Tell me A Story Mama
Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?
Would you tell me a story Mama?
Would you, Mama, please?
I would sit really still,
Maybe kneel on both my knees.
Tell me about Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego.
Please tell me that story,
And off to bed we’ll go.
Sing, “Mares eat oats,
And Does eat oats,
And little lambs eat ivy.”
But what about the goats?
Tell me about the little old lady,
That lived in that shoe,
Tell me a story Mama,
Please, any one will do.
I miss you so much Mama.
Please bounce me on your knee.
Tell me we’re okay.
Tell me Jesus loves me.
What’s a knickknack?
What’s a paddywack?
I really need Pop,
To ride me on his back.
Please Mama,
If you’ll come back,
I’ll sit really still,
I’ll never make a crack.
The world you knew,
It’s not the same.
There’s no one in charge,
No one to blame.
I need you to tell me,
Of Daniel and his lion’s Den.
Tell me that death,
Is the wages of sin.
Tell me about that Samaritan,
Who was just passing through,
He saw a man in a ditch,
And knew what he had to do.
Let’s gather around Mama.
She’ll teach Sunday School.
She’ll tell us about Jesus,
And His Golden Rule.
Please tell me a story.
About the lady Ruth,
Tell me of God and glory.
Tell me a story of truth.
Tell me that God loves,
Every boy and girl.
Tell me God loves all,
The children of the world.
I’ve always believed,
Those words were true.
But Mama, they always sound truer,
Coming from you.
Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?
Mairzy Doats is a novelty song composed in 1943 by Milton Drake, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston. Al Trace and his Silly Symphonists played the song first on radio station WOR in New York. The song made the pop charts several times, with a version by the Merry Macs reaching No. 1 in March 1944. Mairzy Doats was also a hit with American servicemen overseas, who allegedly used its nonsensical lyrics as passwords.
At first glance the song's refrain, as written on the sheet music, seems to be meaningless:
Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?
The lyrics of the bridge provide a clue:
If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, a little bit jumbled and jivey,
Sing "Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy."
Knowing the first verse makes understanding the second easier. "A kid’ll eat ivy too, wouldn't you?"
Milton Drake's four-year-old daughter had come home singing another rhyme, "Cowzy tweet and sowzy tweet and liddle sharksy doisters.” (Cows eat wheat and sows eat wheat and little sharks eat oysters.) Mairzy Doats followed.
More poems by Micky Dee:
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