I’m a Little Tea Pot
Posted by EJ | Posted in Entertainment, Off Topic, Tea in Art, Tea in History | Posted on 22-07-2008
4
*She stands up and waves her hands dramatically in the air
pretending to conduct a large orchestra*
“I’m a little tea pot, short and stout…”
*She puts her left hand on her hip
mimicking the handle of a tea pot*
“Here is my handle, here is my spout…”
*She puts her right hand in an arch
mimicking the spout of a teapot*
“When I get all steamed up, then I shout,
Just tip me over, pour me out!”
*She leans over to the right side as far as she can go*
Well – THAT was liberating…
Maybe not…
I think I may have thrown out my back…
Getting old you know!
No matter what your age, I’m sure you’ve heard this song at one time or another. But where did it come from? Most of us think it is a nursery rhyme that was made for children as a source of entertainment for them and the onlookers of the funny teapot actions that accompany it, but it actually has a history more noteworthy than that…
The song was written in 1939 by George Sanders and Clarence Kelly in Tin Pan Alley – The Core of the Music publishing District at that time. Kelley at that time, ran a dance school that specialized in teaching tap dance maneuvers. The school was open to even the youngest children, who were still what I like to think of as bobble-head little kidlets… You know the ones: Heads that still look just a little bit too big for their bodies, the ones that have a handle on the basic walk and are now mastering the run… tiny little tots… As one could imagine – teaching youngsters like this dance steps would not be an easy task. Attention spans alone ( never-mind physical coordination issues) involved in a dance routine for the paying parents would be quite an undertaking. Sanders, who usually played the piano accompaniment to the school’s dance recitals worked with Kelley to create song that the children could sing to remember their dance moves, hence creating the “Teapot Tip”.
For more information on this song’s origins look for the book by Ronald Sanders (the son of George Sanders) entitled “Reflections on a Teapot: The Personal History of Time”. It was published in 1972 by Harper and Row.
It’s amazing the kind of history behind the littlest things, and how the littlest things can create history.
Even after having a taken a couple of years of tap dance, no one had ever told me that. I will have to mention it at my next lesson!
That’s so neat! It actually turned out to be a brilliant little jig: still popular today and so catchy…
I used to love doing this song as a kid. I remember my friend had her birthday party at Jack Astors and they made her get up on the chair and sing this song for everyone – actions and everything. I’ll bet they don’t know the origins of the song though…they should definitly read this blog!