Rubber Dolly

My mother told me, 
If I was goodie,
That she would buy me 
A rubber dollie.

My auntie told her 
I kissed a soldier,
Now she won't buy me 
A rubber dollie.


The "Rubber Dolly" title appears in a list of traditional Ozarks Mountains fiddle tunes published in 1954. According to Simon Bronner, "Rubber Dolly" was first collected as a Anglo-American children's game with words or variants which may have derived from a music-hall song of the 1890's. By the 1950's they were ensconced in British children's jump-rope play as "My Mummy Told Me."  In the 1960’s, Shirley Ellis included it in "The Clapping Song", which became a hit for her and several other artists.  With it having gone in so many directions, there are several variations on both the lyrics and the tune, such as the one recorded by Woody Guthrie.