Note: This song is an ancient and extraordinarily widespread rhyme. Scholars have argued over its origin for a long time. One theory traces the 'nonsense' syllables of these rhymes to a method of counting in ancient Celtic languages, persisting in remote areas of the British Isles. Another suggestion is that some of the words are a street-child parody of Latin, as spoken by the educated classes during the Middle Ages. This may explain the presence of the Virgin Mary in a child's rhyme. It should be noted that The Virgin Mary's presence in a secular song troubled Mrs. Jones. --Step It Down Setting: Alan Lomax's apartment, 3rd Street
About the session: The tenth of 21 recording sessions with Bessie Jones.
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