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This will tell you more than you probably want to know about Pop! Goes the Weasel!

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/...he-weasel-mean

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I have always known the song to refer to drink and pawn/poverty.

Pop-to pawn, weasel-a corruption of `whistle`. Whistle and Flute=suit in rhyming slang.

And the monkey is the addiction to booze=trying to get the monkey of one`s back

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Thank you for that Dandysmom, so it's a townie thing after all, pawning one's coat (God be with the days) or tailors spinning, I can do a bit of spinning myself after a few pints.
'
Jimmy crack corn and I don't care The masters gone away'.
Was that a Negro slave song?.
I think it was sung by Burl Ives not Jimmy Rogers or Roy Rogers.

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Was that a Negro slave song?.

Lordy me -yes it was. We nigger slaves had it rough you know.

Families in the UK built empires on the slave trade,some Americans got rich the same way-and in Africa they are still killing each other.

When will we ever learn?

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They all probably sang it, Jemflux; I know Burl Ives did as I have it on a CD.

May I name-drop? I ate in the same restaurant as Burl Ives once! We were on vacation and having dinner at a seaside restaurant; a yacht pulled up and moored and here came Mr, Ives cum entourage to dine! My one and only brush with celebrity...

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My Mother always had the radio on when I was a lad and I loved his funny songs, Barney the bashful bullfrog, ugly bugs ball etc.
I thought he was magnificent as 'Big Daddy' in Cat on a hot tin roof. Your lucky, I never seen a celebrity off stage or screen.

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Ooohh what a blast from the past - Burl Ives - I have an LP of his somewhere around. I loved his mellow, deep voice - a lovely big, gentle, cuddly man - the children loved him. Anyone remember "I know an old man who swallowed a fly".

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I did pass Bill Cosby on the street once on my way to lunch ... did a double-take, but it was indeed him. He was in town for something. Don't think that really counts, though.

You'd think that living in Washington you'd see celebrities, but you don't ... at lest not us common folks!

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I love Burl Ives music, but "big" is putting it mildly .... FAT! But it's not PC to say that, I suspect.....

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Remember that one Aerolor-I know an old man who swallowed a fly, I don't know why he swallowed a fly, perhaps he'll die! Lot more to it than that, but I'll have to dig deep into my memory box for the rest of it!