Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: Lighter
Date: 27 Jan 23 - 08:33 AM

A little earlier:

Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Ut.) (July 24, 1902), p. 2:
“‘Why I cut loose from Sarah,’ ‘Slide, Kelley, slide,’ and ‘Looking through the slats of grandpa’s wooden leg.’”

Buffalo [N. Y.] Morning Express (July 29, 1903), p. 7:

“I expected I might be called on to speak on peeping through the knothole in papa’s wooden leg or on some kindred wholesome subject.”

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Jan 23 - 10:01 PM

While looking through a window, a second story window
I fell and sprained my eyebrow on the sidewalk, the sidewalk.
Go get the Lysterine, Sister wants a beau, and a boy's best friend is his mother, his monther.

While looking through a knothole in Father's wooden leg
Why do they build the shore so near the ocean? the ocean?
A snake's belt slips because he's got no hips
And a boy's best friend is his mother, his mother.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,GUEST
Date: 28 Apr 22 - 06:35 PM

First heard this on a TV kids cartoon show in the 1950's. They used to run those old 1930's black and white ones, like Bosco, or Betty Boop and Grampy.

Oh, peeking through the knothole On grandpa's wooden leg Who will wind the clock when I am gone Go get the axe There's a wart on Nelly's nose And a boy's best friend is his mother

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Nov 20 - 09:15 AM

A looking through a knot hole in father’s wooden knee
I slipped and sprained my eyebrow on the pavement
Go get the axe
There’ a hair on baby’s chest
For boys best friend is his mother

I wish I had. Buick
A six cylinder Buick
But a Ford will fit my pocket book much better
Go get the axe
There’s a hair on baby’s chest
For a boys best friend is his mother
.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: Lighter
Date: 03 Nov 20 - 06:58 AM

St. Louis Republic (Apr. 24, 1904), p.1:

"GRIDIRON CLUB...Washington, Apr. 23.--Four members of the [United States Supreme Court] then sang...a song, the title of which was given as 'Peeping Through the Knothole in Papa's Wooden Leg; or, Why Was the Ocean Built So Near the Shore?'"

Time for a reprise.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,ramapith
Date: 03 Nov 20 - 02:02 AM

The 24 Sep 15 poster says, "I learned this from a cartoon I used to see on TV in the 50s."

This can only be ALASKA, an Oswald the Lucky Rabbit short:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eMFJvDtWAo

Those were certainly on TV in the 1950s, and they're all over YouTube today. The cartoon has "Who will wind the clock when I am gone?" rather than a repetition of the ocean/shore line, but otherwise has every one of the lyrics this poster remembered.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: leeneia
Date: 30 Mar 20 - 04:20 PM

Is 'tookest' really a word?

Ah, Lighter, how you tantalize. But I can't find any music called 'Give Back the Horn Thou Tookest' or 'Globenblookerski.'

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: Lighter
Date: 29 Mar 20 - 03:31 PM

Trenton [N.J.] Evening Times (Aug. 28, 1903), p. 3:

"The program: Opening chorus, 'Hail! Hail!' march, 'Susie's Delight'; ballad, 'Give Back the Horn Thou Tookest'; overture, 'Globenblookerski'; song, 'Looking Through the Knot-hole in Papa's Wooden Leg' [etc.]."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: Mrrzy
Date: 22 Jun 19 - 01:36 PM

Build. Build a sewer.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: Mrrzy
Date: 22 Jun 19 - 12:16 PM

No more booze, no more booze, no more booze on Sunday
No more booze, no more booze, gotta get your can filled Monday
Was the chorus of the We need them sheets for the tablecloth/face like a hoooorrrse and buggy song. Ed McCurdy.

Also they are moving Father's grave to nuild a sewer is in here somewhere...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: RTim
Date: 20 Jun 19 - 07:43 PM

Did you know that "Listerine" was originally marketed as a Floor Cleaning product!!!

Tim Radford

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 20 Jun 19 - 06:27 PM

My mother used to sing a variation of these lyrics. She was born in 1925, and I remember her singing this song when I was about 4 in 1955:
"Looking through a knothole, in grandpa's wooden leg,
I slipped and broke my eyebrow on the pavement.
Go get the Listerine, sister wants a beau,
But the beau's best friend is his mother."
Since I was about 4 or 5, "beau" could have been "bowl", and in the last line, "beau's" could have been "boy's".
However, what I thought I heard made/makes the most sense to me, and it's what still runs through my head.
I don't remember hearing any more lines to the song.
Very interesting reading the different lyrics that other people know.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,Banjerbob
Date: 20 Apr 19 - 03:47 PM

My dad and his dad would sing that all the time. Grandpa said he learned asa child in Cinderford, Gloustershire England, near the Welsh border.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: Joe_F
Date: 18 Jun 18 - 06:18 PM

In the Scottish Students' Song Book, the line "Father's pants will soon fit Willie" belong to another song, TTTO "Cwm Rhondda". The rest of it is "Will 'e wear 'em? Willie will" over & over. It is merged with "You must eat when you are hungry" etc.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Jun 18 - 03:23 PM

this seems to have waves of populairty, 1920a, 40s, 50s, etc. but there is a line of it in James Joyce;s "Ulysses" (just read over the weekend for Bloomsday) so it must have been a music hall song in the late 19th c. in one form or another. the line quoted is "Papa's pants will soon fit Willie"

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,cynthia
Date: 11 Mar 16 - 12:30 PM

this is how my family sang it

Lookin through the knothole in Grampa's wooden leg
who'll wind the cat when I'm gone
Go get the axe there's a flea on lizzies ear
and a boys best friend is his mother..

I never heard any over verses.. this is so cool to see how we all passed this song down through our families!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST
Date: 24 Sep 15 - 12:59 PM

I learned this from a cartoon I used to see on TV in the 50s.

I fell out the window,
A second story window
Stubbed my eyebrow on the windowsill
Go get the axe, there's a flea in Lizzie's ear
For a boy's best friend is his mother.

Sittin' on a buzz saw
A hand-embroidered buzz saw
Why is the ocean near the shore?
Go get the flea, there's an axe in Lizzie's ear
For a boy's best friend is his mother.

Peepin' thru the knothole
In Grampaw's wooden leg
Why is the ocean near the shore?
Go get the axe, there's a wart on Father's nose
For a boy's best friend is his mother.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,slehto
Date: 16 May 13 - 11:45 PM

My dad used to sing this tune to we kids in the 1950s. He learned it at San Francisco, Boy Scouts in the late 1920s I think. He knew a few crazy song that really made a hit with us.
The horses run around, their feet are on the ground
Who will wind the clock when I'm away... away.
Go get the Listerine, sister's got a beau.
Oh, I hope that grandma's teeth will soon fit Jenny, fit Jenny.

Lookin through the knothole, on grandpa's wooden leg,
Why do they build the shore so near the ocean. the ocean
A snakes belt always slips, just because he has no hips,
and his belt line is just below his neck tie, his neck tie.

Lookin through a window, a second story window,
I slipped and sprained by eyebrow on the pavement, the pavement,
Go get the axe, there's a hair on baby's chin,
Oh a boy's best friend is his mother, his mother.

She spanked him with a shingle, and made his panties tingle,
Because he socked his little baby brother, his brother,
Runnin down the lane, with his britches full of pain,
Oh a boy's best friend is his mother, his mother.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST
Date: 29 Jun 12 - 03:48 PM

My mom, born in 1912, said she sang it as a young child.
Her second verse:

Why do they build the ocean
   so close to the shore?
There's wrinkles even in a young prune.
Father cut your toenails
   You're ripping all the sheets!
My girl's as sweet as sugar, twice as lumpy!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 24 Jun 12 - 07:54 PM

My gram's version, it was taught to me when I was la little girl, my grandmother learned it when she was a little girl in the 1920s.

While peeking' through the knothole in Daddy's wooden leg
Why do they build the shore so near the ocean

Who cut the sleeves out of dear old daddy's vest
And dug up Johnny's grave to build a sewer

Now mother sleeps much better
since daddy washed his feet
He's gonna cut his toenails so he don't rip up the sheets

Run Johnny, run there's a fly on baby's... Head
A boy's best friend is his mother

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,guest
Date: 20 Jun 11 - 04:59 PM

Peepin' through the knothole, in Grandpa's wooden leg,
who will wind the clock while we're away?
We feed the baby garlic so we can see him in the dark
a boy's best friend is his mother!

My dad born in 1920 used to sing this to us. I loved it because it was so deliciously nonsensical.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST
Date: 13 Jun 11 - 06:52 PM

We sang "Grampa's" wooden leg -

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Apr 11 - 11:55 AM

Looking thru a window
A second story window
I fell and sprained my eyebrow on the pavement, pavement
Run get the ax, there's a hair on baby's chest
Who cut the sleeves off grampa's vest, vest

Looking thru a knot hole
In grampa's wooden leg
who will wind the clock when I am gone, gone
We feed the baby garlic so we find him in the dark
A boy's best friend is his mother, mother

He has a wooden leg, with thumbtacks for his garters
The onion is a husky vegetable, ble
A snakes' belt never slips, because he has no hips
His waistline comes up below his necktie, necktie

The horses run around, their feet are on the ground
Why did they build the shore so near the ocean, ocean
Run get the listerine, sister wants a beau
We hope that grama's teeth will so fit Jenny, Jenny

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,j9
Date: 31 Mar 11 - 07:46 PM

My family version of another song that uses some of the above (and it's unnamed except you also can find some similar verses from "It Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo'" --

The chambermaid came to the door,
"Wake up you lazy sinners.
We need those sheets for tablecloths,
and it's darn near time for dinner."

Ohhhhh, she's the only girl I loved,
with a face like a horse and buggy,
leaning up against the lake,
"Oh, fireman! Save my child."

Well, the child was bigger than the fireman.
"Go easy with that monkey wrench, your father was a nut."

Some nonsensical combination, wouldn't you say?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: pavane
Date: 20 Sep 10 - 12:48 PM

At the April dinner of the GridIron club, that should be

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: pavane
Date: 20 Sep 10 - 12:47 PM

Except one from 1888!

WHEN WAS A DUMB MAN SENT TO THE WHITE HOUSE?
At the April ginner of the FridIron club at the Arlington hotel in Washington, April 22, four members sung to the tune of "The little black bull" a song, the title of which was given as "Peeping through the Knot Hole in Papa's Wooden Leg or Why Was the Ocean Built so Near to the Shore?"

We reprint from the report in the Chicago Tribune:
David B Hill came down the mountain
Hoosan Johnny, Hoosan Johnny,
David B Hill came down the mountain
Long time ago.

He picked out a man whose name is Parker
Hoosan Johnny, Hoosan Johnny,
He picked out a man whose name is Parker
Long time ago.

He says: "Don't talk, and we'll beat T. Roosevelt,"

etc

Peterson's magazine, vol 92 1888

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: pavane
Date: 20 Sep 10 - 12:33 PM

Catalog of copyright entries: Part 3, Volume 35, Issue 1
Library of Congress. Copyright Office - 1941

10408 Peeping through the big knot-hole in papa's wooden leg ; w[ords] & m[usic] F. Delker. © 1 c. Feb. 28, 1940.

Doesn't mean that F Delker wrote it, but I don't find any reference before 1940

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,G Rady
Date: 20 Sep 10 - 12:18 PM

Peeking through the knothole in father's wooden leg ,who will wind the clock when he is gone? Go easy on the monkey wrench , my father was a not, if you don't like Lucky's ,smoke Camel cigerettes. My father sang this. He was born in 1908.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Fathe
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Jul 10 - 01:46 AM

The only lines I remember (and this may be combining different verses) were

While looking through a knothole, in Father's wooden leg,
O why'd they build the shore so near the ocean, the ocean?
A snake's belt slips 'cause he hasn't any hips,
And a boy's best friend is his mother, his mother.

I haven't come across this song since my 5th grade teacher taught it to us in 1956. he was a new teacher in that school district that year and apparently there were some parental complaints, as he was told to cease the use of songs that were not in the approved textbook.

David Willoughby
[e-mail]

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,another version
Date: 14 Jul 10 - 02:58 PM

lookin' through the knothole in father's wooden leg,
he uses thumbtacks for garters.
snake belt's slip just because he has no hips.
oh, why do they put the shores so near the ocean?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,Muncie, IN - Camp Windigo - Girl Scouts
Date: 21 May 10 - 05:46 PM

from Girl Scout Camp Windigo, near Muncie, Indiana 1970 or so)


The horses run around, their feet are on the ground
Who will wind the clock while Im a-way a-way

A snake's belt slips, because he has no hips
And his waistline is just below his necktie, his necktie.

Looking through a knothole in father's wooden leg
Why'd they build the sea so near the ocean, the ocean

Go get the axe, theirs a hair on baby's chest
And who cut the sleeves off father's vest? His vest

She spanked her with a shingle and made her panties tingle
Because she hit her little baby brother, her brother

Go get the Lysterine, Sister wants a beau
And we hope that grandma's teeth will soon fit Janie, fit Janie

Looking through a window, a second-story window
I slipped and sprained my eyebrow on the pavement, the pavement

We feed our baby garlic so we can find him in the dark
and a boy's best friend is his mother, his mother!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,Laurie nee Norton
Date: 16 Dec 09 - 02:37 AM

My great-grandfather (dob 1892) would sing a song to me when he was in his late 80s, back in the 1980s. He had dementia at the time, and my grandmother would assure me that if he was in his right mind he wouldn't sing it in front of young girls. I thought it was funny and my sister and I memorized what little he sang to us. I'm sure its incomplete, and I appreciate the versions others have contributed to help fill in the blanks.

Oh, looking through the knot-hole in father's wooden leg,
Who will milk the cow when I'm gone,gone, gone?
Sister get the axe, there's a fly on baby's head
and a boy's best friend is his mother...

he would also sometimes finish this and other songs like, Red Wing "...without a shirt, or any pants."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Nov 09 - 07:57 PM

one verse goes like this

pa took me to the woodshed to give my pants a dustin'
oh why'd i ever hit my baby brother, brother
tearin' down the lane with my pants all full of pain
oh a boy's best friend is his mother, his mother.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: Joybell
Date: 08 Sep 09 - 10:20 PM

From my True-Love, Hildebrand:
my father 1900-1950 had a couple of versions of this, one of which is prefaced by a version of "no more booze". it's interesting because it refers to the custom of "rushing the growler" -- taking an empty bucket to the saloon to get it filled with take-home beer.

                                           there
was a little man, and he had a little can, and he
went to rush the growler. but
when he got there, the place was bare, and he
heard the barkeeper holler: no
booze today, no booze today! you
can't buy booze on sunday. no
booze today. you'll
have to wait till monday. oh, the
sweetest girl i know has a face like a horse and buggy..
go get the ax. there's a flea on baby's head.
why did they build the ocean so close to the shore?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Sep 09 - 11:04 PM

My version came from an Irish Mother.

Peekin' through the knothole on pa's ole wooden leg
Who'll milk the cow's when I am gone?
Who'll mend the knees of pa's old BVD's
Well, He drank it up and married ole Aunt Molly.

Amorette Kelso, Vinco, OK

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Apr 09 - 11:33 AM

While lookin' through a knothole
In grandpa's wood leg
Oh why do they build the beach so near the ocean, the ocean
OH go get an ax, there's a hair on babies chin
And grandma's teeth will soon fit Jenny, fit Jenny!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,Mark Shields
Date: 06 Apr 09 - 01:40 AM

My grandmaw use to sing, "Peep'n through the knothole in grandpaw's wooden leg. Who'll wind the clock when era I'm gone? Go fetch an axe there's a fly on baby's head; and a boy's best frend is his mother."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: pavane
Date: 04 Sep 08 - 05:32 AM

Sarah, Sarah. Or A donkey cart built for two ("I've got such a nice young man ...")
Author: Bedford, Harry Performer: Carney, Kate
Printer: March, R. and Co. (London)
Date: between 1877 and 1884

I can't quite make out the copyright of Daisy Bell, but it looks like 1892.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: pavane
Date: 04 Sep 08 - 05:29 AM

(Typo Starring, not starting)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: pavane
Date: 04 Sep 08 - 05:28 AM

A few comments.

1. There is a song called something like "A donkey cart made for two", starting Sarah, Sarah, which seems to predate "Daisy Daisy" and her bicycle, and also Daisy Bell. I will try and dig it out from the Bodleian, where I found it.

2. "They dug up Billy's bones to make a sewer" might be derived from, or related to "They're moving Grandpa's grave to build a sewer"

3. Yes, it did remind me of Lizzie Borden too

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: Snuffy
Date: 03 Sep 08 - 08:34 PM

Lizzie Borden was "whacky" with an H. Perhaps it was the flea in her ear.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 03 Sep 08 - 08:07 PM

ASCAP lists a song called THERE'S A FLEA IN LIZZIE'S EAR with the alternate title GO GET THE AXE. It was allegedly written by Robert Melvin Schultz, Jr., and published by Beam Me Up Music c/o Warner Brothers. However, if you look at a list of songs by Mr. Schultz, you will see quite a few familiar titles which I'm sure didn't originate with him. He's probably the kind of guy who claims a copyright when he makes a minor change to a traditional song.

Allmusic.com lists a recording of GO GET THE AXE by Randy Kaplan, on the album "Boyish Hips," 1997, where it is called "traditional." Here's an excerpt:

...get the axe; there's a flea in Lizzie's ear.
A boy's best friend is his mother.
Peepin' through the knothole of grandpa's wooden leg,
Why did they build the shore so near the sea?
Who cut the sleeves off of dear old Daddy's vest...?

Other albums containing GET THE AXE or GO GET THE AXE, according to Gracenote.com:
"Obscenity in the Milk" by Milhouse.
"Homeschooler's Folksong Collection" by The Homestead Pickers.
"150 Sing-Alongs" by Baby Basics.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 02 Sep 08 - 06:48 AM

I'd prefer "wacky" but dictionaries also list "whacky."

Anyway, the original title of "A Bicycle Built for Two" was DAISY BELL.

Later editions of the sheet music called it A BICYCLE BUILT FOR TWO (Also Known As "DAISY BELL").

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 31 Aug 08 - 10:06 PM

Or is that spelled wacky?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 31 Aug 08 - 10:05 PM

The name of the song is 'Go Get the Axe.' Google it if you wish to verify.

I know, that's like naming Bicycle Built for Two 'I'm Half Crazy.' But since the whole song is whacky, why not dip into the verbiage and pull out a phrase at random to be the title?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,Bob, Sacramento
Date: 31 Aug 08 - 06:08 PM

All of our fathers sang this to us as kids, it seems. Mine probably learned it as a Boy Scout in San Francisco during the late 20s. The odd thing to me is that no one in this string seems to know the actual title. I got here simply by Googling the lyric, "Peepin' through the knothole in father's wooden leg."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Fathe
From: GUEST,Stephen Swain
Date: 21 Jun 08 - 10:43 AM

Looking through a knot hole
in father's wooden leg
I fell and sprained my eyebrow on the pavement
the sidewalk
Run fetch the Listerene, sister's got a beau,
we feed our baby garlic so we can find him in the dark.
And a boy's best friend his his mother, his mother.

My father sang this song to us when we were children. He had sung it in college as part of the Glee Club repertoire. I don't remember all the verses, but there were many.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Fathe
From: GUEST,the knothole song
Date: 06 May 08 - 05:51 PM

that I learned

Peeping through the knothole
on Grandpa's wooden leg,
who will feed the cat while I'm away?
Go and get the axe,
there's a fly on baby's head,
and a boy's best friend is his uncle.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,TJ in San Diego
Date: 30 Apr 08 - 11:10 AM

Shades of Camp Chawanakee, circa 1955-6. One of the counselors sang this song at campfires. Later, after I had begun to be more involved in music, someone gave me a copy of "Song Fest," the Outing Club publication mentioned above, in which this song appears. There is a lot of material in that little book. Several friends and I drew from it for comedy bits, nonsense songs and the like. Other songs that I recall are "Thais"(the many-versed saga of a libidinous monk and a belly dancer), Abdullah Bulbul Amir and "The Vassar Hygiene Song." I still have the book.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: Dave Hunt
Date: 30 Apr 08 - 09:36 AM

As I remember it the Steve Benbow version had the following - I've been singing it for years - along with a lot of other very silly songs (as my mate Baz says of me --'Head full of sh*te')

A Boys Best Friend is His Mother.

Peeping through the knothole of Grandpa's wooden leg
Who'll wind the cat up when I'm gone
Who cut the sleeves out of Grandma's woollen pants
And a boy's best friend is his mother.

Peeping through the knothole of Grandpa's wooden leg
Who'll put the clock out when I'm gone
Who cut the legs out of Grandma's woollen vest
And a boy's best friend is his mother

A horse stood around with his feet all on the ground
Why'd they build the shore so near the ocean
Go fetch the axe there's a flea on Lizzies ear
And a boys best friend is his mother

I fell from a window just forty stories high
Caught my eyebrows on the windowsill
The cellar's behind the door, Mary's room's behind the axe
And a boy's best friend is his mother

Dr.Sunshine (Dave Hunt)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Fathe
From: Artful Codger
Date: 30 Apr 08 - 03:00 AM

Does anyone have an ABC of the three-verse version of this song? It appears as if every line has a different tune, appropriately for a sequitur of non sequiturs.

The New Christy Minstrels recorded four lines of it (knothole, shore, snake's hips, boy's best friend) as part of a nonsense medley. I think the medley is the one titled "A Treasury of Nonsense" on the Tell Tales! LP (1960s); Amazon has a reissue on CD. The medly also contained this song:


THE HEFFALUMP

Well, I went to hunt the heffalump in the land of Bilders Meer
And if you do not know the place I'll tell you where it's near:
It's not too close to Freeglestown and farther still from Glarf,
But you know you're near to Bilders Meer when you hear the heffalump snarf.

Oh, the Heffalump is fourteen feet when measured ear to ear,
And though he has but three of them, he frankly cannot hear.
His nose is green, his eye is red, his tail is turquoise blue,
And may I be a bingle if my story isn't true!


My aural transcription, prepared from the LP long ago. Sorry, I don't have attribution info. As I recall, the first part and the last line were spoken, not sung.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Fathe
From: GUEST,Nora
Date: 26 Apr 08 - 04:24 PM

The one that's been sung in my family for years, I assume passed down from my Grandmother who is 84 this year is this:

Peeping through the knot hole in Papa's wooden leg
Who put the shore so near the ocean, the ocean
Who cut the sleeves on Papa's BVDs
And dug up Willie's grave for a kitchen, a kitchen

The horses ran around, with their feet upon the ground
Who'll wind the clock up while I'm gone
There's room beside my head and there's room beside my feet
A mother chased her son around the block, the block

She picked up a shingle, that made his britches tingle
Just because he smacked his baby sister, his sister
Runnin' down the lane, with his britches full of pain
A boy's best friend is his mother, his mother

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST
Date: 28 Feb 08 - 10:22 AM

Wow! My dad would sing that song! I have alway's wondered about it. My dad just turned 85yrs old, February 22, 2008. I am glad I found more lyrics, he only knows a couple lines.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Fathe
From: GUEST,GUEST, Charles
Date: 08 Feb 08 - 06:01 PM

My grandfather (now 88) sang a verse of this song every now and then:

Lookin' through the knothole in Father's wooden leg
Why do they put the shore so near the ocean, the ocean
Run get the axe there's a hair on baby's chin,
cuz a boy's best friend is his mother, no other!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,silvia
Date: 06 Jan 08 - 07:03 PM

I learned the song in summer camp, 1945, when I was 8. I remember three stanzas that are similar but not identical to those above.
Each stanza finished with:
A boy's best friend is his mother
You're a liar, you're another
You've been drinking booth and whisky
No I haven't Hic!
sung as quickly as possible.
It was really funny and we children enjoyed it a lot.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,Joe Hiles
Date: 23 Nov 07 - 12:48 PM

The horses run around,
Their feet are on the ground,
Oh, who will wind the clock while I'm away, away?
Go get the ax, there's a hair on babys chin,
And a boy's best friend is his mother, his mother.

Awhile peeping through a window,
A second storey window,
I slipped and sprained my eyebrow on the pavement, the pavement,
Go get the mouth wash, sisters got a beau,
I wonder if Grandma's teeth will soon fit Jenny, fit Jenny.

While walking in the moonlight,
The bright and sunny moonlight,
She kissed me in the eye with a tomato, tomato,
A snake's belt slips because he he has no hips,
And he wears his neck tie around his middle, his middle.

I learned and sung this song as a boy when I went to Boy Scout camp in the late 1940's & early 1950's.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,Don L.
Date: 23 Nov 07 - 12:42 AM

This is how I learned it from my mother who claimed that my older brother just started singing it one day in the early seventies. She suspected he learned it at school.


Peeking through the knothole of grandpa's wooden leg,
who wound the clock while I was gone.
Go get the ax, there's a flea in lizzie's ear and
a boy's best friend is his mother.

I fell from a window, a second story window,
who built the shore so close to the ocean.
who cut the sleeves from dear old daddy's vest
and a cup buys some spoons to build a sewer.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,Michelle
Date: 16 Nov 07 - 08:57 PM

My mother-in-law's version:
While peeking through a knotehole in granpa's wooden leg,
I got a splinter in my eyeball, my eyeball.
Go get the axe, there's a hair on baby's chin.
And why's the shore so near the ocean, the ocean.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Fathe
From: GUEST,David Gerstein
Date: 12 Nov 07 - 12:51 AM

As "The Horses Run Around," this was available on an old Disney children's record album, "Goin' Quackers!". Cartoon voice artist Will Ryan handled the vocal chores and it was funny as sin.

The horses run around, their feet are on the ground
Oh, who will wind the clock while I'm away? [squeak, squeak, boing!]
Go get the axe, there's a flea in Lizzie's ear
And a boy's best friend is his mother!

Earlier, in 1930, the Oswald Rabbit cartoon ALASKA has a wonderful version of the song, too, sung by a deadpan Klondike bar entertainer who eats soda crackers as he sings. The "boy's best friend" line ends every verse in that version, and on the final round he sings "Mammy," Jolson-style, rather than "...mother."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Fathe
From: GUEST,Nrweastman
Date: 13 Oct 07 - 05:03 PM

Hi,
Here's the way my dad (born 1922) sang in in Texas Boy Scouts and what he taught my brother and me as our "bathtub song":

Oh, the horses run around, their feet're on the ground!
Oh, who will wind the clock while I'm away, away?
Go get the Listerine, sister wants a bowl,
Oh, a boy's best friend is his mother, his mother.

I'm a-lookin' through a knothole in father's wooden leg
Why do they build the shore so near the ocean, the ocean?
Go get the axe! There's a hair on baby's chin!
Oh, I wonder if Grandma's teeth will soon fit Jenny, fit Jenny.


My brother and I both sing it to our kids in the bathtub, too!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,Hootenanny
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 10:04 AM

Someone above mentions Steve Benbow, One verse which Steve sang was;

I fell from a window a second storey window
Caught my eyebrow on the windowsill
I'd rather have a chocolate flavoured ice
Amd a boy's best friend is his mother

His other verses were similar to or slight variations of those quoted above.


Hoot. From memories of the Ballds and Blues Club

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: Kent Davis
Date: 07 Oct 07 - 09:48 PM

Peepin' through the knothole on Grandpa's wooden leg,
Who'll wind the clock when we're away, away?
Go get the ax! There's a hair on baby's chest!
A boy's best friend is his mother.

I learned this in the late 1970s from my aunt, born in Lashmeet, Mercer County, West Virginia. She learned it as a young child, probably early 1950s.

Kent

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,Jo in South Carolina
Date: 07 Oct 07 - 08:52 PM

My mother used to sing this song and started it like this:

Oh, the only girl I knew had a face like a horse and buggy
Peepin down the fire 'scape oh fireman save my child
Oh, the fireman up the ladder went,
The child was bigger than the fireman,
Mother's teeth will soon fit
Hang out the ice to dry.

Oh, I fell out the window, the second story window
Caught my eyelash on the window sill
I feed my baby garlic so we can find him in the dark
Oh, a boy's best friend is his mother, his mother.

The horses run around, their feet are on the ground
Oh, why'd they put the shore so near the ocean, the ocean
A snake's belt slips because he hasn't any hips
Oh, his waistline comes just below his necktie, his necktie.

Oh, peepin through the knothole in father's wooden leg
An onion is a husky vegetable, a table
Go get the axe, there's a hair on baby's chin
Oh, who cut the sleeves from father's vest, his vest.

I know there were more verses, it seems it went on forever but I don't remember them all. One line was "Oh who will wind the clock while I'm away, away" but I don't remember the rest.

Thank you for the memory jogger.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 07 Feb 05 - 03:15 PM

"We feed the baby garlic so we can find him in the dark"

Love it!

Subject: Lyr Add: HORSES RUN AROUND
From: GUEST
Date: 06 Feb 05 - 05:56 PM

From the 1963 edition of Song Fest (from the Intercollegiate Outing Club Association ed.by Dick and Beth Best)

HORSES RUN AROUND

The horses run around, their feet are on the ground,
Oh, who will wind the clock while I'm away, away,
Go get the axe, there's a hair on baby's chest,
Oh, a boy's best friend is his mother, his mother.

While looking out the window, a second story window,
I slipped and sprained my eyebrow on the pavement, the pavement,
Go get the Listerine, sister has a beau,
Who cut the sleeves off father's vest, his vest.

A-peeking through the knothole, in grandpa's wooden leg,
Oh who has built the shore so near the ocean, the ocean,
Go get the alcohol, Willy wants a drink,
Grandma's false teeth will soon fit baby, fit baby.

While walking in the moolight, the bright and sunny moonlight,
She kissed me in the eye with a tomato, tomato,
We feed the baby garlic so we can find him in the dark,
An onion is a husky vegetable, a table.

She spanked him with a shingle, and and made his panties tingle,
Because he socked his little baby brother, his brother,
A snake's belt slips, because he has no hips,
And he wears his necktie round his middle, his middle.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 05 Feb 05 - 10:57 PM

Peeping through the knothole in Grandpa's wooden leg -
who will wind the clock when I am gone?
Go get the ax; there's a flea in Lizzie's ear.
For a boy's best friend is his mother.

Falling out the window, the second-storey window.
Why do they build the shore so near the ocean?
Who cut the sleeves out of dear old Daddy's vest
and dug up Fido's bones to build the sewer.

Here's a new verse I wrote myself. I disavow any copyright.

Look in both directions before you cross your t's.
Now we know why cats don't care for hot dogs.
Red means stop and green stands for jealous -
the policeman's not my friend,he's my uncle.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: Flash Company
Date: 05 Feb 05 - 12:38 PM

Steve Benbow had a version of this, recorded by Doug Dobell on 77 records (the label, not the number of discs!), does Steve's mate out there have any words?

FC

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: M.Ted
Date: 05 Feb 05 - 02:07 AM

I was looking through a knothole In fathers wooden leg
Why do they put the shore so near the ocean, the ocean
Go get the ax, there's a hair on baby's chin,
A boy's best friend is his mother

The horses run around with their feet upon the ground
Who'll wind the clock while I'm away, away,
A snake's belt slips, because they have no hips
I hope that grandma's teeth will soon fit Jenny!

I was looking through a window, a second story window
When I fell and sprained my eyebrow on the sidewalk, the sidewalk
What happens to your lap when you stand up
They dug up Billy's bones to make a sewer!


Learned from our dear departed Uncle Phil, who claimed to have sung it in a singing group of some sort at the University of Minnesota, circa 1915--We had questions in the family as to which lines belonged in which verse, as well as questions about what sort of singing group would have admitted Uncle Phil--

If I recollect, there is a version of it in "The American Songbag", and I may once have seen an actually Glee Club Songbook that contained the song, but it would have been about forty five years ago--when I was less interested than I am now--I never have had any idea what the name of the song is--

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: Lighter
Date: 04 Feb 05 - 09:26 PM

Peeping through the knothole in grandpa's wooden leg,
Why do they build the beach so near the ocean?
Go get the ax, there's a fly on lizzie's ear,
And a boy's best friend is his mother!


That's how Bugs Bunny sang it, anyway. There's another version in Best & Best "New Songfest."

Subject: Lyr Req: Peeping through the knothole in Father's
From: GUEST,Burt
Date: 04 Feb 05 - 08:44 PM

Does anyone know this song?

Peeping throug the knothole in Father's wooden leg
Who will wind the clock when I am gone?

(Chorus) He ran down the lane with his britches full of pain
A boys best friend is his Mother

She hit him with a shingle to make his britches tingle
All because he hit his baby brother, brother

(Chorus)