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Pop Goes The Weasel; A Tavern Tune About Wasting Money

Thumbpeople — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 11:21:30 +0000

When my toddlers were little we would skip around our living room coffee table singing Pop Goes The Weasel. I never really knew the words, so I would sing what I knew, hum the rest and then excitedly yell, “Pop Goes The Weasel!” We all would jump up then fall down, laugh for a few seconds and then do it again. Little did I know I was singing an old beer drinking tune with my two-year-old twins!

Pop Goes The Weasel was written in the late 1800’s and carries many different theories about its origin. Using the version of Pop Goes The Weasel that refers to “Up and down the City road, in and out the Eagle -That’s the way the money goes – Pop Goes The Weasel” (there are several versions of the song) we find that the words to the rhyme are cryptic and confusing. The Eagle refers to ‘The Eagle Tavern’ a pub which is located in the East End of London. The song uses Cockney rhyming slang throughout which uses code words as a way to reference activity that would otherwise be frowned upon.

Pop Goes The Weasel tells the tale of London’s East End poor pawning (popping) work tools (weasels) for money so they could enjoy their Saturday night at the Eagle Tavern. The thought is that the author is sharing the consequences of spending too much time on the bar stool and not enough time at his work bench.

Regardless, there are over two dozen versions of Pop Goes The Weasel and most of them are quite confusing. That is why ThumbPeople Inc. has taken the liberty to write yet another version of the popular kid’s tune. However, this one provides us with positive childrens music and lyrics. Their words are not secret messages, but very open and honest about what a blessing our children are in our lives and how unique and wonderful they are.

Our children will not be left guessing the meaning of “You are a treasure; precious and rare; A miracle is what you are; You make a difference.” As parents, we should be encouraging our children with positive, wholesome words that inspire them to reach their full, God-given potential. John 10:10 reads, “I have come so that you may have life, and have it abundantly.”

God wants us to use positive childrens music and exciting, uplifting stories to teach our kids that they are wonderfully and beautifully made. He wants us to laugh and have fun and engage with our children in such a way that they will know they are incredibly and unconditionally loved.

You Make A Difference is just one of the many wonderful songs that you can sing with your preschooler that will encourage and build their self-esteem. Get your child singing, “You’re one-of-a-kind in the whole universe; You make a difference!” and I guarantee you they will believe they are special!

ThumbPeople not only surrounds families with encouraging and affirming words – kids and adults speak those positive words out of their own mouths as they sing the recreated positive childrens music on the You Are Thumbuddy CD.

Through positive childrens music, Thumbuddy children’s books, preschool curriculum and soaking music reflecting God’s unconditional love, comfort and acceptance, ThumbPeople nurtures family relationships and establishes a strong foundation of self worth.

Pop Goes the Weasel: A Scandalous Dance

Thumbpeople — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 11:20:51 +0000

One would hardly imagine that the nursery rhyme Pop Goes the Weasel had a checkered past, but it did. Back in 1841, the scandalized author of an article in The Thirtieth Annual Report of the National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church Throughout England and Wales thought the Pop Goes the Weasel tune “debasing in character.” The Pop Goes the Weasel song hails from Britain and made its way to the United States sometime around 1850 when the music was published in the USA.

Pop Goes the Weasel was originally a dance tune for a type of dance called a round dance. Just as people today enjoy square dancing or line dancing, throughout history round dances were popular. In this form of a group dance, women and men would dance in a circle, usually with the sexes separated. During Pop Goes the Weasel, individuals would jump up in the air during the last phrase, popping with the word “POP!” as high as they could.

People naturally love to dance, sing and move. Children do too. That’s why nursery rhymes such as Pop Goes the Weasel are so popular! While the lyrics to Pop Goes the Weasel are silly, other positive childrens music can have meaningful lyrics, too. I used to scandalize my parents by jumping around like a monkey (as they would say) anytime my favorite music would come in the house. But music makes children happy – and adults too. Why not dance and sing, especially to positive childrens music?

Take a song like Pop Goes the Weasel. Thumb People’s version, “You Make a Difference” has such an upbeat, positive ending. Instead of hopping up and down with joy, I felt myself – at age 40-something! – beaming with joy when I heard the chorus. I make a difference, but so do you, and so do those wonderful children in your care.

So instead of viewing their antics and happy leaps during the song as childish, look at it with joy and love. Remember, just like their thumbprints, these little ones are unique and special, and proclaiming their joy as only they can, naturally and honestly!

ThumbPeople’s positive childrens music produces outward joy as families experience the positive and encouraging lyrics as well as an inner joy as kids and adults are touched by the messages that build self worth and wholeness.

Through the You Are Thumbuddy positive childrens music CD, Thumbuddy children’s books, preschool curriculum and soaking music inspired by hopeful and loving promises from Scripture, ThumbPeople empowers kids and adults to live abundantly blessed lives.

Pop Goes the Weasel Has Unique Lyrics

Thumbpeople — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 11:19:41 +0000

The children’s nursery rhyme, Pop Goes the Weasel has unique lyrics, lyrics that people have read messages into for years. Part of the challenge with decoding the popular Pop Goes the Weasel song is figuring out when in history it originated.

The first reference to Pop Goes the Weasel appears in a journal in 1841 but the first published version only appears in America around 1850. The tune is much likely a lot older, with words changed and added over time to make Pop Goes the Weasel reflective of whatever town, village or group sang and danced to it.

Why a weasel? Well, weasels do indeed pop their little heads out of their holes to see what’s going on around them. To pop also means to pawn, and some of the original version of the song were likely sung by poor people without more than a shilling or two in their pocket who had to “pop the weasel,” slang for pawning their goods.

Luckily today, most people grow up in homes with plenty of food and material goods, so that one meaning of “Pop Goes the Weasel” may not be as easily recognized today as it once was. But how many people grow up in homes with abundant love and positive, life-affirming messages?

I love Thumb People’s new version of Pop Goes the Weasel with the lyrics, “You make a difference.” Positive childrens music is so needed today. A friend of mine accompanied her son on a school field trip and when she came back, she was very sad. “So many kids in his class get no attention at home – they were just crying for love.” she said.

Positive childrens music that affirms the unique, special and precious qualities of children can help them feel loved and wanted. Since Pop Goes the Weasel has historically taken on the words the local populace made up on the spot, it’s only fitting that at last someone has fitted memorable and positive words to the song!

Playing ThumbPeople’s positive childrens music in your home is one way that you can intentionally influence your child with positive, encouraging and assuring words that build self worth and help your child to make right life choices.

ThumbPeople offers Positive childrens music, the Thumbuddy children’s book series, preschool curriculum and soaking music that reflects God’s love and goodness to help kids and adults to embrace all that God made them to be.

One Theory for the Song Pop Goes the Weasel

Thumbpeople — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 11:18:13 +0000

The song, Pop Goes the Weasel has a murky history, with lyrics that vary so much among different towns, countries and time periods that it makes it very difficult to know the origins of the song.

As best as researches can figure it, Pop Goes the Weasel was popular at least as early as 1841, although likely much earlier. It was a dance that many prim and proper Victorians frowned upon but much loved by the peasant class, who enjoyed reel, jig and country dances with easy lyrics to sing such as Pop Goes the Weasel.

But one theory about Pop Goes the Weasel origins got me thinking a bit more about the old fashioned nursery rhyme and the new version rewritten by Thumb People. One theory speculates that “pop” and “weasel” refer to the sound a weaver’s shuttle makes as it pops out of the loom. When weaving cloth, tight, evenly spaced threads are placed on a loom. A skilled weaver moves shuttles with different colors of thread among the vertical threads. As the different colors come into play, a beautiful picture emerges, although to look at it during creation it often looks messy.

I often think of needlework as an analogy for the life God leads us into. The things that happen to us day in and day out are like the messy shuttle threads on the weaver’s loom. Only God, the Great Weaver, can see the big picture clearly. We see only the yellow or black or green threads.

But each thread is unique, special, and has something important to contribute to the bigger picture, doesn’t it? That’s the message that Thumb People’s new version, called You Make a Difference, imparts to children.

Positive childrens music such as You Make a Difference helps children realize they make a unique imprint in life. Each child’s contribution to life is unique and important. Positive childrens music like this helps children realize that they are indeed someone special. Just as if you left the dark thread out of the weaving, the final picture might look funny, so too if you leave your own unique gifts behind, life may not be as full or as rich as it should be.

I think I like the weaver’s explanation of Pop Goes the Weasel best for just this reason!

ThumbPeople’s positive childrens music helps kids to discover the wonderful treasure that God has placed within their lives and within their hearts.

Through the You Are Thumbuddy positive childrens music CD, the Thumbuddy children’s book series, preschool curriculum and soaking music inspired by the hopeful promises of Scripture, ThumbPeople helps kids discover and adults rediscover their great worth and value.

Pop Goes the Weasel; A New Song to Dance to

Thumbpeople — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:14:47 +0000

Pop Goes the Weasel is a children’s nursery rhyme that can be traced back to the nineteenth century. In 1853, the British Library acquired a music sheet that described a dance to the Pop Goes the Weasel song. The document stated that Pop Goes the Weasel was “An Old English Dance, as performed at her Majesty’s and The Nobilities Balls, with the Original Music.”

The lyrics of Pop Goes the Weasel were added to and changed as the song became popular in North America. In 1858 the Pop Goes the Weasel lyrics were changed from “Up and down the City Road, in and out of the Eagle; That’s the way the money goes, Pop goes the weasel” to “All around the cobbler’s house, The monkey chased the people. And after them in double haste, Pop! Goes the weasel.”

The old Pop Goes the Weasel lyrics don’t hold significance in today’s culture, yet the song is still sung and printed in nursery rhyme books. Why not change the Pop Goes the Weasel lyrics and provide meaning that is relevant to today’s children; meaning that gives them a reason to celebrate and dance as the guests did at her Majesty’s & Nobilities Balls.

The new lyrics could read:
You are a treasure
So precious and rare
A miracle that’s what you are
You make a difference!

‘Round and ’round your thumbprint goes
It spins and twists and swirls
You’re one of a kind in the eyes of God
You make a difference

ThumbPeople’s You Make A Difference song combines these new meaningful lyrics with the fun Pop Goes the Weasel melody. The new lyrics create positive childrens music that surrounds children with positive, life-giving words. Singing that our children are one of a kind in God’s eyes and that they make a difference provides a reason to celebrate and dance.

Today’s culture is full of pressures and negativity and our children need to be surrounded with positive reaffirming words in every possible way. Taking popular nursery rhymes and giving them new lyrics to create positive childrens music is a great way to encourage our children and let them know they are loved. With the new lyrics, every time a child hears the Pop Goes the Weasel, the positive words “you’re one of a kind in the eyes of God” will surface in their mind and give them reason to celebrate.

ThumbPeople is the advocate for surrounding families with positive and encouraging words to inspire them to see themselves as one-of-a-kind miracles, build self worth and strengthen family relationships.

Through positive childrens music, Thumbuddy kid’s books, activities for preschoolers and soaking music resonating with the loving and hopeful promises of God’s Word, ThumbPeople utilizes the power and influence of words to bless kids and adults.

A New Pop Goes the Weasel for Today’s Children

Thumbpeople — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 11:13:25 +0000

My niece has a Jack-in-the-box that plays to the tune of Pop Goes the Weasel. Every time we visit their house, my three-year-old daughter finds the toy and plays with it. Each time the song reaches the lyrics Pop Goes the Weasel and the toy pops up, my daughter laughs and laughs.

The origin of Pop Goes the Weasel is unclear, but it is believed to have been written in the nineteenth century in England. The original lyrics of the second and third stanza read:

Up and down the City road,
In and out the Eagle,
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! goes the weasel.

For you may try to sew and sew,
But you’ll never make anything regal,
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! goes the weasel.

One interpretation of the lyrics is that they describe hard working textile employees who labor over spinner weasels, a machine that measures yarn. The machine makes a popping sound every time yarn is measured to its desired length.

Pop Goes the Weasel, in this meaning, describes the repetitive sound of a machine governing the tedious work of textile workers toiling for subsistence wages. In the context of the rhyme then the first three lines of each verse describe various ways of spending ones insufficient wages, with pop goes the weasel indicating a return to unpleasant labor.

This interpretation reminds me of Psalm 139:13-14. It says, “For you created my inmost being: you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

I think the lyrics of Pop Goes the Weasel could be changed to create positive childrens music that teaches kids that they are fearfully and wonderfully made. The new lyrics could be:

‘Round and ’round your thumbprint goes
It spins and twists and swirls
You’re one of a kind in history books
You make a difference

You are a treasure
So precious and rare
A miracle that’s what you are
You make a difference!

With the new lyrics, each time a child hears the familiar Pop Goes the Weasel melody, they’ll be reminded of God’s love for them and their significant worth in this world.

Enjoy the reclaimed Pop Goes the Weasel melody with new, positive lyrics in ThumbPeople’s You Make A Difference positive childrens music.

Every song on their You Are Thumbuddy positive childrens music, and every word within their Thumbuddy kid’s books, preschool activities and soaking music is positive, encouraging and inspired by the truth of God’s love and faithfulness.

Giving Meaning to Pop Goes the Weasel

Thumbpeople — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:09:00 +0000

The meaning of the old nursery rhyme Pop Goes the Weasel is unclear and many interpretations have been given over the years.

The lyrics read:

Half a pound of tuppenny rice,
Half a pound of treacle.
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! goes the weasel.

Up and down the City road,
In and out the Eagle,
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! goes the weasel.

For you may try to sew and sew,
But you’ll never make anything regal,
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! goes the weasel.

One interpretation of the lyrics is that they are about poverty in 19th century England and describe the sound of a spinner’s weasel (a yarn measuring device.) The machine makes a popping sound after measuring a specified length of yarn. The song is said to portray the hard work of textile workers who were compensated with small wages. A second interpretation of Pop Goes the Weasel is that it describes drinking at a local bar, The Eagle, and wasting all one’s hard earned wages.

As the true origins and meaning of Pop Goes the Weasel remain unclear, why not change the lyrics to create positive childrens music with a clear meaning that teaches children their value. Pop Goes the Weasel has been rewritten in ThumbPeople’s song, You Make a Difference to teach children about their uniqueness, and significance in this world.

ThumbPeople’s positive childrens music reflects that every child is a beautiful miracle that has a profound impact in this world just be being born. Then they have an entire life ahead of them to make a positive difference in their family, community and the world. ThumbPeople’s You Make A Difference song totes the following message:

“Round and ‘round your thumbprint goes, it spins and twists and swirls. You’re one of a kind in the whole universe; you make a difference”

Music has a way of imprinting words in our minds, and in our ever-changing world that is over-run with sin it’s important to create positive childrens music to encourage and affirm our children. Teaching our children the new lyrics to Pop Goes the Weasel will remind them of their importance and value every time they hear the song.

Instill the positive messages within your child’s heart that will resonate with them throughout their life with ThumbPeople’s positive childrens music, Thumbuddy children’s books, preschool activities, curriculum and soaking music inspired by the hopeful and assuring truths of Scripture.

What’s new – coming soon

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what’s new – our BOOK!

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