"A Tisket A Tasket" is a

nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. From ...

first recorded in America in the late nineteenth century. It was used as the basis for a very successful and highly regarded 1938 recording by

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

, composed by Fitzgerald in conjunction with Al Feldman (later known as

Van Alexander Van Alexander (May 2, 1915 – July 19, 2015) was an American bandleader, arranger, and composer. Early years Van Alexander was born Alexander Van Vliet Feldman in Harlem. His mother was a classical pianist, and she taught him to play the piano. ...

). It has a

Roud Folk Song Index The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud (born 1949), a former librarian in the Londo ...

number of 13188.

Traditional lyrics

The rhyme was first noted in the United States in 1879 as a children's rhyming game. It was sung while children danced in a circle. One of the number ran on the outside of the circle and dropped a

handkerchief A handkerchief (; also called a hankie or, historically, a handkercher or a ) is a form of a kerchief or bandanna, typically a hemmed square of thin fabric which can be carried in the pocket or handbag for personal hygiene purposes such as wi ...

. The nearest child would then pick it up and chase the dropper. If caught, the dropper either was kissed, joined the circle, or had to tell the name of their sweetheart. An early noted version had the lyrics: :A-tisket a-tasket :A green and yellow basket :I wrote a letter to my friend :And on the way I dropped it, :I dropped it, I dropped it, :And on the way I dropped it. :A little boy he picked it up :And put it in his pocket. In some variants, the second line is "I lost my yellow basket." In other variants, the last line is "A little girl she picked it up and put it in her pocket." In nineteenth century England, the rhyme used in the same game had somewhat different but evidently related words: :I lost my supper, last night, :And the night before, :And if I do this night, :I never will no more. :I sent a letter to my love, :I carried water in my glove, :And by the way I dropped it, I did so, I did so: :I had a little dog that said bow-wow! :I had a little cat that said meow-meow! :Shan't bite you, shan't bite you, :Shall bite you. :I dropt it, I dropt it, :And by the way I lost it.

Lyrics by Ella Fitzgerald

, in conjunction with Al Feldman (later known as

), extended and embellished the rhyme into a jazz piece that was her breakthrough hit with the Chick Webb Orchestra in 1938. It has since become a

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive li ...

. The lyrics changed the color of the basket to brown and yellow. In Ella's version a little girl picks up the note and then takes the basket after it is carelessly left on the ground. A follow-up song written by Fitzgerald and Webb entitled "I Found My Yellow Basket" (1938) was less successful.

In popular culture

As a recording

The song was a major hit of the "pre-chart" era, reaching number one in Billboard's sheet music and Record Buying Guide (jukebox) charts, also number 1 on ''

Your Hit Parade ''Your Hit Parade'' was an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1953 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During its 24-year ru ...

''. The song was included in

Hayley Mills Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills (born 18 April 1946) is an English actress. The daughter of Sir John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and younger sister of actress Juliet Mills, she began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising ...

' 1961 album ''Let's Get Together with Hayley Mills'' titled ''Green and Yellow Basket'' with extra verses describing how the dropper felt about losing the letter.

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

included the song in a medley on his album ''

On the Happy Side ''On the Happy Side'' was a long-playing vinyl album recorded by Bing Crosby for his own company, Project Records and issued by Warner Bros. Records (W1482) in 1962. The album is in a “sing along” style and Crosby over-dubbed his vocals on acc ...

'' (1962). Lines from the song have been mentioned by

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years, ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

Half Man Half Biscuit Half Man Half Biscuit are an English rock band, formed in 1984 in Birkenhead, Merseyside. Known for their satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs, the band comprises lead singer and guitarist Nigel Blackwell, bassist and singer Neil ...

Ganksta N-I-P Rowdy Lewayne Williams (born August 28, 1969), better known as Ganxsta NIP (pronounced Gangsta Nip), is a rapper from South Park, Houston, Texas and a member of the South Park Coalition, which he co-founded in 1987 with Houston rapper K-Rino. ...

, Shangri-Las, Scarface, Richie Rich,

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing Hip hop music, hip hop in Middle America (United Sta ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

, and

Boondox David Hutto (born September 4, 1975) is an American rapper from Covington, Georgia. A representative of the hip hop subgenres rap rock, horrorcore and country rap, Hutto is most commonly known as Boondox, whose stage persona is a killer scar ...

. Nabisco did a take-off of the song for its ad campaign in the 1970s, with the lyrics "A Triscuit, A Triscuit, Baked only by Nabisco."

In movies

Curly Howard Jerome Lester Horwitz (; October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952), known professionally as Curly Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He was best known as a member of the American comedy team the Three Stooges, which also featured his elder ...

recites a paraphrase of the (non-musical) rhyme in the

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeare ...

short '' We Want Our Mummy'' (1939). The music for the song was used in the opening scene of

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

's 1940 film ''

The Grapes of Wrath ''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Priz ...

'' to help establish the contemporary time frame of the events of the film. Ella Fitzgerald performed the song in the

Abbott and Costello Abbott may refer to: People * Abbott (surname) *Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist * Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansas ...

film '' Ride 'Em Cowboy'' (1942). A rendition of the song was also performed in the

Paul Thomas Anderson Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26, 1970), also known by his initials PTA, is an American filmmaker. He made his feature-film debut with '' Hard Eight'' (1996). He found critical and commercial success with ''Boogie Nights'' (1997) and received ...

movie '' The Master'' (2012).

Literary references

The Ella Fitzgerald song and its follow up (in which the Yellow Basket is found) feature centrally in

Ali Smith Ali Smith CBE FRSL (born 24 August 1962) is a Scottish author, playwright, academic and journalist. Sebastian Barry described her in 2016 as "Scotland's Nobel laureate-in-waiting". Early life and education Smith was born in Inverness on 24 Au ...

's 2008 short story, 'The Second Person'.Published in Ali Smith, ''The First Person and Other Stories'' (Penguin, 2008).

Notes

{{authority control Year of song unknown Ella Fitzgerald songs Songs written by Ella Fitzgerald 1938 singles Singing games Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients American nursery rhymes