Eeny, meeny, miny, mo
Sit the baby on the po-
When it's done, wipe its bum,
Send it off' to Kingdom Come.
And another from Williams Lake, B.C.:
Eeny, meeny, miny, mo
Working for the rodeo,
If you win, make them pay,
Fifty dollars every day.
Which is close to a Kentucky variant:
Eeny, meeny, miny, mo
Catch a nigger by the toe,
If he hollars, make him pay
Fifty dollars everg day.
Another very popular song series is that of
"One, two three Olary", used for ball games. From southern England comes
One, two, three Olary
Four, five, six Olary,
Seven, eight, nine Olary,
Ten Olary boys.
This Wigan, Lancashire, variant was brought to Canada in
1878:
One, two, three Olair
Beance tha baw
Inth th' air
Toutch th' greand
Iv tha dar
An clap tha 'ands behind tha.
One, two, three 0lair
Bounce your ball
Into the air
Touch the ground
If you dare
And clap your hands behind you.
And finally, an Irish variant:
One, two, three O'Leary
Hy da's got a fat canary (da = dad)
It can talk and it can sing
It can do most anything.