So, there is a strong temptation to say that for a good number of us, our childhood was a scam, at least in respect to some of the songs we were taught, especially nursery rhymes.
We thought we had the right lyrics, so we sang lustily, raising our voice to hight tempos because we wanted all and sundry to hear us. Little did we know that we were basking in the wrong lyrics.
And why the fault does not lie with us, as parents, teachers and guardians are the ones we are suing for this problem, we are grown now and should know better.
It is in this vein that we bring you 5 nursery rhymes we were taught and sang wrongly. We hope after reading this article, you will share and educate others around you.
- Mr Macaroni
So, we were taught to sing “Mr Macaroni riding on a bicycle, if you want to marry me…” Interesting to sing, we know but that is actually wrong. The correct lyric is “Mr Mark Anthony riding on a bicycle, if you want to follow me, Mr Mark Anthony”.
2. Sandalili
The days when we still aspired to do all the professional jobs the world had to offer, this song was our get-to. However, even with our beautiful young voices, we still wallowed in the ignorance of the right lyric of this rhyme.
The correct lyric to this is “Standard living, standard living”. Really though, who started the sandalili thing. Sanda what?
Read more: TBT- Nigeria Most Popular Love Songs From The 90s
3. Jangilova epo motor
Lol… How did our indigenous language, Yoruba seep into this nursery rhyme. The actual lyric to this is “Jingle over like a motor”.
4. Old McDonald had a farm iya iya o
We are left wondering how did the iya iya o find its way into this rhyme. The correct lyric is “Old McDonald had a farm, E.1.E.O”. Get the difference?
5. Hip, father hip, father hip po po.
The right lyrics here: “HIP for the hip for the hipopo, ‘PO PO for the hipopo.” One of the writer’s personal favorite among the nursery rhymes.
Photo credit: Getty
