Skip to Content
HomeAbout this siteHelpSearch this siteThe Library of Congress
America's Story from America's LibraryMeet Amazing AmericansJump Back in TimeExplore the StatesJoin America at PlaySee, Hear and Sing
See, Hear and Sing Children's Songs
 
Children playing on roof of Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York City, 1919.
 Children play on the roof of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City in 1919

Enlarge this image

Listen to:
Willie "Red Eye" Williams performing "Mary Mack Dressed in Black" on May 20, 1939

RealAudio (streaming)
Wav Format (2.7 MB)
Help With Audio
Credits
Singing Games
Kids aren't the only ones to sing children's songs. Adults tend to remember songs they learned as children, and sing them to their own children. When different people sing children's songs, the lyrics change a bit.

Such was the case when a group of prisoners on the Cummins State Farm in Arkansas sang "Mary Mack." In this version, Mary had only three or four buttons on her back, whereas in the other version she had 24. Have you ever changed the lyrics when singing a song?

Back page 2 of 2 More Stories



Library Of Congress | Legal Notices | Privacy | Site Map | Contact Us




CREDIT: "Children Playing on Roof of Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York City." 1919. Prints and Photographs, Library of Congress.
AUDIO CREDIT: Williams, Willie "Red Eye", performer. "Mary Mack Dressed in Black." May 20, 1939. Southern Mosaic: The John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip, Library of Congress.