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Clap hands, daddy come home ....

(52 Posts)
NonnaW Sat 13-Feb-16 16:07:51

Whilst clapping hands to amuse DGS today, I was reminded of the old rhyme we used to sing to my lads when they were babies. I got as far as:

Clap hands, daddy come home
Bring baby a cake and a bun

Can't remember what comes next. Can anyone help?

annodomini Sat 13-Feb-16 16:27:21

My Scots granny had this version:

Clap clap handies
Daddy's coming hame
Daddy's got siller
And Mammy's got nane.

(ie. Daddy has money and Mammy has none)

Grannyknot Sat 13-Feb-16 16:38:40

I used to sing to my children:

Clap handies, clap handies 'til Daddy comes home,
Daddy brings sweeties for [insert baby's name] alone!

Synonymous Sat 13-Feb-16 16:40:28

Yes we used to sing this and clap up to the last word when hands were flung up in the air to show there was no silver in them. All the little ones loved this and it caused great anticipation of daddy coming home. Happy memories! smile

Jayh Sat 13-Feb-16 16:41:13

Clappie, clappie handies
Daddy's comin' hame
Pennies in his pocket
For his ain wee wean ( or child's name )

Variations on a theme. This is the version I know.

Cherrytree59 Sat 13-Feb-16 17:19:25

I don't know that little rhyme will try it out with my little GC
Does any GNetters remember the scottish song
Ally bally
Ally bally be
Sitting on your granny's knee
Crying for a wee baubee
To buy some Coulter candy

grannyqueenie Sat 13-Feb-16 18:04:35

Happy memories of doing that one with all my children grandchildren Cherry although from my own childhood it's Jayh' s version I remember - but with the addition of another line "if she's a good girl she'll get pennies, if she's a bad girl she'll get none" hmm, I'm not sure unconditional love was a big thing in 1950's Glasgow !

TriciaF Sat 13-Feb-16 21:30:42

The version I remember is
Clap hands for Daddy's coming
Down the wagon way.
A pocketful of money
And a wagonload of hay.

Nana3 Sat 13-Feb-16 21:49:18

My Mum and my auntie sang this to us;

Clap hands for Daddy to come
To bring our (name of child) a cake and a bun
Toffees to chew a nut to crack
A little bow wow and a pussycat

Indinana Sat 13-Feb-16 21:57:04

Our version was:

Clap your hands till Daddy comes home
Daddy will bring you a cakey home

And then for some reason, we would put our hands over our eyes and play peep-bo. What we said, though, wasn't peep-bo, but pop-eyes. Clearly a very odd family hmm

Iam64 Sat 13-Feb-16 21:58:53

Clap hands daddy comes
With a pocket full of plums
All for xxx (name of little one)

We sing this, alternating mummy/daddy to our baby grandson, it was sung to me, my sisters and cousins and we sang it to our children who now sing to theirs

lynnie1 Sat 13-Feb-16 22:06:20

I remember that Cherry, but it was 'greetin' for a wee baubee ;)

Katek Sat 13-Feb-16 22:32:40

The clapping song I know is;

'Clap-a clap-a handies
Mummy's at the well
Daddy's gone to market
To buy baby a bell'

'Coulter's Candy' is still a well known song - I know further verses if anyone wants them

hildajenniJ Sat 13-Feb-16 23:07:46

We sang,
Clap hands Daddy comes
With his pockets full of plums
Coming down the Wagon way
With a Wagon load of hay

What a lot of slightly different versions there seem to be.

janeainsworth Sun 14-Feb-16 07:49:28

Clap hands
Daddy comes
With his pockets full of plums
All for little [baby's name]

DGCs favourite though is 'Ladies go nimble'. GC is bounced on your knee as if riding a horse, with increasing vigour and speed until the last line when he/she falls right through a gap which suddenly appears between your knees (you don't let go obviously)

Ladies go nimble, nimble
Gentlemen trot trot trot trot
But the farmer's horse goes galloping galloping galloping
Galloping DOWN into the ditch!

This always produces hilarity and repeated requests for more.

Gagagran Sun 14-Feb-16 08:18:26

We have a version of that Jane - slightly different but equally mirth inducing and ensuring endless requests for "more, more" :

Child sits on your knee, facing you :

This is the way the ladies ride - trot, trot, trot (gentle jigging up and down)

This is the way the gentlemen ride - trot, trot, trot (vigorous jigging)

And this is the way the farmers ride - gallop, gallop, gallop
And DOWN into the ditch (bending child down over your legs, backwards)

grannyqueenie Sun 14-Feb-16 08:42:19

Ours loved that version gagagran, and also this one which starts with tickling in the palm of the child's hand
Roundabout, roundabout went a wee mousie
Up a bit, up a bit (moving up their arm slowly, then very quickly)
In his wee housie ( uproarious tickling under their arm)
They loved it!

Gagagran Sun 14-Feb-16 09:25:38

Another similar one grannyQ :

Slowly going round the palm of their little hand with one finger -

Round and round the garden
Like a teddy bear
One step, two step (moving up the arm)
And tickle him/her under there

Also- another on the palm of the hand:

There was a little man
And he lived just there
And if anybody touched him
He ran right up there

I wonder how old these little childhood rhymes are, having been passed down from generation to generation? It would be good to think that they will endure for future little ones but I fear that may not with all the modern technology there is - i-pads for babies now etc.

Maggiemaybe Sun 14-Feb-16 09:41:36

Oh, my little ones have loved the ladies riding, Jane and Gagagran - trip, trip, trot, trot and gallop a-gallop in our version. But I hadn't heard about the ditch calamity - I'm going to add that in for DGS3 today smile

NonnaW Sun 14-Feb-16 09:51:44

Amazing how many different versions there are. We too used to do a bouncing song but I can't remember the words (senior moment) but it had the same actions, sliding through the knees.

TwiceAsNice Sun 14-Feb-16 09:56:37

Clap hand clap hands till Daddy comes home
Daddy's got money and Mammys got none.
That's the version I remember and I used to speed up the clapping at the end and say the last words louder and DGD would laugh and laugh and say "again" so we'd do it lots of times.
My first career was as a nursery nurse before I retrained as a therapist in my forties and I taught the grandchildren all the singing rhymes I taught the nursery children, they learnt loads and loved learning them. It's great to keep the old songs/ action/ nursery rhymes going

Judthepud2 Sun 14-Feb-16 10:46:50

I used a version of the above rhymes with my DCs. But with DGS1 and 2 I had to change the clap hands one from 'Daddy has money and Mummy has none' to 'Grandad has money and Granny has none'. Then aborted it! Both Daddies had gone, and neither produced a penny of financial support. Singing that song made me too upset at the time.

Both fathers still do not pay DD any maintenance angry

TriciaF Sun 14-Feb-16 10:48:15

Nonna - maybe there were regional variations. eg I noticed my version of "Clap hands" is similar to Hildajenni's and we both come from Northumberland.
Ages ago I read a book about children's games and rhymes in the UK, I think it was by a couple called Opie. They mentioned regional variations.
Iona and Peter Opie - "children's games in street and playground." You can still get it from Amazon.

TriciaF Sun 14-Feb-16 10:50:20

ps I shold have put the name of the book on the other thread - children's games.

nonnasusie Sun 14-Feb-16 15:01:52

Clap hands Daddy comes
bring little(childs name) a cake and a bun
apples to eat and nuts to crack
a little bow wow and a pussy cat.
At the end you open your arms wide and say sooo big!