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"Mary Mack" ("Miss Mary Mack") is a clapping game played by children in English-speaking countries. It is known in various parts of the United States, Australia, Canada, and in New Zealand and has been called "the most common hand-clapping game in the English-speaking world".
Contents
In the game, two children stand or sit opposite to each other, and clap hands in time to a rhyming song.
The same song is also used as a jumprope rhyme, although rarely so according to one source.
Rhyme
Various versions of the song exist; a common version goes:
Miss Mary Mack, Mack, MackAll dressed in black, black, blackWith silver buttons, buttons, buttons [butt'ns]All down her back, back, back.(She could not read, read, readShe could not write, write, write,But she could smoke, smoke, smokeHer father's, pipe, pipe, pipe)She asked her mother, mother, motherfor fifty cents, cents, centsTo see the elephants, elephants, elephants (or hippos)Jump the fence, fence, fence.They jumped so high, high, highthey reached the sky, sky, skyAnd didn't come back, back, backTill the 4th of July, 'ly, 'ly!July can't walk, walk, walkJuly can't talk, talk, talkJuly can't eat, eat, eatWith a knife and fork, fork, fork).She asked her mother, mother, motherFor 5 cents more, more, moreTo see the elephants, elephants, elephantsJump over the door, door, door.They jumped so low, low, lowThey stubbed their toe, toe, toeAnd that was the end, end, end,Of the elephant show, show, show!
In some variations, Mary Mack asks her mother for fifteen cents rather than fifty. These variations may represent an earlier version of the song. It changed because of the speed of the rhyme and the similarity of the spoken words "fifteen" and "fifty", and because there were few things one could buy with fifteen cents in the later part of the 20th century.
Clap
A common version of the accompanying clap is as follows:
Another version:
Another Version: Pat thighs clap hands clap partners right hand clap hands clap partners left hand clap hands clap both partners hands clap hands repeat Another Version:
repeat
Possible origins
The first verse, without the repetition, is also a riddle with the answer "coffin".
Early mentions of the part about the elephant do not include the part about Mary Mack.
Merrimack
The origin of the name Mary Mack is obscure, and various theories have been proposed. According to one theory, Mary Mack originally referred to the USS Merrimack, a United States warship of the mid-1800s named after the Merrimack River, that would have been black, with silvery rivets. This may suggest that the first verse refers to the Battle of Hampton Roads during the American Civil War.
Mary Mackey
Another theory of the origin of the name "Mary Mack" is derived from Mary Mackey, a resident of Kentucky who was born on 04/25/1943, married Richard Mackey (a member of the U.S. Navy) on 05/27/1961, and later moved to Galion, Ohio. Mary Mackey passed away on 06/18/2008.
See also
"Walking The Dog", a 1960s R&B song by Rufus Thomas with lyrics based on "Mary Mack".