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Sunday, July 25, 2010

The Lady With The Big Fat Purse

Did you ever have one of those moments when something from your dim past surfaced and you could remember some of it but not the whole thing?
I had one of those moments this week and it's driving me crazy trying to remember the rest of it. Maybe somebody can help me out. We used to say these lines:
"In came the doctor, in came the nurse, in came the lady with the big fat purse.
I don't want the doctor, I don't want the nurse, I don't want the lady with the big fat purse.
So out went the doctor, out went the nurse, out went the lady with the big fat purse."
When did we say these lines? Is it a rhyme we used when we were jumping rope? If so, how was it done? What was the rest of it? What does the lady with the big fat purse have to do with the doctor and nurse?

3 comments:

Gray Lane said...

I did some searching online. It seems to be a jump rope rhyme. I found two different versions of it, but neither has the part "I don't want..."

I had a little brother.
His name was Tiny Tim.
I put him in the bathtub
To teach him how to swim.

He drank up all the water.
He ate up all the soap.
He tried to eat the bathtub,
But it wouldn't go down his throat.

My mother called the doctor.
The doctor called his nurse.
The nurse called the lady
With the alligator purse.

"Mumps," said the doctor.
"Mumps," said the nurse.
"Mumps," said the lady
With the alligator purse.

Out went the doctor.
Out went the nurse.
Out went the lady
With the alligator purse.


Source: Solomon (1980)
I had a little duckling (* Jumper1 starts *)
Named Tiny Tim.
Put him in the bathtub.
Teach him how to swim.

Swallowed a bubble.
Called the doctor.
Called the nurse.
Called the lady
With the big fat purse.

In came the doctor. (* Jumper2 enters *)
In came the nurse. (* Jumper3 enters *)
In came the lady (* Jumper4 enters *)
With the big fat purse.

Out went the doctor. (* Jumper2 exits *)
Out went the nurse. (* Jumper3 exits *)
Out went the lady (* Jumper4 exits *)
With the big fat purse.


Source: Cochran (1976)
Source: Knapp (1976), Solomon (1980)
Source: Hastings (1990), Abrahams (1969)

Scribbler said...

Thanks for the memory jog. Some of that is familiar but either my memory is flaky or we had our own version. Neither is exactly as I remember.

Anonymous said...

Oh we used to say that one too, parts of it at least. In came the doctor, In came......and three successive people jumped in and then out again as we said, "out went.......

Mary H