“The sun has got his hat on.”

As a kid things seemed so sensible. So believable.

I remember my parents would be always saying that phrase and singing the old song. Normally when the sun was out which as we lived on the Yorkshire coast was on average once every three years….

The sun has got his hat on hip-hip-hip hooray 
The sun has got his hat on 
And he’s coming out today (Gay & Butler)

I remember asking my Dad once why the sun would have his hat on. Dad said that it was to keep the sun from the Sun’s eyes…..

At the time it seemed an entirely plausible explanation. I was happy with it.

Looking back those 930 years at my Dads answer and I can spot one or two minor issues. Surely the hat needs to be inside the Sun to keep itself from blinding itself. Maybe it’s not as scientifically watertight as I had once thought. Ok let’s call it a philosophical metaphor. Not sure Dad did them…

It’s now made me question some of the other things my parents told me.

Thunder rumbling is Cowboys and Indians fighting in the sky….

Lightning was dragons fighting in the sky …… very busy up there

Wind and the clouds moving was down to all the butterflies in the world beating their tiny little wings all at the same time….

Fairies and elves lived at the bottom of our Garden. …… For a while I misheard that one and believed Elvis for some reason had moved to Yorkshire

The Sky was blue because it was reflecting the colour from the oceans and sea …….. most odd as the North Sea is permanently grey offset with the occasional black oil slick

Every Sunday lunchtime my dad would set off in the direction of the pub saying that he was ‘off to see a man about a dog’. As it was every Sunday, that must have been some dog.

You only got curly hair if you ate the crusts from your bread slices.. I’m still waiting and actually probably left it a tad late now.

I suspect some of these parental facts might be a little dubious. My life has been based on so many falsehoods. Well at least I still have Santa. Maybe I need to borrow the Sun’s hat to hide under it for a while. Best thing to do these strange days.

62 thoughts on “Sun has got his hat on”

  2. We have the Silver Spoon sugar factory about 12 miles from us which belches out steam from a tall tower from September to February. A neighbour used to tell her son that the tower was a ‘cloud machine’. I think it took him some years to realise it wasn’t!

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  3. I heard that rain was because of some part of the holy trinity was crying over my bad choices. I can’t say I am without fault. Do you know those coin depositories in the bank or grocery store? Where you go dump all your change for cash? I told the kids a crocodile lived in them so NEVER PUT YOUR HAND UP THE BOTTOM or a croc will bite off your hand. I think Bobby was last the one to figure out that was a major fib 🙂

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  8. When my father “went to see a man about a dog,” he went to take a pass in the bushes, or a back alley if wevwere in the city. I always pitoed the poor dog!(
    Meanwhile, I wonder if your father’s dog was actuallyly a bit of pushy, paid for or not. (No offense intended, just trying to cause a smile.)

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  9. Not sure my parents did the sweet little lies that normal families gave to their kids. I knew it was my parents that gave me presents. 🧸 I remember my Father saying: “Command attention and you won’t have to demand it” and “A woman can change her mind at any time she likes, anytime.”
    Since becoming an adult, there’s a few sayings rattling around my noggin now and they including: “Kitty” can draw you further than dynamite can blow you! 🧨 Oh and how about “You don’t need to look at the mantlepiece when you’re poking the fire.” or when there wasn’t a lock down: “Just off to the shop” = [Pint at the pub] 🍺

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  15. My grandmother in Wilts. used to cover mirrors in a thunderstorm and put away the “silverware” (I’m sure it wasn’t silver). I must have been a horrible child because I poked holes in so many stories, the tooth fairy, for one. We happened by a farmyard once when the bull was doing his thing and of course “Mummy, what’s he doing?” I was told he was doing his exercises. I was very doubtful about that too! Horrible child.

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  18. You have an extraordinary memory! That’s awesome! Your parents’ tales made quite an impression on you. I honestly cannot think of a one atm, I can remember a few superstitions and old wives’ tales but nothing to compare to your rich and varied stories, and certainly not the one about the sun having a hat on. That’s a new one for me – delightful!

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  23. I have a couple my parents use to tell me. When it thunders, God is bowling. When lightning hit, it was God knocking over a lamp. Hmm, I think they were or trying to tell me something. Hahaha 😊loved. This post, Gary.

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