Seesaw Marjorie Daw: lyrics

Origins and history in a game for children
A see-saw is one of the oldest 'toys' for children , easily constructed from logs of various sizes. The words of the nursery rhyme reflect children playing on a see-saw and often singing this rhyme to accompany their game. There was no such person that we can identify who had the name Margery Daw and we therefore make the assumption that this was purely used to rhyme with the words 'see-saw'. The last three lines appear to reflect the use of child labour in work houses where those with no where else to live would be forced to work for a pittance (a penny a day) on piece work (because he can't work any faster)