Miss Susie facts for kids
"Miss Susie Had a Steamboat" is a fun American schoolyard rhyme. It's also known by other names like "Hello Operator" or "Miss Lucy". This song is special because each part of the song seems to lead to a word that sounds a bit naughty. But then, the next line shows it's actually part of a completely harmless word or phrase!
Long ago, kids often used this song for jump rope games. Today, it's more often sung just for fun or as part of a clapping game. Sometimes, people even use hand motions while singing. For example, they might pretend to pull a bell or make a phone call gesture.
This song is sometimes mixed up with "Miss Lucy had a baby". That song uses the same tune and was also a popular jump-rope song. "Miss Lucy had a baby" came from older songs. These older songs had names like "Bang Bang Rosie" in Britain or "Bang Away Lulu" in the Appalachian Mountains. Some versions of the song mention a woman with an alligator purse. She encourages the baby's mother to vote. This might be a nod to Susan B. Anthony, a famous American woman who fought for women's right to vote. She might be why the steamboat owner in the song is often called "Miss Susie" or "Miss Lucy" today.
How the Song Works
The "Miss Susie" song is made up of four-line sections called quatrains. These sections follow a simple rhyme pattern. The second and fourth lines of each section usually rhyme. This makes the song easy to remember and sing along to.
The song has a bouncy, rhythmic feel. It often builds up to a word that sounds like it might be a "forbidden" word. But then, the song cleverly cuts it off and finishes it with a different, innocent word. This playful trick is a big part of the song's fun. The tune of "Miss Susie Had a Steamboat" is very similar to "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down". That's the famous theme song for the Looney Tunes cartoons from Warner Bros..
Song Lyrics
There are many different versions of this song. They can change depending on where you are or when the song was sung. Here is one common version:
Miss Susie had a steamboat,
The steamboat had a bell,
Miss Susie went to heaven,
The steamboat went to...
Hello Operator,
Please dial Number 9,
And if you disconnect me,
I'll kick you from...
Behind the 'frigerator,
There lay a piece of glass,
Miss Susie sat upon it,
And cut her little...
Ask me no more questions,
I’ll tell you no more lies,
The boys are in the bathroom,
Zipping down their...
Flies are in the backyard,
The bees are in the park,
Miss Susie and her boyfriend
Are kissing in the D-A-R-K
Dark, dark, dark
Here is another version that was popular in the early 1900s:
Mary had a steamboat
The steamboat had a bell
Mary went to Heaven
And the steamboat went Toot Toot.
