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History in a game
for children in
"Seesaw Margery Daw"
The seesaw is the oldest
'ride' for children,
easily constructed
from logs of
different sizes. The
words of "Seesaw
Marjorie Daw"
reflect children
playing on a see-saw
and singing this
rhyme to accompany
their game. There
was no such person
that we can identify
who had the name
Marjorie Daw and we
therefore make the
assumption that this
was purely used to
rhyme with the words
'seesaw' i.e "Seesaw
Marjory Daw". The
last three lines of
"Seesaw Margery Daw"
appear to reflect
the use of child
labour in work
houses where those
with nowhere else to
live would be forced
to work for a
pittance (a penny a
day) on piece work
(because he can't
work any faster).
The words of "Seesaw
Margery Daw" might
be used by a
spiteful child to
taunt another
implying his family
were destined for
the workhouse. |
