<P> "Miss Lucy had a baby ...", also known by various other names, is an American schoolyard rhyme . Originally used as a jump - rope chant, it is now more often sung alone or as part of a clapping game . It has many variations, possibly originating from it, or from its predecessors . </P> <P> The song is often combined or confused with the similar but cruder "Miss Susie had a steamboat", which uses the same tune and was also used as a jump - rope game . </P> <P> As in "Miss Susie", the rhyme is organized by its meter, an accentual verse, in trimeter . Accentual verse allows for set number of accents regardless of the number of syllables in the verse . It is a common form in English folk verse, especially in nursery rhymes and jump - rope rhymes . The song shares much of the same melody as the 1937 "The Merry - Go - Round Broke Down" used by Warner Bros. as the theme to their Looney Tunes cartoons . </P> <P> A history of the Miss Suzie had a steamboat similar rhyme has been studied, tracing it back to the 1950s . but several other books and articles show similar versions used as far back as the end of the 19th century . </P>

Miss susie had a baby she named it tiny tim