Last week, my employer informed me that the rhyme 'pop goes the weasel' was based on "something to do with spinning fiber", a fact he had learned in Shaker Village. This was something I had never heard of, which surprised him, and piqued my curiosity.
Lucky for me, I spent the day today in
Shaker Village, spinning some fiber with a lovely group of women. According to my peers, my employer's memory was correct. Apparently, there is some historical evidence that the rhyme references a
spinner's weasel, a device that was used to measure skeins, and 'pops' once the desired length is reached. At the moment they have a wonderful exhibit on Shaker textiles, if anyone in the area is able to visit it.
I use an umbrella swift when I skein yarn, and my children and I have recited a different rhyme as it rotates:
"Round and round and round she goes
Where she stops, nobody knows"
This originated in the
Amateur Hour that was on the radio starting in the 1930's. The host would spin the wheel, and the rhyme was recited at the beginning of every show.
I think that henceforth we will use the more historically accurate 'pop goes the weasel'; though there is something to be said for the intensity of the Original Amateur Hour's chant.
