- published: 22 Feb 2013
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"Pop! Goes the Weasel" is a nursery rhyme and singing game. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 5249.
There are many different versions of the lyrics to the song. In England, most share the basic verse:
Often a second verse is added:
The song is mentioned in November, 1855 in England in the Thirtieth Annual Report Of The National Society For Promoting The Education Of The Poor, including alternative, more wholesome lyrics. A music sheet acquired by the British Library in 1853 described a dance, 'Pop! Goes the Weasel', which was, according to the music sheet, 'An Old English Dance, as performed at Her Majesty's & The Nobilities Balls, with the Original Music'. It had a tune very similar to that used today and only the words "Pop! Goes the Weasel". There is evidence that several people tried to add lyrics to the popular tune. The following verse had been written by 1856 when it was quoted in a performance at the Theatre Royal:
The song seems to have crossed the Atlantic in the 1850s where US newspapers soon afterwards call it "the latest English dance", and the phrase "Pop! goes the weasel" soon took hold. The remaining lyrics were still unstable in Britain, and as a result some of the US lyrics are significantly different and may have an entirely different source, but use the same tune. The following lyrics were printed in Boston in 1858:
Goes ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands in Zuid-Beveland, in the province Zeeland. The city of Goes has approximately 27,000 residents.
Goes was founded in the 10th century on the edge of a river: de Korte Gos (the Short Gos). The village grew fast and in the early 12th century it had a market square and a church devoted to Maria. In 1405 Goes received city rights, and in 1417 it was allowed to build walls around the city. The prosperity of the city was based upon the cloth industry and the production of salt. In the 16th century Goes declined. Its connection to the sea got bogged down and in 1544 a large fire destroyed a part of the city.
In 1577 the Spanish soldiers who occupied Goes were driven out by Prince Maurits of Nassau. The prince built a defence wall around Goes, which is still partly present. In the centuries thereafter Goes did not play an important role, except as an agricultural centre. In 1868 a railway was constructed through it, but this did not lead to industrialisation. Agriculture remains the most important economic activity.
Pop Goes the Weasel
'Round and 'round the cobbler's bench
The monkey chased the weasel,
The monkey thought 'twas all in fun
Pop! Goes the weasel.
A penny for a spool of thread
A penny for a needle,
That's the way the money goes,
Pop! Goes the weasel.
A half a pound of tupenny rice,
A half a pound of treacle.
Mix it up and make it nice,
Pop! Goes the weasel.
Up and down the London road,
In and out of the Eagle,
That's the way the money goes,
Pop! Goes the weasel.
I've no time to plead and pine,
I've no time to wheedle,
Kiss me quick and then I'm gone
Pop! Goes the weasel.