The Cultural Need For The "Happy To Be Nappy" Slogan

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post explores the cultural ramifications of the African American slogan "Happy to be Nappy". This post includes excerpt from books and online articles, examples of African American children's hair insult rhymes, and videos about the "happy to be nappy" slogan.

This post is presented for cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

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GENERAL OVERVIEW
"Happy to be nappy" is an African American slogan that promotes acceptance and appreciation of the natural hair texture of many but not all African Americans and other people with Black African ancestry. That slogan, which is also given as "I'm happy to be nappy", has been used as the title of books, articles, and DVDs, and has been featured on t-shirts and other products.

I've not been able to identify who came up with the "happy to be nappy" slogan. Nor have I been able to determine the earliest documented date that it was used. However, author and activist bell hooks, indicated that that slogan predates her 1999 children's book Happy to Be Nappy (Jump at the Sun) which popularized that slogan. In that passage from her 2003 book Rock My Soul: Black People and Self-Esteem, bell hooks explains why that slogan was created:
...”When the issue of self-esteem was raised in relation to black people, it just assumed that racism was the primary factor creating low self-esteem. Consequently, when black public figures, most of whom were male at that time, began to address the issue of self-esteem, they focused on the impact of racism as a force that crippled our self-esteem.

Militant antiracist political struggles placed the issue of self-esteem for black people on the agenda. And it took the form of primarily discussing the need for positive images. The slogan “black is beautiful” was popularized in an effort to undo the negative racist iconography and representations of blackness that had been an accepted norm in visual culture. Natural hairstyles were offered to counter the negative stereotype that one could only be beautiful if one’s hair was straight and not kinky. “Happy to be nappy” was also a popular slogan among militant black liberation groups."
Source: Rock My Soul: Black People and Self-Esteem, bell hooks, [Google Books], page 2.
-snip-
A video of bell hooks' Happy To Be Nappy book is showcased as video example #1 below.

I'm not sure which "militant black liberation groups" used that saying or when. For what it's worth, from 1967-1969 I was a member of the Black cultural nationalist group, Committee For Unified Newark (CFUN). Members of that organization which was headed by Amiri Baraka for some of that time and subsequently chanted a number of slogans such as "It's nation time!" and "We are an African people. And while almost all the women and men in that group wore afros, I don't recall ever hearing or reading the slogan "happy to be nappy".

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SOME ATTITUDES AMONG BLACK PEOPLE ABOUT OUR NATURAL HAIR
Numerous online articles and blog posts have been written about Black people's attitudes about our hair. In a 2012 artice entitled "Nappy Hair – The Other “N” Word?" Dianne Shaddock wrote
"There’s more than one derogatory n-word in the English language. While “nappy” may not be quite as inflammatory as the other word, it still conjures up pain for too many African Americans...

Consider yourself fortunate if you grew up with a loving adult telling you that your natural hair was beautiful, and that kinky hair was to be admired. Unfortunately, too many black girls and boys have heard the term “nappy” in a different light; it’s hurled as an insult. As a result, it’s practically considered a fighting word for many.

When it comes out of the mouths of non-black people, it’s even worse. Don Imus called an entire women’s basketball team “nappy headed” and was swiftly fired from his radio show. An elementary school teacher read the book Nappy Hair to her class as a way to teach pride to her mostly minority students. A controversy ensued and the teacher ended up having to transfer to another school due to the negative publicity."
Source: http://www.naturalhaircarenews.com/2012/08/04/nappy-hair-the-other-n-word-happy-to-be-nappy/
-snip-
Click http://www.carolivia.org/nappyhair/ for information about Carolivia Herron's 1998 book Nappy Hair.

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Here's a link for "Young Black Nappy"'s Facebook page uhttps://www.facebook.com/youngblacknappy

"Young Black Nappy shared a link [about a photography exhibition about Black hair:
November 16, 2014.
“I’m talking about how difficult is it to be a woman of color and be accepted as beautiful in terms of our hair... It’s less about a divisive body of work, where I’m criticizing hair that’s a certain way. It’s more or less about embracing that hair comes in all textures and curl patterns and can be worn in any way. Black hair is a multiplicity of things.” - Artist Nakeya Brown via For Harriet

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EXAMPLES OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN'S HAIR INSULT RHYMES
Note: I've been collecting examples of African American playground rhymes since 1985. I've found very few references to hair in those rhymes. Excluding the "bald head" references* in "Yo mama, yo daddy, yo bald headed granny" and in "Fudge Fudge Call The Judge" rhymes, and the mention of a baby with a curl in the latter rhymes, and excluding the mention of a girl with "strawberry curls" in the "My Boyfriend's Name Is" rhymes, I've only come across three examples of Black children's rhymes that mention hair. And those examples can clearly be considered taunting (insult) rhymes. Here are those examples:

*Read my comment after Example #2 about hair length preferences in the United States.

Example #1:
My husband actually taught my daughter's a song that he remembered as a child in the late 60s/early 70s.

Hey you, over there, with the nappy nappy hair.
My back is achin' my pants too tight, my bootie shakin' from the left to right
M' Gowa, Black Power, yo' mama needs a shower.
Destroy, little boys, soul sister number nine, sock it to me one more time.
Mmm! Mmm! Mmm!
-GUEST,Shamiere, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4300 "Children's Street Songs", March 24, 2004
-snip-
The verse "My back is achin' my pants too tight, my bootie shakin' from the left to right" is found in the now relatively widely known cheer or hand clap rhyme "Bang Bang Choo Choo Train".

"'Gowa" is a folk processed form of the word "Ungawa". That line and the next one are found in a number of African American children's rhymes. But they may be best known now because of their inclusion in the movie Big's version of the rhyme "Down Down Baby".

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Example #2:
All: Gaaaytors
Gaaaytors

Directions:
Clap two times and and then stomp four times. Repeat this entire sequence two more times.

This cheer starts with the group facing forward. The first time the word "Gaaaytors" [an elongated form of the word "Gators"] is said, the group turns to their right while clapping two times and stomping four times. The second time, the group turns to the back. The third time the group turns to their left. And the fourth time the group turns to face the front again.

While the group is facing the front the first soloist says a two line rhyming verse. Neither the group nor the soloist steps during that recitation.

Soloist: Gator’s aint wid it
So Homewood betta quit it

[Return to the "Gators “chorus” and begin doing the step moves again. Ideally, the next soloist would chant another verse with the same pattern and with the same theme. The chorus is always chanted after each verse.

Here are three other verses that the contributor of this cheer chanted for me:

Homewood betta chill out
cause I’ll put their tracks out [tracks= hair weaves]

Homewood betta chill out
before Sha’ona come and lay ‘em out
Or
Homewood betta laugh and cheer
But they can’t really got no hair

{Sha’ona said she learned this from hearing the cheerleaders do this in 2006]
-Sha'ona (African American girl, Fort Pitt Elementary School, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, collected by Azizi Powell, 2007
-snip-
This is an example of a confrontational (insult) foot stomping cheer that is chanted by the cheerleaders associated with that children's community based football team. "Foot stomping cheers" is my term for these cheers to distinguish them from mainstream cheerleader cheers.

The Garfield Gators" is the name of children's football teams which are based in the Garfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. That neighborhood is predominately Black. One of the Gators' arch rivals -in football and otherwise -is "Homewood", a nereby Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania neighborhood that is also predominately Black.

Notice that it's considered an insult to say that a girl has no hair. The hair preference in the United States for females is
not just for straight or moderately curly hair, but also for long straight or moderately curly hair. That aesthetic preference results in the billon dollar hair industry for hair weaves and wigs. And, given the strong preference for and strong desire for long hair, I believe that references to "baldheaded granny" and "bald headed baby" in playground rhymes are meant to be insults and not just statements of facts. For example, here's an example that was posted to http://www.inthe00s.com/archive/inthe80s/smf/1109960765.shtml "Those clapping songs" on 03/04/05 by bratzdan78:

"hot shot baby
chicken and gravy
here comes a lady
with a bald head baby
*point to other person* THATS YOU"

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Example #3:
bald-head scallywag, ain't got no hair in da back
gelled up weaved up, yo hair is messed up.
perm and relaxer, you betta ask her
twist and turn, it's gonna burn.
-no name given, http://forum.blackhairmedia.com/how-many-of-you-can-recallold-school-chants_topic270052_page2.html "How many of you can recall...Old School Chants", Jul 15 2010
-snip-
"Perm [permanent] and relaxer" refers to ways to straighten tightly curled [nappy, kinky] hair using chemical products. Often those products burn.

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
These three videos were produced to counteract negative socialization about Black people's hair and help Black females in particular, but also Black males' accept and celebrate our hair. These examples are given in no particular order.

Example #1:Happy to Be Nappy

.

Scott Nagatani, Published on Aug 17, 2014

This video is a children's book, Happy to Be Nappy, set to music.
-snip-
This is the bell hooks book that is mentioned earlier in this post. Chris Raschka is the book's illustrator.

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Example #2: Happy to be Nappy / Sankofa Kids



Sankofa Kids, Published on Jun 4, 2012

Happy to be Nappy by Aset Brathwaite

www.sankofakids.com [no longer accessible]
-snip-
Here's that poem/affirmation as given in the sub-titles from this video:

They twist, join together and sometimes do what they want to do.

They’re not dreadful so don’t call them DREADS.

Of course they are long and grow really fast

When my mommy ties them up they always last.

I don’t need a comb or brush just catus never grease or moose* [

I love my natural hair and that’s what I choose.

What’s that?

Ohhhhhhh they are tight curls some call them naps.

I’m so amazed my hair can do that.

It’s cool to be free and to be ME!

I AM SO HAPPY TO BE NAPPY
-snip-
*moose = mouse
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_mousse
..."Hair mousse adds volume to hair and often provides both conditioning and hold, without any clumps or build-up. It is a hairstyling product which works by using synthetic resins to coat the hairs, and assist the hair in taking shape [3]. Hair mousse is purple while in the can and turns an off-white color upon coming in contact with the air."
-snip-
My guess is that the reference in this affirmation to "catus" means a type of natural oil from catus plants.

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Example #3: Happy To Be Nappy! Natural Hairstyles



JahGydes, Uploaded on Oct 24, 2008

celebration of black hair, sistahs don't be ashamed of your hair, be happy to be nappy! one love

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RELATED LINKS
Other self-esteem videos:
I really love my hair – Sesame Street 2010
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enpFde5rgmw

I Love My Beautiful Brown Skin by Sankofa Kids
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oNshv4WgQo

and

I Love My Beautiful Brown Skin by Sankofa Kids [not the same video as given above]
ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdpbihtpEjs
-snip-
Pancocojams posts about the rhymes and cheers that are mentioned in this post can be found by putting that title in the internal search engine or by clicking the "children's rhymes and cheers"
tag below.

Also, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/02/good-hair-bad-hair-black-attitudes.html for a pancocojams post about
'Good Hair & Bad Hair (Black Attitudes About Our Hair)"
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How "Aunt Jemima" Got Her Name (The 19th century song "Old Aunt Jemima")

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post provides information and text examples of the 19th century American song "Old Aunt Jemima".

This post serves as a companion to http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/19th-century-20th-century-examples-of.html. That post provides information and examples of the song "Aunt Jemima's Plaster" (also known as "Sheepskin and Beeswax".)

The content of this post is presented for folkloric and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners

Thanks to all those who collected these songs. Thanks also to all who are quoted in this page.

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MEANING OF THE NAME "JEMIMA" AND "PLASTER"
The female name "Jemima" means "dove" in Hebrew and "little dove" in Arabic.

In the 19th century the title "Aunt" was used in the United States for elderly Black women in place of the title "Mrs." since "Mrs" was reserved for White women only.
INFORMATION & EXAMPLES OF "OLD AUNT JEMIMA"
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Aunt_Jemima
"Old Aunt Jemima" was a popular American song composed by African American comedian, songwriter and minstrel show performer Billy Kersands (c. 1842–1915). The Old Aunt Jemima song was the inspiration for the Aunt Jemima brand of pancakes, as well as several characters in film, television and on radio named "Aunt Jemima".

Kersands wrote his first version of "Old Aunt Jemima" in 1875. It was to become Kersands' most popular song. Robert Toll claimed that Kersands had performed this song over 2000 times by 1877.[1] There were at least 3 different sets of "Old Aunt Jemima" lyrics by 1889.[2]

Often "Old Aunt Jemima" would be sung while a man in drag playing the part of Aunt Jemima performed on stage. It was not uncommon for the Aunt Jemima character to be played by a white man in blackface.[2][3]

Other minstrels incorporated Aunt Jemima into their acts, so Aunt Jemima became a common figure in minstrelsy. Other songs about Aunt Jemima were composed, such as "Aunt Jemima Song" and "Aunt Jemima's Picnic Day".[2]

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From http://black-face.com/billy-kersands.htm
..."Billy Kersands was the most popular minstrel star and the highest paid black entertainer of the era, earning as much as one hundred dollars a week---a lot of money in the 1870s and 1880s. Kersands was a comedian who enjoyed entertaining the public. But his real forte was dancing. He was credited as being the first dancer to introduce the "soft-shoe" dance, and the "buck and wing." He was also instrumental in introducing the African-American "clog-dance."

Perhaps the most enduring “mammy” icon is Aunt Jemima. Billy Kersands, a black minstrel performer, wrote the song “Aunt Jemima” for a white minstrel artist in 1875. The song was performed in 1889 with a man named Chris Rutt in the audience. Rutt, seeing an opportunity for commercializing the Aunt Jemima character, went on to trademark the name and sold it to The Davis Company. Davis eventually hired a former enslaved woman named Nancy Green to sell their company’s pancakes at the Chicago Exposition in 1893. The "mammy" icon of Aunt Jemima has lived far beyond the minstrel song.

"He began entertaining in the South, probably before the Civil War and remained a working entertainer for more than 60 years, most of them spent in minstrelsy.

Kersands' popularity with Southern black audiences was unsurpassed, and he demonstrated that a nineteenth-century black entertainer could become rich and famous...

So successful was Billy that he and [his wife] Louise [toured for their minstrel company's performances] throughout the heartland of the USA in their private railway car, and they and their company were booked in Europe during much of the 1907-09 period, which included a command performance for Queen Victoria."...

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TEXT EXAMPLES OF "AUNT JEMIMA"
These examples are presented in chronological order based on the example's collection or original publication.

Example #1:
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Aunt_Jemima

[Note this page indicates that Billy Kersands composed "Aunt Jemina" as early as 1875. However, this may not be the earliest version of that song.]

"OLD AUNT JEMIMA
One version of "Old Aunt Jemima" began with a stanza expressing dissatisfaction with the dullness of worship services in white churches, such as a complaint about the length of the prayers. The song ended with the following two stanzas:

The monkey dressed in soldier clothes,
Old Aunt Jemima, etc.
Went out in the woods for to drill some crows,
Old etc.
The jay bird hung on a swinging limb.
Old etc.
I up with a stone and hit him on the shin.
Old etc.

Oh, Carline, oh, Carline,
Can't you dance the bee line
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!

The bullfrog married the tadpole's sister,
Old etc.
He smacked his lips and then he kissed her,
Old etc.
She says if you love me as I love you,
Old etc.
No knife can cut out love in two.
Old etc.

Some variants of the song substituted "pea-vine" for "bee line". Another version included the verse:

My old missus promise me,

Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!

When she died she-d set me free,

Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!

She lived so long her head got bald,

Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!

She swore she would not die at all,

Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh![2]

Sterling Stuckey [cultural historian and author of the 1988 book Slave Culture: Nationalist Theory and the Foundations of Black America] maintains that Kersands did not write all of these lyrics, but adapted many of them from "slave songs" (such as field hollers and work songs).[2]"
-snip-
Here's a comment (from the Mudcat folk music forum discussion thread whose link is given below) about the "My old massa promised me/when I die, he'll set me free" verse:
"The 'promised me' verse in various forms appears in minstrel songs as early as 1845.
Massa and misse promised me
When they died they'd set me free
Massa and misse dead and gone
Here's old Sambo hillin' up corn."

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Example #2:
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=128733 "Lyr Add: Old Aunt Jemima & Aunt Jemima's Plaster" [hereafter known as Mudcat: Aunt Jemima"], posted by Q, 10 Apr 10 - 04:30 PM

"OLD AUNT JEMIMA
(Words and music James Grace, 1876)

1
I went to de church de other night,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
To hear de colored folks sing and pray,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
Old Pomp got tight, and Dinah walk along,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
And made old Gumbo sing a song,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!

Chorus
Car'line, Car'line, can't you dance de peavine,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!

2
Dar was a bullfrog dressed in soldier clothes
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
He went out to drill dem crows,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
But de bullfrog he made such a mighty splutter,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
Dat I up wid my foot and kicked him in de water,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
3
I carried a hen coop on my knee,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
I thought I heard a chicken sneeze,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
'Twas nothing but a rooster saying his prayers,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!
He gave out a hymn, such a getting up stairs,
Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!

Many verses, often floaters, linked by 'Old Aunt Jemima, oh! oh! oh!, sung by various minstrel groups.

Verses above by James Grace, for banlo [sic] accompaniment by George C. Dobson.
Sheet music 1876, John F. Perry & Co., Boston.
American Memory."
-snip-
Notice that although documentation now credits the first version of this minstrel song to African American entertainer Billy Kersands, various White men, inluding James Grace, copyrighted versions of that song.

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AUNT JEMIMA
From Thomas W. Talley [editor], Negro Folk Rhymes: Wise And Otherwise, originally published in 1922, http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27195/27195-h/27195-h.htm The Project Gutenberg EBook of Talley's Negro Folk Rhymes [p. 107]

OLD AUNT JEMIMA
OLE Aunt Jemima grow so tall,
Dat she couldn' see de groun'.
She stumped her toe, an' down she fell
From de Blackwoods clean to town.

W'en Aunt Jemima git in town,
An' see dem "tony" ways,
She natchully faint an' back she fell
To de Backwoods whar she stays.
-snip-
This version documents the disdain that city African Americans had for country African Americans. "Tony" here means "citified", "snobbish", "snotty".

Similar attitudes of disdain for rural Americans is reflected in White depictions of "hillbillies". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/10/shared-steroptypes-for-hillbillies.html for the pancocojams post "The Shared Steroptypes For Hillbillies & African Americans".

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Example #4
From Mudcat: Aunt Jemima, posted by Joe Offer, 14 Apr 10 - 03:51 AM

Margaret MacArthur sang it to the tune of "Yankee Doodle Dandy."

AUNT JEMIMA

Aunt Jemina climb a tree
She had a stick to boost her,
There she sat a-shelling corn
For our old bob tailed rooster.

CHORUS
Humpty Doodle skiddlebing
Humpty Doodle Daddy,
Humpty Doodle skiddlebing
Wax for Torttle-addy

Corn cobs will twist your hair
Cart wheels around you,
Fiery dragons scare you off
And mortar pestles pound you.
CHORUS

Aunt Jemima's dead and gone
It's hard to tell the story,
They put the plaster on her back
And threw her up to glory.
CHORUS

Sheepskin, bees wax
Makes the sticky plaster,
The more we try to pull it off,
The harder it sticks the faster.
CHORUS

Tune: Yankee Doodle Dandy
From the singing of Mrs. Austin Nichols, Guilford, Vermont; verses three and four from Jean Chase, Putney, Vermont.

Source:
Album notes from Folksongs of Vermont, a Folkways LP by Margaret MacArthur.
-snip-
Notice that this example includes a verse of the "Aunt Jemima's Plaster" song.

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RELATED LINK
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/06/rush-limbaughs-calling-african.html to read about the African American practice of insulting certain attitudes and behaviors by calling women an "Aunt Jemima" (meaning a female "Uncle Tom").

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Children's Playground Rhymes About Shooting Someone Or Being Shot

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post presents a small sample of children's playground rhymes that mention someone shooting another person or being shot.

There are LOTS of examples of such rhymes, and there are MANY other very old and contemporary rhymes that mention a person being hit, kicked, punched, slapped, and/or more. Playground rhymes are a reflection of the society that children grow up in. They include so much violence because violence permeates our society.

I believe that one of the reason children chant these types of rhymes is to safely experience flaunting societal limits and taboos. However, I also believe that children need to be taught that guns are very dangerous and that shooting someone should never be a person's response when they don't like someone or are angry with someone.

Thanks to all those who have collected these examples or have contributed examples that are included in this post.

Note: Although this blog focuses on African American culture and other Black cultures throughout the world, many of the examples included in this post are from White contributors, and those examples are (or were) chanted by White children or by children of Color or both.

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FEATURED EXAMPLES
These examples are presented in alphabetical order, and are numbered for referencing purposes only. Contributor comments are included with some examples. Unless the contributor gave a title for his or her example, I've used the first line of each example as its title. I've also added brief editorial comments after a few of these examples.

A, B

C, D
1.
[excerpt] of COCA COLA CAME TO TOWN
Coca Cola came to town
Diet Pepsi shot him down
Dr. Pepper picked him up
Now we all drink 7up
-adam, hope, lana (United Kingdom), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3xDuBQeqg8&feature=related, January 20, 2009

A complete transcription of this video can be found on this pageee of my cococjams cultural website http://cocojams.com/content/handclap-jump-rope-and-elastics-rhymes

E, F

G, H

I, J
2.
I BELIEVE I CAN DIE
One time, I was in elementary school & I was riding the bus back from some field trip when some kids sang

"I believe I can die,
I've been shot by the F.B.I.,
all I wanted was a chicken wing,
but they shot me at Burger King
-Dylan Baranski, http://www.amiright.com/parody/90s/rkelly37.shtml, retrieved on September 18, 2014
-snip-
This is a parody of R&B singer R. Kelly's 1996 hit song "I Believe I Can Fly". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/10/childrens-parodies-of-i-believe-i-can_2.html for a pancocojams post on Children's Parodies of "I Believe I Can Fly". Another example of this parody is below.

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3.
I BELIEVE I CAN FLY
Hand Jives I've learned as a kid living in VA. Please Post some that you know!!!
(To the tune of I Believe I Can Fly)

I believe I can fly
I got shot by the F.B.I
All I wanted was some chicken wings
and a little bit of collad greens
I believe I can soar
I got a beaten at the geocery store
-snip-
This is anotheer parody version of "I Believe I Can Fly".

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4.
I HATE YOU YOU HATE ME
(A Barney one)

I hate you, you hate me,
we chased Barney up a tree.
With a 44 caliper shot him in the head,
aren't you glad that Barney's dead.
-GUEST,Random college student putting off her essay, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=2795[hereafter given as Mudcat: Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, I Bit the Teacher's Toe!], November 3, 2006
-snip-
There are numerous parodies of the "I Love You, You Love Me" theme song for the American children's television show "barney", and just about all of them are quite gruesome.

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5.
JINGLE BELLS
Jingle bells,
Jingle bells,
Santa Claus Is dead.
Grandma took an M16
and shot him in the head.
HEY!
-source: http://www.inthe80s.com/rhymes.shtml, retrieved on September 18, 2014
-snip-
This is a parody of the Christmas song "Jingle Bells".

K, L

M, N
6.
MAMA MAMA CAN'T YOU SEE (Version #1)
Mama mama can’t you see
What the army’s done to me
made me watch Barney
Tick Tock toe
three in a row
Michael got shot by GI Joe

this is Michael Jackson, some people say your mama but they don’t because you’re not supposed to talk about somebody’s mother
-Conraya, (11 year old African American girl, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, collected by Azizi Powell), 2008
-snip-
I find this example and its comment significant for sociological/cultural reasons.

The earliest "Mama Mama Can't You See" rhymes that I've heard (in 1999) mentioned that Barney got shot by GI Joe ("Barney" being the purple dinasaur television character, and "GI Joe" being the small action soldier toy). I later observed some children -mostly girls- saying "Your mama got shot by GI Joe" (around 2002). This example substituted the name of Pop singer "Michael Jackson"
for "Mama" because "you're not supposed to talk about someone's mother".

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7.
MAMA MAMA CAN'T YOU SEE (Version #1)
it goes mama mama cant you see clap clap clap what the babies done to me clap clap clap some one stole my screen tv clap clap clap now i got to watch dumb barney clap clap clap tic tac toe three in a row clap clap clap barney got shot by the g i joe clap clap clap mama called the Doctor and the doctor said clap clap clap play this game till your hands get red . that is it
-manda, https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090501175248AAWDxOq, 2009

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8.
MISS MOLLY HAD A BABY
Miss Molly had a baby,
The baby's name was Tim,
She put him in a bathtub,
To see if he could swim.
He ate up all the water,
He drank up all the soap,
He woulda ate the bathtub but it wouldn't fit his throat!
Miss Molly called the doctor,
Miss Molly called the nurse,
Miss Molly called the lady with the alligator purse!
Measles said the doctor,
Measles said the nurse,
Pizza said the lady with the alligator purse!
Miss Molly shot the doctor,
Miss Molly stabbed the nurse,
Miss Molly paid the lady with the alligator purse!

Early '90's, Calgary, Canada
-Guest, Mudcat: Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, I Bit the Teacher's Toe!, April 13, 2005
-snip-
This rhyme is more widely known as "Miss Lucy Had A Baby"

****
9.
MY MUMMY IS A BAKER
Whenever I used to go over to my cousins house, me and my two cousins always used to do this one clapping game,

My mummy is a baker, yummy yummy big fat tummy,
My daddy is a dustbin man, smelly, smelly, smelly, smelly,
My sister is a show off, how'd ya like it?, how'd ya like it?
My brother is a cowboy, BANG BANG. You're dead fifty bullets in your head

My doggy is a singer, singing aye aye ippy pipe aye, Apple pie, singing aye aye ippy ippy aye, Apple pie, singing aye aye pipe the Germans stole our chippy, singing aye aye pip yippee aye.

The are actions as well:
you rub your tummy for 'yummy yummy big fat tummy'
You hold your nose for 'smelly smelly...'
You put your hand on your head for 'how'd ya like it...'
You fake a gun for 'BANG BANG...'
You link arms and dance in a circle in partners and swap around for the 'aye aye ippy...' Part
-Treasure D, http://www.netmums.com/coffeehouse/children-parenting-190/general-parenting-192/434766-playground-clapping-rhymes-your-childhood-all.html [United Kingdom], 09-08-2014

O, P
10.
ONE BRIGHT MORNING
One bright morning
In the middle of the night
Two dead boys
Got up to fight.

Back to back
They faced each other
Drew their swords
And shot their mother.

Two deaf policemen
Heard the noise
Came and killed
Those two dead boys.

If you don't believe
All this is true,
Ask the blindman.
He saw it too.

-Source: Abrahams (1969), http://mudcat.org/jumprope/jumprope_display_all.cfm hereafter given as "Mudcat: Jump Rope Listing"

****
11.
ON TOP OF OLD SMOKEY (Version #1)
From 1986-8, in Spirit Lake Iowa….

On top of old smoky, all covered with sand,
I shot my poor teacher, with a big rubber band!
I shot her with pleasure, I shot her with pride!
I couldnt've missed her...she's eighty feet wide!

school yard staples.
-Neighmond (Chaz), Mudcat: Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, I Bit the Teacher's Toe!, April 5, 2005
-snip-
This is a parody of the song "On Top Of Old Smokey"
=snip-
Another commenter who shared a dfferent parody version of "On Top Of Old Smokey" that included knocking the teacher "to the floor with a loaded forty-four" and "hanging the principal" wrote that "This was, of course, sung with no intention of shooting (or hanging) anybody, and the adults in our vicinity knew better than to take it so."

****
12.
ON TOP OF OLD SMOKEY (Version #2)
From Denver, Colorado, mid-1980's. I learned them from a white kid but the neighborhood was about 80% black and I don't know where he learned them]

On top of Old Smoky, all covered in blood,
I shot my poor teacher with a .44 slug.

I went to her funeral, I went to her grave,
Some people threw flowers, I threw a grenade.

I looked in her coffin, she wasn't quite dead,
So I took a bazooka and blew off her head.

On top of old smokey
All covered in blood
I shot my poor teacher
with a .44 slug

I shot her for pleasure
I shot her for fear
I shot her for drinking
My Budweiser beer

I went to her funeral
I went to her grave
Some people threw flowers
But I threw grenades

I looked in her coffin
She wasn't quite dead
So I took a machete
And cut off her head

They took me to prison
Put me in a cell
So I grabbed a bazooka
And blew them to hell

I probably first heard these in 4th grade or so, maybe 3rd.
-Scoville, Mudcat: Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, I Bit the Teacher's Toe!,
November 3, 2006
-snip-
Regarding that blogger mentioning race in her comment, I participated in that Mudcat discussion, and asked contributors to share their race and/or the race of the person from whom they learned the rhymes. I did so because I believed (and still believe) that race and ethnicity (mostly meaning "Latino) in the United States may be a factor in which types of rhymes, and which rhyme in particular that a person knows. I also believed (and still believe) that race may influence how a person performs a particular rhyme.

****
Q, R

S, T
13.
THE BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC
As for "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", there's

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the burning of the school,
We have tortured all the teachers, we have broke the golden rule,
We have went into the office and we shot the principal,
The school is burning down!
Glory, glory for the burning of the school (3x)
The school is burning down.
-Jerry Friedman, Mudcat: Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, I Bit the Teacher's Toe!], September 13, 1997
-snp-
This is a parody of the song "The Battle Hymn of the Republic .

****
14.
TIC TAC TOE
there are so many diffrent ways we said

tic tac toe
give me a high
give me a low
give me a three in a row
bunny got shot by a ufo.

then who ever won rock paper sisors had to move there finger across the other persons back and say spider crawling up your back
which finger did that

then the other person had to guess which finger and if you won you said
I win you lose
know [now] you get to chose punch or bruse
or
I win fair and square now I get to pull you hair
-Amy Perry, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZXPxJ_oP_Ass
"Tic Tac Toe " Hand clapping game demonstration", 2014
-snip-
Another commenter wrote that an additional verse for this rhyme is:
that hurt, that hurt
now I get to pull your shirt
-snip-
"Bunny got shot by a ufo" is probably a folk etymology form of "Barney got shot by a GI Joe". I've seen that line written in other online versions of the "Mama Mama Can't You See" rhyme.

****
15.
TILLY THE TOILER
Tilly the toiler
Sat on a boiler.
The boiler got hot.
Tillie got shot.
How many times did Tilly get shot?
One, two, three, ... (* Continues count *)
-Source: Solomon (1980), Mudcat: Jump Rope Listing
-snip-
"Toiler" probably means "factory worker", a manual laborer.

U, V

W, X

Y, Z

****
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Children's Playground Rhymes About Whippings (Spankings, Beatings)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post presents a small sample of children's playground rhymes that mention a child being hit as a form of punishment.

There are LOTS of examples of such rhymes, and there are MANY other very old and contemporary rhymes that mention a person being shot, kicked, punched, slapped, and/or more. Playground rhymes are a reflection of the society that children grow up in. They include so much violence because violence permeates our society.

As the author of this article
http://rationalhedonist.hubpages.com/hub/spanking-in-literature "Spanking Children In Literature: Growing Up in a Culture of Spanking" notes "[her parents shared with others] a solid and accepted tradition of hitting children to get them to either do or stop doing what what you wanted... It was part of America's Bible-influenced culture and back then something kids my age had in commons."

I admit to giving my children spankings with my hand on rare occassions, and I admit to even more rarely giving my children a spanking with a strap, but never with a ruler, paddle, shoe, or stick (which is called a "switch" by some Black Americans.) Particularly because of my work in Child Welfare, I recognized then as I recognize now that a child can make an adult so angry that that they could hurt that child without planning to do so. When I was raising my children I tried to keep my self-control. Most of the time I used refrained from corporal punishment and used other forms of discipline such as those that are discussed in this article: http://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/family-dynamics/communication-discipline/Pages/Disciplining-Your-Child.aspx.

Although this blog focuses on African American culture and other Black cultures throughout the world, many of the examples included in this post are from White contributors, and those examples are (or were) chanted by White children or by children of Color or both.

Despite the recent stories about Black professional footbal players abusing their children, hitting children for disciplinary purposes and especially using excessive force while disciplining children isn't a race problem, it's a people problem.

It's my hope that an increased recognition of the prevalence of violence in children' rhymes will help motivate people to be more aware of the words to the rhymes that they teach children, to refrain from passing on these types of rhymes, and to help children who chant these rhymes recognize the negative physical and emotional consequences of using corporal punishment as a form of discipline. Especially with older children, these rhymes can be used as teaching opportunities to reinforce the view that there are better ways to discipline children than hitting them.

Thanks to all those who have collected these examples or have contributed examples that are included in this post.

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FEATURED EXAMPLES
These examples are presented in alphabetical order, and are numbered for referencing purposes only. Contributor comments are included with some examples. Unless the contributor gave a title for his or her example, I've used the first line of each example as its title. I've also added brief editorial comments after a few of these examples.

A, B
1.
ALLIGATOR, ALLIGATOR
Alligator, alligator
I can't swim.
Call {name} in. (* Jumper enters *)
Here comes the teacher
With a bamboo stick.
I wonder what I got
in arithmetic.
A, B, C, D, F.

Source: Hastings (1990), http://mudcat.org/jumprope/jumprope_display_all.cfm hereafter given as "Mudcat: Jump Rope Listing"
-snip-
"A, B, C, D, F." were the letter grades that were given in public schools in New Jersey when I went to school in thee 1950s qnd 1960s. In Pennsylvania when my children went to school in the late 1970s to the 1990s the failing grade was "E" instead of "F".

C, D
2.
CHERRY, CHEERY, CHEERY WINE
Cherry, cherry, cherry wine.
Come back here, I'll tan your 'hine

Source: Abrahams (1969)
-hereafter given as Mudcat: Jump Rope Listing
-snip-
"Tan your hide" means severally beat your skin (your body).

****
3.
DOWN IN THE VALLEY WHERE THE GREEN GRASS GROW
Jump rope song

Down in the valley where the green grass grow
There lay (your name) sweet as a rose
She sang, she sang, she sang so sweet
Along come a man and kissed her on the cheek
Myyyy (your name)aren't you ashamed?
Kissing a boy without any name?
I'll tell Ma
And Ma'll tell Pa
And you get a whoppin by Grand, Grand MA
How many whoppins did she recieve?

These are counted as the rope turns
-GUEST,A 70's Child, Children's Street Songs, Sept 18, 1970

E, F

G, H
4.
GLORY GLORY HALLELUJAH
Glory, glory hallelujah
teacher hit me with a ruler
I bopped her on the bean
with a rotten tangerine
and she ain't gonna teach no more"*
Source: http://www.playgroundjungle.com/2009/12/mine-eyes-have-seen-glory-of-burning-of.html
-snip-
The Blog editor refers to this rhyme as "The Burning of the School" and noted that there are hundreds of variations.

I, J
5.
I'M GOING DOWNTOWN TO SMOKE MY PIPE
I'm going downtown to smoke my pipe,
I won't be back til broad daylight,
f you let the witch get little sister Sue,
I'll spank you black, I'll spank you blue,
I'll spank you with the heel of my old rubber shoe

This is the version we used to jump rope to. Back in the 50's, Saginaw, MI
-Guest,blaine; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=110753&messages=46 "kids' game: I'm goin' down town to smoke my pipe" ; February 27.2009
-snip-
That Mudcat discussion thread includes a lot of examples of this rhyme which is chanted as part of that running/hidding game. It's interesting that so many of the examples of this rhyme that were shared are from the state of Michigan.

Here are two comments from another website discussion of that game:
Subject: a game we used to play at a country school in Michigan in the '30s
Asked by: cv5830-ga, Posted: 14 Dec 2003
"It began with the line: "I'm going downtown to smoke my pipe and I
won't be back till broad daylight and if you let my muffins burn I'll spank you blue (various colors) . . ." One answer from my Google search came from someone in Washington State, but she didn't remember much of it either. Something about "if you let that old witch in . ."

****
From http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/287186.html
"Re: a game we used to play at a country school in Michigan in the '30s
From: workplace-ga on 23 Apr 2004
"Wow, this is interesting! I used to play this game as a child too up in Canada! Check out the children's story written by Audrey Wood entitled, HECKEDY PEG. Her story is very similar to our game. She credits this story going back to a 16th century game! It would be interesting to find out where else in the world this has been played!"
-snip-
"Spanking someone blue (or black and blue) means spanking them so severly that he or she has bruises that are black and blue in color.

****
6.
JOHNNY OVER THE OCEAN
Johnny over the ocean.
Johnny over the sea.
Johnny broke a bottle,
And blamed it on me.

I told Ma.
Ma told Pa.
Johnny got a whippin'.
Ha ha ha.
-Mudcat: Jump Rope Listing

K, L

M, N
7.
MINE EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY
Mine eyes have seen the glory
Of the burning of the school.
We have tortured all the teachers
And broken all the rules.
We are marching down the aisle
Now to kill the principal.
Our gang is marching on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah
Teacher hit me with a ruler.
I hit her on the bean
With a rotten tangerine
And there ain't no teacher anymore.

Source: Abrahams (1969), Hastings (1990)
"Mudcat: Jump Rope Rhymes Listing"

O, P
8.
OLD AUNT DINAH SICK IN BED
'Old Aunt Dinah sick in bed
Eegisty –ogisty!
Sent for the doctah-doctah said,
Eegisty –ogisty!
“Git up, Dinah-
Ring-ding-ah-ding---ah!
You ain’t sick.
Eegisty –ogisty!
All you need
Ring-ding-ah-ding-ah!
Is a hickory stick!
Eegisty –ogisty!--Ring-ding-ah-ding---ah!
-Source: Dorothy Scarborough On The Trail Of Negro Folk Rhymes, 1927, pp 187-188
-snip-
I remember this rhyme as "Grandma Grandma sick in bed". During slavery in the United States south, the title "Mrs" was reserved for White females only. Instead of "Mrs", "Aunt" was used as a title for older Black women (and Ungle was used for older Black men instead of "Mr".

In this rhyme "Aunt Dinah" (or grandma) is being accused of faking her illness. Cranches from hickory trees were often used to give beatings because that wood is so hard. Later versions of this rhyme substitute "peppermint stick" or “walking stick” for "hickory stick", and in so doing changing the underlying meeaning of that rhyme.

****
9.
OUR SCHOOLHOUSE IS A FINE SCHOOLHOUSE
From rapidly fading memory - not sure of spelling

Our schoolhouse is a fine schoolhouse
It's the best schoolhouse in Glasgae,
The only thing wrong with our schoolhouse
Is the baldy heided master.
He gaes tae the pub on Saturday night,
He gaes tae the kirk on Sunday,
Tae pray tae the lord tae gi' him the strength
Tea murder the weans on Monday.
Guest, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=89297 "anti-school songs", March 3, 2006
-snip-
"Glasgae" is Glasgow, Scotland"
"He gaes tae the pub" = He goes to the bar
"He goes tae the kirk" = He goes to the church
"tae gi'" = to give
"Tae murder the weans" = to murder the children (by whipping them)

****
10.
PANCAKE TUESDAY IS A HOLIDAY
One I remember from my childhood in Belfast in the 50s was:
Pancake Tuesday is a holiday.
If we don't get off, we'll all run away.
Where shall we run?
Down the wee lane.
Who should we meet, but the teacher with the cane.
What shall we do?
We'll chop her up in two & leave her at the hospital at half past two! (? not totally clear in the memory department on the last half of the last line!)
-GUEST,Chris McCann, "Children's Street Rhymes", March 31, 2008
-snip-
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrove_Tuesday for information about Shrove Tuesday and the custom of Pancake Day.

****
11.
PANCAKE TUESDAY IS A VERY HAPPY DAY
My late mother used to sing this as a little girl, she was born in 1910.

Pancack Tuesday's a very happy day
If we don't get a holiday we'll all run away.
Where will you run to?
Down Copp Lane,
Here comes the Master with a big fat cane.

then shouted
Eating pancackes, cracking nuts
Shovelling pancakes down us guts!

Copp Lane was the lane behind the Testimonial School in Fleetwood, the town's oldest school, and in the mid 19C, Shrove tuesday was a school holiday, but not when my mother was a little girl, I don't know how old this ditty is but I'd guess late 19C. Ron
-GUEST,Sailor Ron, "Children's Street Songs", June 22, 2009

Q, R

S, T
12.
TEACHER TEACHER DON'T WHIP ME
Teacher, teacher,
Don't whip me.
Whip that boy
Behind the tree.
He stole peaches.
I stole none.
Teacher, teacher
Ain't that fun?

Teacher, teacher,
Don't whip me.
Whip that boy
Behind the tree.
He stole money
I stole honey.
Teacher, teacher
Ain't that funny?

Source: Yellowbelly, yellowbelly [Mudcat: Jump Rope Rhyme Listing]
-snip-
The earliest examples of this rhyme refer to "master" and "th n word". Click this page of my Cocojams cultural website about the rhyme "Master Don't Whip Me" which is the precusor of "Teacher Teacher Don't Whip Me" and "Policeman Policeman Don't Beat Me" rhymes: http://www.cocojams.com/content/master-please-dont-whip-me

U, V
13.
UNDER THE BRAMBLE BUSH
Under the bramble bushes
Under the sea
Boom boom boom
True love for you my darling
True love for me
And when we mar-rreeee
We'll raise a family
A girl for you
A boy for me
Johnny broke a saucer & blamed it on me
I told Mama
Mama told Papa
And Johnny got a spanking
So ha ha ha!
-Louisa K, http://www.netmums.com/coffeehouse/children-parenting-190/general-parenting-192/434766-playground-clapping-rhymes-your-childhood-all.html, 4/18/14 [from the United Kingdom]
-snip-
This rhyme shows the common practice of combining two or more rhymes together. The "Johnny broke a saucer" portion of this example is a version of the independent rhyme "Johnny Over The Ocean". Another example of that rhymee can be found above.

W, X
14.
WHEN SUSIE WAS A TEACHER
When Susie was a teacher
A teacher Susie was
She hit us with a ruler
And gave us great big welts
Call the operator
Give me number nine
Tell Susie not to hit us
And now our hands are fine

Source, Barbara, "Children's Street Songs", November 2, 1998

Y, Z
15.
YONDER COMES THE TEACHER
Yonder comes the teacher
With a big fat stick.
Wonder what I made
On arithmetic?
5, 10, 15, 20, ... (* Continues counting *)

Source: Abrahams (1969), Solomon (1980)
-Mudcat: Jump Rope Rhyme Listing

****
UPDATE: October 10, 2014
Although this poem isn't a playground rhyme, its first verse is often thought to be one:

THERE WAS A LITTLE GIRL
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

There was a little girl, and she had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead;
When she was good she was very, very good,
But when she was bad she was horrid.

One day she went upstairs, while her parents, unawares,
In the kitchen were occupied with meals;
And she stood upon her head, on her little truckle-bed,
And then began hurraying with her heels.

Her mother heard the noise, and thought it was the boys
A-kicking up a rumpus in the attic;
But when she climbed the stair and saw Jemima there,
She took her up and spanked her most emphatic.

Source: http://spankingart.org/wiki/Nursery_rhyme#There_was_a_little_girl

****
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The Racist Roots Of The "Five Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed" Chant

Edited by Azizi Powell

Anecdotal evidence suggests that early versions of the chant that is now known as "Five Little Monkeys" (also known as "Ten Little Monkeys" used the "n word" plural or "darkies" as referents for Black people instead of the word "monkey". And "monkey" itself is a word which has also been used in the past and the present as an offensive referent for Black people.

This post presents a compilation of the online comments that I have found to date about the probable racist roots of the "Five Little Monkeys/"Ten Little Monkeys" chant. This post also includes my comments about that information and about another possible source for that chant.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.

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VIDEO EXAMPLE OF "FIVE LITTLE MONKEYS'
"Five Little Monkeys" by ABCmouse.com



ABCmouse.com Early Learning Academy, Published on Jan 6, 2014

http://ABCmouse.com/LearnMore
The classic children's song "Five Little Monkeys" (or "5 Little Monkeys") helps children learn basic math skills. As each little monkey falls off and "bumps his head," children will learn about basic subtraction skills in the context of this quirky song.

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TEXT EXAMPLE "FIVE LITTLE MONKEYS'
(author unknown)
Five little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head
Mama called the doctor,
And the doctor said
No more monkeys jumping on the bed

Four little monkeys jumping on the bed etc.

Three little monkeys jumping on the bed etc.

Two little monkeys jumping on the bed etc

One little monkey jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head
Mama called the doctor
And the doctor said,
Put those monkeys right [back] to bed.
-various sources, including http://www.kidsongs.com/lyrics/five-little-monkeys.html

****
POSSIBLE SOURCES OF AND COMMENTS ABOUT EARLY VERSIONS OF "FIVE LITTLE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED"
Comment #1:
From http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_origin_of_The_Five_Little_Monkeys
This is a response to the question: "What is the origin of The Five Little Monkeys [chant]"?
respondent: Books and Literature SupervisorMyrab51
"It derives from the original first verse of "Shortenin' Bread": Two little (insert N-word here)Lyin' in bed One of 'em sick An' de odder mos' dead.Call for de doctorAn' de doctor said,"Feed dem darkies on shortenin' bread" We all know the chorus: Mammy's little baby loves Shortenin', shortenin',Mammy's little baby love shortenin' bread. Unfortunate, but true.

Like many children's rhymes and songs, the rhythm of the verse was too catchy for people to abandon, so parents/teachers simply changed the characters and the action. "Monkeys" belies this... unfortunately monkeys and apes have often been used as stand-in characters for African-Americans. This rhyme was beginning to be cleansed as early as the late 1930s. My 77-year-old mother heard "Five Little Monkeys" on my child's Baby Genius CD recently and said "Monkeys? It's 'Five Little Darkies' and the doctor says to feed them shortenin' bread!" So the N word was already out of favor in the northeast US by the time she was a child, and "darkies" was preferred for both the beginning and ending phrase
-snip-
This quote was reformatted for this post

****
Comment #2:
From http://forums.adoption.com/transracial-adoption/380564-5-little-monkeys-racist.html

ChromaKelly, 09-19-2010, 01:56 PM
5 Little Monkeys - racist?
..."I'm not real crazy about 5 Little Monkeys jumping on a bed anyway (I remember hearing it with "N" as a kid)… I'm sure the vast majority of the people repeating this rhyme have no idea it has any racist roots. So, do I just let it go, or educate people? Even though I can't be 100% certain."
**
ChromaKelly, 09-19-2010, 08:14 PM
"Just to clarify, I'm not like, "everything with a monkey in it is racist". I'm mainly talking about the version of 5 Little Monkeys that goes -
Five little monkeys swinging in the tree
teasing Mr. Alligator can’t catch me….can’t catch me
along came Mr. Alligator quiet as can be
and snapped that monkey out that tree *

It's the combo of monkeys plus being eaten by an alligator that's tweaking with me. Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone knew whether or not this was based on the alligator bait thing."

****
Comment #3
From http://babyandblog.com/2014/04/5-childrens-songs-with-racist-histories/# "Five Children's Songs With Racist Histories", posted by Angele, April 29, 2014
Comments:
GB Harris, May 6, 2014 at 3:01 pm
"I’m not a Mom but I came across this website to find some activities for my little sister. I had heard from my grandmother about some of the songs and phrases that we think of as “modern” today actually had their roots from several centuries ago & blatantly included racist, sexist, etc language. I had heard of the racist version of “Eenie Meenie Mini Moe” but the last one “Short’nin Bread” made my mouth drop because I recognized it as “Three Little Monkeys”, a song I was taught in private school no less. To my horror I realized N-word was replaced by monkeys, a veiled racial epithet to refer to black people once again. I’m torn between never wanting to hear these songs again to wanting to incorporate this into a class children learn by elementary. I think the more you learn about the past, the more prepared you are, as long as you do not wallow in it. Growing I think my family could have helped more about being completely honest with how I as a black woman was going to encounter racism and the varied ways I could combat it. Either way, I am learning for myself, but a more open dialogue would have helped with my development."

**
Angele, May 12, 2014 at 10:51 pm
"GB Harris, you are right, the lyrics and rhyme structure in that verse of “Short’nin Bread” have a STRONG resemblance to 5 or “10 Little Monkey’s Jumping on the Bed.” I have heard from many people that the origin of “10 Little Monkey’s Jumping on The Bed” was racist, but while doing research for this post could not find any reputable sources to confirm or negate that claim. I visited quite a few libraries and chatted with various reference librarians, and museums as well. I didn’t find anything on the origin or authorship of the song. There is a book published by Eileen Christelow, but even she states she is not the original author and she does not know who is. It is unclear how long “10 Little Monkey’s Jumping on The Bed” has been around, if it came before or after “Short’nin Bread,” etc. The only online reference I found was this:

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_origin_of_The_Five_Little_Monkeys*

This reference is very anecdotal, and while it may be true, I didn’t consider it a scholarly source of information so I didn’t include it in the post. But I will say the resemblance is undeniable."
-snip-
* This is the quote given as Comment #1 in this post.

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ANOTHER POSSIBLE SOURCE
While I believe that "Shortnin Bread" is the probable main source for “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed”, I wonder if the precursor to "Ten Little Indians" could also have been a source for that children's chant. Tiffany M.B. Anderson wrote an interesting and informative article about that post-Civil War "coon song" which was entitled "Ten Little [n word plural]." http://folkloreforum.net/2009/05/01/%E2%80%9Cten-little-niggers%E2%80%9D-the-making-of-a-black-man%E2%80%99s-consciousness/. Here's the beginning paragraph of that online abstract:
"During Reconstruction in the 1860s, the proud Confederate states found themselves in a place of subordination. Forced to concede their free slave labor, the former citizens of the Confederacy refused to fold their ideology of the inferiority of the freed slaves. A “comic” song titled “Ten Little [n word plural*]" circulated through the United States in Minstrel shows and children’s nursery rhyme books in keeping with this ideology."
-snip-
*That word is fully spelled out in that abstract.
-snip-
Here's a comment about a song that is probably the German version of that composition:
"ciara1973, June 29, 2014 at 9:21 am
"In Germany we have “Zehn kleine Negerlein“ (Ten little negros). A horrible song about ten little african children doing the most stupidest things and getting themselves killed. The kindergarten teacher had my sister and the rest of the childeren singing it at a play. I later told my mom about it (she was at work) and she took care of it. Later a punk group changed the name and the text and it is no longer allowed to be teached. Oh by the way, my siblings and I are biracial (african-american and german)." http://babyandblog.com/2014/04/5-childrens-songs-with-racist-histories/#

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EDITORIAL COMMENT
If "Five Little Monkeys" and "Shortnin Bread" do indeed have racist roots, does that mean that people who are anti-racist shouldn't sing those songs and teach them to children?

I believe that the current versions of because the offensive references and offensive dialectic words have been removed from both of those songs/chants, in my opinion, they are acceptable for singing and sharing with children.

Here's a comment that I wrote on July 20in response to a query about whether the fact that some versions of the "Eenie Meenie Miney Mo" rhyme used the "n word" should mean that that counting out (choosing it) rhyme should never be taught to children or used by children, regardless if those versions being taught or used don't include "the n word":

http://loveisntenough.com/2007/10/24/ask-arp-what-should-i-do-about-nursery-rhymes-with-a-racist-past/ "Ask ARP: What should I do about nursery rhymes with a racist past?
Posted on October 24, 2007 by Carmen Van Kerckhove

"More than seven years after this post was published, I happened upon it while searching for discussion and I’m surprised that there aren’t any responses to your legitimate query.

As an African American community folklorist who is particularly interested in playground rhymes , I’m aware that some playground rhymes – like other folk material – have problematic, and even quite offensive early versions. However, I don’t think that means that people should avoid teaching and sharing with children those politically correct versions which were purposely made to substitute for those offensive versions, or which developed non-racist variants by happenchance.

For what it’s worth, I learned “Eeny Meenie Miney Mo” with the “catch a tiger by the toe” line when I was growing up in the mid 1950s in Atlantic City, New Jersey. And it wasn’t until I was in my fifties that I learned that “tiger” (or some other word) was a replacement for the “the n word”. From reading other online discussions about this song, including your comment, it seems that a number of people who know that “Eenie Meenie Miney Mo” choosing it rhyme don’t know that it once included the “n word”.

I’m not encouraging people to forget the history of rhymes or songs that contained offensive referents. I believe that it would be beneficial for children of certain ages -at least pre-teens- and adults to formally and informally study & discuss this subject as an introduction to and auxiliary resource for the study of anti-racism, multiculturalism, and folklore etc.

What I’m much more concerned about is the fact that some playground rhymes are still being recited today that are racist- for example, some examples of “I Went To A Chinese Restaurant”. I strongly believe that those rhymes shouldn’t be recited, and I would have no problem whatsoever contacting the school or community center if I learned that a teacher or staff person was teaching my young granddaughter those offensive versions of those rhymes. I also know that her parents or I would redirect her in an age appropriate way if she learned an offensive version of that rhyme or any other rhyme or song from her friends, from television, or the internet or elsewhere.

However, I would have no problem – and I believe that her parents would also have no problem – if she recited a non-racist version of a rhyme or a song that had a racist version in its past or its present.

I agree with the principal who had concerns about “sensitizing a child to something that we cannot quite explain in full as there is no context for the child – we can’t tell them what the old words used to be.”

Just saying that “Some examples of that rhyme have hurtful words” is too vague unless we also say what those words are. And I don’t think that adults need to do that unless the children are older or are the children are heard using those words or hear someone else use those words and ask us about them."
-Azizi Powell
-snip-
I re-visited that website today and noticed that my comment was still awaiting moderation. I also noticed that a note indicated that there were 36 other responses to that query. Unfortunately, I can't seem to access those responses. It seems that that website is no longer under active moderation and the comment feature is largely de-activated. But, the points that I made in that comment about "Eenie Meanie Miney Mo" also apply to "Five Little Indians Jumping In The Bed".

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"Playmate" Rhymes & "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" Rhymes That End With "Shut The Door"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post is Part II of a two part series on the end line "Shut the door" that is found in some examples of the hand game "Say Say My Playmate" and, to a lesser extent, is also found in some examples of the hand game "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico". This post showcases one video example and several text examples of these rhymes.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/07/larry-grayson-source-for-shut-door.html for Part I of this series. That post presents the theory that the source of that ending line and its closely related form "lock the door" is an adaptation of the catch phrase "shut that door" that was popularized by the British comedian and television host Larry Grayson.

A video example of a "Say Say My Playmate" rhyme that ends with "shut the door" is also showcased in Part I of this series, along with the words to that example.

The content of this post is provided for folkloric, recreational, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to all those featured in this video. Thanks also to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.

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EDITOR'S NOTE
As presented in Part I of this series, I think that the probable source of the "shut the door" endings for some "Playmate" hand games and for "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" hand games is the catchphrase "shut that door" which was popularized by British comedian and television host Larry Grayson. In those hand clap examples the end word "door" rhymes with the end word "more" that is found in the previous line.

For what it's worth, I've not found any examples of that "shut the door" ending before the 1970s, the decade that Larry Grayson began popularizing his catch prhase "shut that door".

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FEATURED EXAMPLE OF "SAY SAY MY PLAYMATE" HAND GAMES WITH THE "SHUT THE DOOR" ENDING
Say say oh playmate



norface5 Published on Jul 3, 2013

Say say oh playmate
Come out and play with me
And bring your dollies three
Climb up my apple tree
Slide down my rainbow
Into my cellar door
And we'll be jolly friends
Forever more more
Shut the door

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ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES OF "SAY SAY MY PLAYMATE" HAND GAMES WITH THE "SHUT THE DOOR" ENDING
These examples are presented in chronological order based on their posting date on the Internet (or the date that I retrieved these examples from the Internet with the examples with the oldest dates posted first.)

Notice that some of these examples include demographical information, including when and where they were first chanted.

Example #1, #2, #3
Black girls, Denver, Colorado - late 70's/early 80's 3 Say-Say Songs:

(Say-Say Happy Song - sung upbeat)

Say-say oh playmate
Come out and play with me
And bring your dollies-three
Climb up my apple tree
Slide down my rainbow
Into my cellar door
And we'll be jolly friends
Forever more, more - shut the door

(Say-Say Sad Song - Sung slowly, imitating crying)
Say say oh playmate
I cannot play with you
My dolly has the flu
She spit up in my shoe
Ain't got no rainbow
Ain't got no cellar door
And we'll be jolly friends
Forever more, more - shut the door

(Say-Say Angry Song)
Say say oh enemy
Come out and fight with me
And bring your pistols-three
Climb up my poison tree
Slide down my spider web
Into my dungeon door
And we'll be jolly enemies
Forever more more,
shut the door
-Jeanae; http://www.cocojams.com/content/handclap-jump-rope-and-elastics-rhymes-26/14/2008

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Example #4:
These are from TX & CA in the early 80s.

Say say oh playmate,
come out and play with me
and bring your dollies three
climb up my apple tree
slide down my rainbow
into the cellar door
and we'll be jolly friends
forever more, more, shut the door!

We also had a variation I can't completely remember:
Say say oh enemy,
come out and fight with me
and bring your soldiers three
????
slide down my drainpole
into the cellar door
and we'll be enemies
forever more, more, shut the door!
-posted by belladonna, http://ask.metafilter.com/122487/Teddy-Bear-Teddy-Bear-turn-aroundand-then-what, May 19, 2009

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Example #5:
Ceecee, my playmate,
Come out and play with me.
And bring your dollies three,
Climb up my apple tree.
Slide down my rainbow
Into my cellar door.
And we'll be jolly friends
Forever more, more, [I suppose ad infinitum is assumed]
Shut the door.

[collected from kids aged 9 and 13 in 1994 in Ontario, Canada]

Found in "Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts: The Subversive Folklore of Childhood" (1995), by Josepha Sherman and T.K.F. Weisskopf, pp 99-100
-posted by Victoria Simmons in http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=11136 "Slide down my cellar door"
March 16, 2014, Filed by Geoff Nunberg (hereafter given as "Language Log")

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Example #6
I don't remember exactly where I learned these, but I sang them in the early 90s:

Say, say, oh playmate,
come out and play with me
and bring your dollies three,
climb up my apple tree.
Slide down my rainbow
and through my cellar door,
and we'll be the best of friends,
forever more, more, shut the door.
Say, say, archenemy,
come out and fight with me
and bring your warriors three,
climb up my sycamore* tree.
Slide down my sidewalk
and through my dungeon door,
and we'll be archenemies
forever more, more, lock the door.

(*I was unreliably informed by the friend who taught me the latter version that sycamore trees have very scratchy bark. However, 'slide down my sidewalk' is sufficiently brutal. We did know what cellar doors were, if only from movies like The Wizard of Oz.)
-A; March 2014, "Language Log"

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Example #7
Mine (in Edinburgh) went something like:

Cee cee oh play me
Come out and play with me
And bring your dolly too
And baby kangaroo
Slide down the drainpipe
And through the cellar door
And we'll be jolly friends
For ever more more SHUT THAT DOOR

I'm intrigued to find out that it has words that make sense!
-Jen, March 17, 2014, "Language Log"

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Example #8
In 1970's Manchester (England) it was a clapping song, only different by:
See see my playmate,
and
Climb down the drain pipe, and to the cellar door.
And then there was an extra hand pat and chant of 'Shut that door!' which can only be from a TV presenter's catchphrase of the day.
I had no idea it was such an old song though!
-Rhoda, March 17, 2014, "Language Log"
-snip-
Here's a follow-up comment that was published on that same discussion thread:
mollymooly said,
March 18, 2014 @ 5:02 am
"which can only be from a TV presenter's catchphrase of the day."

To supplement Rhoda's comment for those who can't Google: Larry Grayson presented "Shut That Door!" and retained the catchphrase when he took over "The Generation Game" from Bruce Forsyth."

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Example #9:
Yeah, what Victoria Simmons posted was how I learned it, other than the first line was "Say say oh playmate." Our alternative version was

Say say oh enemy
Come out and fight with me
And bring your monsters three
Fall outta my apple tree
Slide down my razorblade
Into my cellar door
And I will lock you in
Forevermore, more
Lock the door
-Martha, March 17, 2014 @ 8:58 pm

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Example #10:
See, See my enemy, come out and play with me I'll bring my garden hose and shove it up your nose I'll turn it on and watch your head explode and we'll be jolly enemies for ever more more shut the door don't came back till your 94
-http://www.inthe80s.com/rhymes.shtml, retrieved July 3, 2014

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TWO EXAMPLES OF "I DON'T WANT TO GO TO MEXICO" WITH THE "SHUT THE DOOR" ENDING
Example #1:
Shame Shame Shame.
I don't want to go to Mexico
no more, more, more.
There's a big fat policeman
at door, door, door.
He'll grab you by the collar
and make you pay a dollar.
I don't want to go to Mexico
no more, more, more.
Shut the door!
-Bree'ana W. & Tonoya W. (African American girls; Philadelphia, PA); collected in 2001 by Azizi Powell, posted on my cultural page Cocojams 5/12/2004 http://www.cocojams.com/content/handclap-jump-rope-and-elastics-rhymes [Read my notes about that example that are found on that page.]

Example #2
I do [still play hand games.]

Shame,shame,shame,
I dont wanna go to mexico,
no more more more,theres
a big fat policeman,
at the door door door,if you
grab him by the collar boy you better
hollar if you grab him by the pants,
boy you betta dance,i dont wanna go to mexico
no more more more shut the door

Im 13 and i still play that
-Guest Brittany, http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=6309704 "Folklore: Do kids still do clapping rhymes?", June 4, 2011

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MORE COMMENTS ABOUT THE LINE "SHUT THE DOOR" & ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF ITS "LOCK THE DOOR" FORM
This is a slightly revised version of an example that I wrote on Mudcat 07 Jan 07 - 08:51 AM in the "Playmates 'slide down my cellar door' discussion thread whose link given above:
"With regards to the ending line "shut the door" ..., I've seen handclap partners try to be the first one to flick [lightly slap] their partner on the forehead or pinch their handclap partner on the arm while saying these words...

Both girls would quickly try to do this and also lean backwards so they wouldn't be flicked [or pinched].

I'm curious if anyone else remembers or have currently seen these action being done while saying the end line "shut the door" in Playmate or another children's rhyme."
-snip-
There's been no response to that comment to date on that discussion thread. However, one example of this rhyme with the similar ending “lock the door” was later posted by Guest Devon (April 4, 2004)
"I have a slightly different version of "Ci-Ci My Playmate":

Ci-Ci my playmate,
come out and play with me
and bring your dollies three,
climb up my apple tree,
slide down my rainbow
into my cellar door
and we'll be jolly friends
forever more, more
lock the door."
-snip-
I also think that the "shut the door" end line may serve the same lightly competitive function in hand clap rhymes as the end word "Freeze! or the end word "Shame" - hand clap partners may just compete to see who is the first one to say those words or that word. The person who says those words or that word first is considered "the winner".

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Larry Grayson - The Source For The "Shut The Door" Ending In "Say Say My Playmate" Hand Game

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post is Part I of a two part series on the end line "Shut the door" that is found in some examples of the hand game "Say Say My Playmate" and that is also found, to a lesser extent, in the hand game "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico".

This post presents the theory that that the source of that ending line and its closely related form "lock the door" is an adaptation of the catch phrase "shut that door" which was popularized by the British comedian and television host Larry Grayson.

Information about the 1940 song "Playmates" which is the source of that hand game "Say Say My Playmate" is included in this post along with information about Larry Grayson and information about the television show "Generation Game". In addition, this post presents a video example and text for one "Say Say My Playmate" rhyme.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/07/paymate-rhymes-i-dont-want-to-go-to.html for Part II of this series. Part II presents text examples of Playmate rhymes and "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" rhymes that "shut the door" ending.

The content of this post is provided for folkloric, recreational, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to all those featured in these videos. Thanks also to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.

Special hip tip to mollymooly from the Language Log blog whose comment & link is found below for introducing me to the idea that Larry Grayson's use of "Shut That door" is the source for the ending line in "Say Say My Playmate" hand clap rhymes.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "PLAYMATES"
The children's rhyme "Say Say My Playmate" ("Cee Cee Oh Playmate" and other similar spellings) and its parodies are adaptations of a hit 1940s American song "Playmate". "Playmate" was written by American composer Saxie Dowell. However, its melody was lifted from a 1906 song composed by Charles L. Johnson entitled "Iola". Charles L. Johnson sued and there was an out of court settlement. The lyrics of the song "Playmate" were adapted from a 1894 song "I Don't Want to Play in Your Yard", words by Philip Wingate and music by H. W. Petrie, composed in 1894.

From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=8560 "'slide down my cellar door' (Playmate)"comment , posted by GUEST,Q, Date: 06 Feb 03 - 04:57 PM
"The Saxie Dowell song was undoubtedly based on "I Don't Want To Play In Your Yard," words by Philip Wingate and music by H. W. Petrie, composed in 1894...

The chorus: [of "I Don't Want To Play In Your Yard"]
I don't want to play in your yard,
I don't like you any more.
You'll be sorry when you see me
Sliding down our cellar door.
You can't holler down my rain barrel,
You can't climb my apple tree.
I don't want to play in your yard,
If you won't be good to me.
-snip-
One additional source for this information is http://www.pdinfo.com/PD-Song-List/PD-Song-List-Best-I.php "List Of Best Known Public Domain Songs".

Click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?ThreadID=585 for the complete lyrics to "I Don't Want To Play In Your Yard".
-snip-
Also, note that "In various forms, “slide down my cellar door” became a kind of catchphrase to suggest innocent friendship" [from 1896 to the beginnings of the 1940s]. This was probably as a result of the "I Don't Want To Play In Your Yard" song. Read http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=11136 "Slide down my cellar door" March 16, 2014 @ 3:37 pm, Filed by Geoff Nunberg as well as a comment by JohnInKansas Date: 12 Nov 13 - 10:11 PM in the first Mudcat link that was previously given in this post.

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THEORY ABOUT THE SOURCE FOR THE ENDING "SHUT THE DOOR"
I believe that the catchphrase "Shut that door" which was popularized by British comedian and television host Larry Grayson is the probable source for the "shut the door" hand game ending line. That ending is found in some examples of "Say Say My Playmate" rhymes and, is to a lesser extent found in "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" hand game rhymes.

Larry Grayson popularized the catchphrase "Shut That Door" before, during, and after he was the host on the highly popular British television show "Generation Game". He was known as "Shut that door Larry Grayson, and the documentary that was produced honoring him after he died was entitled "Shut That door, a tribute to Larry Grayson.

From http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=11136 "Slide down my cellar door"
March 16, 2014, Filed by Geoff Nunberg

mollymooly said,
March 18, 2014 @ 5:02 am
"which can only be from a TV presenter's catchphrase of the day."

To supplement Rhoda's comment for those who can't Google: Larry Grayson presented "Shut That Door!" and retained the catchphrase when he took over "The Generation Game" from Bruce Forsyth."

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From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Grayson
"Larry Grayson (31 August 1923 – 7 January 1995), born William Sulley White, was an English comedian and television presenter who reached the peak of his fame in the 1970s and early '80s. He is best remembered for hosting the BBC's popular series The Generation Game and for his high camp and English music hall humour...

Grayson was one of the first television comedians to suggest an openly gay persona and many of his catchphrases, gestures and anecdotes were certainly suggestive, although he never publicly discussed or made direct reference to his sexuality, and was never known to have a partner."

****
From http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=12277 "Shut That Door"
"Larry Grayson (1923-95) spent decades working the club and cabaret circuit before finding fame first with his own TV show Shut That Door in 1975, and later as the presenter of the BBC family show The Generation Game. A drag artist as well as a comedian, he was a master of high camp; "Shut that door" was his catchphrase, so it was inevitable that he would record a song with that title. Credited to Worth/Peacock, it was released on York Records in August 1972, when he was on the verge of becoming a household name. The B-Side was "Slack Alice," one of the characters he created for his comedy act.

As might be expected "Shut That Door" is slightly risqué in the double entendre department, and it is surprising it didn't fall foul of the BBC censor. (thanks, Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2)"
-snip-

Here's some information about the "Generation Game":
Fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Generation_Game
"The Generation Game is a British game show produced by the BBC in which four teams of two (people from the same family, but different generations, hence the title of the show) competed to win prizes. The programme was first broadcast in 1971 under the title Bruce Forsyth and the Generation Game and ran until 1982, and again from 1990 until 2002....

The show reached its peak under Grayson [Host: Larry Grayson (1978–1982)] with an audience of 25 million. (It should be pointed out that its highest figures in 1979 were due to a strike that blacked out the ITV network, meaning the two BBC channels were the only ones the public could watch.) Grayson was loved for his apparent incompetence and inability to remember what was going on — all of which was carefully contrived.

... The show introduced a number of catchphrases, famously Bruce Forsyth's "Didn't he/she/they do well?", "Let's meet the eight who are going to generate", "Let's have a look at the old scoreboard"
…Grayson supplied his own catchphrases, notably "Shut that door!" "What a gay day!" and "Seems like a nice boy!"
-snip-
Here's a 1972 video of Larry Grayson singing his song "Shut That Door".

Larry Grayson- Shut That Door (1972)


idak72's channel, Uploaded on Mar 30, 2009
The iconic Larry Grayson, doing his trademark song from 1972 'Shut That Door', on his TV variety chat show of the same name. We miss you Larry! apologies for the quality, seems to have come off a studio monitor or something.

Also, click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsZIIo6rdi0 for an clip of an episode of the Generation Game hosted by Larry Grayson. That clip features that show's theme song which includes the words "Shut that door” and enjoy the Generation Game/Larry Grayson is here to play/ shut that door.”

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FEATURED EXAMPLE OF "SAY SAY MY PLAYMATE" HAND GAMES WITH THE "SHUT THE DOOR" ENDING
Say say oh playmate



norface5 Published on Jul 3, 2013

Say say oh playmate
Come out and play with me
And bring your dollies three
Climb up my apple tree
Slide down my rainbow
Into my cellar door
And we'll be jolly friends
Forever more more
Shut the door

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Examples of "I've Never Been To College" & "I've Never Been To Frisco" Verses in Children's Rhymes

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post presents examples of and commentary about the "I've never been to college" verse in children's rhymes. Alternative forms of that verse begin with the line "Ain't never been to college" or "Ain't never been to 'Frisco" (I've never been to Frisco").

The content of this post is provided for folkloric, cultural, and recreational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are featured on these videos and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.

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STANDARD FORM OF THIS RHYME
"I've never been to college" is the first line of a verse that appears at or near the end of a number of African American originated children's rhymes. The standard lines to this rhyme are

Ain't never been to college (or "I've never been to college)
Ain't never been to school (or "I've never been to school)
But when it comes to boogie (or "Boogie Woogie")
I'm an educated fool (or "I can boogie like a fool" or a similar line)

-snip-
"Boogie" = dancing
"Boogie Woogie" is a style of fast paced partner dancing similar if not the same as the (Lindy Hop/Swing dancing of the late 1920s) and the fast dancing of the 1950s.

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SPECULATIVE SOURCE
My guess is that this verse is an adaptation of the 19th century song "Old Jesse" which was collected by the Anglo American folklorist Dorothy Scarborough and included in her 1925 book On The Trail Of Negro Folk Songs (pp 71-72). Here's that song (presented with explanations given in parenthesis). Note: That book spells out what is now known as "the n word". For the purposes of this post I've written that word as "N__".

Chorus:
Old Jesse was a gemman {gentleman}
Among de olden times.

Verse 2
N__ never went to free school,
Nor any odder college.
An' all de white folks wonder whar
Dat N_ got his knowledge.
He chawed {chewed} up all de Bible.
An' den spat out de Scripter,
An' when he 'gin {begin} to arger {argue} strong,
He were a snortin' ripter!
-snip-
According to Dorothy Scarborough, the song "Ole Jesse" is from Alabama. This song shouldn't be confused with another traditional African American plantation song entitled "Uncle Jesse."

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CHRONOLOGICAL EXAMPLES (The featured lines of this verse are given in italics.)
1952, New York City
This verse was included in a review of the vinyl album 1, 2, 3 and a Zing, Zing, Zing, although the rhyme itself wasn't identified in that review:
"While conducting research in his hometown of New York during the summer and fall of 1952, [Tony] Schwartz compiled a large number of recordings in west Midtown Manhattan (his particular subject area was two blocks wide and 20 blocks long)...Since children from diverse cultural backgrounds are sampled, a wide variety of songs and games are presented to the listener. From clapping games played by children between the ages of eight and 12 to camp songs sung at a housing project by preteen youngsters, the breadth of these recordings is definitely broad and the words are certainly entertaining. For example, one young girl rattles off the following passage with a relaxed and swinging lilt: "I never went to college, I never went to school, but when it comes to boogie I'm the educated fool."
http://www.allmusic.com/album/1-2-3-and-a-zing-zing-zing-street-songs-games-of-the-children-of-new-york-city-mw0001162154

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1950s Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania [African American girl Barbara Ray, collected by Azizi Powell, 1998]
AUNT JENNY DIED
Soloist:
Aunt Jenny died. .
Group:
How did she die?
Soloist:
She died like this. [The soloist makes a funny pose such as raising one of her legs and raising her arm at the same time & freezing in place.]
Group:
She died like this. [The group tries to exactly imitate the soloist's pose]
Soloist:
She died like that. [The soloist strikes a new pose]
Group:
She died like that.
[The group tries to exactly imitate the soloist's pose. The soloist and the group repeat the same sequence with the mention of other relatives until "momma" is mentioned]
Soloist:
My momma livin'.
Group:
Where she livin'.
Soloist & group in unison:
Well she lives in a place called Tennessee.
Jump up Tenna Tennessee [The entire group performs the movements as indicated by the words]
Jump back Tena Tennesse
Jump in Tena Tennesse
Jump out Tena Tennessee
Well, I've never been to college
I never been to school.
But when it comes to boogie [On the word "boogie", while still standing in place, the entire group does a hip shaking dance movement; Participants don't have to do the exact same movement]
I can boogie like a fool.
You go in, out, side to side.
You go in, out, side to side.
-snip-
I collected this rhyme from Barbara Ray as part of her response to a voluntary, written survey on children's rhymes that I conducted with fellow staff at my [then] work site. Barbara wrote that girls stood in a circle or semi-circle while chanting this "song". She later performed "Aunt Jenny Died" for me during a break at our work site.

For what it's worth, I don't have any memory of this rhyme from my childhood in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the 1950s.

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1973 Pointers Sisters, children's rhyme as a preface to the Jump Blues song "Wang Dang Doodle"

Walkin down the alley alley alley
Shakin your jelly jelly jelly
swingin your partner partner partner
Ladies and gentlemen
Children too
These brown babies gonna boogie for you
We gonna turn around
We gonna touch the ground
We gonna step back, and step back, and
boogie on down.
Hands up, ah cha cha chacha
Sam boom! Ah cha cha cha cha
To the front
To the back
To the side side side
To the front
To the back
To the side side side
I never went to college
I never went to school
But when I came back
I was an educated fool

This rendition continues with the "Sams Boom!" lines chanted faster and faster. The group then began singing the "Wang Dang Doodle song. Here's that video:

The Pointer Sisters: Wang Dang Doodle



SafariCreations, Uploaded on May 22, 2009
-snip-
"Wang Dang Doodle" begins at 1:32 of this video. The children's playground rhyme that the Pointer Sisters chanted is a version of "Ladies And Gentlemen, Children Too".

An adapted United Kingdom version of the "Ladies and Gentlemen, Children Too" rhymes is found at http://www.skip-hop.co.uk/dancing-and-movement-skipping-rhymes-c91.html. Here's that version of that rhyme with no date given :
Lord and ladies
Children too
This young lady will dance for you.
She is going to turn around.
She is going to touch the ground.
She’s going to boogie woogie
Till her drawers fall down.
She never went to college
She never went to school.
And now she’s back
She is a nasty fool.

****
1973 from Shimmy Shimmy Coke-Ca-Pop! by John Langstaff & Carol Langstaff(Doubleday & Company, Inc.,) p. 15

Oh, you never went to college,
You never went to school.
But when it's time to boogie,
You can boogie like a fool!

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1980, vinyl record Afro-American Tales & Games Told by Linda Gross, Traveling Storyteller
http://media.smithsonianfolkways.org/liner_notes/folkways/FW77865.pdf

Chitty, chitty, bang bang
I can do karate
Chitty. Chitty, bang bang
I can shake my body
Chitty. Chitty, bang bang
I can shoot somebody*
Chitty. Chitty, bang bang
Oops, I can shoot somebody

Aunt Dinah died
How did she die?
She died like this (repeat)
Aunt Dinah died
How did she die?
She died like this (repeat)
Aunt Dinah living!
Where she living?

Oh she living in a country called Tennessee
She wears short short dresses
up above her knees
She shakes that shimmy where ever she goes

Hands up, tootsie, tootsie, tootsie
Hands down- tootsie, tootsie, tootsie
Turn around tootsie, tootsie, tootsie
Touch the ground tootsie, tootsie, tootsie

Now I never went to college
And I never went to school
But when it comes to boogie
I can boogie like a fool
To the front to the back to the side side side (repeat)

*I heard this line as “I can hurt somebody” in Pittsburgh area around 2001-2005
On “oops I’m sorry” the partners try to flick each other on the forehead. That line is followed by “I can tell my mommy”.

Although these rhymes are given as one rhyme, they may be recited as independent separate rhymes.

****
1987 Step it Down: Games, Plays, Songs, and Stories from the Afro-American Heritage
by Bessie Jones, Bess Lomax Hawes , p. 31, p. 32 (available on Google Books)
Head and Shoulders Baby
Head and shoulders baby; 1-2-3
Head and shoulders baby; 1-2-3
Head and shoulders baby
Head and shoulders baby
Head and shoulders baby.
Head and shoulders baby; 1-2-3
I ain’t been to Frisco
I ain’t been to school
I ain’t been to college
But I ain’t no fool
To the front
To the back
To the side side side
To the front
To the back
To the side side side
-snip-
Additional verses following the same pattern:
Milk the cow...

Throw the ball...
-snip-
I believe that the very similar verse beginning with the line "I've never been to Frisco" is a variant later form of the "I've Never Been To College" verse. As of this date, I've only found "I've never been to Frisco" verse in versions of the African American originated children's movement song "Head And Shoulders Baby".
"Frisco' = San Francisco (California)
-snip-
Here's an example of this rhyme performed by an adult elementary education class:

Head and Shoulders Baby



Vincent Bates, Uploaded on Apr 1, 2011
-snip-
Directions for playing as a partner hand game [hand clap game]
"Cross R on 1
Cross L on 2
Cross R on 3
Jump front on “front”
Jump back on “back”
Jump right left right (both feet) on “side side side”
-snip-
Milk the cow = perform an up and down tugging motion with both hands held up in front of your body

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RELATED LINKS
Additional examples of the "I've Never Been To College" verse can be found in these pancocojams blog posts:
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/05/ladies-and-gentlemen-children-too.html for information about and examples of that playground rhyme

http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/08/aunt-jenny-died-childrens-playground.html

and
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/02/front-back-side-to-side-in-childrens.html

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