The One With the Waggly Tail

THE

ONE

WITH

THE

WAGGLY TAIL FAVOURITE RHYMES FROM AN IRISH CHILDHOOD

Sarah Webb and Steve McCarthy

First published 2020 by The O’Brien Press Ltd. 12 Terenure Road East, Rathgar, Dublin 6, D06 HD27, Ireland.

Tel: +353 1 4923333; Fax: +353 1 4922777 E-mail: books@obrien.ie; Website: www.obrien.ie The O’Brien Press is a member of Publishing Ireland.

ISBN 978-1-78849-151-8 Copyright for this collection © Sarah Webb Copyright for illustrations © Steve McCarthy Copyright for layout, editing, design © The O’Brien Press Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilised in any way or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

The author and publisher understand that many of these verses are in the public domain. However, if any infringement has occurred we ask the holder of such copyright to contact the publisher. We wish to credit the following: Warner/Chappell Music Ltd for permission to reproduce ‘How Much is That Doggie in the Window’ by Bob Merrill; Peer Music for permission to reproduce ‘You are my sunshine’ by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell; Spike Milligan Productions for permission to reproduce ‘Today I Saw a Little Worm’ by Spike Milligan; ‘Four Jolly Giants’ and ‘Claire’ by Ashlinn and Larry O’Loughlin are used by permission of the authors; ‘Cats’ by Eleanor Farjeon is used by permission of David Higham Agency; ‘Spiders’ by Pippa Sweeney is used by permission of the author; ‘Brother’ by Mary Ann Hoberman is used by permission of Gina Maccoby Literary Agency Copyright © 1959 by Mary Ann Hoberman; lines from ‘What a View’ by John Montague from New Collected Poems (2012) by kind permission of The Gallery Press and the Estate of John Montague; ‘Clap Hands’ by Lucinda Jacob is used by permission of the author.

987654321 24 23 22 21 20 Printed and bound in Poland by Białostockie Zakłady Graficzne S.A. This book is produced using pulp from managed forests.

Dedication This book is dedicated to my own legends, Sam, Amy-Rose and Jago; my nieces Lucy and Rosie and my cousins Genevieve and Eloise. And also to all the readers of Sally and Sailor who asked for another book – this one’s for you!

Acknowledgements I would like to thank my parents, Melissa and Michael, who spent so many hours reading to me as a child; Steve McCarthy for his imagination and talent – his illustrations make this collection sing; my agent, Philippa Milnes-Smith, for her wise council; Eavan Boland for the extract from ‘Legends’; all the poets who contributed poems to this collection for their help and support, especially Lucinda Jacob and Larry O’Loughlin; and Nicola Reddy, Emer Ryan, Emma Byrne and all the team at The O’Brien Press for making this book so much fun to work on. (Sarah Webb) Thank you Poppy, Millie, Damo, Julo, Tinker, Elsie, Riley, Dipper and Noodle; you are all very good boys and girls! (Steve McCarthy) Published in:

c o ntents

Introduction 4

Betty Botter 36

How Much is That Doggie in the Window? 5

Brother 37

Daisy Bell 6

Like This, Like That

38

You Are My Sunshine

7

See you later, alligator

38

Little Red Caboose

8

Way Down South

39

The Runaway Train

9

Curious fly

39

Paddy on the Railway

9

The Wild Swans at Coole

40

Today I Saw a Little Worm

10

Swan swam over the sea

40

Ooey Gooey

10

What a View

41

The Worms Crawl In

11

Do fish ever get seasick?

41

Four Jolly Giants

12

A Swing Song

42

Lakes are big

12

Tree House 43

The Little Elf

13

Trees 43

The Pirate Song

14

Lámh, Lámh Eile

44

B-I-N-G-O

16

See-Saw, Margery Daw

45

Oh Where, Oh Where?

17

See-Saw, Jimmy Brown

45

His Highness’ dog at Kew

17

This Old Man

46

Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat

18

Bobby Shaftoe 48

Cats 19

Hey, ho, skippety toe

48

Great A, little a

19

I Saw a Ship A-Sailing

48

It’s a Long Way to Tipperary

20

Miss Polly 50

Danny Boy

21

An apple a day

50

Yankee Doodle went to town

21

Polly Put the Kettle on

51

I Had a Little Nut Tree

22

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

52

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

22

See a pin and pick it up

52

Little Bo-Peep

23

Hokey Cokey 53

Lavender’s blue, dilly dilly

23

Claire 54

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Once I Caught a Fish Alive

24

Daddy’s in the milk jug

There Was a Little Man

25

Johneen 55

Ten fat sausages

25

One Potato 56

Dem Bones 26

Pat-A-Cake 56

Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush

28

Clap Hands 57

Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter

29

Hot-cross buns! 57

54

Winter’s thunder 29

There Was a Crooked Man

58

Spiders 30

I’m rubber, you’re glue

58

If you wish to live and thrive

30

Tin Can Dan 59

The Spider and the Fly

31

Ten in a Bed

60

Rain 32

Moses supposes 60

Rain on the rooftops

32

Night, Night 61

The Grand Old Duke of York

33

Connemara Cradle Song

62

Mammy Caught a Flea

34

Goodnight, sleep tight

62

Tarzan of the Apes

34

The Ballad of Downal Baun

63

Happy Birthday 35

A Cradle Song

64

Introduction Rhymes and songs are part of every family’s history. They help create the story of who we are and where we are from. Hearing nursery rhymes and songs as adults can take us straight back to our own childhoods. Perhaps our parents or grandparents sang ‘Danny Boy’ to lull us to sleep, or popped us on their lap and marched us up and down to ‘The Grand Old Duke of York’.

Reading to a child is one of the greatest gifts you can give them – they may not remember the words, but they will remember how it made them feel, snuggled up against you, sharing something precious and magical.

Perhaps the child on your knee will go on to share some of these rhymes with other children in the future, passing on the magic to the next generation. I would like to pay tribute to Steve McCarthy, who has an extraordinary gift – his illustrations make the rhymes in this collection come alive.

I wish you all happy rhyming!

Sarah Webb Legends (for Eavan Frances) (extract) Eavan Boland Our children are our legends.

You are mine. You have my name.

My hair was once like yours.

And the world is less bitter to me because you will re-tell the story.

Before she died, Eavan kindly gave us permission to reproduce the lines from ‘Legends’ in this collection.

One of Ireland’s greatest poets, she will never be forgotten.

4

How Much is That Doggie in the Window?

Bob Merrill How much is that doggie in the window?

The one with the waggly tail.

How much is that doggie in the window?

I do hope that doggie’s for sale.

5

Daisy Bell Harry Dacre Daisy, Daisy, Give me your answer, do!

I’m half crazy, All for the love of you!

It won’t be a stylish marriage, I can’t afford a carriage, But you’ll look sweet upon the seat Of a bicycle built for two!

6

You Are My Sunshine Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell You are my sunshine, My only sunshine.

You make me happy When skies are gray.

You’ll never know, dear, How much I love you.

Please don’t take my sunshine away.

7

Little Red Caboose Little red caboose, chug, chug, chug!

Little red caboose, chug, chug, chug!

Little red caboose behind the train, train, train, train.

Smokestack’s on his back, back, back, back, Comin’ around the track, track, track, track, Little red caboose behind the train.

Woooooo! Woooooo!

8

The Runaway Train Vernon Dalhart The runaway train came down the track and she blew, she blew, The runaway train came down the track and she blew, she blew, The runaway train came down the track Her whistle wide and her throttle back And she blew, blew, blew, blew, blew!

Paddy on the Railway Paddy on the railway picking up stones, Along came an engine and broke Paddy’s bones.

‘Oh!’ said Paddy. ‘That’s not fair.’

‘Oh!’ said the engine driver. ‘I don’t care.’

9