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See, Hear and Sing Children's Songs
 
Children playing on roof of Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York City, 1919.
 Children play on the roof of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City in 1919

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Listen to:
Willie "Red Eye" Williams performing "Mary Mack Dressed in Black" on May 20, 1939

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Singing Games
Kids aren't the only ones to sing children's songs. Adults tend to remember songs they learned as children, and sing them to their own children. When different people sing children's songs, the lyrics change a bit.

Such was the case when a group of prisoners on the Cummins State Farm in Arkansas sang "Mary Mack." In this version, Mary had only three or four buttons on her back, whereas in the other version she had 24. Have you ever changed the lyrics when singing a song?

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CREDIT: "Children Playing on Roof of Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York City." 1919. Prints and Photographs, Library of Congress.
AUDIO CREDIT: Williams, Willie "Red Eye", performer. "Mary Mack Dressed in Black." May 20, 1939. Southern Mosaic: The John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip, Library of Congress.