A Free Show Lyrics
A row of neighbours each have a talent to offer: one whistles, one sings, one fiddles, one dances a jig, and the speaker will tell a fable. Ten lines, five couplets, and everyone puts on the show together.
A Free Show
Mister McCune
Can whistle a tune,
Old Uncle Strong
Can sing us a song,
Benjamin Biddle
Can play on the fiddle,
Captain O'Trigg
Can dance us a jig,
And I, if I'm able,
Will tell you a fable.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/a-free-show/
- Type
- Poems for Children
- Written by
- Leroy F. Jackson
- Tune
- Cheerful, one couplet for each performer, like announcing the next act
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Can whistle a tune | Purse your lips and pretend to whistle, or whistle if you can. |
| Can play on the fiddle | Tuck a pretend fiddle under your chin and draw the bow across. |
| Can dance us a jig | Bounce lightly from foot to foot with your arms at your sides. |
What Does A Free Show Mean?
The show of the title is free because nobody pays: the neighbours simply do what they do well. There are five acts, one in each couplet. Mister McCune whistles a tune, Old Uncle Strong sings a song, Benjamin Biddle plays the fiddle, and Captain O'Trigg dances a jig, a quick lively dance. The last act is the speaker's own: "if I'm able", they will tell a fable, a short story that is made up, often with animals in it.
Each couplet pairs the person with what they do, and the pairs rhyme in an easy way: McCune and tune, Strong and song, Biddle and fiddle, O'Trigg and jig, able and fable. A child can guess the last word of each pair before it comes.
The poem also gives a child a part to play. Everyone has something they can do, and it does not have to be grand to be worth watching.
History and Origin
Funny names are a habit of Leroy F. Jackson's verse, and this poem is little more than a list of them, each paired with a talent. It was printed in his 1918 collection of rhymes for children.
The collection's opening poem says the rhymes were told to him by Peter Patter, who lives on a mountain and learns rhymes from his Uncle Owl.
Learning Activities
- Family show: let each child pick an act, a tune, a song, a dance or a made-up story, and put on a small show.
- Announce the act: one child reads the couplet as the announcer and the performer does the act.
- Your own names: make a new couplet with a neighbour's or friend's name and something they can do.
- Tell a fable: tell a short story in which an animal learns something, and see if the group can say what it is.