There's a Hole in My Bucket Challenge

AmericanTrash

Really Experienced
Joined
Apr 20, 2007
Posts
259
If you ever heard the song "There's a Hole in my Bucket" you will be familiar with constructs of elaborate causality. Or if you ever tried to get a 7-year old to go to bed. Either way, I'm hoping to construct and to see some Rube Goldberg style poems along those lines.

It does not have to rhyme or be in any specific structure. It should have some thread of causality.

(From Wikipedia)

There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza,
There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, a hole.

Then fix it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then fix it, dear Henry, dear Henry, fix it.

With what shall I fix it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I fix it, dear Liza, with what?

With straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, with straw.

The straw is too long, dear Liza, dear Liza,
The straw is too long, dear Liza, too long.

Then cut it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then cut it, dear Henry, dear Henry, cut it.

With what shall I cut it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I cut it, dear Liza, with what?

With an knife, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With an knife, dear Henry, dear Henry, an knife.

The knife is too dull, dear Liza, dear Liza,
The knife is too dull, dear Liza, too dull.

Then sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, sharpen it.

With what shall I sharpen it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I sharpen it, dear Liza, with what?

With a stone, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With a stone, dear Henry, dear Henry, a stone.

The stone is too dry, dear Liza, dear Liza,
The stone is too dry, dear Liza, too dry.

Then wet it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then wet it, dear Henry, dear Henry, wet it.

With what shall I wet it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I wet it, dear Liza, with what?

With water, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With water, dear Henry, dear Henry, with water.

In what shall I fetch it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
In what shall I fetch it, dear Liza, in what?

In a bucket, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
In a bucket, dear Henry, dear Henry, in a bucket.

But there's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza,
There's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, a hole.

Origins and development
The earliest known archetype of this song seems to be in the German collection of songs Bergliederbüchlein (c 1700). It is set as a dialogue between a woman named Liese, and an unnamed man.[citation needed]

Wenn der Beltz em Loch hat –
stop es zu meine liebe Liese
Womit soll ich es zustopfen –
mit Stroh, meine liebe Liese.

When the jug has a hole –
stop it up my dear Liese
With what shall I stop it –
with straw my dear Liese.

In later German sources the song is reproduced under the title of Heinrich und Liese and credited as a folk song from Hesse. In the 19th century it was sung as a commercium song and printed in the 1858 Kommersbuch. The renowned song collection Deutscher Liederhort (3 volumes, 1856–1894) edited by Ludwig Erk and Franz Magnus Böhme includes the song, relating it also to the Flemish song Mooy Bernardyn ("Wat doet gy in het groene veld ?"). The German song became even more widespread when it was included in the famous Wandervogel songbook Der Zupfgeigenhansl in 1909.

In George Korson's "Pennsylvania Songs and Legends" (1949) there is a song with meter closer to the modern English version and beginning thus:

Wann der Tschock awer en Loch hot
Liewer Georgie Liewer Georgie,
Wann der Tschock a wer en Loch hot?
Dummer Ding, dann schtopp'n zu!

When the jug has a hole
Dear Georgie, dear Georgie
When the jug has a hole
'Stupid thing, then stop it up!

This was collected in 1940, and is earlier than any known English-language version. This suggests that it might be a traditional "Pennsylvania Dutch" (i.e. German) song. Ed McCurdy recorded it in 1958 on "Children's Songs". Harry Belafonte recorded it with Odetta in 1960. It was in the UK charts in 1961. In his book "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" (1993), Pete Seeger refers to it as an originally German song, "Lieber Heinrich". "Songs Along the Mahantongo: Pennsylvania Dutch Folksongs" (1951), by Boyer, Buffington, & Yoder, has a version

Was soll ich koche, liewer Hei,
Liewer Heinrich, liewer Heinrich?
Was soll ich koche, liewer Heinrich,
Was dann?

What should I cook, dear Henry,
Dear Henry, dear Henry?
What should I cook, dear Henry,
Tell me what. (literally: What then?)
 
Some potatoes, dear Liza,
dear Liza, dear Liza,
Cook potatoes dear Liza,
Potatoes, dear Liza, that's what.
 
Because of the Gun

Because of the gun on the train
early in the morning back to Brooklyn,
the gun that was drawn because
of the God argument and the White Devil
argument and maybe because
of the New York Times article Just the day
before about contemporary slaves in North
Africa--probably that isn't really the reason
I moved to Canada and took that job.

Usually that's the story, though, every
time I say it as if thinking for the first time,
"I think they have gun control there."

Before the gun, though, before the train, a letter
from British Columbia contained a senryu within
twelve typewritten pages.

"Naked man sits
on the floor, cross-legged
typing, endlessly, pain"

That's how I left New York.

That's how I became the gun.
 
If you ever heard the song "There's a Hole in my Bucket" you will be familiar with constructs of elaborate causality. Or if you ever tried to get a 7-year old to go to bed. Either way, I'm hoping to construct and to see some Rube Goldberg style poems along those lines.

It does not have to rhyme or be in any specific structure. It should have some thread of causality.

(From Wikipedia)

There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza,
There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, a hole.

Then fix it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then fix it, dear Henry, dear Henry, fix it.

With what shall I fix it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I fix it, dear Liza, with what?

With straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, with straw.

The straw is too long, dear Liza, dear Liza,
The straw is too long, dear Liza, too long.

Then cut it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then cut it, dear Henry, dear Henry, cut it.

With what shall I cut it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I cut it, dear Liza, with what?

With an knife, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With an knife, dear Henry, dear Henry, an knife.

The knife is too dull, dear Liza, dear Liza,
The knife is too dull, dear Liza, too dull.

Then sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, sharpen it.

With what shall I sharpen it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I sharpen it, dear Liza, with what?

With a stone, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With a stone, dear Henry, dear Henry, a stone.

The stone is too dry, dear Liza, dear Liza,
The stone is too dry, dear Liza, too dry.

Then wet it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then wet it, dear Henry, dear Henry, wet it.

With what shall I wet it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I wet it, dear Liza, with what?

With water, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With water, dear Henry, dear Henry, with water.

In what shall I fetch it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
In what shall I fetch it, dear Liza, in what?

In a bucket, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
In a bucket, dear Henry, dear Henry, in a bucket.

But there's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza,
There's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, a hole.

Origins and development
The earliest known archetype of this song seems to be in the German collection of songs Bergliederbüchlein (c 1700). It is set as a dialogue between a woman named Liese, and an unnamed man.[citation needed]

Wenn der Beltz em Loch hat –
stop es zu meine liebe Liese
Womit soll ich es zustopfen –
mit Stroh, meine liebe Liese.

When the jug has a hole –
stop it up my dear Liese
With what shall I stop it –
with straw my dear Liese.

In later German sources the song is reproduced under the title of Heinrich und Liese and credited as a folk song from Hesse. In the 19th century it was sung as a commercium song and printed in the 1858 Kommersbuch. The renowned song collection Deutscher Liederhort (3 volumes, 1856–1894) edited by Ludwig Erk and Franz Magnus Böhme includes the song, relating it also to the Flemish song Mooy Bernardyn ("Wat doet gy in het groene veld ?"). The German song became even more widespread when it was included in the famous Wandervogel songbook Der Zupfgeigenhansl in 1909.

In George Korson's "Pennsylvania Songs and Legends" (1949) there is a song with meter closer to the modern English version and beginning thus:

Wann der Tschock awer en Loch hot
Liewer Georgie Liewer Georgie,
Wann der Tschock a wer en Loch hot?
Dummer Ding, dann schtopp'n zu!

When the jug has a hole
Dear Georgie, dear Georgie
When the jug has a hole
'Stupid thing, then stop it up!

This was collected in 1940, and is earlier than any known English-language version. This suggests that it might be a traditional "Pennsylvania Dutch" (i.e. German) song. Ed McCurdy recorded it in 1958 on "Children's Songs". Harry Belafonte recorded it with Odetta in 1960. It was in the UK charts in 1961. In his book "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" (1993), Pete Seeger refers to it as an originally German song, "Lieber Heinrich". "Songs Along the Mahantongo: Pennsylvania Dutch Folksongs" (1951), by Boyer, Buffington, & Yoder, has a version

Was soll ich koche, liewer Hei,
Liewer Heinrich, liewer Heinrich?
Was soll ich koche, liewer Heinrich,
Was dann?

What should I cook, dear Henry,
Dear Henry, dear Henry?
What should I cook, dear Henry,
Tell me what. (literally: What then?)

MY BUCKET'S GOT A HOLE IN IT, Ricky Nelson
 
Because of the gun on the train
early in the morning back to Brooklyn,
the gun that was drawn because
of the God argument and the White Devil
argument and maybe because
of the New York Times article Just the day
before about contemporary slaves in North
Africa--probably that isn't really the reason
I moved to Canada and took that job.

Usually that's the story, though, every
time I say it as if thinking for the first time,
"I think they have gun control there."

Before the gun, though, before the train, a letter
from British Columbia contained a senryu within
twelve typewritten pages.

"Naked man sits
on the floor, cross-legged
typing, endlessly, pain"

That's how I left New York.

That's how I became the gun.

where are you - there's lots of gun control at my place

I recall writing a short poem decades ago

My friends all said
I had holes in my head, so
I took and put them in my arm

-30-

they were lean times
 
Last edited:
I know an old lady who swallowed a fly
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
..............................................................
She's dead of course
 
because you could not stop fighting
I escaped to vertical cliffs
because I learned to climb in yosemite
I could not resist the rock club
because a bearded man became my lead
he became my best friend and lover
because distance makes the heart grow fonder
the years apart only deepened our ties
because we both loved cascadia
in time we shared a home
because happiness multiplied
we joined our hearts at the top of a watershed
because that union spawned a business
our creativity was invigorated
because earth and sea inspired
we refreshed our spirit on the tides
because we knew a refreshed faith in god's creation
we were inspired to sacred works
because my work jumped state lines
I have clients in San Antonio
Because I'll have to travel to Texas
I'll soon rendezvous with my lover
because I don't climb anymore
we will find new uses for rope
 
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