Monday, April 8, 2013

Lullabies, of the gristle-y kind.

Last night, as I sat on the couch with Donovan cuddling up under one arm and Gemma under the other (Ainsleigh was finishing her dinner), I began singing a song my Aunt Nancy taught me a long time ago:
My father killed a kangaroo,
Gave me the gristle-y part to chew.
Wasn't that a terrible thing to do,
To give me to chew the gristle-y part of a kangaroo.

Midway through the song, Donovan (who must not have recalled me singing this tender lullaby to him in the past), began asking, "Mom? What are you singing?" and "Mom! What IS this song?!" By the time I concluded, he had peeled himself away in a fit of giggles, and was now pounding the ottoman with his fist, eyes squeezed tight shut against the hysterical laughter that shook his body.

I shrugged. "It's a song Aunt Nancy learned when she was young - second grade or something. I'm not sure why they taught that kind of song. It's horrible sounding, but also hilarious."

Ainsleigh wanted to know if there were more verses. Thank you, Mistress Google, for procuring the answer. Verses two and three:
My father killed a parakeet,
Gave me the teeniest feet to eat.
Wasn't that a terrible feat to beat,
To give me to eat the teeniest feet of a parakeet.

My father killed a grizzly bear,
Gave me the hairiest part to wear.
Wasn't that a terrible fare to bear,
To give me to wear the hairiest part of a grizzly bear.
So there you go, family members. All others, unfortunate enough to not be raised with such culture, I couldn't quite tell you what the tune is, but if you come over or call me, I'll be happy to sing it for you. But only if Donovan is in the room because the way he laughs with his whole body is one of the top five things I love most about this kid.

2 comments:

NancyO said...

Thanks for reviving the memory and the additional verses. What a treat! The melody is from an opera - the "Soldiers' Chorus" from "Faust" by Charles Guonod. You can sing along in the beginning herehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW-6HMenF74

Kellie Knapp said...

My grandma used to sing this song that went " My Oh, My Oh, Baby! Mommy's going crazy! Daddy is a pooper-nickel, my oh, my oh baby"....at least yours makes sense...mine's just freaky confusing and weird.