Illustration Friday: E is for Elephant

The elephant that jumped over the fence from a playground rhyme called "Miss Mary Mack." As a child, I loved singing and playing this hand-clapping song with my friends. Little did we know that it dated back to the early American slave lore of the Gullah people. They spoke a Creole blend of Elizabethan English and African languages and lived along the southern coastline. Listen online to Miss Mary Mack. Just scroll down to the third CD titled "Feel Like Journey On" and click on the songlist title: Miss Mary Mack (Traditional). Enjoy! :-)

Miss Mary Mack

Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack
all dressed in black, black, black
with silver buttons, buttons, buttons
up and down her back, back, back.

She asked her mother, mother, mother
for fifty cents, cents, cents,
to watch the elephant, elephant, elephant
jump over the fence, fence, fence.

He jumped so high, high, high
he reached the sky, sky, sky
and he never came back, back, back
'til the fourth of July, 'ly, 'ly.