Booh! Lyrics
After his afternoon nap, a baby boy sits in nurse's lap while his father holds a handkerchief in front of his face and says Booh! The baby laughs and kicks, then demands it again. The poem ends on the thought that one day they will both be too old for the game.
Booh!
On afternoons, when baby boy has had a splendid nap,
And sits, like any monarch on his throne, in nurse's lap,
In some such wise my handkerchief I hold before my face,
And cautiously and quietly I move about the place;
Then, with a cry, I suddenly expose my face to view,
And you should hear him laugh and crow when I say "Booh!"
Sometimes the rascal tries to make believe that he is scared,
And really, when I first began, he stared, and stared, and stared;
And then his under lip came out and farther out it came,
Till mamma and the nurse agreed it was a "cruel shame" -
But now what does that same wee, toddling, lisping baby do
But laugh and kick his little heels when I say "Booh!"
He laughs and kicks his little heels in rapturous glee, and then
In shrill, despotic treble bids me "do it all aden!"
And I - of course I do it; for, as his progenitor,
It is such pretty, pleasant play as this that I am for!
And it is, oh, such fun! and I am sure that we shall rue
The time when we are both too old to play the game of "Booh!"
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/booh-eugene-field/
- Type
- Poems for Children, Rhymes for Babies
- Written by
- Eugene Field
- Tune
- Warm and playful, with a big 'Booh!' at the end of every verse
- Best for ages
- 0 to 3 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| my handkerchief I hold before my face | Hold a cloth up in front of your face. |
| when I say Booh! | Pull the cloth away and say Booh! with a big smile. |
What Does Booh! Mean?
This is a poem about the game of peekaboo, told by the baby's father. He holds a handkerchief in front of his face, moves about quietly, then "with a cry" shows his face and says Booh! The baby, sitting "like any monarch on his throne, in nurse's lap", laughs and crows. The second verse tells how the game began: the baby stared and stared, and his lower lip came out "farther out it came", until mamma and the nurse called it a "cruel shame". Now the toddling baby laughs and kicks his heels, and in the third verse he is the bossy one, asking in a "shrill, despotic treble" (a high voice that gives orders) to "do it all aden", which is baby talk for "all again".
The last lines are for the grown-up: "as his progenitor", which means father, the speaker does it of course, and says the time will come when they are "both too old to play the game". Rue means to regret.
History and Origin
Eugene Field, an American writer known as the "poet of childhood", included this poem in Poems of Childhood, published by Scribner in 1904. Field wrote many verses about babies and nurseries, and this one catches a father playing peekaboo.
Learning Activities
- Peekaboo with a cloth: hold a thin scarf in front of your face, move it away, and say Booh! Let the baby tug the cloth too.
- Hide a toy: cover a toy with a cloth, say the words and let the child uncover it.
- Play it again: the poem shows the baby asking for the game over and over, so repeat as often as the child wants.
- Swap roles: with an older child, let them hide behind the cloth and surprise you.