As a child in the late 1920s I was taught by my mother to sing the words--
" Nickera--bocka--schtinga mit his Yah! Yah! Yah!
Nickera--bocka--schtinga mit his Yah! Yah! Yah!
He climb up on der schteeple,
Und he frighten all der people,
Mit his Yah! Yah! Yah!"
I think my mother must have learned this as a child in the 1890s. I have
never attempted to write it down till now, so I have taken a few spelling
hints from Kipling's version in ".007" (which is new to me). In mine, "up
on" in line 3 is definitely two words - an improvement, I think on "upon". I
have always sung "schtinker" for Kipling's "schtinga", but I think the
latter is probably right. Where my mother acquired it - at home or at
school - I have no idea.
The tune in my version goes as follows (in the key of C).
CCCCCCDECD[down]GG
DDDDDDEFDE[down]CC
EFFFFFA
GFEEEEEG
EDCDC
I too would like to know more about either version.
Yours
George Engle
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