I'll Tell Ma
I’ll tell Ma when I get home / That the boys won’t leave me alone…
I’ll tell Ma when I get home
That the boys won’t leave me alone.
They pull my hair and break my comb,
I’ll tell Ma when I get home.
Where this rhyme comes from
- Printed
- 1916
- Where
- London
We have copied these words exactly as they were printed in 1916, spelling and all. It is one of the London girls' chants Douglas lists alongside their skipping, clapping and ring games.
Still sung today, especially in Belfast ("I'll tell me ma").
Source: Norman Douglas, London Street Games (London: The St. Catherine Press, 1916) (public domain).
More rhymes like this
ChantsPrinted 1916Pounds, Shillings and PencePounds, shillings and pence,
The monkey jumped over the fence…ChantsPrinted 1916Piggy on the RailwayPiggy on the railway, picking up the stones,
Up came an engine and broke Piggy’s bones…ChantsPrinted 1916Sally Go Round the MoonSally go round the moon, Sally,
Sally go round the sun…ChantsPrinted 1916Lay the Cloth, Knife and ForkLay the cloth, knife and fork,
Bring me up a leg of pork…ChantsPrinted 1916Dancing DollyDancing Dolly had no sense,
She bought a fiddle for eighteen pence…ChantsPrinted 1916I Had a Dolly Dressed in GreenI had a dolly dressed in green,
I didn’t like her--I gave her to the Queen…
The monkey jumped over the fence…ChantsPrinted 1916Piggy on the RailwayPiggy on the railway, picking up the stones,
Up came an engine and broke Piggy’s bones…ChantsPrinted 1916Sally Go Round the MoonSally go round the moon, Sally,
Sally go round the sun…ChantsPrinted 1916Lay the Cloth, Knife and ForkLay the cloth, knife and fork,
Bring me up a leg of pork…ChantsPrinted 1916Dancing DollyDancing Dolly had no sense,
She bought a fiddle for eighteen pence…ChantsPrinted 1916I Had a Dolly Dressed in GreenI had a dolly dressed in green,
I didn’t like her--I gave her to the Queen…
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