Main Piece:

“Miss Susie had a tugboat, the tugboat had a bell. Miss Susie went to heaven, the tugboat went to hell-o operator, give me number 9! And if you disconnect me, I’ll chop off your behind the refrigerator, there lay a piece of glass. Miss Susie sat upon it, it went straight up her ass-k me no more questions, I’ll tell you no more lies. The boys are in the bathroom, zipping up their flies are in the meadow, the bees are in the hive. Miss Susie and her boyfriend are kissing in the D-A-R-K! Dark! Dark! Dark! Dark! Dark is like a movie, a movie is like a show! A show is like a TV show and that’s not all I know! I know I know my Ma, I know I know my Pa! I know I know my sister with a 40 acre bra! My Ma gave me her nickel, my Pa gave me a dime. My sister gave me her boyfriend, who kissed me all the time. My Ma took back her nickel, my Pa took back his dime. My sister took back her boyfriend, and gave me Frankenstein. He made me wash the dishes, he made me sweep the floor. He made me clean his underwear, so I kicked him out the door! I kicked him over London, I kicked him over France! I kicked him into Hawaii where he learned to hula dance! So hello operator, give me number 10! And if you disconnect me, I’ll sing this song again!”

Background:

Informant is a first year student at the University of Southern California who grew up in Seattle, Washington. She learned this song at elementary school as a child.

Context:

The informant was telling me that she had a song from her childhood stuck in her head all day. I asked her which one she was referring to, and she then sang this.

Commentary:

This song was such a familiar piece of the informant’s childhood, and seemingly everyone who grew up around her also knew it. Additionally, some of the informant’s friends who did not grow up anywhere near Seattle knew this song, with maybe some slight variations, and even those who did not know this specific song had their own version with a similar rhyme scheme or tune.