Meg wrote:
Good afternoon.
I recently had a little boy and, I have been singing to him different songs from my childhood. I am hoping that you can help me track down lyrics to a song that mother used to sing to me. The song goes…
Rubin, Rubin, I’ve been thinking, what cruel world this would be, if the boys were all transported, far beyond the Northern Sea.
To be honest, I’m not even entirely sure that lyrics are 100% correct. Let me know if you can help.
Thank you,
Meg
If anyone can help out with this song, please comment below or email me.
Thanks!
Lisa
UPDATE: We added the Rubin, Rubin I’ve Been Thinking Song and the Jump Rope Rhyme to our song pages!
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42 Responses to “Is Anyone Familiar with a Song with the Line “”Rubin, Rubin, I’ve been thinking, what cruel world this would be”””
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June 20th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Jason Pomerantz found the lyrics to your song! It was written by Harry Birch in 1871, music by William Gooch. It’s callled Reuben and Rachel and it’s a “comic duet”:
Reuben and Rachel
[Rachael]
Reuben, I have long been thinking,
What a good world this might be,
If the men were all transported
Far beyond the Northern Sea.
[Reuben]
Rachel, I have long been thinking,
What a good would this might be,
If we had some more young ladies
On this side the Northern Sea.
[CHORUS]
[Reuben]
Too ral loo ral loo,
[Rachel]
Too ral loo ral,
[Reuben]
Too ral loo ral loo,
[Rachel]
Too ral loo lee,
[Reuben and Rachel; overapped voices]
[Rachel]
If the men were all transported
Far beyond the Northern Sea.
[Reuben]
If we had some more young ladies
On this side the Northern Sea.
[Rachael]
Reuben, I’m a poor lone woman,
No one seems to care for me,
I wish the men were all transported
Far beyond the Northern Sea.
[Reuben]
I’m a man without a victim,
Soon I think there’s one will be,
If the men are not transported
Far beyond the Northern Sea.
(CHORUS)
[Rachael]
Reuben, what’s the use of fooling,
Why not come up like a man?
If you’d like to have a “lovyer”
I’m for like your “Sally Ann.”
[Reuben]
Oh my goodness! oh my gracious!
What a queer world this would be,
If the men were all transported
Far beyond the Northern Sea!
(CHORUS)
[Rachael]
Reuben, now do stop your teazing,
If you’ve any love for me;
I was only just a fooling,
As I thought of course you’d see.
[Reuben]
Rachel, I will not transport you,
But will take you for a wife,
We will live on “milk and honey,”
Better or worse, we’re in for life.
(CHORUS)
Click the link to hear the tune to Reuben and Rachel.
Click the link for the sheet music for Reuben and Rachel.
Click the link for the guitar chords for Reuben and Rachel.
June 20th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
I just wanted to thank you for your help with this. I finally found the song and author. The name of the song is Ruebin and Rachel. It was written by Harry Birch. I have actually found three other versions of the song as well. Thanks again for your help!!
October 29th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
Thanks from me too. I’ve been trying to find this for years.
I first heard it on a Disney Songs cassette (since lost).
From memory I figured it out on the piano (so I can play
it myself to some degree), but I always wanted to know
the true tune, lyrics and origin.
February 14th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
My mother used to sing this to me and I was trying to remember the words. Thank you!
April 5th, 2008 at 8:14 pm
I remember this song from long ago & was wondering what the complete lyrics were. Thanks a million! The words weren’t exactly as I remembered them…….but close enough! Thanks !!!!
July 27th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
I have been trying to find this song since I was in Elemertery school. I first heard it at age 10, I was attending St. Anthony grade school in South Ozone Park, NewYork. It was my favorite song in 1956. Thanks for bringing back so many good memories..
August 27th, 2008 at 11:22 am
In the early 1950’s, when I was a very young child, the girls would jump rope to a similar rhyme.
Rubin, Rubin, I’ve been thinking:
What’s that queer stuff you’ve been drinking?
Smells like whiskey, looks like wine-
Oh my gosh, it’s TURPENTINE.
January 28th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
This will be similar to the previous comment by Jim. I grew up in the early 60’s in Massachusetts, and heard this frequently as a kid,
Rubin, Rubin I’ve been thinking,
What on earth have you been drinking—
Is it whiskey, Is it wine ?
Oh my gosh, it’s terpentine
Very interesting to see different versions over the years………
April 17th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
ya i have hered of it i forgot the name though.
April 23rd, 2009 at 11:43 pm
I heard the Ruben and Rachel tune with names and events from the Bible–Adam, Noah, etc. Does anyone have these words or know where I can find them?
June 5th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
I was born in 1947 in Atlanta. This is a jumprope rhyme. The
way I remember one of these:
Ruben, Ruben, I’ve been thinkin’
What on earth have you been drinkin’
Smells like beer, tastes like wine
Oh, my gosh, it’s turpentine.
How many bottles have you done drank ?
(Start counting at 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. until the jumper
misses)
And yes, I am male
January 11th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Thanks to Meg for her question and to all those who answered. And to Joan from Texas, I, too, learned this song in school in the mid-1950s when I was attending a Catholic grammar school, St. Andrew’s in Little Rock, AR. As I raised my four children I sang what little I could remember of it — basically the first two verses — but now I’ve been trying to recall it for a grandson. BTW, I never heard the drinking/jump rope versions, but as a third generation Irish American, I can appreciate that such parodies developed.
Nancy in Arkansas
January 13th, 2010 at 12:23 am
Well this is part of the verison i have to sing. So [:
[girls]
Reuben Reuben Ive been thinking What a fine world this would be, If all the men where transported far beyond the northern sea.
[guys]
Oh my Goodness Gracious Rachel What a weird world this would be, If all the men where transported far beyond the nothern sea.
[girls]
Reuben
[guys]
Rachel, Reachle
[girls]
Reuben!
[guys]
Rachel!
[girls]
Reuben!
January 17th, 2010 at 11:54 pm
Haha my choir 8th graders are singing this and its a joyful song. The audience loved it!
January 18th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
That’s great! If you’d like to send us a recording, we’d be happy to post one.
January 22nd, 2010 at 10:10 pm
I am actually in a choir and we are singing a song like that except we have different words. The version i know goes like this:
Ruben, Ruben i’ve been thinking what a grand world this would be, if the men were all transported far beyond the northern sea.
Oh my goodness gracious Ruben, what a funny world this would be, if the men were all transported far beyond the northern sea.
Ruben, Ruben i’ve been thinking what a happy life girls would lead, if they had no men about them, none to tease them none to head.
Ha-ha, ha-ha, HA! ha-ha ha-ha.
Ruben, Ruben i’ve been thinking.. (what a grand time men would have), if at once they were transported far beyond the northern sea.
Ruben, Ruben stop your teasing, if you have a love for me, i was only just a-kidding…..
sorry thats all i remember!
February 17th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
My daughter and her fiance were driving through Lincoln, Nebraska when they remembered alternative words. “Reuben, Reuben” is replaced by ‘Lincoln, Lincoln.’ They called and asked me if I knew the origin. The immediate, logical conclusion is that they both learned it that way as children growing in the same place where the lyrics were commonly misquoted. However he was raised in Albuquerque N.M. and she grew up in northern Wisconsin. Anybody know how the permutation took place? I’ve seen it the ‘Lincoln, Lincoln’ way several places on the web. Sure would like to more about this….
April 28th, 2010 at 11:11 am
Katie sent this note:
The way I remember it…
Rubin, Rubin, I’ve been thinking
What a queer world this would be
If the men were all transported
Far beyond the northern sea
Rachel, Rachel stop your ___
?
and I’ll take you for my wife
And I’ll split with you my paycheck
Every payday of my life*
(I was just so sure I could sing it right off.. I’ll work on it and it may come to me later..
hope this gives you a start.. maybe you’ll remember the rest.)
*too bad this isn’t real life, huh? never realized the humor in that until now.
Katie Lowder
April 28th, 2010 at 11:47 am
Bob, here’s a rhyme I found for Lincoln, Lincoln:
Lincoln, Lincoln, I’ve been thinking,
What the heck have you been drinking?
Smells like whiskey, tastes like wine,
Oh, my lord, it’s turpentine.
There are variations of this rhyme:
Lincoln Lincoln I’ve been thinkin’
What the heck have you been drinkin’?
Is it whiskey? Is it wine?
Oh my god, it’s turpentine!
May 25th, 2010 at 9:38 pm
Larry wrote:
Did you get the lyrics to the song. My wife has a copy she thinks on tape but it is in storage. It was a 1950’s jump rope song for girls. She says 4 verses but I remember 6. There were probably many more. Seems like:
Rubin, Rubin, I’ve been thinking
What a fine world this would be
If all men were transported
Far beyond the salty sea.
Rachel, Rachel, I’ve been thinking
What a fine world this would be
If all men were transported
Far beyond the salty sea.
Rubin, Rubin, I’ve been teasing
What a cruel world this would be
If all men were transported
Far beyond the salty sea!
Rachel, Rachel, I’m not teasing
What a fine world this would be
If all men were transported
Far beyond the salty sea.
Rubin, Rubin, stop your teasing
If you loved me you would see…
… and marry me!
Rachel, Rachel, I’ve stopped teasing…
This is close. Mary says she has both the sheet music and a tape but it is in storage. If still in print it came from ABecka Books located in Pensacola, Fla. If you have it let me know.
Larry F. McEver
May 25th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
Thanks for writing! I found Rubin, Rubin. We have the full lyrics at:
http://mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=2650&c=23
And the jump rope version at:
http://mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=1805&c=23
Is that what you and your wife remember?
Cheers!
Lisa
July 6th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
Reuben, Reuben, I’ve been thinkin’
How to keep your feet from stinkin’ ………………………………..
We think this may have been a Civil War chant, there were several Reubens in the 13 Tennessee Calvary Regiment. Any thought????
August 5th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
I have a new grand daughter…of course, all the old nursery rhymes and children’s songs come rushing back to mind. I could only remember a couple of verses while singing to my little Isabella. My daughter (the Mom) was curious about the song and my younger daughter (the Auntie) found it on this site. I thought (mistakenly, I guess) that this was a Polish folk song. We used to sing this from a song book in our third grade elementary school in New Bedford, Ma. (circa 1960). Version 1 is the closest to what I remember except I thought the words were
“all transported far across the Baltic Sea”. It’s all the same and nice to have options. Thanks for this valuable site.
Audrey in Westport, Ma. (Isabella Liyana’ Grandmother)
July 28th, 2011 at 12:47 pm
But, why was this tune included in Carl Neilsen’s suite of Danish and Russian Folksongs? I heard this morning on classical radio, but i was taught it by my father as a kid in Virginia, where he grew up as well.Except he sang it as “Rachel, Rachel I been zinking, oh what a fine world this would be, if all the pussy cats were transported , far beyond the Northern Sea.”
July 28th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
sometimes he sang as “kitty cats” or ”
puddy tats”
March 19th, 2012 at 5:54 pm
Rubin, Rubin I been thinkin
All the while you been drinkin
Feeding chickens on hot water
Now they’re layin hard boiled eggs
December 6th, 2012 at 8:50 pm
This is great! What I was looking for is more verses to “Lincoln, Lincoln…”
Based on this website, I would guess that there are no more verses as “Lincoln, Lincoln” was just a take off on Reuben, Reuben…
January 19th, 2013 at 7:15 pm
Deborah wrote:
Hello Meg,
I had just typed in the very same words to see if anyone else had ever heard the song I heard as a child. It went,
‘Reuben, Reuben, I’ve been thinkin’, what in the world have you been drinkin’, Smells like whiskey, tastes like wine, Oh My Gosh, it’s turpentine!”
I was born and raised in a small town called Toronto, Ohio. Very close to PA. border. But, I believe that the song and saying came from West Virginia, where a bridge links Toronto, and Steubenville, to Weirton, W.VA.
Good Luck on further research.
Deborah
February 27th, 2013 at 1:37 pm
This song was inspired by my great-great-grandparents. Their names were (George) Reuben Rikert and Rachel M. (Pettit) Rikert of Schultzville, NY (Dutchess County). Rachel Pettit was born in 1820 in Schultzville. Reuben was born in nearby Rhinebeck, NY in 1815. He was her singing instructor when they fell in love. They were married on October 3, 1840 at her home in Schultzville after the weekly prayer meeting. She died at their farm near Schultzville in 1897 and he died there in 1903. They had 11 children, the 4th Rachel Margaret who married Theodore Lawless my great-grandfather.
I don’t know how Harry Birch knew the Rikerts, but we were always told the song was about them.
January 24th, 2016 at 6:30 pm
Heres the version my dad knows
“Reuben Reuben I’ve been thinking
What a strange world this would be
If all the breweries in Milwaukee
had a rubber hose attached to me.”
April 6th, 2016 at 12:59 pm
One more version: What the heck have you been drinkin’ ?
Is it whiskey? Is it wine?
Oh my gosh! It’s Dad’s moonshine!
June 10th, 2016 at 11:58 pm
Lyrics I learned:
Reuben, Reuben, I’ve been thinking, what in the world have you been drinking, is it beer or is it wine, oh my gosh it’s turpentine!
January 17th, 2017 at 6:39 pm
My mother who was born in 1921 and is still as sharp mentally as ever told me about this song. We were discussing our experiences with men over our lifetimes and she laughed and said it reminded her of some lines from that song. Thanks for helping me find the rest of the lyrics.
August 28th, 2017 at 3:51 pm
The Lincoln version seems to be the same as one from the 1950s, which still referred to Reuben. I remember in the 1960s, the Lincoln Savings Bank appropriated the tune for their radio ads. They changed all the lyrics–except for the “Reuben Reuben I’ve been thinking” part. Naturally it mentioned Lincoln elsewhere. The first time I heard the Lincoln version, I remembered the tune as the bank’s jingle, although I knew it was a song before that. It was heard on the radio regularly by literally millions of people, so I wonder if the association with Lincoln came from there.
March 22nd, 2018 at 8:29 am
I can’t find origins for this song. Likely not the US because of North Sea reference. Sounds like maybe Scandinavia or Netherlands. Wonder if it’s a translation. Was very popular and in US schoolbooks in the 60s.
October 26th, 2019 at 1:41 pm
My grandmother used to sing this while washing the dishes…
Reuben, Reuben I’ve been thinking.
How to keep your feet from stinkin.
Put them in some alum water.
Then they’ll smell just like they oughter.
Silly. It always made me laugh. Nice memory.
April 17th, 2020 at 3:45 am
The version I grew up singing with my mother is slightly different. It used to be in an old piano book of folk songs. I would play the piano and my mother would play the guitar.
Reuben, Reuben I’ve been thinking, what a grand world this would be, if the men were all transported far beyond the Northern sea.
Oh my goodness gracious Rachel, what a queer world this would be. If the men were all transported far beyond the northern sea.
(I think there was one more verse here).
Reuben Reuben stop your teasing if you’ve any love for me. I was only just a’foolin’ as I thought of course you’d see.
Rachel if you’ll not transport us I will take you for my wife. And with you I’ll split my money every paycheck of my life.
September 28th, 2020 at 10:04 pm
As children in the 70s we were sung a variant of this with whatever child was the target:
Susan, Susan I’ve been thinking
what you did the other day
poured hot water on the rooster
made him lay a hard boiled egg.
Obviously silly in that roosters don’t lay eggs etc…
Haven’t seen that particular filk of it, perhaps localized to PA/WV/OH tri state area.
February 23rd, 2021 at 3:59 pm
Leila C’s version is the closest to what I remember. I had a children’s record sung by kids around 1969-1970 and it had sort of an up tempo beat. But I remember more like…..
Reuben, Reuben I’ve been thinking, what a good world this would be, if the men were all transported far away across the sea.
Rachel Rachel, I’ve been thinking what a cruel world this would be. If the men were all transported far away across the sea.
(I think there was one more verse here).
Reuben Reuben stop your teasing if you’ve any love for me. I was only just a’foolin’ as I thought of course you’d see.
Rachel Rachel not transported I will take you for my wife. And I’ll spend with you my money every payday of my life.
October 22nd, 2021 at 12:05 am
My Grandma (born 1890) sang Rueben, Rueben I’ve been thinking
What you did in our back yard.
Poured hot water down our chickens
Made them lay their eggs boiled hard! (first generation German born on American soil)
September 23rd, 2022 at 8:44 pm
I sang this in school in 1941.
Rachel, Rachel don’t transport us.
I will take you for my wife,
and to you i’ll give my paycheck
every payday of my life!
June 23rd, 2023 at 5:44 pm
I remember this from the early “Fourties” during and after WWII, when the government used it in an advertisement to sell Liberty Bonds to support the war effort and perhaps the rebuilding of Europe following the war.
“Rueben, Rueben I’ve been thinking, what a good world this would be,
If we all would save our dollars just to buy a Liberty.”