Pop! Goes the Weasel

A few nights ago, I lay awake in bed thinking about the lyrics to "Pop! Goes the Weasel". (Authors do not lead the lives of rock stars, know what I mean?) My son's been singing the North American version at preschool:

All around the mulberry bush

The monkey chased the weasel.

The monkey thought it was all in fun,

Pop! goes the weasel.

A penny for a spool of thread,

A penny for a needle,

That's the way the money goes.

Pop! goes the weasel.

But then I got thinking about the British version, which is the one my husband grew up singing:

Half a pound of tuppenny rice,

Half a pound of treacle.

That's the way the money goes,

Pop! goes the weasel.

Up and down the City Road,

In and out the Eagle,

That's the way the money goes,

Pop! goes the weasel.

If you're as history-obsessed as I am, you will found yourself looking for meaning even in traditional children's songs. The explanation I like best involves, coincidentally, the Victorian period. If you know that "pop" is a slang term for "to pawn" and that "weasel" is Cockney rhyming slang for "coat", then the lyrics suddenly make sense. This isn't just an odd little nursery rhyme featuring lively weasels; it's about grinding urban poverty. Go ahead, check it out!

This grittiness makes me like the song even more. How about you?