I have loved the Harry Belafonte song “There’s a hole in the bucket” since I was a child. And surprise, according to Wikipedia it is a children’s song. And it originated in Germany, not Jamaica. 🙂
There’s a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza,
There’s a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, a hole.
Then mend it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Oh mend it, dear Henry, dear Henry, mend it.
With what shall I mend it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I mend it, dear Liza, with what?
Try straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, with straw.
But the straw is too long, dear Liza, dear Liza,
The straw is too long, dear Liza, too long.
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 ax, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With an ax, dear Henry, dear Henry, an ax.
The ax is too dull, dear Liza, dear Liza,
The ax is too dull, dear Liza, too dull.
Sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Oh sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, hone 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, use water.
In what shall I carry it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
In what shall I carry 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.
I used to think it was silly of Liza to not know the bucket had a hole and couldn’t be used to fetch water. Harry did a good job with that final verse. But having lived around people in the “poor victim me” world for many years now, I now see the song as an example of how the world is out to get you and there is no way to move forward.
Come on, set a pot outside next time it rains and then fix the bucket!
It’s really about a guy who isn’t doing a very good job of taking care of his household. Funny how perspectives change. 🙂
