The Skinniest Man I ever saw he lived down in Hobokin
If I tell you how skinny he was you’ll say that I’m a jokin
For exercise he used to jump through the holes of a nutmeg grater
He was so skinny that his head looked like a sweet potater
When he went out a walkin he never went alone
For fear some mean old hungry dog would taken him for a bone
One starry night in the pale moonlight when the lamp was burning dimly
A bed bug got him by the seat of his pants and dragged him up the chimney
Oh Me Oh my!
You’d like to laugh to death, he fell through the hole in the seat of his pants
And choked himself to death.
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We learned a slightly different version of this:
ReplyDeleteOnce there was a skinny little man who lived in Old Hobokin,
And when I tell you how skinny he was you'll think I was only joking.
For exercise he use to dive through a hole on a nutmeg grater.
He wouldn't go out on a stormy night, he wouldn't go out alone
For fear some poor little hungry dog would take him as a bone.
One night when the folks were out, the lights were burning dimly,
A bedbug caught him by the seat of his pants and pulled him up the chimney.
Oh Me! Oh My! He nearly lost his breath.
He fell through a hole in the seat of his pants and choked himself to death.
Oh Me! Oh My! He nearly lost his breath.
Fell through a hole in the seat of his pants and choked himself to death.
THIS IS EXACTLY HOW I LEARNED IT. I remember learning it at Faith Christian School in Abilene, Tx. Great memories
DeleteI have searched this "Granny" song since there was an internet, and this is the first time I've found any reference to it. This is exactly how the old folks in east Texas sang it:
ReplyDeleteWell....Once there was a skinny man, he come from Hokin Pokin
If I was to tell ya how skinny he was, you'd think I's only jokin'
Now....He never went out on stormy nights, he never went out alone,
He's afraid some farmer's hungry dawg would take him for a bone.
Aw....But then he went out one night, the moon was shinin' dimly,
Skeeter caught him by the seat of the pants and drug him up the chimbly!
Oh me! Oh my! Like to lost his breath,
Fell through a hole in the seat of his pants, and choked hisself to death.
We learned a similar version from our Wyoming family:
ReplyDeleteThe skinniest man I ever saw, he came from old Hoboken.
If I were to tell you how skinny he was, you'd think that I was jokin'!
He was thin as the glue on a postage stamp or the peel of a new pertater.
For exercise he used to glide through the holes of a nutmeg grater!
He was afraid to go out at night or venture out alone,
For fear some mean old hungry dog would take him for a bone.
One night, one night, when the stars were shining dimly,
A bedbug grabbed him by the toe and yanked him up the chimney.
Oh me! Oh my! He was scared to take a breath,
For fear he'd fall through a hole in his sock, and choke himself to death!
The way my grandma sang it she grew up in NY and we were booth always thin
ReplyDeleteThe skinniest man i ever knew he once lived in old Hoboken
If i ever told you how skinny he was you'd say that I was joking
For exercise he took a dive right through a nutmeg grater
Every day all he'd eat was the skin of one potater
Whenever he went a walkin he never walked alone
For every dog that came along just took him for a bone
Skinny hey skinny..... Something like that at the end with change of melody
I don't recall the exact words of the various verses, however, they were similar to the verses in the preceding comments. What I do remember clearly is the chorus that my mother used to sing to me in the 1950's. It went as follows, "O me, O my, he was so very thin, that every time his chest went out, his backbone it went in."
ReplyDeleteThis is the refrain I remember singing at Manitoba Pioneer Camp in the 1950s.
DeleteVERY CLOSE to how my Mother taught it to me when I was about 6 years old.
ReplyDeleteOh the skinniest man I ever did see came from Old Hobokin, and when I tell you how skinny he was you'll think I'm only jokin'.
For exercise he used to dive through the holes in nutmeg grater, his body was the skinniest thing and his head like a sweet potater.
He couldn't go out on a stormy night, he couldn't go out alone for fear some lone and hungry dog would take him for a bone.
One night the folks were All asleep and the lights were burning dimly, a bedbug got him by the seat of his pants and yanked him up the chimney.
On me, Oh My he almost lost his breath, He fell right through than hole in his pants and chocked himself to death.
Pretty much the same except you were missing the line about head like a sweet Potater. THANS FOR POSTING, glad this song lives on. Ken Moyer in Austin Texas.
My grandmother 1903 and my mother 1934 taught us this way.
ReplyDeleteThe skinniest old man you ever did see, he came from hokie-pokie and when I tell you how skinny he was you'll only think I'm joking.
His afraid to go out on a stormy night, his afraid to go out alone,
For fear some hungry little dog might take him for a bone.
One night when the folks were out, the lights were shining dimly, the bed bugs got him by the seat of his pants and drug him up the chimney.
Oh me, oh my, the skinniest old man you ever did see, he came from Hokie Pokie and if I tell you how skinny he was you'll only think I'm joking.