The Mack Attack

And  just where did they derive from, these elusive clapping game ditties that have been passed down one hand at a time through the past umpteen generations? Now there have been many thematic variations and disparate cultures from east and west of the Mason-Dixon line and all the way to Zanzibar, that have participated in this pass-time phenom, it was no surprise that recently my ears were privy to some demonstrative 9-year-olds clapping and chirping away (yes can you believe it - children were out on the streets in February of 2015?) {Honest injun they were.}And these two that were clapping up a veritable storm were playing my song,well the earliest one I can remember - the first song that found it's way into my head, repeatedly with  gusto , perhaps an early indicator of musical ear syndrome or an auditory hallucination, I will let thee be the judge, you see it's difficult to refute that Miss Mary Mack had one seriously coveted hook and once again how pleasing  to discover that its novelty didn't take a one way trip to 86ville. 

There have been many a theory as to the origins of Miss Mary Mack and other such songsakes, My instinct assures me that it was inspired by the USS Merrimack; that lovely little ironclad warship that shimmied itself in the Civil War waters. Now there is no small coinkedenk that the Merrimack's sponsor was named Miss Mary E. Simmons and this crafty craft just happened to be clad in black with a flash of silver. And this was no minor vessel, it presented itself in the most significant naval battle that America's Civil War ever endured - the Battle of Hampton Roads.

The USS Merrimack,Merrimack,Merrimack

Unless I could be completely off the mark and that Mack woman was just another clueless filly in dire need of some fashion advice

Now sing along :

Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack

All dressed in black, black, black

With silver buttons, buttons, buttons [butt'ns]

All down her back, back, back.

She asked her mother, mother, mother

for fifty cents, cents, cents

To see the elephants, elephants, elephants (or hippos)

Jump the fence, fence, fence.

They jumped so high, high, high

they reached the sky, sky, sky

And didn't come back, back, back

Till the Fourth of July, ly ly

(July can't walk, walk, walk

July can't talk, talk, talk

July can't eat, eat, eat

With a knife and fork, fork, fork).

She asked her mother, mother, mother

For 5 cents more, more, more

To see the elephants, elephants, elephants

Jump over the door, door, door.

They jumped so low, low, low

They stubbed their toe, toe, toe

And that was the end, end, end,

Of the elephant show, show, show!