Lyr Req: Once upon a time, the Goose drank wine...

Subject: Lyr Add: JOEY'S SOLILOQUY (Hattie Town Purvis)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 02 May 11 - 11:40 PM

I made another attempt to extract this poem from the Farm Journal of 1926—see my link above. It works better now:


JOEY'S SOLILOQUY
By Hattie Town Purvis

Little Joey by the doorstep
Of the little cabin lay,
Pouring gravel through his fingers,
And his mammy heard him say:

"Ain't nobody — cain't nobody
Love a culled boy, don't guess.
Teacher raps me, mammv slaps me
And I longs for love, I 'fess,

"I jess wish when mammy calls me
She'd say 'Come heah, honey lamb!'
Stead of saying, 'Get heah Joey,
Or I'll shore give you a slam.'

"If I died de folks ud miss me,
Lay some flowers around my head,
Mammy'd cry an' mebbv kiss me,
Yes, I mostly wish I'se dead."

Mammy smiled, while love and pity
Struggled with a touch of pride,
Then she hastened to the window,
And in loving tones she cried;

"Come in honey! you'll be gettin'
All tanned up, de sun's so hot,
And de grand folks passin' by'll
Think you's Irish, like as not."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Once upon a time, the Goose drank wine...
From: GUEST,Mike
Date: 07 May 11 - 11:06 PM

I was taught this version:

Once upon a time the goose drank wine
Monkey chewed tobacco on the street car line
Street car broke
The monkey choked
They all went to heaven on an old steam boat.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Once upon a time, the Goose drank wine...
From: LadyJean
Date: 07 May 11 - 11:23 PM

Gargoyle: My mom grew up in Edgewood, a suburb of Pittsburgh PA.

When I was a kid the rhyme went:

Cinderella dressed in yella
Went downtown to see her fella.
On the way her girdle busted.
How many people were disgusted.
1,2,3,4,5,6.........

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Once upon a time, the Goose drank wine...
From: GUEST
Date: 18 May 11 - 10:01 PM

When I was growing up this rhyme went:

Cinderella dressed in yellow
Went upstairs to kiss her fellow
Made a mistake
Kissed a snake
How many doctors did it take
1,2,3,4,5,6.........

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Once upon a time, the Goose drank wine...
From: MorwenEdhelwen1
Date: 18 May 11 - 10:05 PM

The "Think you're Irish" poem is a little iffy...

Subject: a childhood jingle from the late 1950s /early 1960
From: GUEST
Date: 13 Oct 11 - 02:00 PM

[e-mail]
i remember a jingle,i can not remember the whole thing please help me find the rest of the words,thanks.

3,6,9 the goose drank wine
the monkeys chewed tobbacco on the street caroline
the line broke the monkeys got chocked
and they all went to hell
in a little row boat

Subject: RE: Lyr req: 3, 6, 9, the Goose Drank Wine
From: Joe Offer
Date: 13 Oct 11 - 08:00 PM

Hi - I'm surprised we don't have this in our Jumprope Hypertext Archive, but we do have it as Three Six Nine in our Digital Tradition Folk Song Database:

THREE SIX NINE

Three six nine
The goose drank wine
The monkeys played on the street car line
The line broke
The monkeys choked
And they all lived together in a little green boat


@kids @game
filename[ THREESX2
TUNE FILE: THREESX2
CLICK TO PLAY
LQ
Oct00

---

I learned it from a pop song, [Shirley Ellis: "The Clapping Song (Clap Pat Clap Slap)] that was popular in the 1960s or 1970s:

Three, six, nine, the goose drank wine,
The monkey chewed tobacco on the street car line.
The line broke, the monkey got choked;
And they all went to heaven in a little rowboat.

Can't say I ever heard the song from more traditional sources.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Once upon a time, the Goose drank wine...
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 14 Oct 11 - 06:28 PM

Then there Dahl's from James and the Giant Peach:

Everybody clapped and called out for more songs from the Centipede, who at once launched into his favourite song of all:

Once upon a time
When pigs were swine
And monkeys chewed tobacco
And hens took snuff
To make themselves tough
And the ducks said quack -quack -quacko,
And porcupines
Drank fiery wines
And goats ate tapioca
And Old Mother Hubbard
Got stuck in the c –'

Look out, Centipede!' cried James. 'Look out!'

(here)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Once upon a time, the Goose drank win
From: GUEST,eeefin' monkey goose
Date: 26 Oct 11 - 02:43 AM

Once Upon a Time
The Goose Drank Wine
and The-Monkey-Spit-Tobacco-On-The-Sweet-Potato-Vine :)
-Louisiana

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Once upon a time, the Goose drank wine...
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Oct 11 - 01:19 PM

My dad always would sing this too me,

"Once upon a time the goose drank wine the monkey chewed tobacco of the street car line they all choked and they all went to heaven in a little row boat."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Once upon a time, the Goose drank wine...
From: GUEST,jiminmuncie
Date: 31 Oct 11 - 01:02 PM

Wow! I'm glad I checked here. As a songwriter, I'm always looking for ideas, lyric hooks, melody hooks, rhythm hooks, etc.

For some reason a rhyme I'd heard in junior high school back in the 50s always stuck with me. I first heard it done by a black kid who, while singing it, brushed his fingers back and forth on his notebook creating a great rhythm backup. (He was later the drummer in what was our first band.)

The rhyme went - "Once upon a time a goose drank wine, a monkey swingin' on a sweet 'tato vine. The vine broke, the monkey got choked and they all went to Heaven on a nanny goat".

After all these years of that rhyme popping up in my memory I figured maybe there was a reason why, so I decided to sit down with my rhythm machine and write something around that verse.

Then I began to wonder if maybe something similar had already been published. I see here that Shirley Ellis had a song that was pretty much based on this sort of rhyme. Dang! 'Guess I'd better check with the copyright office on that one, huh? 'Don't want to plagiarize anyone's creation.

Thanks!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Once upon a time, the Goose drank wine...
From: GUEST,DiEm
Date: 16 Jan 12 - 08:09 PM

The version as my grandparents taught me:

Once upon a time, a goose drank wine
A monkey chewed tobacco on the street car line
The street care broke
The monkey choked
And they all went to heaven on a little green boat.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Once upon a time, the Goose drank wine...
From: GUEST,Gerald
Date: 20 May 12 - 11:29 PM

Once upon a time
The goose drank wine
The rabbit chewed tobacco
And the dog went blind

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Once upon a time, the Goose drank wine...
From: GUEST
Date: 29 May 12 - 11:04 AM

Once upon a time the goose drank wine the monkey played the fiddle on the sweet potatoe vine the vine broke the monkey got choked and they all went to heaven on a blue little boat.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Once upon a time, the Goose drank wine...
From: GUEST,karen
Date: 14 Jul 12 - 11:02 AM

Once upon a time a goose drank wine a monkey chewed tobacco on the trolly line the trolly broke the monkey choked and they all lived together in a little tin boat. followed by a shave and a hair cut

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Once upon a time, the Goose drank wine...
From: GUEST,Bob K, Oak Hill, VA
Date: 16 Jul 12 - 05:58 PM

The version I know, circa 1951, is almost identical to the one posted by the person who said "I grew up in the south in the 1930's." I learned it from my father, who grew up in Louisville,KY in the 1920's:

"Once upon a time, the goose drank wine.
A monkey chewed tobacco on a streetcar line.
The streetcar broke. The monkey choked,
And they all went to heaven on a billy goat."

I want to thank the creator and contributors to this thread. It is poignant for me, because it is my only lasting memory of my father. He was estranged from our mother, and I remember him teaching us that poem during one or more visitations. He died, by his own hand, shortly thereafter. Until I recently heard the poem in a TV commercial, I had always assumed it was his own, private creation.

Lastly, I want to thank the creators of mudcat.org for hosting the thread, playgroundsongs.com for citing it, and Google for finding the citation.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Once upon a time, the Goose drank wine...
From: GUEST,Ha!
Date: 23 Jul 12 - 09:55 PM

Once upon a time a goos drank
Wine, a monkey chewed
Tobacco on a street car line,
The line broke, the monkey got chocked,
And they all went to heaven on
A little nanny goat.

My mother used to sing this to me
When I was a weeeeeee lass, in
Dublin ireland.

---

Threads combined. Messages below are from a new thread.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: Origins: The goose drank wine?
From: GUEST,Loki sometimes.
Date: 23 Jul 12 - 10:10 PM

Dose anyone know where it came from?

        "once upon a time, a goose
        Drank wine...

My mother sang it to me when I was a lass. I wanna know
Where it came from! Can someone
Help me?

Subject: RE: Origins: The goose drank wine?
From: beeliner
Date: 24 Jul 12 - 12:55 AM

It's in "The Clapping Song" by Shirley Ellis but is no doubt older.

Subject: RE: Origins: The goose drank wine?
From: GUEST
Date: 24 Jul 12 - 02:15 AM

Look on the main Mudcat page.

See the box (blue and gold like a cub scout dinner) titled "Lyrics and Knowledge Search"?

Type the term "goose drank wine" into the box to search the Digital Tradition and Forum and select Search..... VIOLA! !! fifteen years of discussion presented for your perusal.

BTW - please add to the discussion - when, and what geographic location did your mother sing this song ... and where do you believe she might have learned it?

(to use the term "loki " you must have been lurking for quite some time at mudcat)

Subject: RE: Origins: The goose drank wine?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 24 Jul 12 - 09:16 AM

Ha. Sez our other lurking long-time guest Gargoyle.

Interesting how you can get an answer from such a small snippet.

SRS

Subject: RE: Origins: The goose drank wine?
From: GUEST
Date: 25 Jul 12 - 01:14 AM

Lol, thx!

Subject: RE: Origins: The goose drank wine?
From: GUEST,Loki sometimes
Date: 25 Jul 12 - 01:49 AM

Can't find where it came from.
But my mother sang it to me in the mid
80's-90's in dublin ireland...if that helps.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Once upon a time, the Goose drank wine...
From: GUEST,Trevor Summerville, SC
Date: 27 Nov 13 - 08:49 PM

Stumbled across this thread while trying to find out where this ditty originated.   I found my answer but couldent help but notice that the variation that I grew up hearing wasn't mentioned anywhere so I figured I may as well share it.

"The clock struck nine. The goose drank wine. The monkey chewed tobacco on the streetcar line. The line broke, the monkey then choke and they all went to heaven in a little row boat."

Of course when being recited with a southern accent it sounds a bit different than it is written. The is usually "duh" and they "day" makeing is seem to flow a little faster. I have heard the third line said "the monkey dun 'bacco on a streetcar line" usually along with the change of "the monkey, he choke."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Once upon a time, the Goose drank wine...
From: GUEST
Date: 29 Jan 14 - 11:52 PM

My dad used to sing to us.
Once upon a time a goose drank wine
He thought he'd go to heaven on a street car line
Street car broke the monkey choked
They all went to heaven on a motor boat

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Once upon a time, the Goose drank wine...
From: GUEST,Rowen
Date: 21 Apr 15 - 12:14 AM

Found this while looking for information on the meaning -never knew it as a recorded song. Learned it as a jump rope song in Pa in the 1960's. It came up when I was teaching my students (high school, rural nc 2015). I was talking about marking their papers at 3,6,9 and one of them said 'the goose drank wine". I remembered the rhyme and finished it.... Of course the kids looked at me as if I was crazy.....

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Once upon a time, the Goose drank wine...
From: GUEST,Rowen
Date: 21 Apr 15 - 12:14 AM

Found this while looking for information on the meaning -never knew it as a recorded song. Learned it as a jump rope song in Pa in the 1960's. It came up when I was teaching my students (high school, rural nc 2015). I was talking about marking their papers at 3,6,9 and one of them said 'the goose drank wine". I remembered the rhyme and finished it.... Of course the kids looked at me as if I was crazy.....

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Once upon a time, the Goose drank wine...
From: GUEST,Mike E
Date: 11 Feb 16 - 02:26 AM

my grandfather taught me this almost 60 yrs ago and i have since taught my grandchildren. I think he picked it up as a child.His name was Athol and he worked the Martha goldmine(NZ)when he was young.

once upon a time,
when the bids shit lime
and the monkeys chewed tobacco
a hen flew past
with a chisel up its arse
to see what was the matter.
the wind blew north
the wind blew south
the wind blew the chisel from its arse to its mouth
and the hen fell to the ground!!

Subject: RE: Origins: The goose drank wine?
From: GUEST,Colbear
Date: 27 Jan 18 - 01:54 PM

My dad used to tell it to me in the 90’s too! United States, Northern VA, his dad told it to him. His dad (my grand dad) had grown up in WV, we are only 4 generations from County Tyrone Ireland. Hope this helps!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Once upon a time, the Goose drank wine...
From: GUEST,Memnon
Date: 13 Aug 20 - 06:38 AM

Amazing that is still no definitive origin to this rhyme! I've been searching for years. My grandmother who was born in Maryland in 1898 would recite it to us in the late 1950's and 60's.

Once upon a time a goos drank
Wine, a monkey chewed
Tobacco on a street car line,
The line broke, the monkey got chocked,
And they all went to heaven on
A little row boat.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Once upon a time, the Goose drank wine...
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 13 Aug 20 - 07:55 AM

When I was about four years old, my 11 year-old auntie taught me...

Three, six, nine, the goose drank wine
The monkey chewed tobacca,
The little piggy run, with his fingers up his bum
To see what was the matter.

Oh, how we laughed... ;-)