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{{Short description|Traditional English nursery rhyme}}
{{For |the 1990s recording |Pop Goes the Weasel (3rd Bass song)}}
{{About|the traditional song|the 1991 song|Pop Goes the Weasel (3rd Bass song)|the James Patterson novel|Pop Goes the Weasel (novel)}}
{{Infobox Standard <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Songs -->
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
| title = Pop! Goes the Weasel
{{Infobox song
| english_title =
| comment = [[Roud]] #5249
| name = Pop! Goes the Weasel
| cover = Pop goes the Weasel (piano arrangement with dance description, 1853).jpg
| image = Popgoesweasel.jpg
| image_size = 350px
| alt =
| caption =
| caption = Piano arrangement, 1853
| writer = Traditional
| type = Instrumental
| composer =
| written =
| lyricist =
| published =
| published = 1855
| genre = Jig
| written = England
| writer = Traditional
| language = [[English language|English]]
| composer =
| form = [[Nursery Rhyme]]
| lyricist =
| original_artist =
| recorded_by =
| performed_by =
}}
}}
"'''Pop! Goes the Weasel'''" ([[Roud]] 5249) is a traditional English and American song, a country dance, [[nursery rhyme]], and [[singing game]] that emerged in the mid-19th century.<ref name="TRE">{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Gary |title='Pop goes the weasel' - the meaning and origin of this phrase |url=https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/pop-goes-the-weasel.html |access-date=2022-09-16 |website=The Phrase Finder |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last=Padua |first=Pat |date=2016-07-29 |title=Sheet Music Spotlight: Pop Goes the Weasel {{!}} The Muse |url=https://blogs.loc.gov/music/2016/07/sheet-music-spotlight-pop-goes-the-weasel/ |access-date=2022-09-18 |website=Library of Congress}}</ref> It is commonly used in [[jack-in-the-box]] toys and for [[ice cream trucks]].<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Soergel |first=Matt |title=Jacksonville ice-cream man delivers treats, nostalgia |url=https://www.jacksonville.com/story/business/2011/06/29/jacksonville-ice-cream-man-delivers-treats-nostalgia/15898438007/ |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=The Florida Times-Union |language=en-US}}</ref>
'''"Pop! Goes the Weasel"''' is an [[English language]] [[nursery rhyme]] and [[singing game]]. It has a [[Roud Folk Song Index]] number of 5249.


==Lyrics==
== Origin ==
In the early 1850s, Miller and Beacham of [[Baltimore]] published sheet music for "Pop goes the Weasel for Fun and Frolic".<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Quinion |first=Michael |date=4 June 2004 |title=Pop Goes the Weasel |url=http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-pop1.htm |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=World Wide Words |language=en-gb}}</ref><ref name=":8" /> This is the oldest known source that pairs the name to this tune. Miller and Beacham's music was a variation of "The Haymakers", a tune dating back to the 1700s.<ref name=":7" /> ''Gow's Repository of the Dance Music of Scotland'' (1799 to 1820), included "The Haymakers" as a country dance or jig. One modern expert believes the tune, like most jigs, originated in the 1600s.<ref name=":7" />
There are many different versions of the [[lyrics]] to the song. Most share the basic [[Verse (popular music)|verse]]:
{{Listen|filename=Pop Goes the Weasel.ogg|title=Pop Goes the Weasel|description=Tune for ''Pop Goes the Weasel''}}
:Half a pound of [[twopenny|tuppenny]] rice,
:Half a pound of [[treacle]].
:That’s the way the money goes,
:Pop! goes the [[weasel]].<ref name=Opie1985>I. Opie and P. Opie, ''The Singing Game'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985), pp. 216-18.</ref>


In June 1852, the boat ''Pop Goes The Weasel'' competed in the [[Durham Regatta]].<ref>{{cite journal |date=1852-06-18 |title=Durham Regatta |journal=Newcastle Courant |issue=9263 |page=5}}</ref> By December 1852, "Pop Goes The Weasel" was a popular social dance in England.<ref name=":3">{{cite journal |date=1852-12-18 |title=Mr. Bowles's Balls |journal=Suffolk Chronicle |location=Ipswich |issue=2226 |page=2}}</ref> A ball held in [[Ipswich]] on 13 December 1852 ended with "a country dance, entitled 'Pop Goes the Weasel', one of the most mirth inspiring dances which can well be imagined."<ref name=":3" />
Often a second verse is added:


On 24 December 1852, an ad in the ''[[Birmingham Journal (eighteenth century)|Birmingham Journal]]'' offered lessons in the "Pop Goes The Weasel" dance, described as a "highly fashionable Dance, recently introduced at [[Queen Victoria|her Majesty]]'s and the Nobility's private soirees".<ref>{{cite journal |date=1852-12-25 |title=The New Dance 'Pop Goes the Weasel'|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113811299/pop-goes-the-weasel-dance/ |journal=The Birmingham Journal |location=Birmingham, England |volume=xxviii |issue=1443 |page=8 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> On 28 December 1852, an advertisement in ''[[The Times]]'' promoted a publication that included "the new dance recently introduced with such distinguished success at the Court balls" and contained "the original music and a full explanation of the figures by Mons. E. Coulon".<ref>{{cite journal |date=1852-12-28 |title=Pop Goes The Weasel [advertisement] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24442404/pop_goes_the_weasel_1852/ |journal=The Times |location=London |issue=21310 |page=10}}</ref> Eugene Coulton was a dance-master of international renown.<ref name=":11" /> In January 1853, the ''[[Bath Chronicle]]'' featured an advertisement from dance master, Mr. T. B. Moutrie, for "instruction in the highly fashionable dances" including "Pop Goes the Weasel"''.''<ref>{{Cite journal |date=January 27, 1853 |title='Pop Goes the Weasel', "La Templete," and 'Coulon Quadrille.' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113811537/pop-goes-the-weasel-dance/ |journal=Bath Chronicle}}</ref>
:Every night when I get home
:The monkey's on the table,
:Take a stick and knock it off,
:Pop! goes the weasel.<ref name=Opie1985/>


Sheet music dated 1853 at the [[British Library]] describes it as "An Old English Dance, as performed at Her Majesty's & The Nobilities Balls, with the Original Music".<ref name="Opie1985" /> Also In 1853, American sheet music referred to it as "an old English Dance lately revived".<ref name=":7" />
==Origins==
This song can only be traced back to the mid-nineteenth century, when a music sheet acquired by the [[British Library]] in 1853 described a dance, 'Pop! Goes the Weasel', which was, according to the music sheet, 'An Old English Dance, as performed at Her Majesty's & The Nobilities Balls, with the Original Music'. It had a tune very similar to that used today and only the words "Pop! Goes the Weasle".<ref name=Opie1985/> There is evidence that several people tried to add lyrics to the popular tune. The following verse had been written by 1855 when it was quoted in a performance at the [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane|Theatre Royal]]:


Originally, the dance was an instrumental jig except for the refrain "pop goes the weasel" which was sung or shouted as one pair of dancers moved under the arms of the other dancers.<ref name="TRE" /><ref name=":7" /> The British Library's 1853 tune is very similar to that used today but the only lyrics are "pop goes the weasel".<ref name="Opie1985" /> The [[Library of Congress]] has similar sheet music with an arrangement by James W. Porter in 1853.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Porter |first=James W. (arr.) |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/sm1853.220280.0 |title=Pop Goes the Weasel |publisher=J. W. Porter |year=1853 |location=Philadelphia}}</ref> Like its British counterpart, its only lyrics are "pop goes the weasel". Porter's version also describes the dance as taught at Mr. Sheldon's Academy in [[Philadelphia]]:<blockquote>
:Up and down the City Road
FIGURES: Form in Two Lines – Top Couple Ballaneez, Four Bars – then Gallop down inside and back, Four Bars – take the next Lady, Hands Round Four Bars – then Two Bars back and (while all Sing Pop goes the Weasel) pass her under your arms to her Place – Repeat with the lady's Partner then Gallop down the inside and back, Four Bars – and down outside to the other end of the line, Four Bars, which finishes the Figure – The next couple follows, &c. &c.<ref name=":0" />
:In and out the Eagle
</blockquote>By 1854, Louis S. D. Rees "changed completely" the arrangement with "easy & brilliant variations".<ref name=":11" /> A modern music historian notes, "This bravura version introduces the theme as a jig, as in the original, but the variations are in 2/4 and 4/4, much better for showing off fast fingerwork. No dancing to this one!"<ref name=":11" />
:That's the way the money goes
[[File:Singing_games_-_Pop_goes_the_weasel.jpg|thumb|From ''Singing Games'' (1890) by [[Josephine Pollard]]. Illustration by Ferdinand Schuyler Math]]
:Pop! goes the weasel.<ref name=Opie1985/>
The popular dance was performed on stage and in stage and dance halls.<ref>1853 newspaper ad: "CALDWELL's SOIREES DANSANTES ... where ... all the newest dances are danced, including 'Pop goes the Weasel' by 200 couples every evening&nbsp;..." ''The Times'' (London, England), 20 June 1853, p. 13</ref><ref>"At the Theatre Royal, Haymarket." ''The Times'', (London, England), 19 April 1853, p. 6</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Jack |first=Albert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CbY8f-mAs3AC&q=%22Pop+Goes+the+Weasel%22 |title=Pop Goes the Weasel: The Secret Meanings of Nursery Rhymes |date=2009-09-29 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-1-101-16296-5 |language=en}}</ref> By late 1854, lyrics were added to the well-known tune, with the first singing performance possibly at the Grecian Theatre.<ref>"When some bad boys endeavored to teach him the words of the popular air known as "Pop goes the Weasel", it is a fact that Master Jones couldn't be brought to do it to any other tune than that of "Evening Hymn"..." ''The Times'' (London, England), 12 September 1854, p. 6.</ref><ref name=":13">{{Cite web |date=July 18, 1905 |title=Anent "Pop Goes the Weasel." |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1905/07/18/101828320.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0 |access-date=2022-09-18 |website=The New York Times |page=6 |language=en}}</ref> In 1855, The National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in England and Wales wrote that the song, commonly played by [[Hand organ|hand–organs]] on the streets, had "senseless words".<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |date=January 1856 |title=Street Music |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_LYEAAAAQAAJ&q=weasel |journal=The Monthly Paper of the National Society |volume=110 |pages=16–17 |via=Google Books}}</ref> In their monthly newsletter, the society referred to the song as "street music" on the level of "negro tunes", saying it was "contagious and pestilent".<ref name=":1" /> In another newsletter, the society wrote, "Worst of all.. almost every species of ribaldry and low wit has been rendered into rhyme to suit it."<ref>"[https://books.google.com/books?id=_LYEAAAAQAAJ&q=weasel School Music]". ''The Monthly Paper of the National Society''. '''109''': 270. December 1855 – via Google Books.</ref>


In 1856, a letter to ''[[The Morning Post]]'' read, "For many months, everybody has been bored to death with the eternal grinding of this ditty on street."<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2019-01-18 |title=London Has A Pub From A Nursery Rhyme |url=https://londonist.com/london/food-and-drink/london-has-a-pub-from-a-nursery-rhyme |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=Londonist |language=en}}</ref> Since at least the late 19th century, the nursery rhyme was used with a British children's game similar to [[musical chairs]].<ref name="Opie1985" /> The players sing the first verse while dancing around rings.<ref name="Opie1985" /> There is always one ring less than the number of players.<ref name="Opie1985" /> When the "pop goes the weasel" line is reached, the players rush to secure a ring.<ref name="Opie1985" /> The player that fails to secure a ring is eliminated as a "weasel".<ref name="Opie1985" /> There are succeeding rounds until the winner secures the last ring.<ref name="Opie1985" />
==American versions==
The song seems to have crossed the Atlantic in the 1850s where US newspapers soon afterwards call it "the latest English dance", and the phrase "Pop! goes the weasel" soon took hold.<ref>''[http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/pop-goes-the-weasel.html Pop goes the weasel]'' The Phrase Finder. 2004.</ref> The remaining lyrics were still unstable in Britain and was printed in Boston in 1858 with the lyric:


In America, the tune became a standard in [[minstrel show]]s, featuring additional verses that frequently covered politics.<ref name=":11" /> Charley Twigg published his minstrel show arrangement in 1855 with the refrain "Pop goes de weasel.".<ref name=":11" /><ref>Twiggs, Charley. "[https://www.loc.gov/item/sm1855.570350/. Pop Goes the Weasel]." New York: Berry and Gordon, 1855. Notated Music. via the Library of Congress.</ref>
:All around the cobbler's house,
:The monkey chased the people.
:And after them in double haste,
:Pop! goes the weasel.<ref name=Studwell1997>W. E. Studwell, ''The Americana Song Reader'' (Haworth Press, 1997), pp. 135-6.</ref>


In 1901 in New York the opening lyric was:


==Eugène Coulon==
:All around the chicken coop,
[[File:Pop goes the Weasel Jullien & Co.pdf|thumb|Pop goes the Weasel, Jullien & Co., 1852]]
:The possum chased the weasel.<ref name=Studwell1997/>
On 24 December 1852, the newspaper, the Gloucester Journal reported "A new dance has been introduced by a Frenchman—it is called "Pop goes the Weasel", and from the title should be a comical affair". That Frenchman was probably either Eugené Coulon or [[Louis-Antoine Jullien]], as four days later in The Times, London, music publishers Jullien & Co. advertised "Pop goes the Weasel: the new dance recently introduced ...is now published with the original music and a full explanation of the figures, by Mons. E. Coulon."<ref>The Times London, Greater London, Dec 28, 1852, Page 10, Advertisement</ref> In a later advertisement George Thompson is named as the arranger of the music.<ref>Banbury Guardian, 3 February 1853</ref>


Adding support to Coulon's role is an advertisement from a dance teacher, Madame Catarina St. Louin, offering lessons in the "latest and most fashionable dances, including "Pop goes the Weasel","La Tempéte", and "Coulon's Quadrille", by permission of M. Eugène Coulon, as lately introduced by him at Her Majesty's and the Nobility's Balls".<ref>Gateshead Observer - Saturday 05 February 1853</ref>
The most common recent version was not recorded until 1914. In addition to the three verses above, American versions often include some of the following:


The Jullien & Co. publication with the original music arranged by George Thompson is the oldest known music for the dance. In it Coulon described Pop goes the Weasel "as a very old and a very animated English dance that has lately been revived among the higher classes of society", and as his instructions were soon copied by other music publishers, with and without attribution, he appears to have been the authority for the dance.
:All around the Mulberry Bush,
:The monkey chased the weasel.
:The monkey stopped to pull up his sock,'' (or ''The monkey stopped to scratch his nose)
:Pop! goes the weasel.


== Lyrics ==
:Half a pound of tuppenny rice,
=== British version ===
:Half a pound of treacle.
The lyrics may have predated the dance as either a rhyme or the lyrics of another song dating to the 1600s.<ref name="TRE" /><ref name=":11" /> Regardless, there are many different versions of the [[lyrics]].<ref name=":7" /> In England, most versions share the basic verse:
:Mix it up and make it nice,
:Pop! goes the weasel.


<score lang="lilypond" override_audio="Pop Goes the Weasel.ogg">
Contemporary verses in the United States include these:
\relative c'{
\time 6/8
c4 c8 d4 d8 e8 g8 e8 c4. c4 c8 d4 d8 e4. c8 r8 r8 c4 c8 d4 d8 e8 (g8) e8 c4. a'8 r8 r8 d,4 f8 e4. c8 r8 r8
}
\addlyrics {
Half4 a8 pound4 of8 | tup- pen- ny. rice,4.
Half4 a8 pound4 of8 trea-4. cle.8
That's4 the8 way4 the8 mo-8 ney8 goes,4.
Pop!4 Goes4 the8 wea- sel.4.
}</score>


{{poemquote|Half a pound of [[History of the British penny (1901–1970)|tuppenny]] rice,
:All around the mulberry bush (or ''cobbler's bench)
Half a pound of [[treacle]].
:The monkey chased the weasel;
That's the way the money goes,
:The monkey thought 'twas all in fun, (or "'twas all in good sport") (or "that it was a joke")
Pop! Goes the [[weasel]].<ref name=Opie1985>I. Opie and P. Opie, ''The Singing Game'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985), pp. 216–18.</ref>}}
:Pop! goes the weasel.


The most common additional verses are:<ref name=":7" /><ref name="TRE" />
:A penny for a spool of thread,
:A penny for a needle—
:That's the way the money goes,
:Pop! goes the weasel.


{{poemquote|Up and down the City Road,
:Jimmy's got the whooping cough
:And Timmy's got the measles
In and out the Eagle,
:That's the way the story goes
[[That's the way the money goes]],
:Pop! goes the weasel.
Pop! Goes the weasel.


Every night when I go out,
There are numerous American versions<ref name=BluegrassMessengers> [http://bluegrassmessengers.com/pop-goes-the-weasel--version-1.aspx]</ref> as printed in Vance Randolph, Ozark Folksongs, Volume III,
The monkey's on the table,
pp.&nbsp;368-369. Randolph's #556, the A text. Collected 1926 from
Take a stick and knock it off,
Mrs. Marie Wilbur of Pineville, Missouri.
Pop! Goes the weasel.


A penny for a spool of thread
==As a singing game==
A penny for a needle,
In Britain the rhyme has been played as a children's game since at least the late nineteenth century. The game is played to the "first" verse quoted above. Several rings are formed and they dance around as the verse is sung. One more players than the number of rings are designated as "weasels", all but one standing in the rings. When the "Pop! goes the weasel" line is reached they have to rush to a new ring before anyone else can. The one that fails is eliminated and the number of circles is reduced by one until there is only one weasel left.<ref name=Opie1985/>
That's the way the money goes,
Pop! Goes the weasel.

All around the cobbler's bench
The monkey chased the weasel;
The monkey thought 'twas all in fun,
Pop! Goes the weasel.}}

=== American variations ===
When the song crossed the Atlantic in the 1850s, the British lyrics were still changing.<ref name="TRE" /> In the United States, the most common lyrics are different and may have a separate origin.<ref name=TRE/> The following lyrics were printed in Boston in 1858:

{{poemquote|All around the [[Shoemaking|cobbler's]] house,
The monkey chased the people.
And after them in double haste,
Pop! goes the weasel.<ref name=Studwell1997>W. E. Studwell, ''The Americana Song Reader'' (Haworth Press, 1997), pp. 135–136.</ref>}}

The March 1860 issue of the ''[[Southern Literary Messenger]]'' published a new verse:

{{poemquote|Queen Victoria's very sick,
Prince Albert's got the measles.
The children have the whooping cough,
And pop! Goes the weasel.<ref name=":7" />}}

In New York in 1901, the opening lines were, "All around the chicken coop / The possum chased the weasel."<ref name="Studwell1997" /> By the mid-20th century, the standard United States version had replaced the "cobbler's bench" with a "mulberry bush":
{{poemquote|All around the mulberry bush
The monkey chased the weasel;
The monkey thought it was all in fun...
Pop! goes the weasel.}}

Or the standard United States version had this line.

{{poemquote|All around the cobbler's bench
The monkey chased the weasel;
The monkey thought it was all in fun...
Pop! goes the weasel.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Uitti |first=Jacob |date=2022-08-08 |title=Behind the Meaning of the Joyous Nursery Rhyme, "Pop! Goes the Weasel" |url=https://americansongwriter.com/meaning-pop-goes-the-weasel-nursery-rhyme-lyrics/ |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=American Songwriter |language=en-US}}</ref>}}

In 1994, the [[American Folklife Center]] documented a version of the song with sixteen verses.<ref name=":11" />


==Meaning and interpretations==
==Meaning and interpretations==
[[File:Charlene_Parker_demonstrating_how_thread_or_yarn_is_tranferred_from_a_spinning_wheel_to_a_clock_reel..jpg|thumb|Spinner with weasel (right) and spinning wheel (left).]]
[[Image:Eagle City Road London 2005.jpg|thumb|The Eagle pub in City Road, with the rhyme on the wall]]
Perhaps because of the obscure nature of the lyrics there have been many suggestions for their significance, particularly over the meaning of the phrase 'Pop! goes the weasel', including: that it is a tailor's flat iron, a hatter's tool, a [[spinners weasel|clock reel]] used for measuring in spinning,<ref>D. D. Volo, ''Family Life in Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-century America'' (Greenwood, 2006), p. 264.</ref> a piece of silver plate, or that 'weasel and stoat' is Cockney rhyming slang for 'coat', which is 'popped or pawned' to visit or after visiting the Eagle pub, that it is a mishearing of weevil or vaisselle, that it was a nickname of James I, and that 'rice' and 'treacle' are slang terms for potassium nitrate and charcoal and that therefore the rhyme refers to the [[gunpowder plot]]. Other than correspondences none of these theories has any additional evidence to support it, and some can be discounted because of the known history of the song.<ref name=Opie1985/> Iona and Pete Opie observed that, even at the height of the dance craze in the 1850s no-one seemed to know what the phrase meant.<ref name=Opie1985/>


=== Title ===
It is probable that the "Eagle" mentioned in the song's third verse refers to The Eagle freehold pub at the corner of Shepherdess Walk and [[City Road]] mentioned in the same verse.<ref>P. Zwart, ''Islington; a History and Guide'' (London: Taylor & Francis, 1973), p. 42.</ref>, which was established as a London [[music hall]] in 1825 and was rebuilt as a [[public house]] in 1901. This public house bears a plaque with this interpretation of the nursery rhyme and the pub's history.
There has been much speculation about the meaning of the phrase and song title, "Pop Goes the Weasel".<ref name="TRE" /><ref name=":8" /> Some say a weasel is a tailor's flat iron, silver-plate dishes, a dead [[weasel|animal]], a hatter's tool, or a [[spinner's weasel]].<ref name="TRE" /><ref name="D. Volo, 2006 p. 264">D. D. Volo, ''Family Life in Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-century America'' (Greenwood, 2006), p. 264.</ref><ref name=":13" /> One writer notes, "Weasels do pop their heads up when disturbed and it is quite plausible that this was the source of the name of the dance."<ref name="TRE" />


Just like the dancers to this jig, the spinner's weasel revolves, but to measure the thread or yarn produced on a spinning wheel.<ref name=":8" /> Forty revolutions of most weasels produce {{convert|80|yd|m|spell=in}} of yarn or a skein.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-08-18 |title=Antiques & Collectibles: A weasel isn't always what you'd expect |url=https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Antiques-Collectibles-A-weasel-isn-t-always-2113184.php |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=NewsTimes |language=en-US}}</ref> The weasel's wooden gears are designed to make a popping sound after the 40th revolution to tell the spinner that the skein is completed.<ref name="D. Volo, 2006 p. 264" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=Gary |title='Pop goes the weasel' - the meaning and origin of this phrase |url=https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/pop-goes-the-weasel.html |access-date=2022-09-16 |website=Phrasefinder |language=en}}</ref><ref>Brown, Rachel, ''The Weaving, Spinning, and Dyeing Book.'' New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978. p. 240. {{ISBN|9780394733838}}</ref><ref name=":8" />
==In popular culture==
{{In popular culture|date=July 2009}}
<!-- If you are going to add items to this section PLEASE GIVE FULL DETAILS - (including years) and an in-line reference if at all possible - as otherwise it is very hard to substantiate the points later-->
===In literature===
* In [[The Railway Series]] by [[W.V. Awdry]], in vol. 13, [[List of Railway Series Books#Duck and the Diesel Engine|''Duck and the Diesel Engine'']] (1958), the engine ''[[Major characters in The Railway Series#Diesel|Diesel]]'' pops (i.e., lurches forward) when a rusty coupling breaks, and is mocked with the song.<ref>{{cite book
| last =Awdry
| first =W.
| authorlink =W.V. Awdry
| title =[[List of Railway Series Books#Duck and the Diesel Engine|''Duck and the Diesel Engine'']]
| work = (vol 13)
| publisher =Edmund Ward
|year=1958
| pages =32
| isbn =0 7182 1050 6 }}</ref>
*In [[Stephen King]]'s ''[[Insomnia (novel)|Insomnia]]'' (1994) the [[antagonist]]s frequently sing a verse from the song.
* Kiki the parrot, in every book of [[Enid Blyton]]'s ''[[The Adventure Series|Adventure Series]]'' (1944-55), utters "pop! goes the weasel".
*In [[Kurt Vonnegut]]'s ''[[God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater]]'', the co-workers of an attorney hum the tune when he is around.
*The fifth book in [[James Patterson|James Patterson's]] series of [[Alex Cross]] crime novels is [[Pop_Goes_the_Weasel_(novel)|''Pop Goes the Weasel'']].
*[[Sidney Sheldon]]'s ''[[Tell Me Your Dreams]] (1998) quotes the song in its [[dénouement]].


[[Iona and Peter Opie]] observed that no one seemed to know what the phrase meant at the height of the dance craze in the 1850s.<ref name="Opie1985" /> It may just be a nonsensical phrase.<ref name="TRE" /> However, one further explanation links the lyrics of the popular nursery rhyme to the East London colloquial dialect of the 1800’s, known as “Cockney Rhyming Slang”.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pop! Goes the Weasel |url=https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/visit/families/rhymes-in-time/pop-goes-the-weasel/#:~:text=What's%20the%20story%20behind%20Pop,which%20made%20a%20popping%20sound. |access-date=2024-09-22 |website=London Museum |language=en-gb}}</ref> In this dialect “weasel” relates to “weasel and stoat”, or coat, and “pop” relates the “pop shop” or pawnbrokers shop. The rhyme describes someone running short of money purchasing rice and treacle (metaphor for life’s essentials); “that’s the way the money goes”. Subsequently, this forces them to sell (pop) their coat (weasel) to the pawnbroker (pop shop). Whilst speculative, this explanation does create a credible scenario that contextualises the peculiar phrase within a coherent narrative. Further, this would also relate the rhyme to day to day hardships of industrial Britain in a way that could be highly relatable and light hearted; running short of money and having to sell one’s coat.
===In film===
*In the [[Three Stooges]] [[short subject]] ''[[Punch Drunks]]'' (1934), [[Curly Howard]] is a mild mannered simpleton who goes into a fighting frenzy when he hears the song. The tune was played in the title credits of their ''[[Pop Goes the Easel]]''. The gag was reused in the feature film ''[[The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze]]'' with [[Curly-Joe DeRita]] becoming combative when he hears the song.
* The tune is a recurring part of the underscore of the [[Warner Bros.]] cartoon, ''[[A Pest in the House]]'' (1947).
*In ''[[The Godfather Part II]]'' (1974), when Frankie Pentangeli tries to get the band to play a [[tarantella]], they play ''Pop! Goes the Weasel'' instead.
*In [[Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves]] (1991), when Robin is crossing a river, [[Will Scarlet]] trips him with a rope and sings to this tune.
*In [[A Rage in Harlem]] (1991), when the thug, Slim, [[Badja Djola]], is about to kill Jackson, [[Forest Whitaker]], he sings the tune of ''Pop! goes the weasel''.
*In [[Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation]] (1991), Wade Pig hums the ''Pop! goes the weasel'' tune several times throughout. Once, he also hums the first line of ''Old MacDonald'', but finishes with ''Pop! goes the weasel''.
*In [[Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs]] (2009), Buck sings ''Pop! goes the weasel'' when he emerges from under a dinosaur's foot after it's been trying to kill him.


===In music===
=== First verse ===
The first verse refers to "tuppenny rice" and "treacle" which are food.<ref name=":8" /> At the time, one pound of rice pudding cost twopence (pronounced tuppence). Treacle is a delicious gooey syrup used as a topper to sweeten the rice pudding.<ref name=":4" /> A modern writer notes, it was "the cheapest and nastiest food" available to London's poor.<ref name=":8" />
*A version recorded by [[Anthony Newley]] achieved number 12 in the UK charts in 1961.
* "[[Pop Goes the Weasel (3rd Bass song)|Pop Goes The Weasel]]" is a [[wikt:diss song|diss song]] about [[Vanilla Ice]] by the [[United States|American]] [[Hip hop music|rap]] group [[3rd Bass]]. Released in [[1991 in music|1991]], it is taken from their album ''[[Derelicts of Dialect|Derelicts Of Dialect]]''.
* "Pop! Goes the Weasel" is a song by the hardcore band [[Pissed Happy Children]]. Released in 1989, on their album Pissed Playground.
*One of [[Marc-André Hamelin]]'s player piano pieces (named "Pop music?") is based on the Pop Goes the Weasel's main theme.
* The Lords of Acid song, "Out Comes the Evil", starts out by repeating the first verse twice
* March 2009: Brainkicker: Mash Hairy. Lyrics on hardstyle song contains: That's the way the money goes, Half a pound of treacle, That's the way the money goes, Pop! Goes the weasel


Some lyrics in the British version may originate with Cockney slang and [[rhyming slang]].<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":7" /><ref name="TRE" /> In the mid-19th century, "pop" was a well-known slang term for pawning something—and City Road had a well-known pawn establishment in the 1850s.<ref name=":7" /><ref name="TRE" /> In this Cockney interpretation, "weasel" is [[Cockney rhyming slang]] for "weasel and stoat" meaning "coat".<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Pop! Goes the Weasel |url=https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/families/rhymes-in-time/pop-goes-the-weasel |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=Museum of London |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":7" /> Thus, to "pop the weasel" meant to [[Pawnbroker|pawn]] your coat.<ref name=":4" /> However, one author notes that the Cockney rhyming slang "weasel and stoat" was not used until the 1930s.<ref name="TRE" /> Another early source says weasel was slang for silver-plate cups and dishes or anything of value that was pawnable.<ref name=":13" />
===In comedy===
*[[Andy Kaufman]] used "Pop! Goes the Weasel" as a karaoke 'stage prop'.


In 1905, ''The London Globe'' and ''[[The New York Times]]'' published a story saying that a "weasel" was a coin purse made of weasel skin that closed with a "snap".<ref name=":13" />
===In television===
*"Pop! Goes the Weasel" is prominently featured in the 1960s television series ''[[The Prisoner]]''. An instrumental version is part of the soundtrack of several episodes (most notably the premiere episode "Arrival"), and in "Once Upon a Time" the lead character [[Number Six (The Prisoner)|Number Six]], whose mind has been reverted to childhood, begins singing the song, but is goaded by his nemesis, Number Two, who turns the word "Pop" into an [[acronym]] for "Protect Other People", leading the two to yell "Why POP?" at each other.
*In the [[Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends]] episodes: "Pop Goes the Diesel" and "Dirty Work," the trucks sing the song "Pop Goes the Diesel" which is sung to the tune of the song "Pop Goes the Weasel."
*In the [[Star Trek: The Next Generation]] pilot "[[Encounter at Farpoint]]" (1987), Lt. Commander [[Data (Star Trek)|Data]] is whistling the song when first encountered by Commander [[William Riker|Riker]], who supplies the last notes. The event is referenced again in the film ''[[Star Trek: Nemesis]]'' (2002).
*The tune from the song is heard in [[The Simpsons]] episode "[[The PTA Disbands!]]". The students play it after their music teacher has gone on strike, as it is a "forbidden" song and they are normally unable to.
*The theme song "You Don't Need Pants for the Victory Dance" from the American animated cartoon television series ''[[I Am Weasel]]'' is based on "Pop! Goes the Weasel" lyrics and song.
*In [[Alias (TV series)|Alias]], Episode 14 in Season 2. A CIA Agent is singing the song shortly before she is being killed by an explosion (2003).
*In [[The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson]] The episode name for the skit "[[Murder, She Wrote]]" 2008 is "Pop! Goes The Weasel... OF DEATH!".
*In [[NYPD Blue]] Season 5 Episode 4 - "[[The Truth Is Out There]]" (1997) Andy Sipowicz asks almost everyone what "Pop! goes the weasel" means after singing it to Theo in the tub.


[[File:Eagle City Road London 2005.jpg|thumb|The Eagle, [[City Road]], [[London]]]]
===In children's toys===

*The song was used for the popular series of [[Jack-in-the-box]]es manufactured by [[Mattel]]. When a crank on the side of the box was turned, the tune would be heard instrumentally, and when the music arrived at the word ''Pop'' the lid would fly open and a clown figure would pop out. This Jack-in-the-box, together with the tune, was featured in the opening credits of the popular ''[[Romper Room]]'' TV series.
=== Second verse ===
The "Eagle" on City Road in the song's second verse may refer to a famous pub in London.<ref>P. Zwart, ''Islington; a History and Guide'' (London: Taylor & Francis, 1973), p. 42.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kemp |first=David |url= |title=The Pleasures and Treasures of Britain: A Discerning Traveller's Companion |date=1992-01-12 |publisher=Dundurn |isbn=978-1-55002-159-2 |language=en }}</ref><ref name=":7" /> The Eagle Tavern was on [[City Road]], rebuilt as a music hall in 1825, and rebuilt in 1901 as a public house called The Eagle.<ref name="weasel">{{cite web |last=Alchin |first=Linda |title=Pop Goes the Weasel |url=http://www.rhymes.org.uk/a116a-pop-goes-the-weasel.htm |access-date=23 July 2019 |website=Nursery Rhymes Lyrics and Origins}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2006 |title=Eagle Tavern / Grecian Theatre, City Road: Playbills and illustrations |url=http://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=1062 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071115051030/http://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/content.asp?CategoryID=1062 |archive-date=15 November 2007 |access-date=1 January 2011 |publisher=Bishopsgate}}</ref><ref name=":7" /> As one writer concludes, "So the second verse says that visiting the Eagle causes one's money to vanish, necessitating a trip up the City Road to Uncle [the pawn shop] to raise some cash."<ref name=":7" />

Today, The Eagle has the lyrics to this verse painted on a plaque on its façade.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":8" />

=== Third verse ===
In the third verse, the monkey may relate to a drinking vessel.<ref name=":7" /> In the 19th century, sailors referred to the glazed jugs used in public houses as "monkey".<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" /> A "stick" was a shot of alcohol such as rum or brandy.<ref name=":7" /> To "knock it off" meant to knock it back—or to drink it.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" /> The night out drinking used up all the money, conveyed in the lyrics "that's the way the money goes."<ref name=":8" />

=== Fourth verse ===
The fourth verse relates to a tailor and clothing.<ref name=":7" /> Purchasing thread and needles may refer to paying for the items needed to work.<ref name=":8" />

=== Fifth verse ===
The meaning of the fifth verse is more elusive.<ref name=":7" /> Here, "monkey" may refer to the slang use of the word for money worries, as in "monkey on your back".{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}} To be chased by the monkey could mean having money troubles—one way out was to pawn your coat.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}} It also might refer to the actual animal, commonly associated with the organ grinders who played this jig.<ref name=":7" />

=== Other interpretations ===
With some versions and interpretations of the lyrics, "pop goes the weasel" is said to be erotic or ribald, including a crude metaphor for sexual intercourse.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vasvari |first1=Louise |date=2010 |title=Obscene Onomastics in Medieval Trickster Tales |journal=EHumanista |volume=16 |page=8}}</ref> In her autobiographical novel ''[[Little House in the Big Woods]]'' (1932), American author [[Laura Ingalls Wilder]] recalled her father singing these lyrics in 1873:

{{poemquote|All around the cobbler's bench,
The monkey chased the weasel.
The preacher kissed the cobbler's wife—
Pop! goes the weasel!!<ref>Laura Ingalls Wilder, ''Little House in the Big Woods'', copyright 1932, ch. 5 "Sundays"</ref>}}

==Modern recordings==
[[AllMusic]] lists hundreds of recordings of "Pop Goes the Weasel."<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |title=Pop Goes the Weasel |url=https://www.allmusic.com/search/all/pop%20goes%20the%20weasel |access-date=2022-09-18 |website=AllMusic |language=en}}</ref> Some of the most notable recordings are included below:
* In 1938, [[Clay Boland]] created the [[foxtrot]] song "Stop Beatin' Round the Mulberry Bush" using the basic melody of the nursery rhyme with lyrics by Bickley Reichner.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=STOP BEATIN' ROUND THE MULBERRY BUSH |url=https://www.ejazzlines.com/stop-beatin-round-the-mulberry-bush-transcribed-by-myles-collins |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=Ejazzlines.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":15">{{Cite book |last=Bolig |first=John R. |date=2017 |title=The Victor Black Label Discography |url=https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/VictorBlackLabelDiscography_v5.pdf |website=UC Santa Barbara Library |publisher=American Discography Project, UC Santa Barbara Library |location=Santa Barbara |page=122 |isbn=978-1-7351787-3-8}}</ref> That year, the Boland/Reichner/Traditional song was recorded by:
** [[Les Brown and His Orchestra]]<ref>{{Citation |last1=Les Brown and His Orch. |title=Stop Beatin' 'Round The Mulberry Bush |date=1938-09-02 |url=http://archive.org/details/78_stop-beatin-round-the-mulberry-bush_les-brown-and-his-orch-herb-muse-bickley-rei_gbia0319382a |others=Internet Archive |publisher=Bluebird |language=English |access-date=2022-09-17 |last2=Herb Muse |last3=Bickley Reichner |last4=Clay Boland}}</ref>
** [[Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra]] with singer [[Edythe Wright]].<ref name=":15" />
** [[Jack Hylton]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Discography 1933-1940 |url=https://www.jackhylton.com/discography-1933-1940 |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=Jack Hylton |language=en-US}}</ref>
** [[Nat Gonella]] and His Georgians<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rust |first1=Brian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7p5HAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22Stop+Beatin'+Round+the+Mulberry+Bush%22+Nat+Gonella&pg=PA640 |title=Jazz and Ragtime Records, 1897-1942 |last2=Shaw |first2=Malcolm |date=2002 |publisher=Mainspring Press |isbn=978-0-9671819-2-9 |page=640 |language=en}}</ref>
** [[The Merry Macs]]<ref name=":14" />
** [[Jimmy Rushing|James Rushing]] with [[Count Basie]]<ref name=":5" />
* In 1946, [[Columbia Records]] released actor [[Gene Kelly]]'s album for children, ''When We Were Very Young,'' which included a rendition of "Pop Goes the Weasel."<ref>Ruhlmann, William. {{Citation |title=Gene Kelly - When We Were Very Young Album Reviews, Songs & More {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/when-we-were-very-young-mw0000329102 |language=en |access-date=2022-09-18}}</ref>
* [[Bill Haley & His Comets]] recorded "Stop Beatin' Round the Mulberry Bush" in 1953.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Haley Jr. |first1=Bill |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mwXFDwAAQBAJ&dq=In+1953,+Bill+Haley+&pg=PA238 |title=Crazy Man, Crazy: The Bill Haley Story |last2=Benjaminson |first2=Peter |date=2019-06-30 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4930-5085-7 |page=238 |language=en |via=Google Books}}</ref>
* [[Bing Crosby]] included "Pop Goes the Weasel" in a medley on his 1961 album ''[[101 Gang Songs]].''<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Bing Crosby Discography - part 1c - Commercial Recordings - Post Decca |url=http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/crosby1c.html |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=www.bingmagazine.co.uk}}</ref>
* in 1961, British singer [[Anthony Newley]] reached number 12 on the [[UK singles chart]] with his version of the song.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ANTHONY NEWLEY {{!}} full Official Chart History {{!}} Official Charts Company |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/7135/anthony-newley/ |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=www.officialcharts.com}}</ref>
* The pop group [[1910 Fruitgum Company]] released a version of the song in April 1968.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Original versions of Pop Goes the Weasel by 1910 Fruitgum Company {{!}} SecondHandSongs |url=https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/1039380 |access-date=2022-11-20 |website=secondhandsongs.com}}</ref>
* [[Ella Jenkins]] recorded a traditional version of the song for her 1982 album ''Early Early Childhood Songs'' on the [[Smithsonian Folkways]] label.<ref>{{Citation |title=Ella Jenkins - Early Early Childhood Songs Album Reviews, Songs & More {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/early-early-childhood-songs-mw0000265756 |language=en |access-date=2022-09-18}}</ref>
* In their 1991 album ''[[Derelicts of Dialect]],'' [[3rd Bass]] included [[Pop Goes the Weasel (3rd Bass song)|a rap version of "Pop Goes the Weasel"]] which was lyrically an attack on rapper [[Vanilla Ice]].<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last= |date=2021-06-14 |title=National Pop Goes The Weasel Day – June 14 |url=https://nationaltoday.com/national-pop-goes-weasel-day/ |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=National Today |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Herbert |first=Geoff |date=2018-07-12 |title='90s rapper losing Upstate NY lakefront home he can't afford |url=https://www.newyorkupstate.com/cooperstown/2018/07/3rd_bass_rapper_ny_home_auction.html |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=New York Upstate |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Allah |first=Sha Be |date=2020-06-18 |title=3rd Bass Releases Sophomore Album, "Derelicts of Dialect" 29 Years Ago |url=https://thesource.com/2020/06/18/today-in-hip-hop-history-3rd-bass-releases-sophomore-album-derelicts-of-dialect-29-years-ago/ |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=The Source |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Popular culture ==
<!-- Please only add items to this section if they are mentioned in, and cited to, reliable sources. Not every use of this song is of encyclopedic interest. -->

=== Comedy recordings ===
*In 1964, comedian singer [[Allan Sherman]] recorded "Pop Hates the Beatles", a novelty song to the tune of "Pop Goes the Weasel" that condemns The Beatles with lyrics such as, "Ringo is the one with the drums / The others all play with him / It shows you what a boy can become / without a sense of rhythm."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Heller |first=Jason |date=2012-05-28 |title=The Beatles Just Got To Go?: 18 anti-Beatles songs |url=https://www.avclub.com/the-beatles-just-got-to-go-18-anti-beatles-songs-1798231715 |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=The A.V. Club |language=en-us}}</ref>
* Singing "pop goes the weasel" was a punchline to a [[Robin Williams]] joke about putting a hamster in the microwave oven.<ref name=":16">Adams, Brett. {{Citation |title=Robin Williams - Reality...What a Concept Album Reviews, Songs & More {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/realitywhat-a-concept-mw0000714433 |language=en |access-date=2022-09-18}}</ref> Williams included this bit on his 1979 album, ''Reality...What a Concept''.<ref name=":16" />

=== Film ===
*The Three Stooges film ''[[Punch Drunks]]'' (1934) [[Curly Howard|Curley]] "goes berserk" whenever he hears "Pop Goes the Weasel" being played on a violin, which Moe and Larry exploit for a boxing match.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PUNCH DRUNKS (1934) |url=https://threestooges.net/filmography/view/2 |access-date=2022-09-18 |website=threestooges.net}}</ref> The movie ends with the song playing.<ref name=":17">{{cite book | last=Solomon | first=Jon | title=The complete Three Stooges : the definitive source book for the Three Stooges; the official filmography and Three Stooges companion | publisher=Comedy III Productions | publication-place=Glendale, Calif. | date=2001 | isbn=978-0-9711868-0-4 | oclc=49392467 | author-link=Jon Solomon}}</ref>
* The [[The Three Stooges|Three Stooges]] film ''[[Pop Goes the Easel]]'' (1935) uses "Pop Goes the Weasel" for its opening and closing tune.<ref name=":17" />
* The 1974 film, ''[[The Godfather Part II]]'' features a party where the band plays "Pop Goes the Weasel" when asked to play an unfamiliar [[tarantella]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sragow |first=Michael |date=October 10, 2008 |title=The rich and layered "Godfather II" raised the bar on movie sequels |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2008-10-10-0810090077-story.html |access-date=2022-11-20 |website=Baltimore Sun}}</ref>
* In the 1999 biographical film ''[[Man on the Moon (film)|Man on the Moon]]'', a bartender tells [[Andy Kaufman]], "I can't sell booze when you're singing 'Pop Goes the Weasel'" in response to the young comedian's act.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nichols |first=Peter M. |date=2000-01-14 |title=Taking the Children; His "Pop Goes the Weasel" Is as Wholesome as It Gets |language=en-US |pages=E-10 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/14/movies/taking-the-children-his-pop-goes-the-weasel-is-as-wholesome-as-it-gets.html |access-date=2022-09-18 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
* In the 2013 film ''[[Oz the Great and Powerful]]'', a water fairy spits water in the Wizard's face after singing "Pop Goes the Weasel".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Abrams |first=Simon |title=Oz the Great and Powerful movie review (2013) |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/oz-the-great-and-powerful-2013-abrams |access-date=2022-12-10 |website=Roger Ebert.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Literature ===
* In 1924, [[Thomas William Hodgson Crosland]] published a novel called ''Pop Goes the Weasel''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Crosland |first=Thomas William Hodgson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bqtMAAAAMAAJ |title=Pop Goes the Weasel |date=1924 |publisher=Fortune & Merriman |location=London |language=en |via=Google Books}}</ref>
* Author [[James Patterson]] published a book called ''[[Pop Goes the Weasel (novel)|Pop Goes the Weasel]]'' in 2003.
* [[M. J. Arlidge]] published the novel ''Pop Goes the Weasel'' in 2005<ref>{{Cite book |last=Arlidge |first=M. J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UNhJBgAAQBAJ&q=%22Pop+Goes+the+Weasel%22+-wikipedia |title=Pop Goes the Weasel |date=2015-10-06 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0-698-19490-8 |language=en}}</ref>
* In [[Sidney Sheldon]]'s 1998 novel, ''[[Tell Me Your Dreams]]'', the American lead character had an English personality ([[Dissociative identity disorder|MPD]]), Toni, that liked to sing the song.
* The song appears twice in [[Wilbert Awdry]]’s''[[The Railway Series]]''; first in the 1958 book ''Duck and the Diesel Engine'' as ‘Pop Goes The Diesel’ in the story of the same name, then in the 1969 book ''Oliver the Western Engine'' as ‘Pop Goes Old Ollie’ in the story ''Toad Stands By''. Both times the song has been rewritten to fit the narrative.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Awdry |first=Wilbert|title=Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection |date=1996-10-06 |publisher=Heinemann |language=en}}</ref>

=== Music ===
* In 1855, new lyrics were published by The National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in England and Wales, turning it into a "School Song for Boys."<ref>"[https://books.google.com/books?id=_LYEAAAAQAAJ&q=weasel School Song for Boys]" ''The Monthly Paper of the National Society''. '''109''': 253. December 1855 – via Google Books.</ref>
* In 1855, the Liverpool School for the Deaf and Dumb published the lyrics for their School Song, sung to the tune of "Pop Goes the Weasel."<ref>"[https://books.google.com/books?id=_LYEAAAAQAAJ&q=weasel School Song - Tune, 'Pop Goes the Weasel']

. ''The Monthly Paper of the National Society''. '''108''': 272. November 1855 – via Google Books.</ref>
* Sheet music published in 1857 provided an arrangement for the guitar, along with new political lyrics.<ref name=":11" />
* In the early 20th century, [[Henry F. Gilbert]] included "Pop Goes the Weasel" in his unfinished ''Uncle Remus'' opera.<ref>Longyear, Rey M., and Katherine E. Longyear. "[[doi:10.2307/779838.|Henry F. Gilbert's Unfinished "Uncle Remus" Opera]]." ''Anuario Interamericano de Investigacion Musical'' 10 (1974): 55 and 58. via JSTOR. doi.org/10.2307/779838.</ref>

=== Radio ===
* [[The Beatles]] recorded a rock version of "Pop Goes The Weasel" as the theme music for the [[BBC Light Programme]] radio show ''[[Pop Go the Beatles]]''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wickman |first=Forrest |date=2013-05-10 |title=When the Beatles Had Their Own BBC Show, a Lot of People Hated It |url=https://slate.com/culture/2013/05/pop-go-the-beatles-on-the-bbc-blogging-the-beatles-examines-the-radio-show-video.html |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=Slate Magazine |language=en}}</ref> that ran from 4 June to 24 September 1963. The British group recorded the [[jingle]] on 24 May 1963.<ref name="Goodden">{{cite web |author=Joe Goodden |date=12 August 2013 |title=The Beatles' BBC radio recordings |url=https://www.beatlesbible.com/features/beatles-bbc-radio-recordings/ |access-date=18 June 2018 |work=The Beatles Bible}}</ref>

=== Television ===
* From 1953 through 1981, the television show [[Romper Room]]'s opening and ending featured "Pop Goes the Weasel" played on a [[Mattel]]'s Jack-in-the-box.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Warren |first=Brian J. |date=2017 |title=Be a 'Do-Bee': Take a Magic Mirror Journey Inside Romper Room |url=https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=the_fac |journal=Red Feather Journal |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=28 |via=The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley}}</ref>
* In the golden age of the [[American Wrestling Association]], [[The Crusher (wrestler)|The Crusher]] would bring a Jack-in-the-box to television interviews, winding the toy and singing "Pop Goes the Weasel" when the toy popped out of its box.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web |last=Reusse |first=Patrick |date=September 18, 2017 |title=Bobby Heenan: a self-taught genius who became AWA's wonderful weasel |url=https://www.startribune.com/bobby-heenan-a-self-taught-genius-who-became-awa-s-wonderful-weasel/445415413/ |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=Star Tribune}}</ref> The Crusher said the weasel was [[Bobby Heenan]], a derisive nickname that stuck among Heenan's detractors.<ref name=":10" />
* In 1975, [[Saturday Night Live (season 1)|''Saturday Night Live'' (season 1)]] episode 5, [[Andy Kaufman]] lip-syncs to a child's recording of the song.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Saturday Night Live {{!}} Saturday Night Live: Season 1: Episode 3 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0694449/ |access-date=February 6, 2023 |website=IMDB}}</ref>
* In 1995's ''[[The Simpsons]]'' [[The Simpsons (season 6)|Season 6]] episode "[[The PTA Disbands]]", music teacher Mr. Largo goes on strike allowing the students to play 'the forbidden music' which is "Pop Goes the Weasel"<ref>{{Cite web |title=The PTA Disbands {{!}} The Simpsons: Season 6: Episode 21 |url=http://www.simpsonsarchive.com/episodes/2F19.html |access-date=June 13, 2023 |website=Simpsons Archive}}</ref>
* In 1997's [[NYPD Blue (season 5)|''NYPD Blue'' (season 5)]], part of the plot of the episode "The Truth Is Out There" deals with the meaning of the song, "Pop Goes the Weasel."<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Truth is Out There {{!}} NYPD Blue: Season 5: Episode 4 |url=https://www.metacritic.com/tv/nypd-blue/season-5/episode-4-the-truth-is-out-there |access-date=November 20, 2022 |website=Metacritic}}</ref>
* [[Jamie Foxx]] and [[James Corden]] performed a "seductive" soul version of the song on ''[[The Late Late Show with James Corden|The Late Late Show]]'' in 2017''.''<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |date=2017-01-06 |title=Watch James Corden, Jamie Foxx Sing Seductive "Pop Goes The Weasel" |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/watch-james-corden-jamie-foxx-sing-seductive-pop-goes-the-weasel-126303/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US |access-date=2022-09-18}}</ref>
* In the ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode, "[[Encounter at Farpoint]]", [[Data (Star Trek)|Data]] is trying to whistle "Pop Goes the Weasel" when [[William Riker|Will Riker]] meets him for the first time.<ref name=":18" /> The sixth episode of the third season of ''Star Trek: Picard'' includes actual footage of this scene.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pascale |first=Anthony |title=Recap/Review: 'Star Trek: Picard' Pulls Off A Caper In "The Bounty" |url=https://trekmovie.com/2023/03/23/recap-review-star-trek-picard-pulls-of-a-caper-in-the-bounty/ |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=TrekMovie.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
* In the November 3, 2013 episode of ''[[Masters of Sex]]'', the character Libby gets drunk and sings "Pop Goes the Weasel" into her daiquiri.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Langmuir |first=Molly |date=November 4, 2013 |title=Masters of Sex Recap: Pop Goes the Weasel |url=https://www.vulture.com/2013/11/masters-of-sex-recap-season-1-florida.html |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=Vulture |language=en-us}}</ref>
* During the end credits in season three of [[Star Trek: Picard (season 3)|''Star Trek: Picard'']], a set of musical notes appear on screen for a melody in the key of D Major in 6/8 time; it is "Pop Goes the Weasel".<ref name=":18">{{Cite web |last=Roth |first=Dylan |date=2023-02-16 |title=Easter Eggs In Star Trek: Picard Season 3 |url=https://www.looper.com/1188115/easter-eggs-in-star-trek-picard-season-3/ |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=Looper |language=en-US}}</ref>
* During the opening theme of 1997 Cartoon Network's ''[[I Am Weasel]]'', a parody of the melody "Pop Goes the Weasel" can be seen.".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Victor |first=João |date=2023-10-02 |title=Easter Eggs In I Am Weasel |url=https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=IjvFVNaGRJk&si=rHBKvX0vKtHncRcp/ |access-date=2023-10-02 |website=Looper |language=en-US}}</ref>
* In the original American dub of the [[anime]] [[Dragon Ball Z]], the evil tyrant [[Frieza]] quotes the rhyme after killing the Earthling warrior [[Krillin]].
* In the TV Movie [[Camp Lazlo: Where's Lazlo]], a weasel pushes a [[handcar]] - with Raj and Clam on board - up a big hill, mentioning how Lazlo used to chase him around the Mulberry Bush, in reference to the song. As the [[handcar]] rolls down the hill onto a track built like a roller coaster, the weasel recites the song's lyrics.

=== Video games ===
* ''[[The Neverhood]]'', a video game from 1996, has a sequence called "the weasel chase" that features the song.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Neverhood: The Weasel Chase |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aDh_O3FQWY |language=en |access-date=2022-11-20}}</ref>
* The Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Zombies map ''[[Mob of the Dead]]'' features an [[Easter egg (media)|Easter Egg]] that yielded a Pop Goes the Weasel Achievement Trophy when solved.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ng |first=Alan |date=2013 |title='Mob of the Dead Zombies' Easter Egg: Pop Goes the Weasel Solved |url=https://www.product-reviews.net/mob-of-the-dead-zombies-easter-egg-pop-goes-the-weasel-solved/ |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=Product Reviews}}</ref>
* The 2019 video game ''[[Mortal Kombat 11]]'' included an [[Easter egg (media)|Easter egg]] associated with the [[Joker (character)|Joker]] consisting of the letters "CCDDEGEC."<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=Murray |first=Sean |date=2020-01-30 |title=Mortal Kombat: Redditor Discovers Musical Easter Egg In Joker's Movelist |url=https://www.thegamer.com/mortal-kombat-redditor-discovers-musical-easter-egg-in-jokers-movelist/ |access-date=2022-09-18 |website=TheGamer |language=en-US}}</ref> These are the musical notes for the opening bar to "Pop Goes The Weasel."<ref name=":12" />
* In video game ''[[Five Nights at Freddy's 2]]'', the music box will play "Pop! Goes the Weasel" when the Puppet is about to attack player after leaving the Music Box unwind.<ref>{{Citation |title=Pop Goes The Weasel - Five Nights at Freddy's 2 OST|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTErhX93y_A|language=en |access-date=2023-10-13}}</ref>
* In the video game ''[[Lethal Company]]'', an enemy called Jester will play "Pop! Goes the Weasel" before it becomes hostile.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fama |first=Daphne |date=2023-12-04 |title=Lethal Company Bestiary: All Monsters Listed |url=https://primagames.com/tips/lethal-company-bestiary-all-monsters-listed |access-date=2023-12-09 |website=Prima Games |language=en-US}}</ref>
* In the 2009 video game ''[[Plants vs. Zombies (video game)|Plants vs. Zombies]]'', the song can be heard when a Jack-in-the-Box Zombie is on the lawn, in which the song will stop playing when the zombie dies, its jack-in-the-box explodes, or gets taken away by a Magnet-shroom.<ref>{{Citation |title=Plants vs. Zombies HD - Level 4-1 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ_3eFtzol0 |language=en |access-date=2009-05-07}}</ref>
* ''[[Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders]]'' features the song as part of a puzzle where the player has to play a kazoo to wake up the bus driver.<ref>{{Citation |title=Zak McCracken Complete |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOx5ZMn774M&t=1637s |language=en |access-date=2024-08-11}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist|30em}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://xenia.media.mit.edu/~kristin/songbook/ClassicKids/PopGoesTheWeasel.html Extensive lyrics, with chords, on Kristin's site at MIT]
* Jas. W. Porter. (arrangement). "[https://www.loc.gov/item/sm1853.220280/. Pop Goes the Weasel]." Philadelphia: J. W. Porter, 1853.(via [[Library of Congress]])
* [http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-pop1.htm World Wide Words, Michael Quinion: POP GOES THE WEASEL (June 2004)]
* Eugene Coulon (dance), John C. Scherpf (arrangement) "[https://www.libraryofdance.org/manuals/1853-Coulon-Pop_(JHU).pdf Pop Goes the Weasel, The New Dance]". New York: Saml. C. Jollie, 1853. (via [https://www.libraryofdance.org/ Library of Dance]).
* [http://imslp.org/wiki/User:Clark_Kimberling/Historical_Notes_4 Scroll to "Pop Goes the Weasel" to see how it is used by algebra teachers to help students remember the quadratic formula."]
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/nursery-rhymes-pop-goes-the-weasel/z4btqp3 "Pop Goes the Weasel", an animated BBC version featuring different British lyrics]
* [http://imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/a/af/IMSLP22887-PMLP52364-pop-goes-the-weazel.pdf Public domain version] from 1853 arranged by Charley Twiggs on IMSLP.org

{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Pop Goes The Weasel}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pop Goes The Weasel}}
[[Category:Alvin and the Chipmunks songs]]
[[Category:1852 songs]]
[[Category:English songs]]
[[Category:Muppets songs]]
[[Category:Nursery rhymes]]
[[Category:Singing games]]
[[Category:Singing games]]
[[Category:Songs about London]]
[[Category:Songs about London]]
[[Category:English children's songs]]
[[Category:English folk songs]]
[[Category:Traditional children's songs]]
[[Category:English nursery rhymes]]
[[Category:Anthony Newley songs]]
[[Category:Songs about mammals]]
[[Category:Fictional weasels]]
[[Category:1930s jazz standards]]
[[Category:Folk dances]]
[[Category:Jigs (band) songs]]

Latest revision as of 07:46, 27 November 2024

"Pop! Goes the Weasel"
Piano arrangement, 1853
Instrumental
GenreJig
Songwriter(s)Traditional

"Pop! Goes the Weasel" (Roud 5249) is a traditional English and American song, a country dance, nursery rhyme, and singing game that emerged in the mid-19th century.[1][2][3] It is commonly used in jack-in-the-box toys and for ice cream trucks.[2][4]

Origin

[edit]

In the early 1850s, Miller and Beacham of Baltimore published sheet music for "Pop goes the Weasel for Fun and Frolic".[5][6] This is the oldest known source that pairs the name to this tune. Miller and Beacham's music was a variation of "The Haymakers", a tune dating back to the 1700s.[5] Gow's Repository of the Dance Music of Scotland (1799 to 1820), included "The Haymakers" as a country dance or jig. One modern expert believes the tune, like most jigs, originated in the 1600s.[5]

In June 1852, the boat Pop Goes The Weasel competed in the Durham Regatta.[7] By December 1852, "Pop Goes The Weasel" was a popular social dance in England.[8] A ball held in Ipswich on 13 December 1852 ended with "a country dance, entitled 'Pop Goes the Weasel', one of the most mirth inspiring dances which can well be imagined."[8]

On 24 December 1852, an ad in the Birmingham Journal offered lessons in the "Pop Goes The Weasel" dance, described as a "highly fashionable Dance, recently introduced at her Majesty's and the Nobility's private soirees".[9] On 28 December 1852, an advertisement in The Times promoted a publication that included "the new dance recently introduced with such distinguished success at the Court balls" and contained "the original music and a full explanation of the figures by Mons. E. Coulon".[10] Eugene Coulton was a dance-master of international renown.[3] In January 1853, the Bath Chronicle featured an advertisement from dance master, Mr. T. B. Moutrie, for "instruction in the highly fashionable dances" including "Pop Goes the Weasel".[11]

Sheet music dated 1853 at the British Library describes it as "An Old English Dance, as performed at Her Majesty's & The Nobilities Balls, with the Original Music".[12] Also In 1853, American sheet music referred to it as "an old English Dance lately revived".[5]

Originally, the dance was an instrumental jig except for the refrain "pop goes the weasel" which was sung or shouted as one pair of dancers moved under the arms of the other dancers.[1][5] The British Library's 1853 tune is very similar to that used today but the only lyrics are "pop goes the weasel".[12] The Library of Congress has similar sheet music with an arrangement by James W. Porter in 1853.[13] Like its British counterpart, its only lyrics are "pop goes the weasel". Porter's version also describes the dance as taught at Mr. Sheldon's Academy in Philadelphia:

FIGURES: Form in Two Lines – Top Couple Ballaneez, Four Bars – then Gallop down inside and back, Four Bars – take the next Lady, Hands Round Four Bars – then Two Bars back and (while all Sing Pop goes the Weasel) pass her under your arms to her Place – Repeat with the lady's Partner then Gallop down the inside and back, Four Bars – and down outside to the other end of the line, Four Bars, which finishes the Figure – The next couple follows, &c. &c.[13]

By 1854, Louis S. D. Rees "changed completely" the arrangement with "easy & brilliant variations".[3] A modern music historian notes, "This bravura version introduces the theme as a jig, as in the original, but the variations are in 2/4 and 4/4, much better for showing off fast fingerwork. No dancing to this one!"[3]

From Singing Games (1890) by Josephine Pollard. Illustration by Ferdinand Schuyler Math

The popular dance was performed on stage and in stage and dance halls.[14][15][6] By late 1854, lyrics were added to the well-known tune, with the first singing performance possibly at the Grecian Theatre.[16][17] In 1855, The National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in England and Wales wrote that the song, commonly played by hand–organs on the streets, had "senseless words".[18] In their monthly newsletter, the society referred to the song as "street music" on the level of "negro tunes", saying it was "contagious and pestilent".[18] In another newsletter, the society wrote, "Worst of all.. almost every species of ribaldry and low wit has been rendered into rhyme to suit it."[19]

In 1856, a letter to The Morning Post read, "For many months, everybody has been bored to death with the eternal grinding of this ditty on street."[20] Since at least the late 19th century, the nursery rhyme was used with a British children's game similar to musical chairs.[12] The players sing the first verse while dancing around rings.[12] There is always one ring less than the number of players.[12] When the "pop goes the weasel" line is reached, the players rush to secure a ring.[12] The player that fails to secure a ring is eliminated as a "weasel".[12] There are succeeding rounds until the winner secures the last ring.[12]

In America, the tune became a standard in minstrel shows, featuring additional verses that frequently covered politics.[3] Charley Twigg published his minstrel show arrangement in 1855 with the refrain "Pop goes de weasel.".[3][21]


Eugène Coulon

[edit]
Pop goes the Weasel, Jullien & Co., 1852

On 24 December 1852, the newspaper, the Gloucester Journal reported "A new dance has been introduced by a Frenchman—it is called "Pop goes the Weasel", and from the title should be a comical affair". That Frenchman was probably either Eugené Coulon or Louis-Antoine Jullien, as four days later in The Times, London, music publishers Jullien & Co. advertised "Pop goes the Weasel: the new dance recently introduced ...is now published with the original music and a full explanation of the figures, by Mons. E. Coulon."[22] In a later advertisement George Thompson is named as the arranger of the music.[23]

Adding support to Coulon's role is an advertisement from a dance teacher, Madame Catarina St. Louin, offering lessons in the "latest and most fashionable dances, including "Pop goes the Weasel","La Tempéte", and "Coulon's Quadrille", by permission of M. Eugène Coulon, as lately introduced by him at Her Majesty's and the Nobility's Balls".[24]

The Jullien & Co. publication with the original music arranged by George Thompson is the oldest known music for the dance. In it Coulon described Pop goes the Weasel "as a very old and a very animated English dance that has lately been revived among the higher classes of society", and as his instructions were soon copied by other music publishers, with and without attribution, he appears to have been the authority for the dance.

Lyrics

[edit]

British version

[edit]

The lyrics may have predated the dance as either a rhyme or the lyrics of another song dating to the 1600s.[1][3] Regardless, there are many different versions of the lyrics.[5] In England, most versions share the basic verse:

 
 \relative c'{
 \time 6/8
 c4 c8 d4 d8 e8 g8 e8 c4. c4 c8 d4 d8 e4. c8 r8 r8 c4 c8 d4 d8 e8 (g8) e8 c4. a'8 r8 r8 d,4 f8 e4. c8 r8 r8
} 
\addlyrics {
Half4 a8 pound4 of8 | tup- pen- ny. rice,4.
Half4 a8 pound4 of8 trea-4. cle.8
That's4 the8 way4 the8 mo-8 ney8 goes,4.
Pop!4 Goes4 the8 wea- sel.4.
 }

Half a pound of tuppenny rice,
Half a pound of treacle.
That's the way the money goes,
Pop! Goes the weasel.[12]

The most common additional verses are:[5][1]

Up and down the City Road,
In and out the Eagle,
That's the way the money goes,
Pop! Goes the weasel.

Every night when I go out,
The monkey's on the table,
Take a stick and knock it off,
Pop! Goes the weasel.

A penny for a spool of thread
A penny for a needle,
That's the way the money goes,
Pop! Goes the weasel.

All around the cobbler's bench
The monkey chased the weasel;
The monkey thought 'twas all in fun,
Pop! Goes the weasel.

American variations

[edit]

When the song crossed the Atlantic in the 1850s, the British lyrics were still changing.[1] In the United States, the most common lyrics are different and may have a separate origin.[1] The following lyrics were printed in Boston in 1858:

All around the cobbler's house,
The monkey chased the people.
And after them in double haste,
Pop! goes the weasel.[25]

The March 1860 issue of the Southern Literary Messenger published a new verse:

Queen Victoria's very sick,
Prince Albert's got the measles.
The children have the whooping cough,
And pop! Goes the weasel.[5]

In New York in 1901, the opening lines were, "All around the chicken coop / The possum chased the weasel."[25] By the mid-20th century, the standard United States version had replaced the "cobbler's bench" with a "mulberry bush":

All around the mulberry bush
The monkey chased the weasel;
The monkey thought it was all in fun...
Pop! goes the weasel.

Or the standard United States version had this line.

All around the cobbler's bench
The monkey chased the weasel;
The monkey thought it was all in fun...
Pop! goes the weasel.[2]

In 1994, the American Folklife Center documented a version of the song with sixteen verses.[3]

Meaning and interpretations

[edit]
Spinner with weasel (right) and spinning wheel (left).

Title

[edit]

There has been much speculation about the meaning of the phrase and song title, "Pop Goes the Weasel".[1][6] Some say a weasel is a tailor's flat iron, silver-plate dishes, a dead animal, a hatter's tool, or a spinner's weasel.[1][26][17] One writer notes, "Weasels do pop their heads up when disturbed and it is quite plausible that this was the source of the name of the dance."[1]

Just like the dancers to this jig, the spinner's weasel revolves, but to measure the thread or yarn produced on a spinning wheel.[6] Forty revolutions of most weasels produce eighty yards (73 m) of yarn or a skein.[27] The weasel's wooden gears are designed to make a popping sound after the 40th revolution to tell the spinner that the skein is completed.[26][28][29][6]

Iona and Peter Opie observed that no one seemed to know what the phrase meant at the height of the dance craze in the 1850s.[12] It may just be a nonsensical phrase.[1] However, one further explanation links the lyrics of the popular nursery rhyme to the East London colloquial dialect of the 1800’s, known as “Cockney Rhyming Slang”.[30] In this dialect “weasel” relates to “weasel and stoat”, or coat, and “pop” relates the “pop shop” or pawnbrokers shop. The rhyme describes someone running short of money purchasing rice and treacle (metaphor for life’s essentials); “that’s the way the money goes”. Subsequently, this forces them to sell (pop) their coat (weasel) to the pawnbroker (pop shop). Whilst speculative, this explanation does create a credible scenario that contextualises the peculiar phrase within a coherent narrative. Further, this would also relate the rhyme to day to day hardships of industrial Britain in a way that could be highly relatable and light hearted; running short of money and having to sell one’s coat.

First verse

[edit]

The first verse refers to "tuppenny rice" and "treacle" which are food.[6] At the time, one pound of rice pudding cost twopence (pronounced tuppence). Treacle is a delicious gooey syrup used as a topper to sweeten the rice pudding.[31] A modern writer notes, it was "the cheapest and nastiest food" available to London's poor.[6]

Some lyrics in the British version may originate with Cockney slang and rhyming slang.[31][5][1] In the mid-19th century, "pop" was a well-known slang term for pawning something—and City Road had a well-known pawn establishment in the 1850s.[5][1] In this Cockney interpretation, "weasel" is Cockney rhyming slang for "weasel and stoat" meaning "coat".[31][5] Thus, to "pop the weasel" meant to pawn your coat.[31] However, one author notes that the Cockney rhyming slang "weasel and stoat" was not used until the 1930s.[1] Another early source says weasel was slang for silver-plate cups and dishes or anything of value that was pawnable.[17]

In 1905, The London Globe and The New York Times published a story saying that a "weasel" was a coin purse made of weasel skin that closed with a "snap".[17]

The Eagle, City Road, London

Second verse

[edit]

The "Eagle" on City Road in the song's second verse may refer to a famous pub in London.[32][33][5] The Eagle Tavern was on City Road, rebuilt as a music hall in 1825, and rebuilt in 1901 as a public house called The Eagle.[34][35][5] As one writer concludes, "So the second verse says that visiting the Eagle causes one's money to vanish, necessitating a trip up the City Road to Uncle [the pawn shop] to raise some cash."[5]

Today, The Eagle has the lyrics to this verse painted on a plaque on its façade.[20][6]

Third verse

[edit]

In the third verse, the monkey may relate to a drinking vessel.[5] In the 19th century, sailors referred to the glazed jugs used in public houses as "monkey".[5][6] A "stick" was a shot of alcohol such as rum or brandy.[5] To "knock it off" meant to knock it back—or to drink it.[5][6] The night out drinking used up all the money, conveyed in the lyrics "that's the way the money goes."[6]

Fourth verse

[edit]

The fourth verse relates to a tailor and clothing.[5] Purchasing thread and needles may refer to paying for the items needed to work.[6]

Fifth verse

[edit]

The meaning of the fifth verse is more elusive.[5] Here, "monkey" may refer to the slang use of the word for money worries, as in "monkey on your back".[citation needed] To be chased by the monkey could mean having money troubles—one way out was to pawn your coat.[citation needed] It also might refer to the actual animal, commonly associated with the organ grinders who played this jig.[5]

Other interpretations

[edit]

With some versions and interpretations of the lyrics, "pop goes the weasel" is said to be erotic or ribald, including a crude metaphor for sexual intercourse.[18][36] In her autobiographical novel Little House in the Big Woods (1932), American author Laura Ingalls Wilder recalled her father singing these lyrics in 1873:

All around the cobbler's bench,
The monkey chased the weasel.
The preacher kissed the cobbler's wife—
Pop! goes the weasel!![37]

Modern recordings

[edit]

AllMusic lists hundreds of recordings of "Pop Goes the Weasel."[38] Some of the most notable recordings are included below:

[edit]

Comedy recordings

[edit]
  • In 1964, comedian singer Allan Sherman recorded "Pop Hates the Beatles", a novelty song to the tune of "Pop Goes the Weasel" that condemns The Beatles with lyrics such as, "Ringo is the one with the drums / The others all play with him / It shows you what a boy can become / without a sense of rhythm."[53]
  • Singing "pop goes the weasel" was a punchline to a Robin Williams joke about putting a hamster in the microwave oven.[54] Williams included this bit on his 1979 album, Reality...What a Concept.[54]

Film

[edit]
  • The Three Stooges film Punch Drunks (1934) Curley "goes berserk" whenever he hears "Pop Goes the Weasel" being played on a violin, which Moe and Larry exploit for a boxing match.[55] The movie ends with the song playing.[56]
  • The Three Stooges film Pop Goes the Easel (1935) uses "Pop Goes the Weasel" for its opening and closing tune.[56]
  • The 1974 film, The Godfather Part II features a party where the band plays "Pop Goes the Weasel" when asked to play an unfamiliar tarantella.[57]
  • In the 1999 biographical film Man on the Moon, a bartender tells Andy Kaufman, "I can't sell booze when you're singing 'Pop Goes the Weasel'" in response to the young comedian's act.[58]
  • In the 2013 film Oz the Great and Powerful, a water fairy spits water in the Wizard's face after singing "Pop Goes the Weasel".[59]

Literature

[edit]

Music

[edit]
  • In 1855, new lyrics were published by The National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in England and Wales, turning it into a "School Song for Boys."[63]
  • In 1855, the Liverpool School for the Deaf and Dumb published the lyrics for their School Song, sung to the tune of "Pop Goes the Weasel."[64]
  • Sheet music published in 1857 provided an arrangement for the guitar, along with new political lyrics.[3]
  • In the early 20th century, Henry F. Gilbert included "Pop Goes the Weasel" in his unfinished Uncle Remus opera.[65]

Radio

[edit]

Television

[edit]
  • From 1953 through 1981, the television show Romper Room's opening and ending featured "Pop Goes the Weasel" played on a Mattel's Jack-in-the-box.[68]
  • In the golden age of the American Wrestling Association, The Crusher would bring a Jack-in-the-box to television interviews, winding the toy and singing "Pop Goes the Weasel" when the toy popped out of its box.[69] The Crusher said the weasel was Bobby Heenan, a derisive nickname that stuck among Heenan's detractors.[69]
  • In 1975, Saturday Night Live (season 1) episode 5, Andy Kaufman lip-syncs to a child's recording of the song.[70]
  • In 1995's The Simpsons Season 6 episode "The PTA Disbands", music teacher Mr. Largo goes on strike allowing the students to play 'the forbidden music' which is "Pop Goes the Weasel"[71]
  • In 1997's NYPD Blue (season 5), part of the plot of the episode "The Truth Is Out There" deals with the meaning of the song, "Pop Goes the Weasel."[72]
  • Jamie Foxx and James Corden performed a "seductive" soul version of the song on The Late Late Show in 2017.[73]
  • In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "Encounter at Farpoint", Data is trying to whistle "Pop Goes the Weasel" when Will Riker meets him for the first time.[74] The sixth episode of the third season of Star Trek: Picard includes actual footage of this scene.[75]
  • In the November 3, 2013 episode of Masters of Sex, the character Libby gets drunk and sings "Pop Goes the Weasel" into her daiquiri.[76]
  • During the end credits in season three of Star Trek: Picard, a set of musical notes appear on screen for a melody in the key of D Major in 6/8 time; it is "Pop Goes the Weasel".[74]
  • During the opening theme of 1997 Cartoon Network's I Am Weasel, a parody of the melody "Pop Goes the Weasel" can be seen.".[77]
  • In the original American dub of the anime Dragon Ball Z, the evil tyrant Frieza quotes the rhyme after killing the Earthling warrior Krillin.
  • In the TV Movie Camp Lazlo: Where's Lazlo, a weasel pushes a handcar - with Raj and Clam on board - up a big hill, mentioning how Lazlo used to chase him around the Mulberry Bush, in reference to the song. As the handcar rolls down the hill onto a track built like a roller coaster, the weasel recites the song's lyrics.

Video games

[edit]
  • The Neverhood, a video game from 1996, has a sequence called "the weasel chase" that features the song.[78]
  • The Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Zombies map Mob of the Dead features an Easter Egg that yielded a Pop Goes the Weasel Achievement Trophy when solved.[79]
  • The 2019 video game Mortal Kombat 11 included an Easter egg associated with the Joker consisting of the letters "CCDDEGEC."[80] These are the musical notes for the opening bar to "Pop Goes The Weasel."[80]
  • In video game Five Nights at Freddy's 2, the music box will play "Pop! Goes the Weasel" when the Puppet is about to attack player after leaving the Music Box unwind.[81]
  • In the video game Lethal Company, an enemy called Jester will play "Pop! Goes the Weasel" before it becomes hostile.[82]
  • In the 2009 video game Plants vs. Zombies, the song can be heard when a Jack-in-the-Box Zombie is on the lawn, in which the song will stop playing when the zombie dies, its jack-in-the-box explodes, or gets taken away by a Magnet-shroom.[83]
  • Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders features the song as part of a puzzle where the player has to play a kazoo to wake up the bus driver.[84]

References

[edit]
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