Hop Little Bunny

[undyingking]

A friend (WINOLJ) recently posted a video of one of her children singing a song called "Hop Little Bunny". (Note: this is not the song for very young children in which the bunnies are asleep, are they ill? and wake up.) It goes "Ho-op, ho-op, hop little bunny / Ho-op, ho-op, hop little bunny / Ho-op, ho-op, hop little bunny / Ear-lye in the morning."

Now when I was young we sang a different song to this same tune. But ours was not about little bunnies hopping: instead, it dealt with the very serious question of how best to discipline alcoholism in the serving ranks of Her Majesty's Navy. In successive verses, various punishments were suggested, each crueller and more unusual than the last. It certainly impressed me with a profound respect for the dedication (and ingenuity) of those who defend our freedom on the high seas. I'm not sure if today's generation will really gain the same lesson from the travails of the little bunny in the modern version. But maybe that's a good thing?

[Poll #1528940]

[Edit: I'm blethering on about the song called "What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor?"]

Comments

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

From the studio that brought you "baa baa pink sheep" and "four and twenty fat birds, baked in a pie". Kids gets a lot of that these days.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

That second one sounds a bit sizeist...

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

I shall complain to the school at once. Or at least as soon as I've come up with an alternative adjective that still scans!

[ar-gemlad.livejournal.com]

but...but... it's blackbirds! Not black birds.
How about blue tits? That scans just fine.

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

tits?

Do you even have to ask? ;-)

[ar-gemlad.livejournal.com]

You should be grateful that European shag has too many syllables.

[mrlloyd.livejournal.com]

Hmm. The Dutch version simply starts "Sheep, Sheep, have you white wool?"

and gets away with it because Schaapje and witte each have two syllables.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

That's still discriminating against black sheep. Where are they supposed to get white wool from? Are you calling them wool thieves?

[gbsteve.livejournal.com]

I suppose if it turns out that verses two and three are different recipes for rabbit then perhaps I might change my vote.

[chilledchimp.livejournal.com]

How can you eat fluffy bunnies? OK, I know, with gravy...

[gbsteve.livejournal.com]

Cut it in quarters
And serve it with gravy
Cut it in quarters
And serve it with gravy
Cut it in quarters
And serve it with gravy
Ear-lye in the morning

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Stick it in a pot
With a bottle of vino,
Stick it in a pot
With a bottle of vino,
Stick it in a pot
With a bottle of vino,
Ear-lye in the morning.

[secretrebel.livejournal.com]

I'd forgotten how excellent the original version of that song was.

[killalla]

I'm pleased by all the right thinking people here.

[brixtonbrood.livejournal.com]

Sleeping Bunnies (the other song you refer to) > both of them.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

It does have a certain je ne sais quoi.

[jackfirecat.livejournal.com]

Having suffered singing the Jack-tar version far too many times at primary school, I cannot possibly rate it as 'better' than anything.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Ah, hasn't temporal distance yet lent a rosy glow of nostalgia?

[cuthbertcross.livejournal.com]

That's terrible! Children love songs about gore, viciousness and cautionary tales.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

That one seems to be mostly cautioning against joining the navy if you know what's good for you. Which is maybe sensible advice, but I can't help wondering if it contributed to the decline of British sea power.

[(Anonymous)]

I have heard that "Drunken Sailor" is a euphemism for an inability to remain upstanding. Brewers droop as it were. Hence, "Hooray and up she rises!" I can't vouch for the veracity of that, but I can see how it would work.

Incidentally, with the other Sleeping Bunnies song, I have a tendency to replace the line "Shall I go and wake them with a merry tune?" with "Shall I go and wake them with a sharpened spoon?" I think I have Neil Gaiman to thank for that, and the description of how "Mr.E" lost his eyesight in "The Books of Magic" series a few years back.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Ah, that's an interesting explanation, and as you say it would work.

I am guessing you are mr_malk, do I win a prize?

[mr-malk.livejournal.com]

Very good! I was just about to post an apology for inadvertently posting incognito, but I see that there was no real need. What gave it away?

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I'm not really sure -- nothing I could put my finger on, just an overall sort of mr_malkness about the whole thing...

(Maybe I should have an "Anonymous Comments Identification Challenge" day. Although I suppose if people were doing it deliberately, they'd be likely to write slightly differently than if they just did it without realizing.)

[onebyone.livejournal.com]

Leaving out "ream him up the arse with an eight-foot ramrod" is already political correctness gone mad. Might not have been in the original lyrics, mind, but that's military types for you.