Believe it or not, "Pop Goes the Weasel" is an actual working song used by spinners as they wind the yarn onto the swift to make skeins. Or so I was told while I was an apprentice weaver many years ago.

The "weasel" is a little device that makes a snapping or "popping" sound as the swift makes one complete revolution, allowing the spinner to count the revolutions and keep track of how much yarn has been wound on.

The song is sung so that the timeing of the word "pop" coincides with the snapping or popping of the weasel.

During my apprenticeship, I did some skein winding using a weasel, and I had the opportunity to sing the song while I was winding. It was actually a lot of fun to see if I could get the timing of the song right.