7.15.2003: Dairy Posture
In the course of conversation today, I quoted the phrase "The cheese stands alone!" Yes, I'm feeling OK, I'm just prone to saying odd things that may or may not be relevant.
My immediate concern was "What bit of my subconscious did the line bubble up from?" I was certain I had not authored it on the spot but couldn't recal where I'd learned it.
A quick internet search of the phrase revealed that it is the title of a children's play, a video, as well as a favourite non sequitur of more aged children. In truth I don't reccomend the search. But a reference on one page to 'the farmer in the dell' sparked a synapse, and a new search on that led me to the lyrics.
The Farmer in the Dell
(condensed version)
The farmer in the dell
The farmer in the dell
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The farmer in the dell
The farmer takes a wife, ...
The wife takes a child, ...
The child takes a nurse, ...
The nurse takes a cow, ...
The cow takes a dog, ...
The dog takes a cat, ...
The cat takes a rat, ...
The rat takes the cheese, ...
The cheese stands alone, ...
I have no clear memory of ever knowing the complete lyrics to this song as a child, but apparently I did since I dredged up a memory of the very last verse.
The original problem was solved, but one thought had led to another, namely the revision of children's lyrics. I've never been a big fan of this idea, preferring to leave well enough alone. Sure, some of them are really violent, and we were all a little grossed out to learn that 'London Bridge' contained several references to the Black Plague; but hey, that's part of growing up.
The farmer in the dell, on the other hand, needs revision on two counts: it's too long (not that children ever care about that), and some of the ideas therein must make no sense to the children of today.
The main problem is with the nurse verse. The concept of 'nanny' is foreign to most children today, and if they know the word 'nurse', they know of the hospital variety, not the victorian concept of the in-home child care provider. And what would a hospital nurse do with a cow? Furthermore, why is the cow after the dog? That's a pretty weak link in any era...
So I propose eliminating the fourth and fifth verse and having the 'child take the dog' as children are much more likely to keep pets than cows. However, I suspect that like the cheese, I stand alone in this.
You are worried about seeing him spend his early years in doing nothing. What! Is it nothing to be happy? Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long? Never in his life will he be so busy again. -- Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile, 1762
