Saturday Rave: The Crocodile.

I learned this song when I was a Girl Guide. That means I've been fond of it for a long time.

It's good, too. It tells a complete story, with proper characters and motivations, in a very short space. Not only that, but it rhymes really properly, and it's clever other ways. Look, for instance at all those soothing s sounds in the first lines that are suddenly hacked to bits by the cracking sounds of back and crocodile.

This song exists in several versions. The one below may be essentially a London one (though I've never lived in London) because of the very good joke in the last line, which uses London slang (dial = face).

She sailed away
On a sunny summer day
On the back of a crocodile.
"You see," said she,
"He's as tame as tame can be,
I'll ride him down the Nile."


The croc winked his eye
As she bade them all goodbye
Wearing a happy smile.
At the end of the ride,
The lady was inside
And the smile was on the croc's ol' dial.

Word To Use Today: crocodile. This word comes from the Greek krokodeilos, which is from krokē pebble, plus drilos, worm, because of its fondness for basking on shingle.