Pop Goes the Weasel

Pop Goes the Weasel
Song Name	Pop Goes the Weasel
Origin	English nursery rhyme
Performer(s)	Various
Composer	Unknown
Lyricist	Unknown
Type of Song	Villainized Song

"Pop Goes the Weasel" is an English nursery rhyme and singing game dating from the 18th century. Though the lyrics have been changed slightly depending on region and era, the song has stayed mostly the same since it was written. The interpretations vary, though most interpretations make the song either about a spinning wheel or a weasel being chased by a monkey.

Though not originally villainous, the song has been villainized in countless media. This may be due to the song's association with jack-in-the-boxes, which are designed to invoke feelings of suspense or surprise. Partly due to this, as well as the novelty of making a children's song scary or evil, "Pop Goes the Weasel" is frequently used as a motif or song for villains.

Lyrics

• English
• American

Half a pound of tuppenny rice
Half a pound of treacle
That's the way the money goes
Pop goes the weasel

Every night when I go out
The monkey's on the table
Take a stick and knock it off
Pop goes the weasel

Up and down the City road
In and out the Eagle
That's the way the money goes
Pop goes the weasel

All around the mulberry bush
The monkey chased the weasel
The monkey thought it was all in good fun
Pop goes the weasel

A penny for a spool of thread
A penny for a needle
That's the way the money goes
Pop goes the weasel

Other Appearances

• The song is a recurring plot point in the 1934 Three Stooges short subject Punch Drunks, where Curly Howard is found to have a psychological reaction to the song, granting him enormous strength and temper when he hears it; in response, Moe Howard and Larry Fine take advantage of theur friend's coniditon by using it to win boxing matches.
  • The same recording would be used to open the 1935 Three Stooges short Pop Goes the Easel and the 1959 film The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze.
  • The song is also a plot point in the 1987 video game adaptation The Three Stooges.
• The song is sung by Foghorn Leghorn in many Looney Tunes cartoons where he sings about The Weasel.
• The song was sung by the Great One to taunt the Doctor in the British television show Doctor Who.
• The song is played on by the Jack-in-the-Box Zombies in the 2009 video game Plants vs. Zombies. The boxes detonate upon opening.
• The song is a recurring motif in the Creepypasta short story "Laughing Jack", being sung or played as a theme for the titular evil clown.
• The song is used in the horror video game series Five Nights at Freddy's as the song played by the Puppet's music box in the 2014 game Five Nights at Freddy's 2, the 2018 game Ultimate Custom Night, and the 2019 game Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted.
  • The song also appears in and is the namesake of the 2016 Five Nights at Freddy's fan game POPGOES, serving as the theme for Popgoes the Weasel. This game was later made unofficial canon due to Five Nights at Freddy's creator Scott Cawthon's "Fazbear Fanverse Initiative".
• The song is played on a piano and jack-in-the-box to signify the presence of the demon known as the Jungler in the 2014 horror film Deliver Us from Evil.
• The song is used in a cutaway gag in the season thirteen episode "Once Bitten" of the animated television series Family Guy, where Peter Griffin gloats that he used to be a "Pete-in-the-box", with the jack-in-the-box throwing him out instead of the traditional clown or animal when the song finishes.
• The song is used as the musical windup theme for the evil jack-in-the-box Der Klown in the 2015 film Krampus.
• The song is repeatedly hummed by the murderous Other in the 2018 film Hell Fest.

Videos

The Three Stooges- Pop Goes The Weasel

The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze

Doctor Who - Pop Goes the Weasel

Doctor Who

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2- Pop Goes the Weasel

Five Nights at Freddy's

PETER IN A BOX! - Family Guy

Family Guy