This version of "A Tisket, A Tasket" is sung to the tune of "Yankee Doodle"...

Notes

Here's another version sung to the "Yankee Doodle" tune…

I lost my handkerchief Saturday night,
And found it Sunday morning;
A little doggie picked it up
And stuck it in his pocket.
Tra, la, la, la, la, la, la,
Tra, la, la, la, la, la,
Tra, la, la, la, la, la, la,
La, la, la, la, la, la!
*****

Arkesh Das wrote:

"Recently I came cross the 'Mama Lisa' article on the children's rhyme 'I wrote a letter to my love' when I was reminiscing about some games we had played in class in elementary school. However, the page doesn't seem to list the full rhyme, or at least not the variant that I remember hearing. The first part is correct, but here is the full song that I remember:

'I wrote a letter to my love (or my friend) and on the way I dropped it
A little doggy picked it up
And put it in his pocket

Now, he won't bite me and he won't bite you,
He'll bite the one who's got it,
So drop it
So drop it
It must be dropped right now.'

For context, this song is usually accompanied by a game similar to Duck, Duck Goose, where you have a group of kids in a circle with their eyes closed, and one kid who is walking around (with a slip of paper to represent the 'letter'). Then, as the kid with the letter walks on the outside of the circle, the kids sing the song. Right as the last line is said, the letter is dropped behind to one of the kids in the circle. The kids open their eyes, and check if they have the letter. If one of them has the letter, they will get up and chase the kid who dropped the letter, and similar to duck duck goose, will try to tag them, before the kid being chased (who originally had the letter) can take their spot. If the kid is not tagged, then the person who had picked up the letter is now 'It', and will restart the game. If the kid who dropped the letter is tagged, then they must try again. Looking online, there are also other variations, such as this one here.

For context, the version I am familiar with was taught to me around the early 2010s (maybe 2013) in Texas. We had played it a few times during music class."

Download MIDI Tune

Thanks and Acknowledgements

These versions of this song can be found in "Journal of American Folklore" (1920), the article is called "Some Play Party Games in Michigan".

Thanks to Arkesh Das for sharing another version!