William a Trimbletoe

DESCRIPTION: "William a Trimbletoe, He's a good waterman, Catches his (hens) and puts them in pens. Some lay eggs, and some lay none.... (Some/one) fly east, some fly west, Some fly over the cuckoo's nest. Trip and be gone... O-U-T spells OUT."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1903 (Newell-GamesAndSongsOfAmericanChildren)
KEYWORDS: playparty bird chickens travel food | counting-out eggs
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MW,NE,So)
REFERENCES (10 citations):
Newell-GamesAndSongsOfAmericanChildren, p. 203, "William a Trombletoe" (1 text, #30 in the section on singing games)
Skean-CircleLeft-FolkPlayOfKentuckyMountains, p. 18, "William-E-Tremitoe" (1 text)
Killion/Waller-ATreasuryOfGeorgiaFolklore, p. 218, "William-a" (1 text)
Henry-SongsSungInTheSouthernAppalachians, pp. 237, (no title) (1 short text)
Solomon-ZickaryZan, p. 72, "William Tremble Toe"; p. 73, "A Good Man"; p. 74, "Some Lay Eggs," "Jack's House," "Some Go East, Some Go West" (5 texts)
Ainsworth-JumpRopeVerses, (no number; it's at the very end of the article), "(William A Tremle Toe)" (1 text)
Withers-EenieMeenieMinieMo, p. 39, "(Peter Matrimity was a fine water-man)" (1 text)
NorthCarolinaFolkloreJournal, (Rachel Cranford, collector), "Games and Game Rhymes", Vol. 1, No. 1 (Jun 1948), p. 14, "(William Trimatoe)" (1 text)
NorthCarolinaFolkloreJournal, Roy M. Brown, "William A-Trim'letoe", Vol. 3, No. 1 (Jul 1955), pp. 19-20, "(William A-Trim'letoe)" (1 text plus game instructions)
NorthCarolinaFolkloreJournal, John Foster West, "Folklore of a Mountain Childhood," Vol. XVI, No. 3 (Nov 1968), p. 168, "(William a Trimmietoe" (1 text); article reprinted (with text reset) in Vol. LII, No. 3 (Nov 1968), p. 10
Roud #16350 and 25315
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "One Two Three Four, Mary at the Cottage Door" ("O-U-T spells out" lyric) and references there
ALTERNATE TITLES:
William Tremble-Toe
File: Skea018

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