Fat, fat the water rat; fifty bullets in your hat."

Okay, I found it's the title (the "Fat, Fat the Water Rat" part, anyway) of the 37th episode of the old series, "Family Affair" - first aired on 10/23/67. Here's a link: http://www.tvtome.com/FamilyAffair/season2.html#ep37

It's also a song by an artist named Eric Von Schmidt (he plays guitar and kazoo!), on his 2nd Right, 3rd Row album, released in 1972. Here's a link: http://www.geocities.jp/hideki_wtnb/eric.html

It's also part of the title of a Dave Barry column, see: http://www.s-t.com/daily/11-96/11-03-96/e02li119.htm

Hmm, I wish some of this stuff was helping, but it was an interesting investigation just the same ...

I came up with two references to the "fifty bullets in your hat" part, neither were useful.

A "water rat" would have to be a muskrat, and their pelts were used to make hats, I think... I wonder if Setanta might be able to make heads or tails out of this.

Phonenix, Rick Von Schmidt (a guitar player from up around Harvard University) along with Richard Farina (Joan Baez posthumous brother-in-law) recorded some music with Bob Dylan before he was Dylan and using the name "Blind Boy Grunt"
trivia, I know but interesting.

I came up with about a dozen recollections on the web of that being used as a playground taunt many years ago.

I lost the window while tinkering with some other stuff but all I'd established is that it predates the songs and tv show mentioned here.

By the strict iambs, this could be a jump rope rhyme--of course, you'd have to jump to 50 for the bullets.

Don't know the origin, but it sure is a catchy title for a thread.

Childhood memory
When I was growing up in NYC, the chant went like this"

Fat, fat, the water rat,
Fifty bullets in his hat;
Bumped his head
When he went to bed,
and couldn't get up in the morning.

However, I have no idea what it means.

pjnbarb--

Thanks for the update--and welcome to A2K.

Re: Childhood memory


Well, goodness me - part of that little rhyme is known to me - but without the rat:

It's raining,
It's pouring.
The old man's snoring,
He bumped his head
On the end of the bed
And couldn't get up in the morning!

In the States our old men are less clumsy--

It's raining, it's pouring,
The Old Man is snoring.
He went to bed and covered his head,
And never got up until morning.

Re: Fat, fat the water rat; fifty bullets in your hat."


This comes from a Mad Magazine from around 1956 - 1958. There was also a poem called "Fat and Skinny"
Fat and Skinny had a race,
All around the steeplechase,
Fat fell down and broke his face,
Skinny said, "I won the race."
Fat said, "That's not fair."
Skinny said, "I don't care."

Westonbird--

Welcome to A2K.

I checked with my d-i-l and her mother heard the chant as a child sometime in the 1930's. Oral history is frequently older than the printed record.

"Fat & Skinny" is a new one for me. Thank you.

Hold your dominion.

I remember hearing the phrase in a 1970's TV movie called "The Girl most likely to", starring Stockard Channing, Ed Asner.

and welcome to a2k to you too, bmarte.

My father, born in 1917, used to chant this during baseball games as a taunt to the umpire:
Fat, fat, the water rat
Fifty bullets in his hat
Couldn't cat an alley cat.

Don't remember the rest.

Tom

It was used on an episode of Golden Girls too where Blanche's dad dies and Dorothy finds out Blanche was fat as a little girl and uses the line to make fun of her.

It was also used in an episode of "Get Smart" when 99 was pregnant.
99 (Upset): Go ahead and say it.
Max: Say what?
99: Fat, fat, the water rat.
Max: Fat, fat the water rat?
99: You take that back!

I asked, and I am sure it goes back to something in the NYC area. Buddy Hacket used to use it and said it was from the old neighborhood. I just want the rest of it for the heck of it. Thank you for all the replies. JonC

I vividly remember that Family Affair episode.

Buffy made friends with a little girl who lived on the wrong side of the tracks. They were poor and humble folks. However, even though their clothes were worn, they were clean. Buffy was thrilled to learn about their strange ways, including eating snacks made of white bread with sugar sprinkled on the top, walking in line singing not only "Fat, Fat......the Water Rat", but also "Boom, Boom....Boom Chicka Boom".
Sadly, when Mr. French (the original one) showed up to take Buffy home, her new friends, upon seeing him in his "gentleman's gentleman" attire, shunned her, declaring her to be stuck up. Buffy spent the rest of the episode proving to them that "I ain't stuck up"

In the last scene eveyone was reconciled, and even Jody was playing with the poor kids, singing the Boom Boom Boom Chicka Boom song. They were both wearing old worn clothes, that undoubtably Mr. French had to go buy from a Goodwill.

Jody seemed to have a hard time keeping up with the others though. I doubt he made it.