Mary Ann Cotton - Nursery Rhyme

Nursery Rhyme

Mary Ann Cotton also had her own nursery rhyme of the same title, sung after her hanging on March 24, 1873.

Lyrics:

Mary Ann Cotton,
Dead and forgotten
She lies in her bed,
With her eyes wide open
Sing, sing, oh, what can I sing,
Mary Ann Cotton is tied up with string
Where, where? Up in the air
Sellin' black puddens a penny a pair.

"Black puddens" refers to black pudding, a type of sausage made with pig's blood.

As with all nursery rhymes passed on primarily by word of mouth, there are variations. A more complete version runs:

Mary Ann Cotton
She’s dead and she’s rotten
She lies in her bed
With eyes wide open.
Sing, sing, oh, what can I sing,
Mary Ann Cotton is tied up with string.
Where, where? Up in the air
Sellin’ black puddens a penny a pair.
Mary Ann Cotton
She’s dead and forgotten,
She lies in a grave with her bones all-rotten;
Sing, sing, oh, what can we sing,
Mary Ann Cotton is tied up with string.

There are further versions, slightly more crude, still passed on in school playgrounds in the region, such as:

Mary Ann Cotton
She’s dead and forgotten,
She lies in her coffin with her finger up her bottom.