Taffy was a Welshman by Anonymous

Taffy was a Welshman

Taffy was a Welshman,
Taffy was a thief.
Taffy came to my house
And stole a piece of beef.

I went to Taffy's house,
Taffy wasn't in;
I jumped upon his Sunday hat,
And poked it with a pin.

Taffy was a Welshman,
Taffy was a sham.
Taffy came to my house
And stole a leg of lamb.

I went to Taffy's house,
Taffy was away,
I stuffed his socks with sawdust
And filled his shoes with clay.

Taffy was a Welshman,
Taffy was a cheat,
Taffy came to my house
And stole a piece of meat;

I went to Taffy's house,
Taffy was in bed;
I took up marrow bone
And beat him on the head.
--Anonymous

Here's a Mother Goose rhyme that I first heard in Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever. I could never figure out why the guy felt like he could call Taffy names like cheat and thief, when he did just as much bad stuff to Taffy. I also didn't know what being a Welshman had to with anything (or really what the word meant at all, since I wasn't really aware of Wales at the time). Mom told me something to the effect that it was a rude poem, and that I shouldn't repeat it, which just made it more mysterious.

I eventually learned that Taffy is a generic not-especially-polite name for Welshmen, much like Paddy or Mick for Irishmen. Evidently, it's sung on St. David's Day in England, especially near the Welsh border. Wikipedia claims that it's referring to a thief in Celtic Mythology, but I'm pretty sure that whatever its origins, it has come to symbolize and summarize the relations between England and Wales over the years with various border raids and conquests.

I still think what I thought when I first read it: if these guys would just stop being mean to each other, they'd be happier.