The Cattie Rade to Passelet Lyrics
A Scots rhyme about a cat that rode to Passelet on a harrow-tine on a wet Wednesday, ending with the speaker missing it ever since.
The Cattie Rade to Passelet
The cattie rade to Passelet,
To Passelet, to Passelet,
The cattie rade to Passelet,
Upon a harrow-tine, O.
'Twas on a weetie Wednesday,
Wednesday, Wednesday:
'Twas on a weetie Wednesday,
I missed it aye sin syne, O.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/the-cattie-rade-to-passelet/
- Type
- Animal Rhymes
- Tune
- Sung or chanted with a rocking, riding beat
- Best for ages
- 3 to 7 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| The cattie rade to Passelet | Bounce up and down as if riding a horse. |
| Upon a harrow-tine, O | Poke one finger straight up from your fist like a spike. |
| 'Twas on a weetie Wednesday | Pat your fingers on your knees like falling rain. |
What Does The Cattie Rade to Passelet Mean?
Several words are Scots. Cattie is a cat, rade is rode, and weetie is wet, so the cat rode to Passelet on a wet Wednesday. A harrow is a farm tool with spikes that is dragged across a field, and a tine is one of those spikes, so the cat rides on the tip of a spike, which is plainly impossible.
The last line is I missed it aye sin syne, O. Aye means always and sin syne means since then, so the speaker has missed it ever since. Passelet is a place name.
History and Origin
Robert Ford prints the rhyme in Children's Rhymes, Children's Games, Children's Songs, Children's Stories, and the words are given in Scots. He puts it among rhymes for dandling a child on the knee: a mother or nurse may sing a pony rhyme as she dandles the child, and other riding rhymes, this one among them, may follow it in the same manner.
Learning Activities
- Riding game: ride a knee or a cushion while saying the verse, bouncing harder on the beat.
- Scots detectives: match each Scots word to its English meaning.
- Wet Wednesday: draw a rainy picture and write 'weetie' above it.
- Impossible rides: make up other places a cat could never ride and add a line.