recorded · 1888 · north noemic · sung in kitchens
the kettle warns. it does not shout. it warns in three small, lifted notes — and then in four, and then in six, and then in one long held complaint. by the held one it is too late; by the three you should already be up. so listen for the three, my dear, and never blame the kettle for the rest.
a kitchen song, used as kitchen instruction and as distraction against lateness. the verses count up the warnings exactly the way a stovetop kettle does. older versions name a fourth and final warning — the dry boil, after which a kettle is no longer a kettle.
also sung to children who would not get out of bed.