The "Limerick" is a traditional humorous drinking song with many obscene verses. The tune usually used for sung limericks is traditionally "Cielito Lindo," with the words arranged in the form of a limerick.
Contents
Recorded versions
Printed versions
The earliest printed date for limericks being sung is 1928 in the book A Collection of Sea Songs and Ditties from the Stores of Tom E. Jones. Since many of the verses used for this song are bawdy the song tended to get issued in rare, underground mimeographed songbooks. Some of these are (in chronological order):
Variant choruses
There are several different choruses for this song. One of the most popular in the USA is sung to the tune of "Cielito Lindo" and usually goes like this:
Or, alternatively:
Another chorus, to an unknown tune, is also not uncommon in the UK:
A less commonly reported chorus goes:
In the children's rendition of this song, the chorus goes:
Lyrics
The lyrics for the Limerick Song are usually ribald and sometimes original. Here are some from the public domain book Sea Songs and Ditties:
Chorus:
chorus
There is a version of this song which is rendered for children. Three verses are as follows:
(in order for line c to rhyme with line d, "to toot, or" is said quickly in order to sound like "to tutor")