There is a hole in the bucket

There is a hole in the bucket.

Do you know the old song, “There’s a Hole in the Bucket?” It’s a folk song about a conversation between a husband and wife. It should be sung by a man and a woman as if they were talking together. Their names are “Henry” and “Liza.”

Here’s how it goes:

Henry sings: “There’s a hole in the bucket dear Liza, dear Liza.

There’s a hole in the bucket dear Liza, a hole.”

Liza sings: “Then fix it dear Henry, dear Henry.

Then fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, then fix it.”

Henry: “With what shall I fix it dear Liza, dear Liza,

With what shall I fix it, dear Liza, with what?”

Liza: “With a straw, dear Henry, dear Henry,

With a straw, dear Henry, with a straw.”

At this point, I have to say that I don’t know how to fix a bucket with a “straw.” I imagine that the word “straw” meant something different 200 or 300 years ago when this song was written. Maybe back then the word “straw” meant a piece of wood.

Anyhow, let’s go on with the song. From here on, I’ll just give the first line of each stanza so you can follow the story.

Henry: With what shall I cut it?

Liza: With an axe.

Henry: The axe is too dull.

Liza: Then sharpen it.

Henry: With what shall I sharpen it?

Liza: With a stone.

Henry: The stone is too rough.

Liza: Then smooth it.

Henry: With what shall I smooth it?

Liza: With water.

Henry: With what shall I fetch it?

Liza: With the bucket.

Henry: There’s a hole in the bucket.

This song is great fun because everyone knows that Henry is just making excuses. He doesn’t really want to fix the bucket. What he wants to do is just sit on the porch and relax. So he leads Liza on a verbal run-around. Any Boy Scout worth his Tote-n-Chip would be able to figure out how to solve the problem.

What’s the point? Henry didn’t want to be helpful.

Sometimes Boy Scouts don’t want to be helpful, either, but we have told the world that we will be helpful. It’s the third point on the Scout Law and it’s part of the Scout Oath.

It is easy to be helpful if we realize that someone is helping us. God is with us at all times and is ready to help us in all circumstances.

Among Scouts, one of the favorite Psalms is number 121, a Psalm that reminds us that God is with us on the hiking trail:

I lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip. He who watches over you will not slumber.

(Psalm 121:1-3, New International Version).

Oh, yes, sometimes our foot slips on the trail and we sprain our ankle, but God is with us. God will help us.

God will help us in every good thing we do. One of the most important things is helping other people, and God will help us help other people. God would even give Henry the wisdom to know how to fix the bucket, if Henry really wanted to be helpful.

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