Mother Goose, New To Me

There was an old woman tossed up in a basket,

Ninety-nine times as high as the moon;

And whither she went I just had to ask it,

For in her hands she carried a broom.

“Old woman, old woman, old woman,” said I,

“Whither, O whither, O whither so high?”

“To sweep the cobwebs off the sky.”

“May I come with you?”

“Aye, by-and-by.”

I love this nursery rhyme, it’s so dreamlike. I never heard it as a child; only shortly after becoming a father; so I heard it fresh with adult ears. It was indeed with me... by and by.  It comes in many varieties:

blanket/basket

seventeen/seventy/ninety-nine

in her hand/under her arm

And I’ll be with you by-and-by /  May I come with you? Aye, by-and-by.

2*3*2*2 = 24 choices. I happen to like this particular mutation. Also I made a few tweaks myself. This is a rhyme you have to co-create.

Who is this old woman? A maid? A witch? An angel? A goddess? An astronaut? All of the above? I like to think of the web-sweeping as the clearing of the mind during sleep. The last-line choice creates ambiguity. Is she coming back to us or are we flying off with her?

Here is a tune I made for it:

hi-C F G F A A A G A G A# A#

A A# A hiC hiC G F E F

A F G F A A G A G A# A#

A A# A hiC hiC G F E F

hiE hiF hiC hiC hiC A A A# A A# hiC

hiC hiD hiC hiC hiD hiC hiC A# A G

G F F A A G G A#

A# A A# hiC hiC  

G F E F