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Friday, May 12, 2006

Something on the governor's head,
Nobody see, nobody tell.


My great-aunt Elaine used to sing this little verse to me when I was very young--always accompanied by her actually putting something on my head, a handkerchief or a toy or whatever small object she had at hand.

I've been thinking about these lines lately--I suppose I've always assumed they're from an old folk song or calypso--but they're unknown to Google, at least as of right now. Does any of my readers know this verse or anything about its origins? It must date at least to my great-aunt's childhood in the 1920s.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gosh, this one brings back memories.

In the version I used to hear, however, the second line is "Who see, don't tell".

Anonymous said...

I remember those words from my childhood, even though in my childhood version the second verse was "who see don't tell".

Not sure how or when it originated. But it did bring back some pleasant memories.

Thanks Nicholas