Who Knew???

I'm not sure how many of you have seen this commercial where 4 professional looking women watch as a 5th woman gets off the elevator in her going to a funeral black dress, which happens to have silver buttons up and down her back. Which initiates a playful hand game that I know and used to play, called Miss Mary Mack.

So as with everything I come across that brings up memories of my childhood, I got to thinking about the origin of the song, so my inquiring mind wanted to know. I found this very interesting.

There were variations of the song that said it was a old hymn sung by slave children, but also could have referred to a ship during the Civil War:


Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack (name of the ship)
All dressed in black, black, black (ironclad ships were popular at the time.)
With silver buttons, buttons, buttons (bolts)
All down her back, back, back (ships are referred to as females.)
She asked her mother, mother, mother (the Confederate States of America)
For fifteen cents, cents, cents (the Confederate States Army were going through major money problems)
To see the elephants, elephants, elephants (elephants are the symbol of the Republican party, which was the majority of the North, and the Union)
Jump over the fence, fence, fence (the boundary line)
They never came back, back, back
Until the fourth of July, ly, ly (American Independence Day)


Interesting Indeed.