatfell
Date: 11 Mar 09 - 12:45 PM

Tommy Scott does this song on a cd

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 11 Mar 09 - 10:27 AM

Some online sources say this is sung to the tune of the SOLDIERS' CHORUS from Gounod's "Faust."

Allmusic.com tells me this is also known as 'Act IV, No. 18a, "Deposons les armes" (Soldiers' Chorus)'

One place to hear the tune is here; find Disk 2 Track 9 and click the little speaker symbol.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: Matthew Edwards
Date: 05 Jun 01 - 07:31 PM

Thanks for your efforts Frogmore,Bob,Sooz, and GUEST (whoever you are).Frogmore's mum's version sounds familiar, but not the words that I remember.The Lancastrian connection sounds interesting as Dad was born in Barrow-in-Furness which used to be in Lancashire. Following GUEST's hint I've tried a SuperSearch for words and title but the only promising bit of info I came across was that Cosmotheka used to sing a song called "Jemima",which (if it is the same song) would confirm the music-hall origin.
Now does anybody remember the words for "Oh,Mr Porter" - another of my dad's songs which I can't find on the DT?
Sorry,should that be a new thread?
Best wishes,Matthew.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: GUEST
Date: 05 Jun 01 - 03:12 PM

My mum's version was the same as frogmore's; think this was on another thread a while ago.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: Sooz
Date: 05 Jun 01 - 01:52 PM

We used to sing it at primary school - only our version ended "now he's under water paddling against the tide" Fond memories!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 05 Jun 01 - 09:39 AM

G'day Matthew and Frogmore,

I read Matthew's version, and was going to post my dad's version ... but Frogmore's Mum's version is the same as my Dad's.

Since a Bolton probably comes from round Lancashire (Grandad was born in Haslingden, between Manchester and Bolton - but Dad was born out here in Australia), it seems pretty likely the song comes straight out of the same tradition.

regards,

Bob Bolton

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oh Jemima
From: Frogmore
Date: 04 Jun 01 - 03:16 PM

My mom, who is from Lancashire, sang us this song while she was trying to hold us still in order to scrub us in the bathtub. This was is S.C. The only verse she sung was,

"Oh Jemima, look at your Uncle Jim -
He's in the bathtub learning how to swim -
First he does the backstroke, them he does the side -
now he's under the water swimming against the tide."

It's a hit. I don't know anything about it, and it may be a few years too late to get any sensible info out of her but I'll ask. Actually her early memory is stronger than the recent stuff.

Subject: Oh Jemima
From: Matthew Edwards
Date: 04 Jun 01 - 03:02 PM

A recent thread on "Horsey, Keep Your Tail Up" Here, which was a song my dad used to sing to us years ago, reminded me of another song which he told us his father used to sing; it sounds like an old music-hall song.


Oh Jemima, look at your Uncle Jim,
He's in the duck pond, learning how to swim.
First he does the sidestroke, then he does the crawl.
Now he's under the water, doing no stroke at all!


Does anyone else know the song? And is there any more to it? I couldn't find any help in the DT.

Thanks for any helpful suggestions,

Matthew.