Date: Wed, 4 Sep 1996 13:04:45 -0400

From: Elizabeth Gibbens gibbens[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]NYTIMES.COM

Subject: Re: pop goes the weasel



Dear Duane,



It's "The monkey said it was all in fun/...."





At 11:02 AM 8/31/96 PDT, you wrote:

--- On Sat, 31 Aug 1996 09:28:41 -0400 "M. Lynne Murphy"

104LYN[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MUSE.ARTS.WITS.AC.ZA wrote:





can anyone fill in the 3rd line of the version of "pop goes the

weasel" that appears below (this is the one i learned as a kid):



all around the mulberry bush

the monkey chased the weasel

da-da da-da da dadada da

pop! goes the weasel.



also, i'd be interested to hear other versions of the song. the host

of the show has supplied this one:



half a pound of tuppenny rice

half a pound of treacle

that's the way the money goes (not enough syllables?)

pop goes the weasel



and if anyone knows what "pop goes the weasel" refers to, i'd be

happy to hear.



Reading the subsequent posts, there may be some scrambling of verses. But to

answer a couple of questions:



"That's the way the money goes" was part of my childhood version, with "money"

spaced out as muh-uh-nee. This fits in with the origins of the ditty. My

understanding is that it came from the hatters trade (though it may have been

cobblers). A weasel is one of the tools of the trade, and "pop" is slang for

pawning something. The "mulberry bush" may refer to a fondness for gin.





Duane Campbell

dcamp[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]epix.net



When I die and go to Hell, at least I can get my same ISP.





Elizabeth Gibbens

Research Assistant

Mr. William Safire, The New York Times