Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for May 06, 2017

I love the way Arlo interacts with the Luddie.

I prize the rare occasions when Luddie responds.

To “visit the Queen,” as I learned it.

and it needs both syllables..

“Pussycat, Pussycat, where have you been?

I’ve been to London to visit the Queen.

Pussycat, Pussycat, what did you there?

I frightened a little mouse under the chair."

Been is pronounced “bean” in some places.

That’s right Guv’nor.

I pronounce ‘aunt’ as ‘taunt’, and ‘been’ as ‘bean’. My dad was from Australia, and my mum was an English teacher. “Ants crawl on the floor; aunts marry uncles. And don’t you forget it, young lady.”

The earliest version (The Comic Adventures of Old Mother Hubbard and her Dog"-S C Martin 1805) has “look at”. The rhyme works in many British dialects (like RP).

The most common cat owner fallacy: the belief that they actually understand English.

Pussycat, pussycat, where have you been?What immortal hand or eye,Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

Bugger! Spacing got ruined.

At least both poems rhyme either aurally or in written form. Most popular songs are hideously rhymed (a particular pet peeve of mine). One of the most egregious offenders:“Billy Mack is a detective down in Texas. You he knows just exactly what the facts is.He ain’t gonna let those two escape justice.He makes his living off of other people’s taxes.”

Also Pink Floyd’s “Money.” “If you ask for a raise it’s no surprise they’re givin’ none away.” In the Dan Reed cover version, he pronounced “raise” as “rise” to keep the rhyming structure.

Either one way, or the other, vowel shifts and pronunciation of diphthongs are noticable markers of accent.

Does this mean the moving closer to the kids arc has ended? I hope not.

I put this in a Reply above, but I’ll repeat it here: The first published version of this rhyme, 1805, said “I’ve been up to London to visit the Queen.” Here’s a good place to explore the origins of nursery rhymes: http://www.rhymes.org.uk