'The Tikki-Tape Tree'

a fruit-picker's lullaby..?

skippin' an' a runnin'
skippin' an' a runnin'
skippin' an' a skippin'
an' a skippin' an' a runnin'

 

come a wid me to de tikki-tape tree
take a you down dat tikki-tape tree
der's goodies der done, fo' you and for me
we goin' down dat tikki-tape tree
you an' a me-
dat tikki-tape tree goin' set us free

 

skippin' an' a runnin'
skippin' an' a runnin'
skippin' an' a skippin'
an' a skippin' an' a runnin'

 

come a wid me to de tikki-tape tree
goin' go down dat tikki-tape tree
der's goodies der done, fo' you and for me
gonna shake dat tree, fo' you and for me
you an' a me-
dat tikki-tape tree goin' get us free

skippin' an' a runnin'
skippin' an' a runnin'
skippin' an' a skippin'
an' a skippin' an' a runnin'

 

 

Author's Note

There was a roll of cellotape here...
I don't know, I got to thinking about rubber plantations then tea pickers with babies in slings...
I don't know - crazy..? Pidgin English..? maybe
makes one wonder where these things come from ...
I began to form an image of impoverished workers seeing a better life ...
and that wondered expression of small children when parents talk nonsense?
As a tot my father used to say to me:
`How many beans make five?'
He'd pause, to let the question sink in, before adding quickly:
'A two and a one and another one and two halves.'
Took me years to figure it out ...

Reviews

[Solst Rapture]

Ah ha, a lovely fun and lively rhyme.

[Emily B]

Let's shake that tree. See what falls out. . .

The words let loose from your case are a wondrous thing.