Why did the weasel go pop?

Question

...and who gave the answer in 1961.

Answer 1

'Cos they Upped the price of tuppenny rice to fourpence!
Anthony Newley

Answer 2

Who knows? It's basically a folk song and nursery rhyme that later saw service as a music-hall ditty. It's tough enough deciphering rock lyrics written in 1975; what do you expect with a tune going back to the 17th century? But Straight Dope curator of music Tom Miller said he'd give it his best shot.

Tom collected two dozen versions of "Pop Goes the Weasel" from both sides of the Atlantic. Many were similar, with one key difference: in North America, the opening line was generally "all around the mulberry bush," possibly due to conflation with the similar tune "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush." In the UK, however, it was usually "all around the cobbler's bench." This gives us a better idea of the song's original meaning. Most authorities think "Pop Goes the Weasel" describes the acts of weaving, spinning, and sewing. A weasel, Tom reports, was a mechanism used by tailors, cobblers, and hatters that "popped" when the spool was full of thread.

Some argue that to pop the weasel is also cockney slang meaning to pawn one's coat. This makes sense in light of the second verse of the kids' version: "A penny for a spool of thread / A penny for a needle / That's the way the money goes," etc. A version popular in 19th-century English music halls makes things even clearer: "Up and down the City Road / In and out the Eagle / That's the way the money goes," etc. The Eagle in question was a London tavern; clearly the lyricist was describing the consequences of spending too little time at the cobbler's bench and too much on a barstool.

Answer 3

Poop goes the weasel, is actually a reference to the old pawn brokers. "The weasel" being dads best suit, and pop, meaning to pawn it. When money was tight, mum would POP down to the pawn shop, and raise what she could, then on pay day would go and redeem the item.

Answer 4

If we're being pedantic he didn't actually go pop, did he? Seeing as the bomb plot was discovered before it could blow up the houses of P. And just how Mr G Fawkes expected a bag of rice and a tin of treacle to create much of a bang is beyond me. No wonder the thick eejit got caught.

Answer 5

Because he went on Cheggers Plays Pop

Answer 6

He went Pop because you have to re-invent yourself to stay in the music business.

Answer 7

the monkey popped him with a needle, and i was just a new one in 61,so i wouldn't know who gave the answer first.

Answer 8

jim morrison? and it popped woz it hit a windshield?

Answer 9

because he was very greedy and ate too much tuppenny rice

Answer 10

proberbly because he ate rice and treacle together