My Boy Tammie Lyrics
Someone asks Tammie where he has been, and he says he has been courting a lady who is too young to be taken from her mammy, though her ages add up to sixty.
My Boy Tammie
"Where have you been all day,
My boy Tammie?"
"I've been all the day
Courting of a lady gay;
But oh, she's too young
To be taken from her mammy!"
"What work can she do,
My boy Tammie?
Can she bake and can she brew,
My boy Tammie?"
"She can brew and she can bake,
And she can make our wedding cake;
But oh, she's too young
To be taken from her mammy!"
"What age may she be?
What age may she be,
My boy Tammie?"
"Twice two, twice seven,
Twice ten, twice eleven;
But oh, she's too young
To be taken from her mammy!"
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/my-boy-tammie/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken or sung as a question and answer
- Best for ages
- 5 to 9 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| My boy Tammie | Call out with a hand beside your mouth. |
| She can brew and she can bake | Mime stirring a pot and then patting dough. |
| Twice two, twice seven | Count 2 and 2 on your fingers, then 7 and 7. |
What Does My Boy Tammie Mean?
The rhyme is a talk between a questioner and Tammie. The questioner asks where he has been all day, what work the lady can do and how old she is. Tammie says he has been courting a lady, that she can bake and brew and make their wedding cake, and that her age is twice two, twice seven, twice ten, twice eleven. Each time the answer ends with the same line: she is too young to be taken from her mammy.
The ages are a sum: twice two is 4, twice seven is 14, twice ten is 20 and twice eleven is 22, and 4 + 14 + 20 + 22 = 60. So the lady is sixty, and the joke is that Tammie keeps saying she is too young. Children can check the sum, which turns the rhyme into a number puzzle as well as a story.
History and Origin
Walter Jerrold prints the rhyme in The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes (1903). The refrain uses the word mammy for mother, and the question-and-answer layout makes the rhyme easy to read in two voices.
Learning Activities
- Two voices: read the rhyme in pairs, one child asking and one answering.
- Age sums: work out twice two, twice seven, twice ten and twice eleven, then add them up.
- Spot the refrain: clap each time the line about her mammy comes round.
- Make a cake: talk about the steps for baking a cake, as in the third verse.