“Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe” LyricsĪnd you are it.
You can replace “catch a tiger” with any word (catch a boy, catch girl, etc) or any animal, or when singing to baby you can say “catch a baby”.
Each syllable counts a child from a circle, and the game round finishes with the last kid pointed out.īellow are the lyrics of one of the accepted modern versions of the “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe” rhyme and also an older version. It starts with a group of nonsense syllables and ends with a phrase that will indicate the game’s goal. The song is made up from a number of syllables, (the counting out rhyme). The rhyme is used to choose who is ‘it’ in children’s games. “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe” is part of a large collection of Counting-out rhymes, used in playground games, since the early 19th century. Whilst there are versions of the first line of this rhyme in both German and Cornish, the two middle lines, it is agreed, undoubtedly originated from America. It is very hard to establish the exact origin of the song as it has so many accepted forms, in different languages and countries. Food is very important to many people, so it is not surprising that. The version before this one was much more grim and ghastly.“Eeny, meeny, miny, moe” also known as “Eena, meena, mina, mo” is a popular counting rhyme and singing game. 8 This version contains a sexually explicit term as well as the reference to underwear. "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo, catch a tiger by the toe, If he hollers, let him go, eeny, meeny, miny, mo." This, however, is a recent revision. The classic American version most are familiar with goes like this: Nonetheless, it's clear that "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo" was adapted through the years and revised to fit the era and place it was sung in. Likewise, some believe the nursery rhyme is based on an ancient British counting system. This can be due to what The Paris Review refers to as Hobson-Jobson, when words that have the same sound are translated to fit the linguistics of the native speaker's language. In some Dutch versions Ene, mine, mike, maken. In some German versions Eena, tena, mona, mi. Although different from Eenie, meenie, miney, mo. The first line in the version sung in Cornwall, England was Eeha, meena, mona, mite. Published Versions of Two Common Rhymes Recalls of counting-out rhymes collected by folklorists offer. That being said, it's almost impossible to track down the true origin of "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo." What is known is that countless variations of the nursery rhyme exist. Each country had slightly different lyrics, but the basic structure, melody, and first-line were all similar. Each country had their own lyrics, but the structure and melody remained the same.
In the 1800s, the nursery rhyme could be found in both the US and Europe (via An Injustice). Seemingly innocent, the rhyme is not what it seems. I believe that current versions of 'Five Little Monkeys', 'Shornin Bread' and 'Eenie Meenie Miney Mo' may be acceptable for singing and viewing with children in spite of their racist origins and adaptations if their drawings or other visuals aren't stereotypical and if those versions don't include any offensive words or gestures. "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo" (sometimes written as "moe") has been chanted and beloved by children on playgrounds for centuries.