Ten Little Fingers

DESCRIPTION: "I have ten little fingers, Ten little toes, Two little arms And one little nose. One little mouth And two little ears, Two little eyes For smiles and tears. One little head And two little feet, One little chin, And that's me complete."
AUTHOR: Original "Ten Little Fingers, Ten Little Toes" by J. P. Long (source: FolkSongAndMusicHall)
EARLIEST DATE: 1912 (source FolkSongAndMusicHall)
KEYWORDS: marriage father children clothes humorous | fingers toes arms nose body
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Delamar-ChildrensCountingOutRhymes, p. 65, "Me Complete" (1 text)
FolkSongAndMusicHall, "Ten Little Fingers, Ten Little Toes)
Roud #23304
NOTES [125 words]: There was a 1922 pop song, "Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes," words by Harry Pease and Johnny White, music by Ira Shuster and Ed. G. Nelson. It is not this; it is subtitled "Down in Tennessee" and begins "I met a pal from Tennessee."
More interesting is the relationship between the original song by J. P. Long and the game "Me, Complete" cited by Delamar. I'd say Delamar's song (which is the basis for the description) is clearly based on Long's, but it's just a catalog of body parts. Whereas Long's is tells a tale of a father who is surprised by a child, who has his clothes stolen while at the beach, and so forth. Neither seems to be common in tradition, so I'm keeping them together, but perhaps they should be considered separate. - RBW
Last updated in version 7.0
File: DCCR065

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