Sing out loud

The title of my last entry got me thinking about a song that I sung as a child.

Bits of paper, bits of paper

Lying on the floor, lying on the floor

Makes the room untidy, makes the room untidy

Pick them up, pick them up

It was a fun way to get us to clean up the room. I'm not sure where I learnt it, it might have been at Brownies, or it might have been from my older cousins who used to look after my sister and I. I think the latter because whenever I think of the song I am immediately transported back to our bedroom in my grandmother's house in The Lane.

We sang alot as kids, and played lots of ring and clapping games. Of course the ever popular Brown Girl comes to mind.

There's a brown girl in the ring, tra, la la la la
There's a brown girl in the ring, traaaa, la, la, la, la
A brown girl in the ring, tra, la la la la
She looks like a sugar and a plum, plum, plum!

Girl show me your motion, tra la la la la
Girl show me your motion, traaa la la la la
Show me your motion, tra la la la la
She looks like a sugar, and a plum, plum, plum!

For the second verse you had to do a little dance. These usually started out quite innocent but quickly became a bit wild. lol I'm not even sure that the last line I wrote is correct, but that's how I remember singing it.

There's probably another meaning behind this song, like so many others, the way Ring around the Rosies was really a song about people dying from an epidemic. I'll have to do a search online to see. I'll also try to see if I can remember any more of the songs and games I loved as a child. Maybe I can make a Sing-Along album as a gift for a friend. Or just as a way for me to remember those days.

(P.S. I am still sick and home bound)

Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreicate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as this is all there is. Mary Anne Radmacher