Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases a 2012 YouTube video of the song "Haleluya" by Rwanda's Heman Choir.

An English language summary of this song is posted from that video's discussion thread along with several other selected comments.

This post is presented for religious, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Rwanda's Heman Choir.for their musical legacy. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these YouTube videos.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO: HALELUYA By Heman Choir HD-RWANDA MUSIC VIDEO GOSPEL-Official HD Video



ProMukama Franco Published on Oct 20, 2012

HALELUYA By Heman Choir HD MP4/ A Gospel Video clip produced by Pro Mukama Franco from Freedom Studio, Kigali -Rwanda. Mob: +250 788 451322 My Productions Videos

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SELECTED COMMENTS:
Here are some comments from this video's discussion thread.

Comments are given in chronological order based on their publishing date, with the oldest comments given first, except for replies. Numbers are assigned for referencing purposes only.

1. Mukama Franco, 2013
"This is my Video Production From Freedom Studio-Kigali Rwanda"

**
2. grandson nt, 2014
"very beautiful song, a phenomenal clip congratulations'

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3. GospelWitnessMedia, 2014
"Authentic African arrangement and inspiring praise song. Good work Heman Choir!"

**
4. Pauline Foote, 2015
"Fabulous sound ...Keep the dancing "African".. graceful and so rhythmic.. please dont go Bollywood"

**
5. amos sitelu, 2016
"beautiful people beautiful song"

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6. Jonny Mc'oguta, 2016
"Big up Rwanda singers choir"

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7. MJ Sakeus, 2016
"I am proud to be an African! keep it up my ppl."

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8. Eng.Kipchililindet Keter, 2017
"kindly interpret....i like it.blessing my soul"

**
Reply
9. genubi, 2017
"(1) Jesus brought battles to an end as he overcame Satan
(2) Let’s rejoice and glorify Him for he has triumphed
(3) He is the One who overcame all the powers of death
(4) Let’s elevate our voice in praise and rejoice together/
Let’s dance for Him for He is everything
(5) He rose up with glory from the dead on that third day
(6) Thus He is now with the Eternal God -- hallelujah
(7) Let’s entrust Him with our hearts so He may lead them.

God bless!"

**
10. Glenn K., 2017
"What language is this? Regardless the vocals, music, and traditional dress are beautiful!!"

**
Reply
11. carlos nyayo, 2017
"kinyarwanda rwandan language"

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome. 

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series on children' rhymes that begin with the lyrics "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" or include that title near the beginning of that rhyme, and use the tune of the 1891 vaudeville and music hall song entitled "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay".

Part I provides information about the song "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" and includes comments about the reasons why children chant anti-social and "rude" rhymes. Part I also showcases some examples of "clean" (not sexualized) examples of "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" children's rhymes.

Part I provides information about the song "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" and includes excerpts of several online articles about the reasons why children chant anti-social and "rude" rhymes/songs. Part I also showcases some examples of "clean" (not sexualized) examples of "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" children's rhymes.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/examples-of-ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay_25.html for Part II of this series. Part II includes excerpts of several online articles about the reasons why children chant anti-social and "rude" rhymes/songs. Part II also showcases selected examples of "sexualized" ("dirty") examples of ""Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" children's rhymes.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, socio-cultural, and recreational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "TA RA RA BOOM DE AY"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ta-ra-ra_Boom-de-ay
"Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay" is a vaudeville and music hall song. The song's first known public performance was in Henry J. Sayers' 1891 revue Tuxedo, which was performed in Boston, Massachusetts. The song became widely known in the version sung by Lottie Collins in London music halls in 1892.[1] The tune was later used in various contexts, including as the theme song to the television show Howdy Doody.

Background
The song's authorship was disputed for some years.[2] It was originally credited to Sayers, who was the manager of the George Thatcher Minstrels; Sayers used the song in his 1891 production Tuxedo, a minstrel farce variety show in which "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay" was sung by Mamie Gilroy.[3][4] However, Sayers later said that he had not written the song, but had heard it performed in the 1880s by a black singer, Mama Lou, in a well-known St. Louis brothel run by "Babe" Connors.[1]

Stephen Cooney, Lottie Collins' husband, heard the song in Tuxedo and purchased from Sayers rights for Collins to perform the song in England.[2] Collins worked up a dance routine around it, and, with new words by Richard Morton and a new arrangement by Angelo A. Asher, she first sang the song at the Tivoli Music Hall on The Strand in London in 1891 to an enthusiastic reception; it became her signature tune.[5] She performed it to great acclaim in the 1892 adaptation of Edmond Audran's opérette, Miss Helyett. According to reviews at the time, Collins delivered the suggestive verses with deceptive demureness, before launching into the lusty refrain and her celebrated "kick dance", a kind of cancan in which, according to one reviewer, "she turns, twists, contorts, revolutionizes, and disports her lithe and muscular figure into a hundred different poses, all bizarre".[6]"....
-snip-
Click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=17453&messages=31 http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=17453&messages=31 for a discussion about the origin of "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay", including possible sources for that 19th century vaudeville and music hall song.

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GENERAL DESCRIPTION ABOUT "TA RA RA BOOM DE AY" CHILDREN'S RHYMES
From http://playgroundjungle.com/2009/12/ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay.html"Ta ra ra boom de ay", by thor: Adam Selzer December 7, 2009 (with 74 comments as of July 25, 2017)
"Parodies of the 1890s tune “Ta rah ra boom de ay” come in two distinct versions: one about a dead teacher, and one about sex. If there’s one about bodily functions out there, it’d be a regular trifecta!

I don’t know the REAL “Ta ra ra boom de ay” song at all, but I do know the dead teacher version. It’s because of this that I thought sauerkraut was a type of fish for years."...
-snip-
At least two commenters shared "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" children parodies about people farting which fits the "bodily functions" description.

In addition to those three categories, a number of "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" children rhymes refer to people loosing their "knickers" (panties) or otherwise being naked.

I include the "dead teacher" versions, the bodily function versions, and loosing "knicker" (panties)/naked person versions of "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" rhymes as "clean" versions of that rhyme family. The "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" rhymes about a girl being raped by a neighborhood boy and giving birth to a baby boy are categorized as "sexualized"/"dirty" versions of that rhyme family.

Although some articles indicate that "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" children's rhymes were "sung" while skipping, it appears that nowadays (and maybe since at least the 1970s) those rhymes are usually sung without any any accompanying movements.

The children's rhyme "We Are The __ Girls/We Wear Our Hair In Curls" is closely related rhyme to "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" rhymes. "We Are The __ Girls" have the same tune as the "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" [song], and has "clean" and "dirty" versions. The words to the "dirty" (sexualized) versions are very similar if not the same as the words to the "dirty" (sexualized) versions of "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay".

Click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=123101 for a Mudcat folk music discussion thread on "We Are The __ Girls" that I started in 2009. Here's a "clean" version of "We Are The __ Girls":
We are the Barbie girls.
We wear our hair in curls.
We wear our dungarees
To hide our dirty knees.
We wear our father's shirt.
We wear our brother's tie,
And when we want a guy,
We simply wink the eye.

(Opie and Opie The Singing Game, 1985: 478)
-snip-
This example was posted in the above mentioned Mudcat discussion thread by Jim Dixon, 07 Sep 09 - 08:56 PM. It has been traced to the 1970s [United Kingdom].

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COMMENTS ABOUT WHY CHILDREN CHANT TAUNTING AND/OR ANTI-SOCIAL PARODIES OF SONGS/RHYMES
These two excerpts are given in no particular order
Excerpt #1:
From https://www.bl.uk/playtimes/articles/an-introduction-to-childrens-jokes-and-rude-rhymes
"An introduction to children's jokes and rude rhymes" by Michael Rosen, 26 Oct 2016
"Humour is an important component of children’s play, and nowhere is this more apparent than in their verbal play.

Humour serves a wide range of purposes, allowing children to challenge, undermine and disarm adult power and seriousness, to explore taboo topics as various as sex or toilets, and to experiment with dazzling displays of verbal dexterity. Many funny rhymes are ones which accompany specific games, activities, such as counting out, clapping or skipping. Rude variations of ‘Popeye the Sailor Man’, for example, accompanied clapping games in the mid-20th century. Others are simply performed and passed along for fun. Their humour, their cheek, their rhyme and rhythm, imagery, play on words and frequent parodic trades are all reasons why they appeal to children and why they’re memorable.

An important class of verbal humour is parody. The history of children’s language play abounds in parodic versions of different genres, Christmas carols, pop songs, advertising jingles, Valentine’s Day rhymes, Happy Birthday, football chants, musicals, TV theme songs. The wide variety of genres involved demonstrates a real mixing bowl of popular cultural references, where everything is up for grabs, nothing is sacred and the punch line is all. The sources are equally diverse, other children, adults, comics, books, television, films and the internet."...

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Excerpt #2
From http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?no=381283&rel_no=1
Children Revel in Rude Rhymes: Democracy underpinned by the ability to question and mock authority
by Peter Hinchliffe (Hinchy), Published 2007-12-23
...."Judging by their playground chants and rhymes, children are possessed of a rebellious sense of humor. So it has been down the centuries...

While playing skipping and other games children chant rhymes that break taboos by poking fun at the adult world....

Children who challenge authority with a subversive, and often vulgar, rhyme grow up to be ever wary of authority.

And the ability to question, and sometimes, mock those who would run our lives for us is the firm foundation upon which democracy is built."...

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EXAMPLES OF "TA RA RA BOOM DE AY" CHILDREN'S RHYMES (CLEAN VERSIONS)
These examples are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.

DISCLAIMER: This is not meant to be a comprehensive compilation of these rhymes.
1.
Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay!
My knickers flew away
They came back yesterday
From a little holiday
-http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?no=381283&rel_no=1
Children Revel in Rude Rhymes: Democracy underpinned by the ability to question and mock authority
by Peter Hinchliffe (Hinchy), Published 2007-12-23
-snip-
This example is described as a "skipping rhyme that have echoed round many a playground during recent decades"

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2.
Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay,
There is no school today!
The teacher passed away
Because of tooth decay.
We threw her in the bay;
She scared the sharks away.
-http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=2795
Subject: RE: Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, I Bit the Teacher's Toe!, Jerry Friedman, 13 Sep 97,
-snip-
This rhyme is describes as "possibly from San Francisco"

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3.
Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay! My Knickers Flew Away
Jump Rope Rhyme
Ta ra ra boom de ay
My knickers flew away
I found them yesterday
On the M6 motorway.
-http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=5199, Paul

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4. Ta ra ra boom de ay
we had no school today
our teacher passed away
we threw her in the bay
she scared the fish away
she won’t come out
she smells like sauerkraut
ta ra ra boom de ay.

I first heard this the same day I heard “Joy To The World The Teacher’s Dead.” They were sung in a medly by a kid who sat behind me in first grade....
- http://playgroundjungle.com/2009/12/ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay.html"Ta ra ra boom de ay", by thor: Adam Selzer December 7, 2009 (with 74 comments as of July 25, 2017), hereafter given as "playground jungle" article, 2009".

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5. Iona Opie collected this on[e] in the 70s:[United Kingdom]

Ta ra ra boom de ay
my knickers flew away
they had a holiday
they came back yesterday
-"playground jungle" article, 2009

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6. Chicago, early 90's:

Ta ra ra boom de ay
I stole your pants away
and left you standing there
In day-old underwear (or dirty underwear)
Anonymous, August 6, 2011, comment in discussion of "playground jungle" article, 2009

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7. Tra la la boom dee day my knickers flew away, they went on holiday,
They came back yesterday.

They said they had some fun,
they found another bum.
…..
My father knows the rest but wont tell me.
-Anonymous December 15, 2011, comment in discussion of "playground jungle" article, 2009

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8. Tra la la boom see ay
they took my pants away
they made me sit there
without my underwear.

St Louis 60s
- Anonymous, May 23, 2012, comment in discussion of "playground jungle" article, 2009

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9. My grandfather used to sing it Tra La La Boom De A

They took my pants away
They threw me in the air
Without any underwear.
-Jayson Cooper July 4, 2012, comment in discussion of "playground jungle" article, 2009

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10. I remember this version from the early 1970's Philadelphia area…

Tra la la boom de ay
We have no school today
Our teacher passed away
We shot her yesterday.
As for the principal
he's in the hospital,
As for the secretary
She's in the cemetery.
As for the janitor
He ran off to Canad(er)
Tra la la boom de ay
We have no school today.
- dalas66, March 8, 2013, comment in discussion of "playground jungle" article, 2009

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11. This one was from my grandma; from the 1950’s in Ontario. She came from Germany after the war….so maybe a creative Anglo version? Kids sang a song with the same tune in Europe in the 1930-40’s she said.

Ta ra ra boom de ay
Did you wash your bum today?
I washed it yesterday,
To keep the flies away
It smelled so bad you see
Nobody would sit by me
Now Ii am so happy
Etc.
-Desan November 29, 2015, comment in discussion of "playground jungle" article, 2009

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12. ...From Virginia in the ’70s”

Tah Rah Rah Boom Dee Yay
Oh what I ate today!
Gave me a tummy ache
That lasted all the day!

And the rest (there WAS a rest, I’m sure) has blown away in the sands of time.
-Jesse M. December 9, 2016, comment in discussion of "playground jungle" article, 2009

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13. Here’s .... as I learned it in Maine circa 1980…

Ta ra ra boom de ay
There is no school today
Our teacher cut a fart
It blew the school apart
-Eric March 2, 2017, comment in discussion of "playground jungle" article, 2009

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14. We sang this version on coach day trips in the UK in the 1970s.

I only recollect there being 1 verse, before we kids all dissolved into giggles at saying the “naughty” “kn…” word – LOL!

This song was sung by us kids during the long travel journeys that we were stuck on, in a coach on the motorway/road. This was during coach trips organised for the church/church choir, or maybe even the trips run for us Brownies! It was on journeys with either one or both of these childhood hobbies – I can’t remember exactly which group trip it was: I just remember the coach part! If it was the Brownies, then it would have been pretty daring for girls under 11, in those days anyway! ,-)

"Ta ra ra boom de ay
My knickers flew away
I found them yesterday
Along the motorway “
-Southern Belle May 6, 2017, comment in discussion of "playground jungle" article, 2009

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15. This may be very strange, but I remeber kids on the play ground singing
a version of Ta ra ra Boom de ay. I won't say where, but will hint at when (early to middle 1970's), in elementary school. I can't name the tune, but the lryics went something like this:

Ta Ra Ra BOOM De ay,
the took my clothes away.
Any left me standing there
In Playtex underwear.

I can't help that I grew up on an Army base in the South,
Okay??!!?!!??!? (a small hint)
-Lisa Akers, 4/6/00, https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.tv.dark_shadows/nXirYD45eY0

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16.
"... I think those are the last two lines to the version I learned in elementary school:

Ta Ra Ra Boom Dee Ay
We are the CIA
While you're standing there
We'll take your underwear.
-Kate, 4/6/00, https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.tv.dark_shadows/nXirYD45eY0

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17.
TA-RA-RA-BOOM-DE-AY,
I'LL TAKE YOUR PANTS AWAY,
AND WHILE YOU'RE STANDING THERE,
I'LL TAKE YOUR UNDERWEAR.

Submitter comment: SCHOOLBOY "OFFCOLOR" RHYME.
PASSED AROUND DURING GRADES 4-6.
-https://research.udmercy.edu/find/special_collections/digital/cfa/index.php?fl_id=161
The James T. Callow Folklore Archive

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This concludes Part I of this two part pancocojams series on "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" Children's Rhymes.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a two part pancocojams series on children' rhymes that begin with the lyrics "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" or include that title near the beginning of that rhyme, and use the tune of the 1891 vaudeville and music hall song entitled "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay".

Part II includes excerpts of several online articles about the reasons why children chant anti-social and "rude" rhymes/songs. Part II also showcases selected examples of "sexualized" ("dirty") examples of ""Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" children's rhymes.

WARNING: These examples may be considered unsuitable for children.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/examples-of-ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay.html for Part I of this two part pancocojams series. Part I provides information about the song "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" and includes comments about the reasons why children chant anti-social and "rude" rhymes. Part I also showcases some examples of "clean" (not sexualized) examples of "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" children's rhymes.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, socio-cultural, and recreational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

****
COMMENTS ABOUT WHY CHILDREN CHANT TAUNTING AND/OR ANTI-SOCIAL PARODIES OF SONGS/RHYMES
These excerpts are given in no particular order.
Excerpt #1:
From https://www.bl.uk/playtimes/articles/an-introduction-to-childrens-jokes-and-rude-rhymes
"An introduction to children's jokes and rude rhymes" by Michael Rosen, 26 Oct 2016
"Humour is an important component of children’s play, and nowhere is this more apparent than in their verbal play.

Humour serves a wide range of purposes, allowing children to challenge, undermine and disarm adult power and seriousness, to explore taboo topics as various as sex or toilets, and to experiment with dazzling displays of verbal dexterity. Many funny rhymes are ones which accompany specific games, activities, such as counting out, clapping or skipping. Rude variations of ‘Popeye the Sailor Man’, for example, accompanied clapping games in the mid-20th century. Others are simply performed and passed along for fun. Their humour, their cheek, their rhyme and rhythm, imagery, play on words and frequent parodic trades are all reasons why they appeal to children and why they’re memorable.

An important class of verbal humour is parody. The history of children’s language play abounds in parodic versions of different genres, Christmas carols, pop songs, advertising jingles, Valentine’s Day rhymes, Happy Birthday, football chants, musicals, TV theme songs. The wide variety of genres involved demonstrates a real mixing bowl of popular cultural references, where everything is up for grabs, nothing is sacred and the punch line is all. The sources are equally diverse, other children, adults, comics, books, television, films and the internet."...

****
Excerpt #2
From http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?no=381283&rel_no=1
Children Revel in Rude Rhymes: Democracy underpinned by the ability to question and mock authority
by Peter Hinchliffe (Hinchy), Published 2007-12-23
...."Judging by their playground chants and rhymes, children are possessed of a rebellious sense of humor. So it has been down the centuries...

While playing skipping and other games children chant rhymes that break taboos by poking fun at the adult world....

Children who challenge authority with a subversive, and often vulgar, rhyme grow up to be ever wary of authority.

And the ability to question, and sometimes, mock those who would run our lives for us is the firm foundation upon which democracy is built."...

****
Excerpt #3: Subject: RE: We Wear Our Hair In Curls
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 07 Sep 09 - 08:56 PM
http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=123101

From Where Texts and Children Meet by Eve Bearne, Victor Watson (London: Routledge, 2000), page 109:

"There were many other examples of games that seemed to reflect the strong influence of the energy and bravado exhibited and promoted by the Spice Girls. There was evidence of a particular confidence and exuberance in the way the girls were playing, which could be a response to the role models offered by pop groups like the Spice Girls. The following text shares many of these features; the girls who played this game felt that it was definitely taboo as far as adults were concerned. It was accompanied by rather gross and comical mime as they acted out the text, and is a good example of one of the many rhymes, many with long ancestry, that allow girls to 'make fun of the still unknown and rather frightening state of adulthood' (Opie 1997: 210)"

We are the teenage girls.
We wear our hair in curls.
We wear our dungarees
Down to our sexy knees.
I met a boy last night.
He gave me 50p
To go behind a bush
And have it off with me.
My mother was surprised
To see my belly rise,
But daddy jumped for joy.
It was a baby boy.
My mother done the splits
And had fifty fits.

What sort of text is this? Where has it come from?

As Iona Opie suggests, these mocking rhymes often have a long ancestry and this one certainly has an ancestry, if not a very long one. There is a version of 'We are the Teenage Girls' in The Singing Game that can be traced back to the 1970s:
-snip-
Jim Dixon quotes a clean example of 'We Are The ___ Girls" from Opie and Opie's book on children's games in the United Kingdom. That example, titled "We Are The Barbie Girls" and "We Are The Teenage Girls" example given above demonstrate the very close relationship between examples of the "We Are The __ Girls" children's rhyme family and the "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" children's rhyme family. That relationship is particularly evident in the dirty (sexualized) examples of both of those rhymes which share not only the same tune but also many of the same words.

****
Excerpt #4
From http://www.metafilter.com/88294/Rhymes-with-tararaboomdeay Rhymes with ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay. January 13, 2010 10:16 AM
"One of the research problems that plagues children's folklorists is the fact that kids are reluctant informants. Kids know that adults don't approve of most of their nastier, meaner, dirtier content, and won't share it easily - they don't want to embarass themselves or appear impolite or get in trouble. It's actually one of the hardest cultures for a scholar to penetrate; very insular, and protective of its own knowledge...."
posted by Miko at 11:01 AM on January 13, 2010

[...]

"Side note: A lot of these that are complete song parodies got to kids through the vector of the military. There's some overlap there. WWII generated a ton of popular song parodies that then went everywhere geographically. It doesn't take too many older brothers, big kids, or grandpas singing their off-color songs to pre-teen boys to get that stuff to enter kidlore.
posted by Miko at 1:06 PM on January 13, 2010

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EXAMPLES OF "TA RA RA BOOM DE AY" CHILDREN'S RHYMES (CLEAN VERSIONS)
These examples are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.

DISCLAIMER: This is not meant to be a comprehensive compilation of these rhymes.
1.
I grew up in Western Massachusetts and remember learning the following version in the late 1960's

Ta-ra-ra- boom de-ay
How did I get this way
It was the boy next door
He laid me on the floor
He lifted up my skirt
And gave a little squirt
And right before my eyes
I say my belly rise.
-Tinker, 28 Aug 09, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=123101, hereafter known as "Mudcat discussion "We Wear Our Hair In Curls"

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2.
we are the great meols girls
we wear our hair in curls
we wear our dungarees
down to our sexy knees.

sha la la bum-shi-ka
sha la la bum-shi-ka

you know the boy next door
he got me on the floor
he counted 1 2 3
and stuck it into me

sha la la bum-shi-ka
sha la la bum-shi-ka

then some other stuff about being pregnant and stuff...
i dunno...i forget. was an awesome song though.

sha la la bum-shi-ka
sha la la bum-shi-ka

okay, now i really can't remember any more...

*edit*
my daddy was suprised
to see my belly rise
my mummy jumped for joy, it was a baby boy


Note: A number of females and a few males (around the same age group) on this British forum indicated that they remembered this rhyme, and posted slightly different versions of it.
-quoted by Azizi Powell, 23 Aug 09 on "Mudcat discussion: We Wear Our Hair In Curls", from -Niamh; 18-03-2007, Location: Near Liverpool, Age: 19 on http://board.muse.mu/showthread.php?t=41853 [discussion site no longer available]

****
3.
TAH RAH RAH BOOM DI AY

Tah rah rah bom di ay
I can't come out today
It happened yesterday
The boy across the way
He paid me fifty cents
To go behind the fence
He said it wouldn't hurt
And pushed it up my skirt
My mommy was surprised
To see my belly rise
And hear the baby cry
Tah rah rah bom di ay
-http://mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=5648
-snip-
No demographic information is given with this example.

****
4.
I learned one from my dad, who probably learned it in Toronto, circa 1958.

Tra la la boom de yay
Did you have yours today?
I had mine yesterday
That's why I walk this way!

I always thought it was supposed to be about inoculations, but I never actually asked my dad.
-Merav Hoffman December 9, 2009, comment in discussion of http://playgroundjungle.com/2009/12/ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay.html"Ta ra ra boom de ay", by thor: Adam Selzer December 7, 2009 (with 74 comments as of July 25, 2017), hereafter given as "playground jungle" article, 2009".
-snip-
I initially included this example in Part I of this series. However, I think that this version has sexual connotations even when this is the entire rhyme. However, that sexualized connotation is "spelled out" in longer versions of this example, as shown below.

****
5.
Mom used to have a little diddy from her school years (Seattle, early 1950's) but cannot remember the last verse… it was:

Tra la la la boom de ay
Have you had yours today?
I had mine yesterday
Thats why I walk this way
He laid me on the couch
All I said was ouch……

Then there were two more lines but she cannot remember them!!! Anyone else know this version?
-Anonymous, October 10, 2011, comment in article "playground jungle" article, 2009

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[Reply]
6.
Tra la la boom de ay
have you had yours today
I had mine yesterday
that's why I feel this way
he laid me on the couch
and all I said was ouch
now junior's on the way
tra la la boom de ay
-Anonymous, November 17, 2011, (Bakersfield, CA 1957), comment in article "playground jungle" article, 2009

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7.
Tra la la boom de ay
Did you get yours today?
I got mine yesterday
From the boy across the way
He gave me fifty cents
To go behind the fence
He pulled my panties down
And threw me on the ground
My mommy was surprised
To see my belly rise.
I can't go out to play
'Cause Junior's on the way.
-Anonymous, March 30, 2012, comment in article "playground jungle" article, 2009

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8.
I heard this version in Elmhurst, Queens, circa 1946. I learned it from a friend and sang it to my mother, who was not amused.

Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
Did you get yours today?
I got mine yesterday,
from a boy across the way.
My mother was surprised
to see my stomach rise.
Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay, Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay.
-Anita Gorman, February 12, 2013, comment in article "playground jungle" article, 2009
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor: "1946" is the earliest date that I've found for "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" children's rhymes , whether they are clean or dirty. I have found other examples dated in the mid to late 1950s. I wonder if this is a typo and the commenter meant to write "1956".

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9.
from late 50s early 60s MT

ta da da boom de eh
how did I get this way
it was the boy next door
he laid me on the floor
then to my surprise
my tummy began to rise
I remember still how hard
how hard my mommy cried
-la March 17, 2013, comment in article "playground jungle" article, 2009

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10.
Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay
Have you had yours today?
I had mine yesterday
A girl upon the way

I laid her on the couch
And all she said was ouch!
Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay
Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay
- Choti Giri March 27, 2014, comment in article "playground jungle" article, 2009

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11.
1970s-early 80s metro Boston area:

Tra la la boom de ay
How did I get this way?
It was the boy next door
He pushed me on the floor
He shouted 1 2 3
He stuck it into me
My mother was surprised
To see my belly rise
My father jumped for joy
It was a baby boy!

The baby boy part was always said with a sweet little, cutesy turn of voice. Children celebrating rape – what a world
-naydi April 11, 2014, comment in article "playground jungle" article, 2009

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12.
My friends and I grew up outside of Chicago in the early 1960's and we would sing it with these lyrics:

Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay
Did you do yours today?
I did mine yesterday

I paid her fifty cents
To walk across the fence
She laid down on the couch
I shoved mine up her pouch

Her mother was surprised
To see her belly rise
Her dad was overjoyed
It was a baby boy

I have to admit that back then and at that age, the song didn't make much sense to me, but we boys all sang it anyway. It's interesting how many similar yet different versions there are… all local colloquialisms, I suppose. I wonder where the original "got her pregnant" version was started.
-AWG, Chicago area September 29, 2015,comment in article "playground jungle" article, 2009

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13.
New York City – LA LA LA Boom Shaday Can’t Come Outside Today What Happened Yesterday A Boy Came Past My Way He Gave Me Fifty Cents To Lay Across The Beach He Said It Didn’t Hurt He Pulled Up My Skirt My Mother Is So Thrilled To Hear Its A Baby Boy My Father’s So Disgusted To See My Cherry Busted LA LA LA Boom Shaday Can’t Come Outside Today
-May, November 11, 2016, comment in article "playground jungle" article, 2009

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This concludes Part II of this two part series on "Tra La La Boom De Ay" Children's Rhymes.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases selected comments from a YouTube video's discussion thread. Those selected comments are part of a sub-thread in which people discuss whether Black people from Britain speak the same as White people from that country. That topic grew out of larger discussion prompted by the theme of the spoke word composition which addressed the idea of Black people "talking like they are White".

The African American spoken word video that led to this discussion is also featured in this post.

The Addendum to this post quotes two comments from a hyperlinked article entitled "In the U.K., do black people have a distinct dialect in the same way that there is a black dialect in the U.S.?"

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, linguistics, and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Ernestine Johnson for her spoken word composition and thanks to Arsenio Hall for featuring that spoken word performance on his television show. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
-snip-
This is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on "African American Vernacular English", "code switching" and other related linguistics customs.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/selected-comments-from-2012-online.html for a closely related pancocojams post entitled "Selected Comments From A 2012 Online Discussion About Young White Londoners "Talking Black""

Also, click the tags below to find other posts in this series.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Ernestine Johnson Performs 'The Average Black Girl' on Arsenio Hall Show



Ernestine Johnson, Published on Apr 14, 2014

Ernestine Johnson kicks off the show with an amazing and moving performance of "The Average Black Girl." You will get chills from this performance.

****
PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S COMMENT ABOUT THE TERM "EBONICS"
The term "Ebonics" is frequently used in these featured comments to basically mean the same thing as "African American Vernacular English". However, the term "Ebonics" has its own history in the United States and isn't formally used by American linguists and/or American professionals. Furthermore, few African Americans formally or informally use the term "Ebonics" to refer to the ways that individual Black Americans speak or write some of the time or all of the time.

Click http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/americanvarieties/AAVE/ebonics/ for information about "Ebonics".

****
SELECTED COMMENTS
These comments are part of the sub-thread that is described above. Comments that were posted to date (July 26, 2017 5:54 PM) that aren't quoted in this post were either entirely made up of profanity abbreviations or were exchanges about religion that have nothing to do with this specific topic.

Numbers are assigned to these comments for referencing purposes only.
1. Qopel, 2015
"How come in England, the blacks talk just the same as the whites? No Ebonics, no accent. I couldn't tell a white from a black British person over the phone. Go figure."

**
Reply
2.Thabiso Mhlaba, 2015
"Most British people have much crazier accents than most American ones as far as deciphering the meaning of a sentence."

**
Reply
3. tatyee, 2015
"they actually do. You don't live in Britain so i'm not surprised you can't tell the difference. I have black british friends that make fun of black britains that "talk white." britain has plenty different accents. it's just racial divide isn't as severe or outright in britain. less morons there"

**
Reply
4. ellensarah, 2015
"I'm from England and I was kind of wondering if the accents differ as much in the UK as they apparently do in the US. I actually grew up around a lot of black people because my school was international but they mostly had Nigerian accents (with some English mixed in depending on how long they'd been at the school). Now I'm in university all the black friends I have seem to speak with the same accent I do, and in the case of the one northern girl she sounds the same as the other white northern girls. We definitely discriminate based on accents but I think it's usually based on a colourless class discrimination, rather than race."

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Reply
5. Javan uHnah, 2015
"Black londoners have created their own ebonics actually. Ignorant."

**
Reply
6. Qopel, 2015
"+Javan uHnah
..and they sound American when they sing."

**
Reply
7. tatyee, 2015
"+Qopel I've noticed that too. that could be for commercial appeal though. like Iggy Azalea tryna sound like she's from the South when she raps."

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Reply
8. Javan uHnah, 2015
"+Qopel Who are you referring to?...."

**
Reply
9. Qopel, 2015
"+Javan uHnah
The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and all other British bands"

**
Reply
10. Javan uHnah, 2015
"The beatles and rolling stones do not have american accents (when they sing) liar."

**
Reply
11. Qopel, 2015
"+Javan uHnah
Oh, right...they have Chinese accents...my bad."

**
Reply
12. Javan uHnah, 2015
"+Qopel The beatles are all Liverpudlian. And yes, although that may have similarities to an American accent. It's still a british accent. The Rolling Stones did sing in american accents quite a lot tho. Thats true. Apologies.

However what does this have to do with black londoners? Who yes, have their own unique idiolect separate from of british people? Just like African Americans have ebonics."

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Reply
13. ellensarah, 2015
"+Javan uHnah
I have plenty of black friends who are from london and they all sound indistinguishable from white londeners."

**
Reply
14. pikanoob, 2015
"because its entirely cultural"

**
Reply
15. Javan uHnah, 2015
"+ellensarah Listen to grime artist and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Are watch kidulthood. That type of idiolect was pioneered by black brits. Only in recent years, more white londoners have started to speak this way, because just like in America everyone wants to black nowadays."

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Reply
16. ellensarah, 2015
"+Javan uHnah
I listened to some now but it all just kind of sounded like a typical working-class London accent to me, did you have a particular artist in mind?
In fact one video was a list of the best grime artists which included a white artist and a black artist and they both sounded like normal working-class Londoners."

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Reply
17. Javan uHnah, 2015
"+ellensarah There is a difference between cockney and the idiolect used by grime artists. I suppose it might seem similar to an outsider, but the vocabulary gives it away. For example, black people have come up with this phrase "mans just in ends", meaning "I'm at home".
In black londoner idiolect, people refer themselves in the 3rd person time, "mans", which means "I". That's something you wouldn't hear in a cockney accent.

Makes me wonder tho, why they haven't given this language an official name yet."

**
Reply
18. GuYAh Berry, 2015
"+Javan uHnah You can identify me as a black Londoner but I don't speak like the Grime artists. I understand the point you are trying to make that but you are stereotypying in a way that Ernestine Johnson touches on. I think it would be better if you say most black Londoners speak like the Grime artists. However, maybe you haven't met many who don't :-)"

Also, in most Northern England dialects, they refer to themselves in 3rd person too, "Give us that " would be give me that", and they use the phrase "Me mam said you can take us there" meaning "My mum said you can take me there" So not just a black Londoner thing but actually it's colour and geographically-independent.

If you listen to the white Londoners, in East London or South, North or West they all have different accents- especially East London. This has nothing to do with Grime and has been like so for many decades.

"mans just in ends" actually means "I'm in my neighbourhood", "mans at yard" would be "I'm at home"
This just slang picked up over the years by people and it is definitely not limited to black people and I doubt it was solely created by them. Language changes very much over the years and it had done when black people did not live in the UK.

I don't mean any offense but your comments make it sound like you are a Londoner and every black person there speaks in the manner you describe: It is not specific to black people nor is it all black people XD.
Sorry for the long text Javan"

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Reply
19. Javan uHnah, 2015
"+Geraldine Abbey I'm a black londoner too, I don't speak like a grime artist either. This is getting tiresome
Do you know what a "road man" is? That's literally the kind of idiolect I'm talking about.
No any of that "me mam" liverpoolian stuff."

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Reply
20. ellensarah, 2015
"+Steven JG
Britain isn't big enough for different accents??"

**
Reply
21. Chloe Calvin, 2015
"+Steven JG Yes they do, funny enough you brought up Jamaica because my parents are from there and Jamaica is Out of Many One People with different backgrounds and have different accents (thanks to SLAVERY). It is hard enough when the mainstream Kingston (the capital of Jamaica) street ghetto slang takes over the country's patios as the "national" language and Jamaica is only recognised for this dialect when the majority of the country speaks plain simple English.

I don't know why I bothered to answer your rhetorical question when clearly the answer is yes the "other small islands" you mean the rest of the WEST INDIES, YES they do have they're own accents as the British, French and the Spanish sold and trade slaves throughout Caribbean, so to answer your question the whole of the Caribbean has many different accents, some may sound the same but they're all different. I can tell difference with a person who speaks in Bajan Creole from a person from Trinidad right back down to Grenada to St Kitts.

Answering your previous comment Steven "Britain isn't large enough for people to for different accents" this statement makes you sound very stupid as Britain has the largest multicultural society in the world here in London where I live. The whole of the UK and Ireland have many different accents nationally and regionally. For an island the UK is a small world.

Ain't America unpopulated for it's size?

I had to educate your small mind and please enlighten me with your next reply I'll be looking forward to reading."
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor: Apparently, a question had been posted in this sub-thread about whether everyone in the West Indies has the same accent. It's likely that that comment was voted down and therefore is no longer part of that sub-thread.

**
Reply
22. tatyee, 20155
"It's like me saying there is no difference between the Canadian and American accent, which I'm sure there is but I just don't hear it because I'm not from America. Or saying someone from Boston sounds like someone from New York or New Orleans or Miami. same way there are differences in the accents in America there are differences in the accents in the UK(Yes, even among the whites there)"

**
Reply
23. ellensarah, 2015
"+tatyee
&, in my opinion, in most cities, there really isn't that much of a difference between black & white accents, a girl from liverpool tends to have the same accent, black or white. It's social class that tends to affect accents within the same city or town.
I know you have a different opinion, it's just my experience of all the black people I've met at Uni from different parts of the country, I don't hear a difference."

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Reply
24. Banshee Eighty, 2015
"In America, a certain idea of blacks was pushed. You either embraced this fractured culture or you attempted to assimilate. I don't think in England they had an all out campaign to segregate blacks and whites, but I could be wrong."

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Reply
25. I love nature, 2015
"England have several accents..not everyone speak "posh"."

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Reply
26. Marcus Thompson, 2016
"+Beleza Africana 😍😙 a lot more than several....."
-snip-
This is the end of this discussion sub-thread as of July 26, 2017.

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ADDENDUM
From https://www.quora.com/In-the-U-K-do-black-people-have-a-distinct-dialect-in-the-same-way-that-there-is-a-black-dialect-in-the-U-S
"In the U.K., do black people have a distinct dialect in the same way that there is a black dialect in the U.S.?
Even though there are different regional accents, is there a distinct dialect that is common among black people regardless of region (such as how black people in the south US have a different accent than in California but share a common dialect regardless of region)?"

5 Answers
Ernest W. Adams, lives in The United Kingdom
Answered May 30, 2015
"I would be careful about generalizing about a common black dialect in the United States; there are many black people in the US whose speech is indistinguishable from that of their white neighbors.

That said, the answer is no, and the reason is that black people in Britain are much more ethnically diverse. Some are recent immigrants from Africa, particularly West African nations like Nigeria and Ghana, while others are Afro-Caribbean descendants of people who came to the UK a long time ago and they sound exactly like the white people among whom they live. There was also a big influx of West Indians in the years immediately after the Second World War. The West Indian population has a dialect and an accent, but it's not shared at all with the African immigrants or with the native black British people."

**

Angela Mackie-Rutledge, Black British & American expatriot
Answered Jun 2, 2015
"When speaking to people on the phone here in the UK, I cannot discern their race, but I can more easily tell their class.

I talk to a lot of black people both here and in the USA. The only thing with some commonality is a young (under 25), urban, London accent - but I've heard Asians, whites and blacks speak this way, so it's not distinctly black.

The answer provided by Ernest W. Adams seems to be pretty right on."

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases selected comments from a 2012 online discussion thread entitled "Why Do Young White Londoners Talk Black Style?".

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, linguistics, and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are participated in this discussion and all those who are quoted in this post. YouTube.
-snip-
This is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on "African American Vernacular English", "code switching" and other related linguistics customs.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/selected-youtube-discussion-thread.html for a closely related pancocojams post entitled "Selected YouTube Discussion Sub-Thread About Whether Black People From Britain "Talk White".

Also, click the tags below to find other posts in this series.

****
DISCUSSION EXCERPT
Pancocojams Editor's Note:
The full discussion is seven pages (169 comments).

I recognize that other people compiling excerpts of these comments might choose to highlight some other comments than the ones that I chose.

https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/1667825/why-do-young-white-londoners-talk-black-style
radyag
28/05/12 #1
"I've noticed in recent years that the classic cockney accent has now gone. Young people now speak in what I call black style, or gangsta. I can only assume this is the effect of mass immigration in London."

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ladymoanalot
28/05/12 11:45
#2
"When I was in London working I hardly heard anyone talk like that. Well apart from a gang of rough looking ones, in their early teens.."

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flagpole
28/05/12 11:51
#6
radyag wrote:
I've noticed in recent years that the classic cockney accent has now gone. Young people now speak in what I call black style, or gangsta. I can only assume this is the effect of mass immigration in London.

"if you stop calling it black style and refer to it as something like urban youth culture then the question of why the urban youth do it becomes more apparent."

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Talullahmay
28/05/12 11:52
#8
radyag wrote:
I've noticed in recent years that the classic cockney accent has now gone. Young people now speak in what I call black style, or gangsta. I can only assume this is the effect of mass immigration in London.

"I don't think it's just london though tbh, I live in manchester & it's the same with some white guys & girls here!"

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alisonrose3764
28/05/12 12:15
#20
"Cos they think its SO cool - shame they don't know they look totally stupid!
Its the jeans halfway down their bum that makes me laugh - what a pathetic look!
I'm so glad I am a grown-up!"

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stoatie
28/05/12 12:25
#25
"I think I must have missed the meeting where all the rules changed and adults were supposed to be able to understand why teenagers do stuff."

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https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/1667825/why-do-young-white-londoners-talk-black-style/p2

skp20040
28/05/12 13:08
#31
"Its a faux Jamaican patois, and it sounds ridiculous in white people ( I actually have a white Jamaican friend and it still sounds odd ) , especially young ladies ( and I use the word ladies in the loosest possible of terms ) .

But we can all speak in a Jamaican accent if we want, try saying Beer Can and you will find it sounds like Bacon in a Jamaican accent."
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor: The bold font was included in this comment

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pickwick
28/05/12 13:10
#32
flagpole wrote:
if you stop calling it black style and refer to it as something like urban youth culture then the question of why the urban youth do it becomes more apparent.
Heh, yes, this :D

"Anyone who actually thinks accent is tied to race is hilariously ignorant about language. (Not that being ignorant is hilarious in itself, just when they're trying to look down on other people from their lofty perches of ignorance.)"

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whydoiwatch
28/05/12 13:10
#33
stoatie wrote:
I think I must have missed the meeting where all the rules changed and adults were supposed to be able to understand why teenagers do stuff.

"Same here. You think I would've been issued a manual since I have kids. I guess I'm still waiting on "The Black Person's Guide to Being Black: How You Are All The Same Regardless of Ethnicity, Nationality, Class, Culture or Religion." I've been doing this black thing for almost 35 years but according to DS,I'm doing it wrong."

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Ber
28/05/12 13:27
#38
"All the white kids round here sound just like they were born and raised in Lagos :rolleyes:

(Saying that, I do love the Nigerian / Ghanaian accent)"

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Bex7t6
28/05/12 13:32
#41
"I heard this accent being discussed on the radio recently. Seems more of an influence of environment rather than white kids trying to talk 'black', whatever the f**k that is. I know a fair few black people who don't talk in the way being descibed.

From Wikepedia- http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multicultural_London_English
Although the street name, "Jafaican", implies that it is "fake" Jamaican, researchers indicate that it is not the language of white kids trying to "play cool" but rather that "[it is] more likely that young people have been growing up in London exposed to a mixture of second-language English and local London English and that this new variety has emerged from that mix"."
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor: That word was written with asterisks in that discussion thread.

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lala
28/05/12 13:53
#49
radyag wrote:
I've noticed in recent years that the classic cockney accent has now gone. Young people now speak in what I call black style, or gangsta. I can only assume this is the effect of mass immigration in London.
""black style"? Surely you mean AMERICAN street talk?

But hey, let's not blame the other cultures in the west for this now. :rolleyes:"

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https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/1667825/why-do-young-white-londoners-talk-black-style/p3

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skp20040
28/05/12 14:00
#53
pickwick wrote
Yeah, but you only "know" (or assume) that London kids' Jamaican-style accent is put on because of their race, I guess is what I mean, really. I know quite a few people who have "put on" a false accent, but because it was broad Glaswegians or Cornish people "putting on" an Estuary or Standard English accent, nobody thinks it sounds stupid or they're weird fakers. Largely because they're going from low-status accent to higher-status accent, I think. And conversely that's why people think the Jafaikan sounds "wrong" and "stupid" and "unnatural" - because people are choosing to use a lower status accent, and that's just weird ;)

"It's not that the white kids are choosing to use a Jamaican accent though anyone choosing to use an accent other than their own I find a bit sad , no accent to my mind is low-status , an accent is an accent , but its that they are specifically choosing a gangsta aspect of that which is made up and they do it to come across as hard ."

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Ber
28/05/12 14:13
#55
"Thing is, I know quite a few jamaican people and their accents don't sound anything like "street slang" - so I'm not sure why its called "Jafaican" (unless its just because you can insert the word fake into it)"

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SillyBoyBlue
28/05/12 15:34
#70
"It's funny that black kids aren't accused of 'talking white' when their accent is as far removed from their grandparents' native Jamaican accent as white kids' are from theirs.

"Innit" is a "white" cockney word. Both black and white kids have grown up in a multi-cultural environment where the various accents have blended. I agree though that certain words ("Feds" for example) have been picked up from exposure to American rap culture, but this 'Jafaican' thing was obviously invented by someone whose never heard an authentic Jamaican patois."

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https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/1667825/why-do-young-white-londoners-talk-black-style/p4
kimotag
28/05/12 16:46
#79
"I think a lot of 'urban' accents have simply evolved out of the 'melting pot' culture that young people in some areas grow up in. Therefore they aren't 'fake' at all for those people. What I do find fake though is the way a lot of young men add extra bass to their voice in order to appear more masculine.

As someone else said, some people do moderate their accents when talking to different people. A guy in my gym speaks to me in standard estuary English, but can switch to Jamaican patois in an instant if a friend of his. who shares this ancestry comes along.

Having been born in Hampshire, but moving to London 30 years ago, my accent has slowly changed to Estuary English, but still with an element of Hampshire in it. I will speak posher (Received Pronunciation) in interview situations, or when giving a presentation, and less-posh when I am talking to people who speak urban English."

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GreenJellyJam
28/05/12 17:12
#81
"How can you talk 'Black'? Skin colour has nothing to do with how you speak.

Language and accents change over time and of course immigration has something to do with it otherwise we would not be speaking this language we are using now, it has nothing to do with the colour of someones skin it's do with kids from different cultures, backgrounds, countries intergrating with each other so the way they speak they develop their own accents and slang. Sure some put it on but most develop naturally, so let's not mock."

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yvier
28/05/12 19:47
#88
:Not sure whether this really is 'black style' way of talking. I was born and raised in London in the Notting Hill area during the 60s and 70s. I went to school and had many friends who were from a West Indian background and was always amazed that when they were all together they spoke with a West Indian accent but when they were with their white friends they spoke a typical London 'cockney' type accent. What I hear now is not a West Indian accent nor an old fashioned 'London' accent but something quite different. I can't really understand a lot of what kids say now but I suppose that's probably how it should be! Even so, I do find it very unattractive to listen to and I'm sure it isn't doing them any favours if they want to get a job. Guess it will change and evolve into something else one day."

**
Lain Andrews
28/05/12 20:14
#90
radyag wrote:
I've noticed in recent years that the classic cockney accent has now gone. Young people now speak in what I call black style, or gangsta. I can only assume this is the effect of mass immigration in London.

"I have been in a class when a white teacher asked me,"why are you talking black?; Why don't you just be yourself." Should he be fired?

I grew up with black people and I've always like the way they dress,food culture, it's kool. :)

It is called ebonics and it is a recognized linguistic language, such as asian pronunication (hard time with th "r" sound) or spanish pronunciation (ee comes off as i)."

**
John Carter
29/05/12 07:56
#99
....”I don't think this is about just an "accent" , for some people it's a way of identifying, for others it may be a way of being "cool". For some it isn't anything conscious it's just the way they and their friends talk. For some teenagers its a way of differentiating themselves in groups and from adults which is nothing new

The majority of teenagers who talk like this will probably talk differently to their parents, and switch their language to match the setting.

The ones who can't switch can go into youth work or TV or radio presenting;)

I also don't think it is ebonics, Lain.

But to go back to the original post it's not "black" style it's a mix found in urban areas and many urban areas will have their version ( as other posters have said)"
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor: This is a portion of a longer comment.

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https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/1667825/why-do-young-white-londoners-talk-black-style/p5
It'saLondonthin
29/05/12 16:15
#107
"Being from London, and being young I can go on record saying that not everyone under the age of 30 speaks black style.
What is black style? Is the the colloquialisms or the way in which these words are pronounced. ANyways this is a joke thread right??"

**
Mr.Humphries
29/05/12 17:35
#109
"Most African people in London don't talk with a 'black style'. Most speak with impeccable accents and the rest with their own background patois mixed with a high grasp of English. Education is very important to Africans."

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https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/1667825/why-do-young-white-londoners-talk-black-style/p6
AssistedAction
#138
flagpole wrote:
if you stop calling it black style and refer to it as something like urban youth culture then the question of why the urban youth do it becomes more apparent.

It's not urban youth culture. Youths have always lived in urban areas but they haven't spoken in anything other than their regional accents or regionally indistinct accents, not something that owes its pronunciation, inflexions and even some of its vocabulary to West Indian patois. Therefore, though "black style" may not be the best choice of words as it suggests that all black people everywhere speak this way, it isn't in any way an inaccurate description of the way many young people speak these days.

It sounds ridiculous on any young person, whatever their colour, brought up in this country and the saddest thing is that it's costing young people job opportunities. Particularly if they are applying for a role where they will be speaking to the public."

**
skipjack79
31/05/12 10:24
#145
"It's funny that these London kids use phrases like "keep it real", or "I'm keeping it real", while talking in a hilarious fake accent using fake mannerisms and pretending they're gangsters, but I'm guessing the irony is lost on them. :D"

**
ChristmasCake
31/05/12 11:19
#147
"As someone of Jamaican origin, I can say that this way of talking is as far away from Patois as you can get."

****
https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/1667825/why-do-young-white-londoners-talk-black-style/p7
Throgmorton1
31/05/12 17:17
#152
"Every generation desperately tries to define itself by developing (or stealing) a new vocabulary and vocal rhythm.

Depending on your age - you all have some individual language that you embraced as both setting you apart from the older generation and allowing you to identify with your own peer group.

Mine was the hippy vocabulary - no more - nor less cringe-worthy than anything used today - and certainly nothing to be proud of. Surely one of the joys of getting older is the ability to laugh at yourself at exactly the point you took yourself the most seriously."

**
Youtoo?
31/05/12 17:36
#154
"Where I live we have Asian kids, white kids and black kids all talking in "urban black" accent (no offense, I can't think of a better phrase) with a Yorkshire twang on top. It's very amusing. :D"

***
Imperfect Angel
01/06/12 00:15
#160
"What exactly is a black style? so much ignorance in this thread :sleep:"
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor: My guess is that in this comment "sleep" means that the commenter believes that people who use the term “black style” to refer to ways that people talk aren’t socially conscious (i.e. They aren't "woke" (in the contemporary African American originated meaning of that word).

****
Prince Monalulu
01/06/12 01:30
#163
ChristmasCake wrote:
As someone of Jamaican origin, I can say that this way of talking is as far away from Patois as you can get.

"You're wasting your time.
Everytime this comes up various FM's point out it's not a (working class) Jamaican patois, nor an attempt to copy it.
If they were attempting to copy it, they'd get closer to it.
They'll just keep banging on about Jafakan (sp)."

****
Prince Monalulu
01/06/12 02:41
#166
Mr.Humphries wrote:
I would love to hear standard English come back into vogue. It would be nice to understand what people are saying. It is a pity that no one in power is prepared to do something about the sorry situation that we find ourselves in today. Illiteracy is ruining this country.

"Good luck removing all slang and accents.
What's standard english?
What are 'those in power' supposed to do about it?
Might be my ignorance here, but I thought literacy related to the written word."

**
Mr.Humphries
01/06/12 13:39
#168
Prince Monalulu wrote:
Love to know where you've met all these Africans with impeccable accents.
Do you mean impeccable english accents?
What countries do you mean, Africa's a big place.

"I meant most Africans from most of the nations that make up the continent. They make an effort to speak standard English and it is most pleasing to hear it rather than provincial garble. It would be nice if the natives could do the same too."

****
pugamo
01/06/12 13:47
#169
"Because they are young and young people are silly. They'll soon drop the pretend accents when they have to do grown up things like go for an interview with the bank manager to arrange a mortgage."

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases a video of 1990s song "Mamaland" by South African singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka.

Information about Yvonne Chaka Chaka is included in the summary of this video.

Selected comments from this video's discussion thread are included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Yvonne Chaka Chaka for her musical legacy and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of this video on YouTube.

****
SHOWCASE VIDEO: Yvonne Chacka chacka – Mamaland



yaz oshea Published on Mar 10, 2011

Yvonne has been on the forefront of South African music for over 15 years and still going strong.

Yvonne Chaka Chaka is always spinning gold. In 1985, when she was only 19 years old, Phil Hollis of Dephon Records discovered her in Johannesburg. Soon after she was introduced to record producers Rick Wolfe and Attie van Wyk. Her debut album "I'm in Love With a DJ" was released. It became tremendous hit.

Songs like "I'm burning Up" |"I'm in Love With a DJ"| "I Cry for Freedom" |"Makoti" |"Motherland" and the ever-popular, "Umqombothi" immediately insured Yvonne's status as star in South Africa music scene. Continuing to release hit after hit, her subsequent award winning albums were : "Burning Up" |"Sangoma" |"Who's The Boss""Motherland" |" Be Proud to be African"| "Thank You Mr DJ" |"Back on my Feet"|"Rhythm of Life" |"Who's got the Power" |"The Best Of Yvonne Chaka Chaka" |"Bombani ( Tiko Rahini)| "Power of Afrika"|"Yvonne and Friends" and "Kwenzenjani"..

For her artistic achievement Yvonne has won the "Ngomo Award" (the "Grand Prix Pan African de la Chanson" in Zaire), as well as the "FNB/SAMA Awards" for the best female singer. Yvonne has also worked with noted producers Sello 'Chicco' Twala and Gabi LeRoux. The African Music Encyclopedia says of Yvonne, "Chaka-Chaka's powerful alto voice, along with her finely-crafted and arranged material, account for her wide popularity."
-snip-
Statistics (as of July 27, 2017 at 8:07 AM)
total views: 1,418,900
likes: 3,420 ; dislikes: 257
total # of comments: 556

****
SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD
These selected comments document commenters' high opinions of Yvonne Chaka Chaka and this song.

These selected comments also are a small sample of the expressions of affection that commenters wrote about their own African nation as well as expressions of a desire for African unity. In addition, these selected comments demonstrate the wide reach of recorded music from a specific African nation throughout the entire African continent.

Numbers are assigned for referencing purposes only.

2013
1. Chica Delarosa
"I Love my Mamaland Congo/Afrika"

**
2. Kweku Takyi-Annan
"Africa/Ghana"

****
2014
3. lord isaac
"This song give me power when i hear it.....because i remember where i come frome, i really miss you mama Africa... for Africa forever..!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

**
4. Anna Andreas
"I am born free ,but i am great fan of old school .BIG FAN OF IVONNE CHAKA CHAKA LOVE FROM NAMIBIA."

**
5. Sydonia3 years ago
My grandma had the entire VHS of all her songs! This was all that played in our house. 1997, good times

****
2015
6. abdiaziz ahmed osman
"southafrica people dont respect othere african people they kill them naglet them they forget there fredome were give by othere african country shame to south african people i heat them"
-snip-
"Heat" here is a typo for "hate".

**
Reply
7. Solomon Modisha, 2016
"+abdiaziz ahmed osman please don't "heat" us man, not all South Africans are xenophobic.come to the Madiba land you will see."

**
Reply
8. raan chol, 2016
"+Solomon Modisha I know majority of South African people are good people who love Africa and their African brothers and sisters. When the apartheid was being practiced, all African people were supporting brothers and sister from South Africa but the incident that happened in South Africa by killing other Africa is big embarrassment and betrayal to all Africa people in this world."

**
9. Gabriel Komango
"my land.... TANGANYIKA / TANZANIA"

**
10. Shell Winchester
"mama land África, my first mama i really miss you, and i love you so much... Áfricaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa... Angolaaa!!!"

**
11. Vidakon Jemusse
"Chokwe at Gaza, South of Mozambique,.... Makweniu wa Maxangane..... Peace From Mozambique"

**
12. Ismael Botan
"My mamaland somalia africa am proud to be african where our culture teach us to respect the old and the young ones am realy proud of whom i am"

**
13. hlaloso moreri
"my mamaland-Botswana/Africa"

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14. M.S K
"Zambia✊ Africa Mamaland"

**
15. Evans Machera
"A celebratory song by African greatest song bird."

**
16. Silver Back
"One Love mama Africa. From S.Leone Westside Africa."

**
17. thadmans
"Africa is indeed our mamaland. Travelled from Kenya to RSA in June for the first time and still felt that I was still at home."

**
18. Bint Mohammed
"Ethiopia , Africa mamaland"

**
19. Martila Omba
"I luv my mamaland Congo DRC/Zambia"

****
2016
20. Nona Ford
"This song reminds me of those turn up weddings and parties!"

**
21. Chol Akuany
"My Mamaland Africa, Yvone Chacka Chacka has said it all. Stop fighting yourselves my people. Why is this tribal division among some Africans tribes? South Sudan, Dinka and Nuer used to inter-marry and did barter trade with one another until the money came along which in turn made some individuals like Riek Machar lust for even more. The 1991 & 2013 episodes are just examples. Greed is dividing my people and blinding them from realizing the truth. And what is the truth? There is no truth when you pick up a gun and kill innocent people. To the peaceful African nations, I thank you for being there for Africa, our Mamaland"

**
Reply
22. ntege samuel, 2017
"Chol Akuany
Also i wish S. Sudan people can wake up & stop murdering Ugandans like insects. We have taken you in as refugees & no one has been killed in here by a Ugandan. I the same way you should treat us well. Stop hooliganism its not the way to go in this modern era. If Ugandans werent good to you then you wdnt have come in here. Ugandan are peaceful & hospitable....& so should be you S. Sudanese. Treat us well...we sell food to you not because there no other markets but we know you are a desert helpless country. Finally we wish you well S.Sudan no matter how you kill us in your land."

**
23. Loice Mukandi
"Oh yes my mama land lots of love from Zimbabwe"

**
24. Jossey Kibebe
"you are such amazing lady,queen of africa i like the song truely africa is our mother land,it is our home and we are home to stay,lets practice peace,love and unity to our mother land God bless africa"

**
25. GLORIA 256
"Am from Uganda and I love Africa ma mama land God bless South Africans the freedom fighters 👏👏👏👏👏"

**
26. Social Streaming
"Stop killing, stop killing, it's our motherland Africa, very iconic music!"

27. Baba Theo Chriss
"Am Tanzanian my mamaland country. proud to be African.."

**
28. Daniel Boateng
"Her songs really contributed South Africa freedom. Big up Yvonne"

**
29. Givemore Chiguvare
"YAAAH wenever i go to a NEW AFRICAN PLACE I PLAY THIS ONE."

**
30. migxgy
"Always played this song at parties"

**
31. morenikespring #apple
"these were our beyonces"

**
32. Rufus J. Kerkulah
"From Gbarnga, Bong County, Liberia to South Africa with love."

**
33. Kenny Chukwu
"In character, in manner, in style, in all the things, the supreme excellence is simplicity. Like all magnificent things, she is an epitome of beauty and class. #Naija."

**
34. Jacob Paulo
"my thanks giving from Angola, love this song so much Chaka"

**
35. thamsanqa nyathi
"I waz young by then in rural areas listening to radio 2 before it waz named radio Zimbabwe,gne are the day's"

**
36. BE8Y LUBEGA
"I miss my mama land, just thought of Chaka Chaka one of the music icons of the 90s. Missing you Africa..."

**
37. Annah Makhoshi
"I am happy to be at African. I'm coming from Ghana I love south Africa it make me happy here"

**
38. Kbc Construction
"the time wen she was young looking good that we fighting apartheid in Namibia remind me my fellow whose gone with war"

**
39. samantha gloria
"Kbc Construction She still looks good,watched her on BBC hard talk one day ago"

**
40. jimmy heguye
"♨❤ l should give huge all Mother in Village!😀&dance with them😀My heart fired to Mother land home village! l feel so much to them!"

**
41. rumbie portia
"My roots are here in Africa....nyc song"
-snip-
“nyc song” = “nice song” and not New York City song

**
42. Regina Drescher
"Those were the good old days were no internet or mobile existed,millenials will never know how good it felt. Thank you Yvonne,you have no idea how many hearts you changed during your time.I give thanks to you..Thank you princess of Africa"

**
43. Femme Fatale
"yvonne chaka chaka in ZAÏRE ♥♥"

**
44. Bertin Ngindu
"So proud to be an African...my mamaland Tanzania/DRC"

**
45. Sidiki Fofana
"I am not from sudafrika but I love it realy all afrika are brothers"

****
2017
46. Charles Lotara
"Those were more than just musicians but were iconic freedom fighters through their songs! You made us proud of our motherland, we love you, we love Africa!"

**
48. James Ndula
"Yvonne was actually asking African countries to stop fighting and unite to become one, unfortunately that didn't happen"

**
49. Gabriel Mandlenkosi Vundla
"africa start from cape town to cairo,so all countries which are in this continent must get united not fight,nigerians are my brothers,zimbabweans are my sisters,so stop fighting guys"

**
50. polycap orina
"produced at the height of Racism...I listened to this as a kid,And will still bomb to hit"

**
51. stephen mugisha
"mam land so great,am Rwanda and proud to be so, i love ur music!!!"

**
52. Chris Tifana chikafa Tifana
"Yoh! aunt you suppose to continue singing please, i like all your songs maam"

**
53. Sebongile Nkachela Baggio
"my mamaland a better land, my home town. before cell phones take over"

**
54. Julius Chacha
"I remember those days 1992 when my uncles used to play kinanda."

**
55. jiya jalaqsan
"I love my motherland in somali"

**
56. Onasis Kanika Since88
"Am from Zambia Africa is my motherland let's not kill each other Africa unite. One love brothers and sisters"

**
57. Mula chain
"I am proud to be Congolese (DRC)"

**
58. ispm quartoano
"sory abaut my inglish im Mozambican. I love this song i rember my infacnc 7 year s old mamaland from Yvone .i never forget you."

**
59. Gisele Belole
"part of the video done in Kinshasa -Zaïre (DRC)"

**
60. Vannuge Jiiko
"I remember this song when I was young back in Malawi I feel so emotional now I miss you mama land the warm heart of Africa"

**
61. Vhuramai Chimbindi
"its true this Africa is our mama land why are we fighting for. lets not divide our selves"

**
62. maikano Rabe
"You contributed a lot in saving south Africa from the apartheid ruling. Great and tremendous zulu voice. It me remembered Dabezitao un Chakra zulu movie."

**
63. james pa92
"Childhood jam!!!"

**
64. Tracy Justice
"my mama land Tanzania, proud to be Tanzanian watching from the USA"

**
65. Lucy Leopold
"i real mic my home town my mama land Tanzania...from sweden"

**
66. JDOUG757
"being a black american, I envy u guys so much. we don't know where we are from. we are so lost...MAMA AFRICA I LOVE YOU!!! I MISS U!!!"

**
67. Willy Kabuya EL GANADOR
"i love africa proud To be congolese. my land"

**
68. Vivi Cruz
"Hi, I'm Cape Verdean, I love this rhythm, how I wanted to understand the lyrics, Kisses"

**
Reply
69. Tonny Okello
"Ni we nakupenda , ni we Mamaland - It a swahili phrase that translates literally : It is you I love, it is you my motherland."

**
70. Lionel Pessi Aka El Vomito
"BURUNDI forever"

**
71. mike koechner
"my mama land Kenya. watching from Doha Qatar. I miss my home Africa..."

**
72. OMBENI MIHWELA
"i love and i proud with african mucian who was sing the song of liberazation"

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a four part pancocojams series on recreational (street, old school) Double Dutch, with an emphasis on Double Dutch (jump rope) rhymes.

Part I presents my thoughts about the reasons for the demise of recreational Double Dutch with or without chanted rhymes. Part I also includes an excerpt from an online article that provides a general overview about recreational Double Dutch, with emphasis on the years that girls were involved in this activity.

In addition, Part I also showcases four YouTube videos of recreational or competitive sports Double Dutch. A video of Malcolm Mclaren's 1983 song "Double Dutch" is also featured in this post, particularly for its visual documentation of Double Dutch sports teams more than for its South African sourced music. Selected comments about Double Dutch from those videos' discussion threads are also included in this post.

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/excerpt-about-recreational-double-dutch.html for Part II of this series. Part II features an excerpt from the chapter "Double Dutch And Double Cameras: Studying The Transmission Of Culture In An Urban School" by Ann Richman Beresina. This chapter is part of the 1999 book Children's Folklore: A SourceBook edited by Brian Sutton-Smith, Jay Mechling, Thomas W. Johnson, and Felicia McMahon (Utah State University Press, originally published in 1995).

In addition, Part II showcases the 1985/1986 McDonald Double Dutch commercial (which is also featured in Part I) as well as two YouTube videos of "Big Mac" performed as a two person and as a four person hand clap game.

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/juice-juice-lets-knock-some-boots-four.html for Part III of this pancocojams series. Part III showcases text (word only) examples of five recreational Double Dutch rhymes and provides comments about those examples, including suggesting probably Hip Hop sources for some of those rhymes.

The words to these rhymes are from Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling, by Anna R. Beresin (Univ. Press of Mississippi, May 27, 2011).

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/references-to-double-dutch-jump-rope-in.html for Part IV of this video. Part IV provides a partial time line of references to Double Dutch in American and British television shows, movies, commercials, and recorded songs.

This post also showcases one of this commercials: Coca Cola Double Dutch.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all the Double Dutch teams that are featured in the videos that are embedded in this post. Thanks also to all who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos.

Hat tip to author David Whiteis who alerted me to this July 26, 2017 New York Times article on Double Dutch: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/25/arts/double-dutch-lincoln-center.html and asked "When did the spoken/sung rhyming begin to fade from street/sidewalk Double Dutch?"

This four part pancocojams series is part of the results of the online research that I did, prompted by David Whiteis' question. I read various articles and a number of YouTube discussion threads about Double Dutch, searching for dates and other demographics that they might give some information about when recreational Double Dutch was popular, when its popularity began to fade, and whether children's initiated recreational Double Dutch even exists anymore.

As I noted below, largely as a result of that online reading, I don't think that there is any one definite date that rhyming became disassociated with Double Dutch. But in reading about recreational Double Dutch, I realized that it wasn't just rhyming while doing Double Dutch that has largely disappeared, but also recreational Double Dutch jumping itself. And, based on my experiences in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1969 to now (2017), I would also say far fewer African American girls (and maybe also girls of other races and ethnicities in the United States engage in recreational single rope (group) jump rope jumping than they did when I was growing up in New Jersey during the 1950s.
-snip-
This is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on Double Dutch (jump rope) and jump roping rope in general, particular as those activities relate to African American females.

Also, click the tags below to find other posts in this series.

****
PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S COMMENTS
Disclaimer:
I've done no formal research on this subject. These are my own comments and they may not agree with the conclusions that were reached in the article excerpted below or in other articles or books about Double Dutch in the United States.

WHEN DID RECREATIONAL DOUBLE DUTCH BECOME A LOST ART
The overarching premise in this pancocojams series on recreational Double Dutch is that recreational (street/playground) Double Dutch* is a lost art, or an activity that is in severe danger of being lost. These conclusions are based on my experiences as an African American female, as well as my online and offline reading. Furthermore, I believe that the recreational Double Dutch performed without chanting lasted longer than the performance of Double Dutch which includes chanted rhymes.

I don't believe that any definite date can be pinpointed as to when recreational Double Dutch itself and/or recreational Double Dutch with rhymes chanted ended in the United States. There's documentation that indicates that during the 1940s-1960s Double Dutch was very widely performed as a recreational activity by some (but not all) African American girls in various parts of the United States. My guess is that Double Dutch with rhyme chanting began to disappear at different times in different places. By at least the 1980s, group jump rope (with one rope) also grew out of favor by African American girls and other American girls and was largely replaced by the hand clap games. From my experiences and my reading I believe that by the late 1990s in most African American communities recreational Double Dutch was largely a thing of the past. I also think that recreational Double Dutch jumping without chanted rhymes probably lasted longer than recreational Double Dutch jumping with rhymes.

That said, it's likely that there may be places where girls still do recreational Double Dutch with or without rhyme chanting. However, I think that it's an indisputable fact that far fewer African American girls perform Double Dutch -or even group jump rope (with one rope) in the 2000s compared with the 1940s to the 1990s.

*Note that by "recreational Double Dutch" I mean Double Dutch jumping that is children initiated (almost always girls, and also predominately African American girls) as a recreational activity during school recess, and as pastimes after school and in the summer months etc. "Children initiated" is in contrast to adult initiated recreational Double Dutch that is taught to and/or otherwise experienced by children at community centers, school gym classes, summer camps, etc.

Recreational Double Dutch is similar but not the same as the competitive sport of Double Dutch. One clear difference between these two activities is that rhyme chanting was an important feature of recreational Double Dutch, but no chanting occurs in the Double Dutch sport. Notice that the Wikipedia article for Double Dutch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Dutch_(jump_rope) makes no mention whatsoever about rhyme chanting.

****
WHY DID RECREATIONAL DOUBLE DUTCH BECOME A LOST ART
These points are numbered, but are given in no particular order. I refer to "African American girls" in some of these points since recreational Double Dutch is most closely associated with that population in the United States.

Here's why I think recreational Double Dutch in particular, and perhaps also group jump rope (with one rope), are lost arts or dying arts:
1. The lack of outdoor, open spaces in urban areas.

Double Dutch needs large open spaces. There's documentation that Double Dutch was often performed in urban streets, but increased urbanization made/makes this performance space unsafe and inoperable.

Modern playgrounds and school yards are no longer open spaces, but have built in sliding boards, swings, jungle gyms etc. The presence of these built in recreational structures means that Double Dutch can't be performed in those playgrounds.

**
2. In order to play Double Dutch specifically (and jump rope in general, you need to have two (or one)
jump ropes. Contrast that with hand clap rhymes [point #4] and foot stomping cheers [point #5] which can be performed without purchasing or otherwise acquiring any materials.

In the 1950s, I recall using cut clotheslines for individual jump rope or for single (group) jump rope. However, clotheslines aren't as readily available nowadays since hanging washed clothes to dry outside or in the basement is seldom if ever done anymore. Clotheslines are still available for sale, but that doesn't mean that people would buy them for the purpose of jumping rope. For that matter, plastic jump ropes for individual jumping are also available for purchase, but those jump ropes are often of poor quality even if they're long enough for Double Dutch.

Telephone wires or cable wires are mentioned by several commenters on YouTube discussion threads of videos about the sport of Double Dutch as the preferred "rope" for jumping Double Dutch. Girls got these materials from parents, relatives, or family friends who worked in those companies. However, given the changes in those industries and dearth of people who have land line telephones and cable in their homes, those materials aren't available any longer to be used as Double Dutch ropes.

**
3. Schools, community centers, etc often prohibit Double Dutch specifically or jump rope in general in their facilities or on their grounds for safety and security reasons.

Children playing Double Dutch (and, to a lesser extent, group (single) jump rope and/or children in the vicinity of such play could get hurt. These institutions don't want to be liable for any injuries that might occur.

**
4. Other recreational activities have replaced Double Dutch jumping and jump rope in general.

Beginning in the 1970s, if not earlier, two person, four person, and -less often- three person hand clap games have become the main informal recreational activity that African American girls (ages 5-12 years) engage in. Many formerly jump rope rhymes are now known as hand clap rhymes were formerly performed as jump rope (and ball bouncing) rhymes. In addition to hand clap games to the point that many people aren't even aware that these rhymes earlier accompanied individual or group (single) jump rope and/or Double Dutch jump rope.

Mildly competitive hand slap games (such as "Slap Billy Ola" ("Stella Ella Ola") and "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky") have also replaced Double Dutch and other jump rope games while chanting a specific rhyme.

Hand clap games need very little performance space and hand slap games don't usually need as large a performance space as Double Dutch. Also, in contrast with Double Dutch specifically or any form of jump rope activity, hand clap games and hand slap games don't need any objects in order to engage in those activities.

Foot stomping cheers (also referred to as "steps") is another informal recreational activity that has replaced Double Dutch among African American girls. That recreational activity is performed either indoor or outdoor while chanting specific rhymes. Three advantages that foot stomping has over "Double Dutching" is that it doesn't need as much space as Double Dutch, there are no health concerns associated with that movement activity, and it's much easier to learn how to perform than Double Dutch rope turning and Double Dutch jumping.

Other informal or informal physical recreational activities such as formal cheerleading (either stomp & shake cheerleading or mainstream cheerleading or a combination of both), Hip Hop majorette (j-setting), and/or organized team sports. Some of these activities need smaller performance or practice spaces than Double Dutch.

African American girls may also perform children initiated contemporary group circle games such as "Little Sally Walker Was Walking Down The Street" and "Ride That Pony" instead of playing Double Dutch.

**
5. In the United States, instead of being involved in informal or formal recreational movement activities, a large number of children spend a considerable amount of their leisure time watching television, using the internet for game playing, and for engaging with others on social media. In addition, many children and pre-teens use personal cell phones for texting, and other activities including making and exchanging self-made videos.

-snip-
[Update- Added July 30, 2017] Here's another reason for the demise of recreational Double Dutch as given in https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/nn974m/double-dutchs-forgotten-hip-hop-origins-456 Double Dutch's Forgotten Hip-Hop Origins
"In an even broader sense, as crime in New York reached its highest rates in the late 1980s and video games entered the picture, fewer children were interested in playing together on the street. "Kids don't even want to play outside anymore," Nicki laments." ["Nicki" is identified as Adrienne "Nicki" Howell, a member of the award winning Fantastic Four (Double Dutch team; featured in two McDonald ads.)]
-end of Update-
[Update Added July 30. 2017]
As a result of reading some comments in a discussion thread of a Double Dutch video that I just came across, it occurs to me that television shows/movies about Double Dutch that aired in the 1990s and 2000s could have revived short lived or longer interest in "double dutching". Here are those comments , followed by my note:

The Real syndicated television talk show-[Double Dutch segment] Sep 29, 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I0c4OfX6JU
"Tamera Shows Off Her Double Dutch Skills"
-snip-
Tamera Mowry-Housley one of The Real's hosts, was the star of Sister, Sister along with her twin sister Tia. A popular episode of that series was when the sisters jumped in a Double Dutch competition.(1997).

**
MrThekidisback, 2015
Girls don't even double dutch anyone, I remember in the hood girls use to always do that.

**
Reply
DanceMomsLover#1#1, 2015
"+MrThekidisback Yes they do! There is actually a show about it on Lifetime and yes It is good"
-snip-
The 2015 television series Jump! showcased Newark, New Jersey's Floyd Little (Double Dutch Team). The series wasn't renewed after its first season.

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Reply
MrThekidisback, 2015
"+DanceMomsLover#1#1 Nah I know there are girls who do but you don't see it as much anymore."

**
Boss At Home, 2017
"5th grade when Jump In first premiered on Disney, this was the thing ever one was doing at recess."
-snip-
The Floyd Little team compete in the sport of Double Dutch. That's not the same type of Double Dutch that was performed "back in the day" before there were national and international Double Dutch competitions.

As a matter of fact, the 2007 Disney Channel movie Jump In! also centered around a Double Dutch sports competition. At one point in that movie, the female members of that team along with their male team member went to the "hood" and saw some "street" double dutchers performing intricate moves which inspired them to improve their routine.

These television shows/movies are listed the Double Dutch timeline (Part IV of this pancocojams series.)
-end of update-

****
BRIEF EXCERPT ABOUT THE HISTORY OF DOUBLE DUTCH IN THE UNITED STATES
From http://www.jumpropeinstitute.com/history.htm
"JUMP ROPE HISTORY

Past and Present

....”Early Dutch settlers were some of the first jump ropers in America. Not surprisingly, one of the more popular jumping games is called "Double Dutch."

In the early 1940s and 1950s, jump rope became tremendously popular, and many children in inner cities used jumping rope as a form of play. It only required a rope, and anyone could play. From the late 1950s until the 1970s, however, jump rope history took a back seat to radio and television as it started to captivate the minds of your children.

In the 1970s, an increased interest in physical fitness and overall health emerged. Programs started promoting jump roping to keep kids from other unhealthy activities. To make it enjoyable and entertaining for kids jump roping events were organized"...

****
SHOWCASE VIDEOs
Example #1: VINTAGE 80'S MCDONALD'S DOUBLE DUTCH COMMERCIAL [1985]



-snip-
This video featured the world champion Fantastic Four double-dutch team. Unfortunately, as a result of this commercial, that team was disqualified from competing any longer in Double Dutch sport competitions, a consequence I gather the team wasn't aware of before agreeing to be featured in this ad.

The chanted rhyme, known as "Big Mac", was written by the McDonald Corporation to promote their menu. This is the most famous of three McDonalds commercials that were centered around recreational Double Dutch. The other two commercials were aired in 1979 and 1981. Nowadays, "Big Mac" [most commonly known as "Welcome To McDonalds"] is a very popular partner hand clap rhyme and it's likely that few children know that it was once chanted as a jump rope rhyme.

Here are some selected comments from this video's discussion thread (Numbers are assigned for referencing purposes only) :
1.MsTexas73, 2011
"@sugarrrsmack Me too, I was NEVER that good. but I sure tried. But we did double dutch to this same McDonald's song back in the day. Seeing this makes me kinda miss the EARLY 80s."
-snip-
This is clearly response to a comment from “sugarrrsmack:”, but no such comment is included in that discussion thread.

**
2.Delores Finlayson, 2012
"Wow! Its been years since we filmed this commercial. We were the first to open many doors in the sport. I would like to see more kids get out there and have fun jumping Double Dutch."

**
3. Tani, 2015
"see yall are a new generation in the 90's we would take double dutch life LIFE! We would jump so long that we would run out of songs...lol! We would do this for hours and then wake up and do it again...our favorite ropes were a phone line doubled...if you got hit with it it would really hurt but we were so good that it rarely happened...lol! I really miss those days!"

**
4. Kyra Gaunt, Ph.D., 2013
"Double dutch is one of three types of musical play that most urban kids in predominately black settings were first exposed to in early childhood. The black public sphere was dominated by these games for the very young and carried popular songs and dance to them -- like their own popular broadcasting system -- where there was no adult supervision. It was orally and kinetically passed down -- by word of mouth and body and girls were the primary agents while boys tended to rap and dance.
-snip-
Dr. Kyra Gaunt is author of the award winning 2006 book The Games Black Girls Play
Learning the Ropes from Double-Dutch to Hip-Hop. https://nyupress.org/books/9780814731208/.

Notice that Dr. Gaunt wrote "The black public sphere was dominated by these games."...

**
Reply
5. Salsasha Salsasha, 2017
"I had a feeling that double dutch skipping was originally part of black culture until it became mainstream. Not to take away the enjoyment of anyone that likes skipping. Thank you for your informative post."

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Example #2: DOUBLE DUTCH DIVAS" CENTRAL PARK SEPT 16/07 7 PM



Will D, Published on Sep 17, 2007

The Double Dutch Divas appear every Sunday at 7 pm from the beginning of July thru the 2-3rd week of September. Located just yards downtown beside the skater's circle in Central Park, right beside the skater's after-party.

Website: doubledutchdivas.com

Double Dutch a sport in which one person jumps rope with two ropes and one or more people jumping simultaneously.

Playing Double Dutch involves at least three people total: one or more jumping and two turning the ropes. A person jumping usually does tricks that may involve gymnastics or breakdancing, it can also have fancy foot movements incorporated. Young people, including many boys, do this for fitness and it is competed at world level. Competitions in double-dutch were often seen at block parties.

During the very early years of hip hop culture, double-dutch was an element of the culture (popularized in the song Double Dutch Bus). After hip hop began moving towards the mainstream in the early 1980s, double-dutch fell out of favor as a recognized element of hip hop, although it remains popular with athletes to this day.

Double Dutch Bus was a 1981 funk song by Frankie Smith, made famous for its extensive use of the "izz" infix form of slang. The song title represents a portmanteau of two institutions in Smith's Philadelphia neighborhood: the double dutch game of jump rope played by neighborhood kids, and the SEPTA bus system that was a backbone of the local transportation network (and for which Smith had unsuccessfully applied for a bus driving position). Smith persuaded contacts at WMOT Records to finance the song, and it was recorded in summer 1981, engineered by Gene Leone. The song rocketed to popularity in a matter of weeks, landing on the Billboard Top 40 charts on July 11, 1981.

The language that they use to speak in, is often used by rapper Snoop Dog, and has been referred to as "Double Dutch". Speaking Double Dutch would be to add "izz" or "illz" to the middle of words. Thus the phrase "We all play Double Dutch" becomes "Willze aillzll plizzay Dizzouble Dizzutch" in the song.
This song was famously sampled in Missy Elliot's 2003 single "Gossip Folks."

History:

The Dutch settlers brought the game to the Hudson River trading town of New Amsterdam (now New York City). When the English arrived and saw the children playing their game, they called it Double Dutch. The game has since grown over the years, particularly in urban areas. It became a favorite pastime to sing rhymes while turning and jumping. During World War II, the game was often played on the sidewalks of New York. By the late 1950s the radio music boom dominated urban America and the lack of recreational areas in close proximity to apartment buildings had made the game nearly extinct.

In 1973, David A. Walker, then a New York City Police Community Affairs Detective, joined by his partner Detective Ulysses Williams, developed the street game of Double Dutch into the World Class Sport that it is today. With the assistance of the physical education instructors at IS 10, Walker and Williams revitalized the game by developing it into a competitive team sport. On February 14, 1974, the first Double Dutch tournament was held with nearly 600 fifth, sixth, seventh and eight grade students participating.
-end of that video summary-

Here are some selected comments from this video's discussion thread (Numbers are assigned for referencing purposes only):
1. Str8isis, 2008
"Me too! Reminded me of being in the Bronx with my cousins double-dutching in the middle of the street! Thamx RevInk.

THOSE WERE THE DAYS!!! Exercise at its finest!"

**
2. RevolutionaryINK, 2008
"Wow!!! I remember those days when all the females uesed to double dutch!!! These sisters still got it!!! That's what I'm talking about!"

**
3. Jacco Van W, 2010
"Whahaaaaaaa this is friggin great LOL when i was younger in holland allmost all girls did it but this is realy something else,, i mean,, I am dutch, but im not gunna do this double whaha................... great movie, made me smile 5/5"

**
4. DonnyMacG, 2010
"I'm in NewYork next month, do the diva's still perform,? I wouldn't mind a go at this myself as I missed it in the late 70's"

**
5. GraciaKowi, 2010
"i can double dutch wayy better!! I'm like the only person in my school that does double dutching LOL! I did the soulja boy dance while jumping once!"

**
7. Danielle Jackson, 2011
"I miss double dutch in new york..ppl in atl dnt know to to double dutch."

**
8. Arnell Monroe Mack, 2013
"I remember me being the only boy doing double dutch with the girls. It was so much fun. Good Ol' days."

**
9. XxUmbrella123x, 2014
"Me and my friends used to do this in the playground as kids haha XD"

**
10. Andrea Long, 2015
"I miss jump roping

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Reply
11. jdstep97, 2015
"+Andrea Long You? I'm 48 and would love to get out and double Dutch but all the young people want to stay inside playing games on their iPhones or other devices, and the older ones are falling apart."

**
12. Finnesse da King, 2015
"Yall Look Like Yall Having Fun .. Out There That's How My Family Gatherings Be"

**
13. Kathy Dragoo, 2016
"Excellent! This was very popular back in the 50's & 60's too. Guess I'm an ex-diva!"

**
14. Selma Janet Fox McGoram. 2017
"I used to love doing this when I was at Primary school, in the 1950s."

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Example #3: Malcolm Mclaren Presents Double Dutch.wmv



MalcolmMclarenMusic Published on Apr 11, 2011

This is one of the better known tracks from Mr Malcolm Mclaren from his ground-breaking album Duck Rock.Nothing new here now but at the time it was, as usual with MM ahead of it's time.27 years later it still sounds as good today as when I first heard it.Enjoy...
-snip-
Here are some selected comments from this video's discussion thread. (Numbers are assigned for referencing purposes only.)
1. paul nutt, 2013
"my mother told me that when she was a girl this was called french skipping"

**
2. Lynne Christie, 2013
"i would love to take part in a class like that at school!!! why can't we do that now!!!! i think kids would love it!"

**
3. TheRegalEagle2014, 2014
"I wonder if Double Dutch championships still exist. Remember watching this as a kid and asking for (and getting) a skipping rope."

**
4.emichels ,2014
"Double dutch, skelly, or skellzy, NYC in 1983 was the place to be!! Please God tell me I'm not the only one who remembers skelly or victory!!"

**
5. Robert Ascii, 2016
"Love this song and the video. Vintage double dutch"

**
6. Gabby Cattell, 2016
"its very sad but todays kids just wanna stay on there ipads etc etc those were the days"

**
Reply
7. Becka3456, 2016
"That's quite ironic because you're saying that kids these days all want to stay on electronics but instead of you getting off your phone or computer your writing that other people should get off.... Don't get me wrong, I agree with you but just remember not everyone from my generation want to stay in electronics all the time."

**
8. Panatella, 2016
"No iPhones. Just smiles :-)"

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Reply
9. Sailing S/V Harley Quinn Essex, UK, 2017
"Panatella Yep can imagine now all the girls round outside would be standing still immersed in their phones. Always said the internet would destroy society"

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10. David Harrison, 2017
"when this came out i was home on shore leave . my mam who was not a spring chicken was in the garden teaching the kids how to do it . she learned when she was a little girl in the early 1940s ! i laughed so much great times ."

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Example #4: Double Dutch Championships



theitemdotcom, Published on Jun 17, 2011

The 38th Annual Double Dutch World Championships were held in Sumter, SC June 17-18.
-snip-
Here are a few comments from this video's discussion thread. (Numbers are assigned for referencing purposes only.)

1. 23Fulani, 2015
"Makes me remember how fun childhood was in the 80's and 90's!"

**
Reply
2. ORDOTRIO, 2016
"+23Fulani I went to school in Atlanta in the 80's. This was every day at recess."

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Reply
3. CzarJuliusIII, 2016
"Even in the early 2000s I saw girls play doubledutch at recess."

**
4. amycello, 2016
"Growing up in Brooklyn, NY in the late 1940s I clearly remember watching with awe and amazement, young black girls doing incredible double dutch rope skipping in the street. In those days of de-facto segregation, the white neighborhood and black neighborhood were divided by one street. These were the days before play dates and scripted after school activities. We were regularly sent out to the street to play where we spent many unsupervised hours. We would often stand on the street that was the dividing line and watch the (mostly) girls our age (7 to about 13 years old) doing their amazing double dutch routines with the greatest of ease. No one on the white side of the dividing line ever attempted this sport. We wouldn't even have known how to begin."

****
This concludes Part I of this four part series on recreational Double Dutch.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a four part pancocojams series on recreational (street, old school) Double Dutch, with an emphasis on Double Dutch (jump rope) rhymes.

Part II features an excerpt from the chapter "Double Dutch And Double Cameras: Studying The Transmission Of Culture In An Urban School" by Ann Richman Beresina. This chapter is part of the 1999 book Children's Folklore: A SourceBook edited by Brian Sutton-Smith, Jay Mechling, Thomas W. Johnson, and Felicia McMahon (Utah State University Press, originally published in 1995).

In addition, Part II showcases the 1985/1986 McDonald Double Dutch commercial (which is also featured in Part I) as well as two YouTube videos of "Big Mac" performed as a two person and as a four person hand clap game.

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/speculation-about-when-why-recreational.html for Part I of this series. Part I presents my thoughts about the reasons for the demise of recreational Double Dutch with or without chanted rhymes. Part I also includes an excerpt from an online article that provides a general overview about recreational Double Dutch, with emphasis on the years that girls were involved in this activity.

In addition, Part I also showcases four YouTube videos of recreational or competitive sports Double Dutch. A video of Malcolm Mclaren's 1983 song "Double Dutch" is also featured in this post, particularly for its visual documentation of Double Dutch sports teams more than for its South African sourced music. Selected comments about Double Dutch from those videos' discussion threads are also included in this post.

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/juice-juice-lets-knock-some-boots-four.html for Part III of this pancocojams series. Part III showcases text (word only) examples of five recreational Double Dutch rhymes and provides comments about those examples, including suggesting probably Hip Hop sources for some of those rhymes.

The words to these rhymes are from Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling, by Anna R. Beresin (Univ. Press of Mississippi, May 27, 2011).

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/references-to-double-dutch-jump-rope-in.html for Part IV of this video. Part IV provides a partial time line of references to Double Dutch in American and British television shows, movies, commercials, and recorded songs.

This post also showcases one of this commercials: Coca Cola Double Dutch.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Ann Richman Beresin, the author of the excerpt of Children's Folklore: A SourceBook that is quoted in this post. Thanks to all those who contributed the Double Dutch rhymes and other examples of children's rhymes that are included in that book.
-snip-
This is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on Double Dutch (jump rope) and jump roping rope in general, particular as those activities relate to African American females.

Also, click the tags below to find other posts in this series.

****
EXCERPT FROM CHILDREN'S FOLKLORE: A SOURCEBOOK, edited by Brian Sutton-Smith, Jay Mechling, Thomas W. Johnson, Felicia McMahon
http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1059&context=usupress_pubs

Chapter 4: DOUBLE DUTCH AND DOUBLE CAMERAS: STUDYING THE TRANSMISSION OF CULTURE IN AN URBAN SCHOOL YARD by Ann Richman Beresin

[page 79]
..."Several games were studied in this larger exploration of the folklore of the 1991-92 Mill School yard [Philadelphia Pennsylvania], including the games of the third- through fifth-grade boys. This paper, however, will serve as a window to the specific game worlds of the double dutch players. (For a complete view of the larger study, which includes handball, folk basketball, hopscotch, step dancing, and play fighting, see Beresin 1993.) Double dutch was perhaps the chief peer-led activity for African American girls at the Mill School, and provided a performance focus for a mobile audience of both girls and boys in the school yard.

DOUBLE DUTCH
A fast-paced, polyrhythmic jump-rope style, double dutch utilizes two ropes, typically turned inwards, egg beater fashion, by two girls who have "the ends," while a single jumper executes specific steps to a specific song or chant. It is almost exclusively an African American girls' tradition in urban Pennsylvania, and has been virtually ignored in the jump-rope literature. There has been so little written on double dutch in the folklore literature, and in the collections of African American folklore, that it could even have been said to be skipped over.

[page 80]
Singing game and street game collections like those of the Opies have described larger game traditions but excluded rope singing. American children's folklore, as in the works of Bronner and Knapp and Knapp, have homogenized the ethnicity of their young experts and have given us only single rope traditions; the African American collections of general folklore have rarely even mentioned the lore of young girls (Kochman 1972; Jackson 1967; Whitten and Szwed 1982). With the exception of Jones's and Hawes's Step It Down (1972) and Black Girls at Play (1975) by Bauman, Eckhardt, and Brady, the games of African American girls have been rendered practically invisible, and these collections have examined only the stepping and clapping forms. Abrahams's Jump-Rope Rhymes: A Dictionary (1969), a text called "the most thorough recent compilation of these (jump rope) rhymes for English-speaking children" (Schwartzman 1978, 36), lists a handful of articles relevant to double dutch, but, with the exception of his own useful 1963 article, all deal with it only in passing.

Even when only a single rope was available-it was typically one brought by a child from home-it was utilized in the style and steps of double dutch. Two girls hold the ends and turn for the girl who is jumping, and often it is expected that one must turn for someone before getting the chance to jump. Occasionally the "double Irish" or "double orange" style of rope turning was observed; that is the term for the turning of the ropes outward, egg beater style. This method was considered more difficult and sometimes occurred by accident when the turners changed direction. More typically, there would be two turners rapidly turning the rope inward, left, right, left, right, swaying rhythmically to the slapping beat as the rope brushed the ground. The jumper would dance the steps associated with the song or rhyme, and a group of singers, ranging from the turners to nonparticipants to would-be participants, would dance a minimal version of the game in place. This was considered both a fun thing to do while you await your turn, as well as a chance to practice the sequence.

The game was competitive, with jumpers vying to be the one who could not only stay in the ropes the longest but could progress the furthest in the particular rhyme. Someone would shout"She got foot" or "She got turn." And one would often hear the cry of "Saved!" or "Saved by one!" meaning that the person shouting had progressed farther than the jumper who had just tripped on the turning rope. Steps were parodied, styles imitated, and occasionally corrected in order to ensure that the jumper did the job
right. Turners could be accused of turning too rapidly, or of intentionally "flicking" the rope to make it more difficult, and high-status jumpers,usually the more skilled fifth and sixth graders, claimed first jumps, while the younger, less experienced players would be the turners. The chance

[page 81]

to jump first, and if one was skilled, stay in the spotlight, was often called long before the game started, in the hallway, in the classroom, or at the end of one round for the round the next recess

[A diagram entitled "Double Dutch Style" is included here.]

Immigrant Chinese and Haitian girls, representing a small minority of this officially racially desegregated school, also occasionally did individual, single jump rope. Two Chinese girls sometimes jumped in two parallel ropes and, in their own ropes, looped circles around each other, sort of a couple
dance while jumping. The Haitian girls sometimes jumped with a second girl in the same small rope, either face to face or back to front. Regardless of form or ethnicity, jump rope was almost always competitive, either by endurance, elaborateness of steps, or frequency of turns.

The European American girls would often be observers of the double dutch games, and on only rare occasions do individual ropes themselves. When they did so they would compete to see which of them could jump the
most times. They would not sing or chant, just count the number of continuous jumping steps. One girl was up to 230 and still jumping. Unlike the African American girls, who stayed in one place or rotated their positions slightly to be out of the bright sun, or the immigrant girls, who stayed in one place with their individual ropes, the European American girls did a running jump rope step and would, one at a time, run around the entire yard counting. Like their hand-clap games, which were also done to numbers or
counting, the European American girls had clearly distilled their games and no longer had an active jump-rope singing tradition at this school. The singing jump rope game, and for that matter the singing hand-clapping game, had become predominantly an African American tradition.

[page 82]

Many double dutch songs included the same sequence of steps or commands: foot, bounce, hop, turn, criss (crossing), clap, with "foot" or "footin" being the basic right, left, right, left running step over the quickly turning ropes. "Bounce" involved a lighter touch of the foot while doing the running step; "hop" a one-footed airborne step. "Turning" and "crissing" involved the most skill and only the most advanced jumpers were able to do those steps. Taisha, a particularly graceful fifth grader, was known to add
turns to all of her steps, in every sequence, just for the challenge of it.

THEMES OF THE JUMP-ROPE TEXTS
Much like the world of themes found in the children's riddling studied by John McDowell (1979), the recorded texts of the rope games were spheres of the African American girls' culture. There were "1,2,3 Halleluya" and "Hey, D. J., let's sing that song," and "Boom Boom Tangle"-a rhyme about rap artists. Plus there were "All in Together,""Hey Consolation, Where Have You Been,""Girlscout, Girlscout, Do Your Duty,""Juice Juice, Let's Knock Some Boots,""D-I-S-H Choice, Do Your Footsies,""Challenge, Challenge
1,2,3," and "Kitty Cat Come, Gonna Be on Time, Cause the School Bell Rings at A Quarter to Nine." But these themes, the ones of religion, region, pop music, of group entry and exit, schooling, and even of plain step display in menu form, were out-shouted by "Big Mac," a commercial for the
McDonald's Corporation.

As Cheyna, a fourth-grade African American girl had said, "Want to hear my favorite?" (Snap fingers on down beat. Accented syllables are capitalized)
Big MAC, Fillet FISH, Quarter POUNDer, French FRIES, Ice COKE,
Milk SHAKE, Foot
Fillet FISH, Quarter POUNDer, French FRIES, Ice COKE, Milk
SHAKE,
BOUNCE
Fillet FISH, Quarter POUNDer, French FRIES, Ice COKE, Milk
Shake,
HOP
Fillet FISH, Quarter POUNDer, French FRIES, Ice COKE, Milk
Shake,
TURN
Fillet FISH, Quarter POUNDer, French FRIES, Ice COKE, Milk
Shake,
CRISS

[page 83]

Big Mac appeared in twenty-three out of fifty-six live unrequested recordings of double dutch chants, closely followed by a follow-the-Ieader game, "Challenge Challenge, One, Two, Three." This contrasted with the rest of the active repetoire, of which two or three versions were recorded of each. First observed in mid-October, "Big Mac," and its occasional partner "Challenge Challenge," were the only chants jumped at recess until February. Most of the other rhymes did not appear at all until April. "Big Mac" represented forty percent of all the songs sung for double dutch, with "Challenge Challenge" representing thirty percent.The remainder totaled three to six percent, tallying another thirty percent. "Big Mac" was therefore not only the first jump-rope rhyme to appear in the school yard and not only the most
frequently jumped, but, as we will see, also the one used for learning how to play the game of double dutch itself.

Collectors of jump-rope games have typically emphasized the antiquity of the games and rhymes, in part because of the archive methodology available, as discussed, and in part because of the inherent romance in finding things old. Paradoxically, the most significant rhyme for the players of this game was the newest one, invented by the McDonald's Corporation as a menu chant. Again and again the local jump-rope experts-the third, fourth-, and fifth-grade girls-elaimed that the "Big Mac" rhyme was commercial and
approximately ten years old, but that the game was learned from their mothers and sisters. The dating of this particular chant was confirmed by the national public-relations office of the McDonald's Corporation, which indicated that the menu chants are periodically placed in local papers as part of a contest. It is significant that McDonald's has been a national sponsor of double dutch competitions since the late 1970s and that the only other long commercial text that emerged was in an interview setting: This was
"R-E-E-B-O-K do your footsies the Reebok way." Reebok is also a national sponsor of double dutch competitions.All of the new attempts at double dutch recorded in the school yard were done to the "Big Mac" rhyme. When Isha, a fifth-grade expert jumper, was asked what was the easiest rhyme, she answered, "Challenge Challenge," because "you just had to imitate what was done before you." When asked why the younger girls and the ones new to double dutch started with "Big Mac," she answered, "Because they don't have nothing else." Commercial culture is, for the kids of the school yard, the most basic of common culture. The commercial is easily learned: It's short, it's quick, and it's "fun in the mouth." Children who are bused in from all sections of the city know it, and children from all economic levels have access to it. It may have been introduced by the corporate-sponsored leagues and ad campaigns and may be a future classic example of the "invention of tradition" (Hobsbawm and Ranger 1983), but it would not have continued if it did not serve some function."....
-snip-
The words given in italics in brackets were added by me for informational purposes or to note the exclusion of a diagram that is part of that chapter.

The term "step dancing" and "stepping" in this chapter might be the same performance art that I refer to as "foot stomping cheers". I doubt that those terms refer to historically Black Greek letter fraternity and sorority steppin'.

The words given in capital letters (except for "foot") in the "Big Mac" example are movement instructions. "Criss" is probably the same movement what is commonly known known as "criss cross" ("crossing one foot over another.)

With regard to the rhyme "Big Mac": That rhyme is very widely performed as a hand clap rhyme in the United States and my sense is that very few children know that it was ever a jump rope rhyme. Instead of the title "Big Mac", I believe that the title "Welcome To McDonalds" is the one that is most often used for this hand clap. That title comes from the introductory words for that hand clap rhyme: "Welcome to McDonalds/may I take your order".

For some reason, in the hand clap version the line "and the dish ran away with the spoon" is frequently added to the end of that rhyme.
The words for some of the Double Dutch rhymes that are mentioned in this chapter excerpt are given in Part III of this pancocojams series.

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS

Video Example #1: VINTAGE 80'S MCDONALD'S DOUBLE DUTCH COMMERCIAL [1985/1986]



-snip-
This video featured the world champion Fantastic Four double-dutch team. Unfortunately, as a result of this commercial, that team was disqualified from competing any longer in Double Dutch sport competitions, a consequence I gather the team wasn't aware of before agreeing to be featured in this ad

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Video Example #2: Mcdonalds hand game



Barbym1991 Published on May 15, 2009

old hand game my mom and aunt taught us!! Enjoy!

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Video Example #3: McDonald's Hand Clap Game




Vinnie Kandis, Published on Nov 1, 2015
-snip-
In this example, "Big Mac" is combined with other stand alone rhymes.

****

This concludes Part II of this four part pancocojams series on recreational Double Dutch.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part III of a four part pancocojams series on recreational (street, old school) Double Dutch, with an emphasis on Double Dutch (jump rope) rhymes.

Part III showcases text (word only) examples of five recreational Double Dutch rhymes and provides comments about those examples, including suggesting probably Hip Hop sources for some of those rhymes.

The words to these rhymes are from Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling, by Anna R. Beresin (Univ. Press of Mississippi, May 27, 2011).

Comments about the source of certain of these jump rope rhymes and explanations about the meanings of some of the topical references in those rhymes are also included in this post.

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/speculation-about-when-why-recreational.html for Part I of this series. Part I presents my thoughts about the reasons for the demise of recreational Double Dutch with or without chanted rhymes. Part I also includes an excerpt from an online article that provides a general overview about recreational Double Dutch, with emphasis on the years that girls were involved in this activity.

In addition, Part I also showcases four YouTube videos of recreational or competitive sports Double Dutch. A video of Malcolm Mclaren's 1983 song "Double Dutch" is also featured in this post, particularly for its visual documentation of Double Dutch sports teams more than for its South African sourced music. Selected comments about Double Dutch from those videos' discussion threads are also included in this post.

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/excerpt-about-recreational-double-dutch.html for Part II of this series. Part II features an excerpt from the chapter "Double Dutch And Double Cameras: Studying The Transmission Of Culture In An Urban School" by Ann Richman Beresina. This chapter is part of the 1999 book Children's Folklore: A SourceBook edited by Brian Sutton-Smith, Jay Mechling, Thomas W. Johnson, and Felicia McMahon (Utah State University Press, originally published in 1995).

In addition, Part II showcases the 1985/1986 McDonald Double Dutch commercial (which is also featured in Part I) as well as two YouTube videos of "Big Mac" performed as a two person and as a four person hand clap game.

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/references-to-double-dutch-jump-rope-in.html for Part IV of this video. Part IV provides a partial time line of references to Double Dutch in American and British television shows, movies, commercials, and recorded songs.

This post also showcases one of this commercials: Coca Cola Double Dutch.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Anna R. Beresin for documenting and sharing these examples. Thanks to all those who contributed the Double Dutch rhymes and other examples of children's rhymes that are included in that book. Thanks also to all others who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
This is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on Double Dutch (jump rope) and jump roping rope in general, particular as those activities relate to African American females.

Also, click the tags below to find other posts in this series.

****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SOURCE MATERIAL FOR THE DOUBLE DUTCH RHYMES THAT ARE FEATURED IN THIS POST
The words to these rhymes are from Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling, by Anna R. Beresin (Univ. Press of Mississippi, May 27, 2011).

Here's an excerpt about this book from https://books.google.com/books?id=Wsm-IE3srh4C&dq=Boom+Boom+Tangle&source=gbs_navlinks_s
..."The author [Anna R. Beresin] videotaped and recorded children of the Mill School in Philadelphia from 1991 to 2004 and asked them to offer comments as they watched themselves at play. These sessions in Recess Battles raise questions about adult power and the changing frames of class, race, ethnicity, and gender. The grown-ups’ clear misunderstanding of the complexity of children’s play is contrasted with the richness of the children’s folk traditions."...
-snip-
Anne R. Beresin is also the author of the chapter on Double Dutch that is featured in Part II of this pancocojams series.

****
SELECTED EXAMPLES OF DOUBLE DUTCH RHYMES
The words to these examples are from https://books.google.com/books?id=Wsm-IE3srh4C&pg=PA91&lpg=PA91&dq=Boom+Boom+Tangle&source=bl&ots=mYDeDwycGK&"Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling"

These examples are given in alphabetical order and are given without the underlining that was given in the original text for words that are emphasized during the girls' jumping.

Comments about each rhyme are given under that rhyme.

I.
BIG MAC
Big Mac
Fillet Of Fish
Quarter Pounder
French fries
Ice* Coke
Sundae and apple pie
-snip-
*"Ice Coke" is often chanted as "Icy Coke" in hand clap rhymes.

As mentioned in Part II of this series, the rhyme "Big Mac" is very widely performed as a hand clap rhyme in the United States and my sense is that very few children know that it was ever a jump rope rhyme. Instead of the title "Big Mac", I believe that the title "Welcome To McDonalds" is the one that is most often used for this hand clap. That title comes from the introductory words for that hand clap rhyme: "Welcome to McDonalds/may I take your order".

One contributing factor to the popularity of the "Big Mac" jump rope rhyme was probably the fact that it was featured in a 1985 McDonald commercial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo5DbV0ZKAI.

For some reason, in the hand clap version the line "and the dish ran away with the spoon" is frequently added to the end of that rhyme.

****
II.
BOOM BOOM TANGLE
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Yo Kenya [jumper’s name] yo
Let me see you do the
MC Hammer she said
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang

Yo Kenya yo
Let me see you do the
Bobbie Brown she said
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang

Yo Kenya yo
Let me see you do the
Heavy D she said
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang

Yo Kenya yo
Let me see you do the
Roger Rabbit she said
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang

Yo Kenya yo
Let me see you do the
The Butterfly she said
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang

Yo Kenya yo
Let me see you do the
The Honky Tonk she said
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang


(1992, 1999)
"When an artist’s name was sung -M.C. Hammer, Bobbie Brown, Heavy D-the girls imitated the artist’s style, moves, gestures. The artists are mixed in with a reference to a movie character, Roger Rabbit, and the butterfly, a creature famous for changing his body"

[page 91, 92 in "Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling"]
-snip-
Here are some friendly corrections to Anna R. Beresin's explanations for the let me see you do the" portion of this jump rope rhyme:
"MC. Hammer" and "Heavy D" were rappers

"Bobby Brown" was an R&B singer

"Roger Rabbit" was an animated movie character but in African American girls' texts "Roger Rabbit" was the name of a Hip Hop/ R&B dance

"the Butterfly" was the name of a Reggae dance that was very popular with African Americans.
(There are lots of references to "doing the Butterfly" in contemporary (1990s) African American girls' recreational rhymes and cheers).

"the Honky Tonk" was probably the name of a R&B/Hip Hop dance that was popular at that time in the Philadelphia area (although I'm not familiar with that dance).

Also, I wonder if Ms. Beresin meant the following by her transcription:
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Yo Kenya [jumper’s name] yo
Let me see you do the
MC Hammer
she [meaning Kenya said:
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang

Yo [another girl's name] yo
Let me see you do the
Bobbie Brown
she [meaning the girl who is named above] said:
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
-snip-
And so on, with each "Yo" ___ "yo" being the name or nickname of another girl in the group.

"Yo" here means "Hey".

It's possible that my interpretation of this rhyme is colored by my interest in foot stomping cheers. However, this rhyme meets the characteristics of those cheers, including the beginning lines "Boom boom tangle".
-snip-
Here's a foot stomping cheer that I collected in the mid 1980s from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that is similar to "Boom Boom Tangle":

AH RAH RAH AH BOOM TANG
Group: Ah Rah Rah Ah Boom Tang
Ah Rah Rah Ah Boom Tang
Ah Rah Rah Ah Boom Tang, baby
Ah Rah Rah Ah Boom Tang
Ah Rah Rah Ah Boom Tang
Soloist #1:My name is Tazi
Group: Ah Boom Tang
Soloist # 1:They call me Taz
Group: Ah Boom Tang
Soloist #1: And when they see me
Group: Ah Boom Tang
Soloist #1: They say “Ah Rah Rah
You look good, baby.”
Soloist #2:My name is Jennifer
Group: Ah Boom Tang
Soloist # 2:They call me Jenay
Group: Ah Boom Tang
Soloist #2: And when they see me
Group: Ah Boom Tang
Soloist #2: They say “Ah Rah Rah
Twist it, baby.”

(Repeat entire cheer with new soloist until everyone has had a turn).
-T.M.P. (African American female, from her memories of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the 1980s)

****
-snip-
While "Ah Rah Rah Ah Boom Tang" doesn't refer to dances, there are some other foot stomping cheers that do. Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/09/foot-stomping-cheers-alphabetical-list.html to find Page 1 of a pancocojams series on examples of foot stomping cheers. The links to the other pages ion that series are found in that post.

****
III.
D.I.S.H. CHOICE
D.I.S.H. choice, do your footsies
D.I.S.H. choice, up the ladder
D.I.S.H. choice do your hopsies
D.I.S.H. choice do your turnsies
1, 2, and 3, and a i, 2, and 3
Hop, i, 2, and 3
Jump, 1, 2, and 3

{At choice* the jumper can do "what she wants")

(1992, 1999)
-snip-

[page 94 in "Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling"]

****
IV.
HEY DJ
Hey DJ let's sing that song
Keep a footin'
All night long
Hey DJ let's sing that song
Keep a hoppin'
All night long
Hey DJ let's sing that song
Keep a turnin'
All night long
Hey DJ let's sing that song
Keep a clappin'
All night long
(1992)

The body had to show "endurance" all night long and it had to show style and "get loose". Jumpers had to be disciplined "on time", and flexible ("Do it right").
-snip-
[page 94 in "Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling"]
-snip-
The Double Dutch rhyme "Hey DJ" undoubtedly has its source in the hit 1984 Hip Hop record with that same title.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hey_DJ
"Hey! DJ" is a song by The World's Famous Supreme Team. Writing is credited to Larry Price (Sedivine the Mastermind) & Ronald Larkins Jr. (Just Allah the Superstar) and it was produced by Stephen Hague. Released on 12" in 1984 on Island Records, there were three mixes included.[1] The song refers with small lyric parts to McLaren & Supreme Team's previous hit, "Buffalo Gals", which the group featured on. "Hey DJ" peaked at number fifteen on the US soul chart.[2]

Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5D1bgGetRY for a video of that song which includes the words "Keep em dancing all night."

By the way, the word "a" in this example and in most African American vernacular examples is pronounced "ah".

****
V.
JUICE JUICE KNOCK MY BOOTS
Comments about the Double Dutch Rhyme "Juice Juice Knock My Boots"
The African American girls' Double Dutch rhyme "Juice Juice Knock My Boots" has its source in a then popular Hip Hop record.

From https://raphiphop.tuneforums.com/thread_view.php?threadID=476
Posted: 07/06/06 02:29 PM
Author: nittigr
Location: USA-GA
Late 80's/poss Early 90's Hip-Hop/Rap Song....
"There was a song out that may have been called 'Knock some boots' or 'We came here to knock some boots'. Does anyone remember this song or know who sang it? Thanks!"

**
Posted: 12/12/06
Author: njoy2day
Location: Philadelphia

[Reply]
Late 80's/poss Early 90's Hip-Hop/Rap Song....
"The song you're looking for is entitled Knock Some Boots by Sam the Beast. "Feel that juice, time to get loose...we came here to knock some boots." He also made, Knock, Knock. "Knock, knock..who's there...knock,knock who's there...Sam I am." A guy named Scooter that works at a music store in Delaware can get it for you if you're interested. I was on the same quest myself!"

**
Posted: 04/02/08 08:28 PM
Author: nittigr
Location: USA-GA

[Reply]

Late 80's/poss Early 90's Hip-Hop/Rap Song....
"YES>>>YES>>> thats the song by Sam the Beast! I know this reply is late...but I just got another reply from this recently so I thought I'd better leave a response so everyone knows."

Thank you!
-snip-
Note there were other rap songs that were mentioned in that discussion that had the title “knocking books” included the phrase “Knock some boots”., including Candyman ‘s Knockin' Boots

****
This concludes Part III of this four part pancocojams series on recreational Double Dutch.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part IV of a four part pancocojams series on recreational (street, old school) Double Dutch, with an emphasis on Double Dutch (jump rope) rhymes.

Part IV provides a partial time line of references to Double Dutch in American and British commercials, recorded songs, television shows, and movies. This lists is presented with information and comments.

This post also showcases one of this commercials: Coca Cola Double Dutch. Please help me identify a date for this Coca Cola ad!

Please add to this time line by sharing examples of references to Double Dutch that aren't included in this list. Thanks.

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/speculation-about-when-why-recreational.html for Part I of this series. Part I presents my thoughts about the reasons for the demise of recreational Double Dutch with or without chanted rhymes. Part I also includes an excerpt from an online article that provides a general overview about recreational Double Dutch, with emphasis on the years that girls were involved in this activity.

In addition, Part I also showcases four YouTube videos of recreational or competitive sports Double Dutch. A video of Malcolm Mclaren's 1983 song "Double Dutch" is also featured in this post, particularly for its visual documentation of Double Dutch sports teams more than for its South African sourced music. Selected comments about Double Dutch from those videos' discussion threads are also included in this post.

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/excerpt-about-recreational-double-dutch.html for Part II of this series. Part II features an excerpt from the chapter "Double Dutch And Double Cameras: Studying The Transmission Of Culture In An Urban School" by Ann Richman Beresina. This chapter is part of the 1999 book Children's Folklore: A SourceBook edited by Brian Sutton-Smith, Jay Mechling, Thomas W. Johnson, and Felicia McMahon (Utah State University Press, originally published in 1995).

In addition, Part II showcases the 1985/1986 McDonald Double Dutch commercial (which is also featured in Part I) as well as two YouTube videos of "Big Mac" performed as a two person and as a four person hand clap game.

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/excerpt-about-recreational-double-dutch.html for Part II of this series. Part II features an excerpt from the chapter "Double Dutch And Double Cameras: Studying The Transmission Of Culture In An Urban School" by Ann Richman Beresina. This chapter is part of the 1999 book Children's Folklore: A SourceBook edited by Brian Sutton-Smith, Jay Mechling, Thomas W. Johnson, and Felicia McMahon (Utah State University Press, originally published in 1995).

In addition, Part II showcases the 1985/1986 McDonald Double Dutch commercial (which is also featured in Part I) as well as two YouTube videos of "Big Mac" performed as a two person and as a four person hand clap game.
Part III showcases text (word only) examples of five recreational Double Dutch rhymes and provides comments about those examples, including suggesting probably Hip Hop sources for some of those rhymes.

The words to these rhymes are from Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling, by Anna R. Beresin (Univ. Press of Mississippi, May 27, 2011).

Comments about the source of certain of these jump rope rhymes and explanations about the meanings of some of the topical references in those rhymes are also included in this post.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are mentioned in this post and thank to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
This is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on Double Dutch (jump rope) and jump roping rope in general, particular as those activities relate to African American females.

Also, click the tags below to find other posts in this series.

****
SHOWCASE VIDEO: Coca Cola Double Dutch 30 sec KOCL 8352 6:1:98 Edge Creative Red Car



TheRedCarChannel, Published on Oct 28, 2015

Coca Cola Double Dutch 30 sec KOCL 8352 6:1:98 Edge Creative Red Car
-snip-
When was this ad first aired? Please add that information in the comment section below so that I can include it in this Double Dutch timeline.

Also please help with the lyrics. Here's my transcription so far (Corrections to this transcription are welcome.)

The bottle is cool
The taste is real
When I drink it down
This is how I feel
The girls alright
This is what I say
C.O.C.A COLA"
-snip-
Later in the commercial, girls say "Coca Cola" faster and faster to match with the jumper's speed jumps.

****
PARTIAL TIME LINE OF REFERENCES TO DOUBLE DUTCH (Jump Rope) IN UNITED STATES & BRITISH COMMERCIALS, RECORDED SONGS, TELEVISION SHOWS, AND MOVIES

[Pancocojams Editor: This entry doesn't include the use of any of the featured songs in electronic games. If you know of any examples of this, please add them. Each British entry is noted as such. All other entries are from the United States.]


1979 - McDonald's (Jump Rope theme) commercial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up1kh0HF3Oo

jingle:
"McDonald’s knows your Double Dutch is really hard to beat
‘cause when your jumping there is something magic with your feet
You’re jumping up and up and up
and we’ll give you a hand
You’re the reason we do it
If anyone can do it McDonalds knows who can."

****
1981 - McDonald`s Chicken McNugget Double Dutch commercial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_va6kLEIdY

Jingle:
"Down at McDonalds where the arches go
They got Chicken McNuggests
And there hot to go"

****
1981 - Frankie Smith's Funk/old school Hip Hop record "Double Dutch Bus" was first released
Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Dutch_Bus for information about that song and click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK9hK82r-AM for a YouTube video of that song.

****
1981 - Pick Up Your Feet documentary on Double Dutch
http://mediaburn.org/video/pick-up-your-feet-the-double-dutch-show/
"A sweet, interesting, and enjoyable documentary about a double dutch championship for junior high age kids in New York. The tape featured mainly local kids from Manhattan and the boroughs, but the event drew an international crowd to the Lincoln Center on 6/13/81. We spend time with the teams as they practice and compete and hear about how they train and how they feel about their sport. The tape manages to simultaneously capture all of the tension of the competition and give a personal look at a number of the teams. Blumberg manages to catch the participants at their most raw and emotional moments, like when a 10 (?) year old girl is sobbing uncontrollably like she had just lost a family member. Blumberg asks her what place her team got. They were #1."

****
1983 - [British] Malcom MClarens 1983 single "Double Dutch
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Dutch_(song)
""Double Dutch" is a 1983 single by Malcolm McLaren. It is taken from his debut album Duck Rock....
"Double Dutch" is the follow-up to his successful debut single, "Buffalo Gals", and reached number 3 on the UK Singles Chart, making it his highest-charting single release... The song concerns the skipping game of the same name, with McLaren's narration mentioning several New York double Dutch troupes by name, notably the Ebonettes, whose name is also used as a chant in the chorus."...
-snip-
Here's an excerpt from https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/nn974m/double-dutchs-forgotten-hip-hop-origins-456"Double Dutch's Forgotten Hip-Hop Origins" by Lauren Schwartzberg, Mar 31 2015
...."Double dutch's rhyming chants fit with those of the MCs, and the sport demanded a physical dexterity not too far removed from breakdancing. Soon, Blue was showing double dutch to British impresario and musician Malcolm McLaren—he immediately fell in love and wrote a song about the Ebonettes, another New York double dutch team, for his 1983 Duck Rock album. It quickly became McLaren's most popular song, reaching third place on UK singles charts."...
-snip-
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ4jMSCBswY for a YouTube video of this song.

****
1985 - McDonald's "Big Mac" Double Dutch commercial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo5DbV0ZKAI

"Big Mac
Fillet of Fish
Quarter Pounder
French Fries
Icy Coke
Sundaes
And apple pies"
-snip-
This is now widely known as a hand clap rhyme "Welcome To McDonalds" . (Note that the hand clap rhyme has added words). Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/05/two-mcdonalds-handclap-rhymes-source.html for a pancocojams post on two McDonalds commercials that became hand clap rhymes . That post showcases "Welcome To McDonalds" and "McDonalds Is Your Kind Of Place".

****
1990 -Reebok Double Tongue Double Dutch commercial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aqqQ_NRYB0

**
Update: 7/30/2017

1997- Sister, Sister (television series), episode entitled "Double Dutch" [Season 4, Episode 19]
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0701710/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl
"Tia and Tamera enter a double-Dutch contest for a family street fair and Tia overworks Tamera, not letting her see her 'guy' or even telling Tamera the reason why she is so driven. It turns out that after meeting an old childhood bully, Tia became obsessed with finally beating her at something."...

Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdokT3mzKuI for a clip of that episode that shows "double dutching".

**
2002 - Missy Elliot' (featuring Ludacris)'s single "Gossip Folks" sampled Frankie Smith’s 1981 record “Double Dutch Bus”

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYKI8tAELXY [Warning: Some of the lyrics in this song are considered to be "dirty".]

****
2003 Hitman Sammy – "Step Daddy" (sampled Frankie Smith’s "Double Dutch Bus")

****
2005 - Xbox 360 TV Commercial - "Jump Rope"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQdjAukXJgM

****
2007 - Jump In!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jump_In!
"Jump In! is a 2007 Disney Channel Original Movie, which premiered on January 12, 2007. It was released on Disney Channel UK on April 27, 2007. The film, starring Corbin Bleu and Keke Palmer, revolves around a young boxer, Izzy Daniels (Corbin Bleu), who trains to follow in his father's footsteps by winning the Golden Glove. When his friend, Mary (Keke Palmer), who harbors a secret crush on him, asks him to substitute for a team member in a Double Dutch tournament, then, Izzy discovers his new love for jumping rope and in the meantime, he soon discovers true love in Mary."...

****
2008- Raven-Symone recorded a cover of Frankie Smith's "Double Dutch Bus"

****
2012 - Phineas and Ferb [Disney animated series, "Double Dutch" episode]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI_RKZgUUbY

-snip-
That episode includes this song:

"Volgen nu!
One dutch, two dutch
Queens of the double dutch
We skip better than you by that much
Watch our feet, our moves are sweet
Our double dutchin' won't be beat
Touwtje springen, wat leuk.
-snip-
"Volgen nu = Dutch for "now follow"
Touwtje springen = Dutch for "jumping rope"
wat leuk = Dutch for "what fun") is often erroneously given as "fast feud".

****
2012 [British] "Maltesers Let Your Lighter Side Out TV Ad Airport
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exPHfGsSRao
-snip-
"Maltese" is the brand name for United Kingdom chocolate candy drops. This commercial features
Malcolm NcClaren's "Double Dutch" song.

****
2013 - Wolf Of Wall Street movie includes Malcolm McClaren's Double Dutch song.

****
2014 - BET Awards/Pharrell & Missy Elliot performance includes Double Dutch jumping ("double dutching")
http://www.bet.com/video/betawards/2014/performances/pharrell-williams-and-missy-elliott.html
"Pharrell Takes Us to #BaeUniversity With Missy Elliott.

Missy joins Skateboard P for a special mash-up performance of "Come Get It Bae" and her classic "Pass That Dutch."
-snip-
[No other description is given on that page besides that quote.] The inclusion of Double Dutch in that BET televised show is mentioned in the article "Double Dutch's Forgotten Hip-Hop Origins" by Lauren Schwartzberg, Mar 31 2015 whose link is given above.

****
Added July 30, 2017
2014- The Real syndicated television talk show-[Double Dutch segment] Sep 29, 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I0c4OfX6JU
"Tamera Shows Off Her Double Dutch Skills"
-snip-
Tamera Mowry-Housley one of The Real's hosts, was the star of Sister, Sister along with her twin sister Tia. A popular episode of that series was when the sisters jumped in a Double Dutch competition.(1997).

****
2015 - "Double dutching" is included in the Top Five movie about New York
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Five
This is mentioned is in the article "Double Dutch's Forgotten Hip-Hop Origins" by Lauren Schwartzberg, Mar 31 2015 whose link is given above.

****
2015 - Jump! television series on Lifetime channel
http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/network-press-releases/new-series-jump-to-premiere-friday-april-10-on-lifetime/377692/ New Series 'Jump!' to Premiere Friday, April 10 on Lifetime, Steve Baron, March 20, 2015
"via press release:
April - Lifetime’s all-new docu-series Jump!, chronicles the journey of one of the hottest jump rope teams in the country, Floyd-Little Double Dutch (FLDD), as they compete to defend their championship titles. Known as the face of Double Dutch, the team performed at the White House Easter celebration and opened up the 2014 BET Awards with Pharrell and Missy Elliot. Premiering Friday, April 10, at 10pm ET/PT, Jump! provides an inside look at the international competitive event filled with tricks, turns, tears and triumphs, and examines what it really takes to make it as the fiercest team in the country."
-snip-
This one season series showcased Newark, New Jersey's Floyd Little (Double Dutch) team. Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVHEcfrCkuI"Jump!: Meet the Floyd Little Double Dutch Team | Lifetime"

****
Please add to this timeline. Thanks!

****
This concludes Part IV of this four part pancocojams series on Double Dutch.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents an excerpt of a 2012 University Of Botswana research paper about Borankana (Phathisi) music performance.

This post also showcases four YouTube videos of Borankana (Phathisi) music and dancing.

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

Pancocojams provides excerpts of selected online articles and papers to increase awareness of that material and their subject matter. Pancocojams visitors are encouraged to read the entire paper.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Otukile Sindiso Phibioni for this research and writing. Thanks also to all others who are quoted in this post and thanks to the performers who are featured in these videos. In addition. thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

****
FEATURED EXCERPT: BORANKANA (PHATHISI) MUSIC PERFORMANCE, LEARNING AND TRANSMISSION AMONG THE BAKWENA OF BOTSWANA

Otukile Sindiso Phibioni (2012), International Journal of Scientific Research in Education, 5(1),
12-17. University of Botswana; Retrieved [August 2, 2017] from http://www.ijsre.com/assets/vol.,-5_1_-phibion.pdf

"[page] 12
Abstract
This paper is aimed at discussing the information contained in Borankana (Phathisi), traditional music practiced by the Bakwena in the Kweneng District of Botswana. The paper was conceived through the collaborations between ethnomusicology classes and their subjects/respondents in an effort to better understand Borankana traditional music performance, and its daily uses today. This paper addresses not only the traditional music, but also the traditional learning and transmission of the music. Data was gathered by author and students through kgotla (tribal administration) visits, oral interviews with the informants, as well as internet search and other secondary printed information repositories such as books and journals. Oral interviews were recorded using an audiotape for future referencing and photographs were taken of the practical music performances.

It was evident in the interviews that for the Bakwena of Botswana, Borankana music was traditionally used for entertainment by both young and old people. However, it was also evident that dancing activities were largely dominated by men and boys while women sang, clapped hands and ululated. Historically, Borankana was performed during tribal activities only. Now it mainly used by men in day-to-day activities for entertainment with women accompanying through singing, hand clapping and ululating. Changes in costumes and the materials used to make instruments over time is also discussed.

[...]

INTRODUCTION
This research is focused on the Borankana traditional music of the Bakwena Molepolole village, traditionally called Mosusupe, located in the Kweneng District of Botswana. As understood by most people in Botswana, Nhlekisana and Kezilahabi (1998, p.172) observed that, Borankana is a generic term referring to all types of traditional dances and songs found in Botswana. These traditional dances differ from one ethnic group to the next and are deeply connected to different kinds of songs for different occasions. Borankana are artistic creations deeply rooted in Setswana ethnicity, traditions, rituals, and all other activities of a cultural nature. Other ethnic groups in the country use different names to refer to their dances, for example Setapa (Ngwaketse), Phathisi (Kweneng), Mmamarutla (South East/Balete), Modokoda (Bayeyi), Ndazula (North East), and Dikhwaere (Kgatleng). This variety of artistic musical expressions has was highlighted by Tumedi et al (2010, p. xvii), who noted that there are many types of songs in Africa and their classification varies from one culture to another. It is now common knowledge that the continent of Africa is not as culturally homogeneous as was

[page] 13
once (Nketia 1974, p.3). Botswana is no exception to this heterogeneity. The goal of this paper is to assess data pertaining to Bakwena traditional music, which is just one type of many found within Botswana.
Six consecutive annual visits were made to Molepolole village from 2005 to 2010. During the first five of these visits, Bakwena elders provided a non–practical oral interpretation of Borankana music. The only practical performance observed at the Molepolole kgotla was in 2010. Each year that the researcher visited Molepolole village more information was discovered, through the addition of new informants, and added to pervious research. Based on the interviews conducted in Kweneng District, this paper will survey Borankana as a traditional musical genre practiced by the Bakwena tribe in Botswana. This music is commonly referred to as Phathisi. The name Phathisi has been acquired from the costume worn during the performance of the music. The Bakwena informants revealed to the researcher that Borankana music originated in Kweneng District and is one of their tribal identity symbols. The informants portrayed Borankana in two ways: Setapa sa Borankana ja Basimane ba tshameka Diphathisi literally meaning Setapa for boys performing Diphathisi, and Setapa sa bagolo ba nyadisa meaning Setapa for elders conducting weddings. It should also be noted that Batswana generally refer to wedding songs as Setapa songs. Most Setapa wedding songs depict Mafikeng town and marriage registration. In the past, weddings were registered in present day Mafikeng (currently in South Africa) which is the former administrative town of the Bechuanaland Protectorate now called Botswana.

Music making is generally organized as a social event. Public performances, therefore, take place on social occasions – that is, occasions when members of a group or a community come together for the enjoyment of leisure, for recreational activities, or for the performance of a rite, ceremony, festival, or any kind of collective activity (Nketia, 1974, p. 21). In this way, Borankana music is performed like many other music types found in traditional African societies. In addition, Bakwena elders viewed Borankana as entertainment that keeps children away from wrong doing or crime.

Borankana music is performed by men and young boys who are learning to be future performers. Borankana is performed by all but some people feel they are not capable or good enough and so become reluctant to perform. The role of music in contributing to children’s understanding of their culture is well recognized today, although not everybody seesit as the primary purpose of Borankana (Pugh & Pugh, 1998, p. 2). The research of Stokes (1994) supports this notion in its contention that the child begins to learn the musical style of his/her culture as he/she acquires the language and the emotional patterns of his/her people. Borankana is thus an important link between an individual and their culture, and later in life brings to the adult unconscious the emotional texture of the world which formed their personality. Campbell(2004, p. 7) contends that students who grow up with live music within their environment are acculturated into it and it is thus “natural” to be musically engaged. Plummeridge likewise argues that in the works of the great masters, folk songs or hymns are part of the symbolic order that constitutes society. Through them we gain a sense of cultural continuum that gives sense to our society.

[...]

THE ORIGINS AND MEANING OF PHATHISI- SINGULAR – DIPHATHISI - PLURAL
Performances of Borankana among the Bakwena are estimated to have started between 1914 and 1916. Borankana
represents a type of tradition that is handed down from generation to generation. Historically, the name Phathisi came from men who were tying the lowest part of the trouser with a peg when cycling. In the past men who worked in the South African mines traveled by bicycle (and were wealthy enough to afford bicycles) and had to clip the bottom of the trouser to keep it from becoming trapped in the bicycle chain thereby tearing the trouser or falling the rider. The same process of pegging the trousers was traditionally used when men were performing Borankana. Later on male Borankana performers transitioned from pegging trousers to wearing shorts made from phuduhudu (steenbok) skin known as motseto/mongato. These shorts were decorated on the front and back with thin pieces of leather (also from phuduhudu skin) known as otlampana. Borankana performers also used to put on Diphathisi made from old goat/sheep skin. These skins were cushioned by old one shilling blankets pieces. These blankets formed a protective layer called semphusu. Phathisi is also the term used for the clip that keeps washed clothes on a washing/drying line.

Borankana costume
In contrast to the aforementioned costumes, Borankana male performers today often wear purposely torn and shortened dark trousers (either black or grey) called Matsekana, Matlheketlheke, matheketheke, matseketseke, or mathekethe. These names are used interchangeably in different parts of Kweneng District. Girls below the age of 14 dress their bottom with makgabe (ravels) and leave their top undressed. Women aged 15 and above dress in skirts made from phuduhudu skins called diphaeyana. These girls and women are often used as ornamental features in Borankana performances. They are also an active part of the celebration, singing and clapping along with the dancers. Elders wear maratshane (a two piece skirt). Borankana performers today may also wear Diphathisi made of a taut calf’s skin with a protective layer dikgare/matobelo/semphusu from pieces of old blankets around their shins. Often young men performing Borankana are forced to covertly kill calves in order to obtain the materials for their Phathisi. When asked why cow skin could not be used, respondents noted that it is found to be too hard and could injure the performers. Although there is no documented evidence of it, it is interesting to consider the possibilities of Bakwena men who are sent to work in mines using Gumboots to improvise a new version of Phathisi music.

[...]

[page] 15
DESCRIPTION OF THE DANCE
As Nhlekisana and Kezilahabi (1998, p. 173) observed, Borankana dances are usually performed in the following costume: almost all dancers tie matlhowa (stringed leg - rattles) around the ankles of both legs. These give rhythm and rattle in sync with the clapping of hands. While one leg follows the basic rhythm, the other leg is free to add variation.

Traditionally, the dancers danced barefooted but today some of them put on very thin hunting sandals called dikhube for ladies and mpheetshane for men, to keep their feet safe from pieces of broken bottle, glass, stones and thorns.

The male dancers wear Diphathisi (a goat skin filled with small pieces from an old blanket) around their shins. This part of the leg is beaten with the palms of the hands to produce bomb-like sounds. Girls wear diphaeyana (leather skirts) and body tops to cover their breasts. This is quite modern a modern addition. Traditionally, they danced with the upper part of the body bare. They also wear dibaga (beads) made from ostrich egg shells around the neck or as head bands. The best dancer normally wears leratsha (long beads). Sometimes girls wear cross beads just to beautify themselves. Boys wear metseto (loincloths) and hand bands which are also made from ostrich egg shells. The costumes of both male and female dancers allow for the free movement of legs, hands and shoulders.

A hand bag made from animal skin is another important prop worn by both sexes. It is worn across the shoulders and dangles below the armpit. Male dancers dance in quick rhythmic steps with one hand holding a stick stuck in the sand, so as to emulate elder Basarwa dancers who use it to maintain balance. The seditse (fly-whisk) is the most spectacular prop used to beautify the movements along with the wooden Borankana phala (whistle). The whistle is the principle earophonic instrument that sets the rhythmic pattern of the feet’s movements at an opportune time. This whistle was traditionally made from trees such as moroeye, motubane (produces white flowers during winter) and mhutikwane. In some instances, the phala was made from letlhaka (river-reed) or lerapo la motwana wa pudi (goat’s shin bone). The latter phala was called a Limpopo. Nowadays whistles used by Borankana performers are metallic double and single barreled ones. The best dancers hold fly whisks along with the whistle.

As Nhlekisana and Kezilahabi (1998, p. 174) observed, dancers are usually positioned in a two line semicircle with women in front. The back line is usually reserved for male dancers but it can also be for a mixture of the two sexes.

Performance is initiated by one girl setting the rhythm of the dance with a hand clapping pattern. This pattern is then picked up by the rest of the group. The performers clap hands leaning slightly while at the same time moving their knees in and out rhythmically. This is followed by the song, which again is started by one performer and picked up by the rest. By this time the audience’s expectations and emotions are tuned in and set, and the audience is ready to enjoy and share with the dancers their ontological experience of being.

The entrance of the dancers is heralded by an instrumental whistle, after which the rhythmic leg rattle on
pounding legs is heard. Their entrance into the arena is usually very spectacular. The audience notices at once the vigour, strength, confidence and pride of the dancers. Their entrance may call for ululation and mouth whistling from the audience. Normally the dancers enter the arena from the front of the semicircle but sometimes a boy may pick a girl who is at the centre of the back line. The selected girl then enters the arena from where she is. The exit is even more spectacular than the entrance. It often leaves the audience clapping their hands with a sigh after being temporarily suspended in a world of unreachable by knowledge. One or two of the dancers may make phatic sounds to show appreciation and enjoyment of the music. About three sets of dancers dance in every song, each group showing its elegance. The sequence differs with the group, but the most common type of sequence is boys, then girls and then boys again. In some songs they dance in pairs.

In Borankana dancing, almost every part of the body is used. The hands are used for clapping; the feet for
stamping/dancing; and the head and shoulders are moved in sync with the rhythm of the song. A great deal of facial expression is also used together with other gestures, all of which add to the beauty of the song and dance. In Borankana, clapping is done with fingers closed to each other and hands in a position like that of hands in prayer. Nhlekisana and Kezilahabi (1998, p. 175) and Wood (1976) observe that the clapping of hands is in sync with the pounding of the feet, “creating an exciting and titillating rhythmic pattern”. During the singing and dancing an ululator sporadically comes to the forefront rubbing her breasts to ululate thus giving the dancers courage to dance more vigorously. The dancers,

[page] 16
especially the boys, blow whistles or mouth whistles and play with the fly whisk while dancing. All of the singers move their feet and bodies to the rhythm of the music. Each of the songs transpires in a call and response pattern.

[...]

Below are a few examples of Borankana songs from the interviews. The songs were metaphorical and free from
vulgar language. Some songs were also used to communicate messages to the society as well as to praise and advise dikgosi (chiefs).

Praise Borankana song for the chief
Setswana
Are yeng Mokwena
Re ye go bona kgosi Kgari wa Bakwena
O tshwana le naledi ya masa

English Translation
Let us go to Mokwena
To see Chief Kgari of the Bakwena
He is like a morning star.
Praise Borankana song for the tribe

Setswana
Are tsamayeng reye kwaga Mokwena, re ye go bona Bakwena baga Kobokwe.

English Translation
Let us go to Mokwena to see Bakwena of Kobokwe.
Wedding song

Setswana
Fa ke wela wela le dithotanyana lwapa la ga mme le tla sala le mang.

English Translation
When I move through the hilly path who will remain with my mother’s home.

CONCLUSION
Borankana is the traditional music practiced by the Bakwena of Botswana. This music is popularly known as Phathisi because of its costume. Batswana use the word Borankana as a generic term encompassing different types of traditional

[page] 17
music. However, in this article, as Bakwena elders articulated, Borankana means a musical genre practiced specifically by the Bakwena. Borankana is performed by men and women. Boys and girls are also allowed to learn to be future performers. Borankana music is associated with happiness and is an overnight performance. This music is usually performed when there is good harvest in the fields. In addition, Borankana music is performed during kgotla (tribal court) meetings and independence celebrations. Borankana music has survived through the years because of its support from the lineage of the Bakwena Paramount Chiefs. Like most African music types, Borankana is not notated. It has survived
through oral transmission from one generation to the next. Borankana stresses coordination, dance movements, rhythm, pause, and vital force. The movement of legs sideways and forward is properly balanced by rhythmic beats and hand clapping patterns and leg rattles. It is pause that brings in the element of the unexpected surprise and suspense, but it is its vital force that is most admired by the audience,
including the muscles of the dancers, the thickness of the chest and thighs, the height of the dancer, and the size of the body. All of this, coupled with individual skill and style, the handling of the fly whisk and the movement of the hands, make the dance a harmonized and polished organic experience for both the dancers and audience. Borankana has a good amount of rhythmic repetition of isorhythmic structure but it is not lacking in variation. According to Dundes (1965), “the use of variation is perhaps the greatest single diversifying factor to balance the many unifying elements in folk and primitive music”. Nowadays Borankana is performed by a few elders, a number of schools in Kweneng District and contemporary bands such as the Machesa who have modernized it.

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Example #1: Tshipidi_botswana Botswana culture



Emmanuel John Published on Oct 25, 2009

Botswana is made up of numerous ethnic groups, though the Batswana are the most numerous. Music is an omnipresent part of Botswana culture, and include popular and folk forms. Church choirs are common across the country. Music education is an integral part of the educational system. Children of all ages are taught traditional songs and dances.
-snip-
Here are two comments from this video's discussion thread:
Phronesis7, 2011
"Oh my God, you have no idea how you've made my night!!! I've been looking high and low for this song for the past 2 yrs on youtube, I've even asked people but no-one knew the name of the group. I used to watch it on Btv but now that I live in North America with no access to DSTV, I miss these old favourites so much.Thank you thank you thank you!!"

**
Sethamiso Moritshane, 2014
"Phathisi dance from kweneng district but it can be dance by all tribes in Botswana , thats how unique we are. Proudly Botswana."

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Example #2: dikgafela, phathisi.AVI



Ontee100 Published on Jun 28, 2011

botswana traditional music. the dance originates at kweneng district

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MogwanaDVD2005 - Phathisi Dance Style



Cheewai Lai Published on May 4, 2012

Phathisi is a traditional dance style of the Tswana (related to Sotho) people living in southern Africa. This clip was taken from the 2005 DVD dance collection produced by a professional dance company, Mogwana, which is based in Gaborone, Botswana....

Mogwana Dance Company
Producer: Basuhi GAOLAPE
-snip-
Here's a quote from the subtitles in this video that is found at .021-.022:
"Phathisi to the skin and inside -pieces of rags tied unto the legs to produce the sounds similar to that of a drum when hit with the palms." [.021-022

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Example #4: African dance "phathisi"



Anni Suvitie Published on Sep 7, 2014

Dancing in "Dithubaruba" cultural event in Gaborone Botswana.

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Thanks for visiiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents information about Letlhafula, a traditional annual Batswana festival. Five YouTube videos of this festival are also included in this post. Those videos showcase traditional dancing and singing performances and audience participation dancing during various Letlhafula festivals. In addition this post also showcases a video of an original Batswana song and a video of a Batswana Hip Hop song about this festival.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the performers who are featured in these videos. In addition. thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
-snip-
This post is part of pancocojams' ongoing series on African Harvest Festivals. Click that tag below to find other posts in this series.

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INFORMATION ABOUT LETLHAFULA
From https://tjdema.blogspot.com/2013/06/letlhafula-movable-feast-from-gaborone.html
TJ DEMA ...this too, is Africa(n). Friday, June 7, 2013
"LETLHAFULA: A movable feast from Gaborone to Germany

Further, German settlers to the Eastern Cape in 1858 often elected to wear the blue print that was widely available as a trade cloth and echoed the Blaudruk that they were familiar with in Germany," History of Shweshwe, Da Gama textiles.

And this ladies and gentlemen is one plausible explanation of why the Botswana national dress for women is made out of a fabric often colloquially referred to as German print. I’m writing about this because I’m in Berlin and it took twenty-four hours from my door in Gaborone to the hotel door in Potsdamer. So of course my first thought was how and why in the world we chose this particular fabric to don for our cultural ceremonies all the way in Southern Africa. Of course I know from my primary school social studies class that the Germans have a history with Namibia, which borders Botswana to the west, but I wondered what the connection might be between my temporary digs and back home.

Just last weekend I attended a food and culture festival in Botswana, known as Letlhafula. Letlhafula is a Setswana word meaning ‘harvest’ and can be taken to mean a/the time of harvest

[...]

The festival is held every May probably because our winter begins around then and ends in July - give or take a couple of weeks on either end. This is arguably the best time to reap what we have sown before winter well and truly kicks in. I am what could be called an unreliable narrator because I’ve spent my entire life in the city and the seasons pass differently in urban spaces, more as a reference to fashion than food. The only quality time in a village setting that I got for eighteen years was 3 weeks every Christmas holiday, not enough time to properly pick up what a number of my village-raised peers know backwards. What I do know is this, that the way we traditionally marked the harvest time was by feasting on all of nature’s bounty (sounds like an ad for frozen veggies) and so this festival is a kind of urbanized celebration of that agrarian practice.

[...]

Setswana traditional cuisine is healthy, I suppose our idea of dessert would be fruit. The food is filling, often protein heavy but prepared in a way that hasn’t for whatever reason given the entire population gout given how much of it we eat. As one of our top 3 Miss Botswana beauty contestants recently said, - Botswana has more cows than people. In fact over 50% of the country's households own cattle.

Back at the festival, there is a sizable stage where a number of artists including traditional instrumentalists, dancers, poets reciting in Setswana and comedians regale the masses with words and sound and such stuff. All of this served in the great outdoors, well in a courtyard with tables over-layed with the leteise which my elderly aunts still call *Jeremane (a kind of lehnwort, although probably more of an adaptation rather than a direct loan of the word Germany). It is basically indigo fabric but these days it is available in a myriad of colors not just the original blue that our mothers always wear to weddings and cultural ceremonies such as the sending off of a bride to her in-laws the day after she is wed.

*Je – as in jerry
re – as in renegade
mane – as in, well as in mah- nay"

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Example #1: Orange Letlhafula.mp4



Gazette Lapologa, Published on May 30, 2011

Letlhafula is an annual Food & Dance Festival hosted by Botswanacraft on the last Saturday in May. Based on Traditions of Botswana the festival offers a wide variety of local foods cooked in large traditional pots, entertainment is provided with traditional dancing and music.
snip-
The "Orange" in this title and in several other banners at Letlhafula festivals is the name of "Orange Botswana", an international telecommunications company that is the corporate sponsor for these festivals.
From https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=27423545
"Orange Botswana (PTY) Ltd. provides mobile communications services in Europe. It offers converged voice, roaming, coverage, mobile downloads, mobile plan, broadband, fixed line, Internet, data, and mobile services. The company sells its products and services through retailers and distributors in France, Romania, Switzerland, Slovakia, Spain, the Caribbean, and Africa. Orange Botswana (PTY) Ltd. was formerly known as Vista Cellular (PTY) Ltd. and changed its name in March 2003. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in Gaberones, Botswana. Orange Botswana (PTY) Ltd. operates as a subsidiary of Orange."
-snip-
Hat tip to the editor of https://tjdema.blogspot.com/2013/06/letlhafula-movable-feast-from-gaborone.html for this information that was included below one of the photos that was featured in that article.

I mistakenly thought that "Orange Letlhafula" was the name of the festival because I wasn't familiar with the corporate name "Orange", and because I saw all of those video titles and stage banners with those words.

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Example #2: Orange Letlhafula.mp4



Gazette Lapologa Published on May 30, 2011

Letlhafula is an annual Food & Dance Festival hosted by Botswanacraft on the last Saturday in May. Based on Traditions of Botswana the festival offers a wide variety of local foods cooked in large traditional pots, entertainment is provided with traditional dancing and music.
-snip-
Here's the only comment to date that is posted in this video's discussion thread:
avidave, 2011
"Eish , if u could only post longer videos , Ke dule pelo gore ke utlwe ke gopola Botswana,havent seen the wonderful performance live in a very long time
-snip-
Google translate gave this Sesotho to English translation for the words "Ke dule pelo gore ke utlwe ke gopola" = "I'm sorry that I can remember it".

Perhaps a better English translation would have been something like "Remembering this makes me sad.”
-snip-
From https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=eish
"eish
Used in South African English and Afrikaans to express exasperation or disbelief. The word was first transliterated from the Xhosa language to Afrikaans, and then into South African English.

"So, there's been ANOTHER power outage, hey, bru? Eish."
-snip-
I wonder if the word "eish" had its source in the four letter English curse word "sh&t".

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Example #3: Botswana Music Guitar - Obed - "Letlhafula".



Bokete7 Published on Nov 17, 2012

Born 1952, Obed Batlang from Tlokweng just outside Gaborone playing his song.

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Example #4: Krash Letlhafula



krash Wa'keli Published on Jul 5, 2012

New Music Video.'Letlhafula'.you always been waiting for it, after i performed this song at BTV,now you can enjoy and download it.
-snip-
This is an example of Hip-Hop music in Botswana. Notice the gestures that were adopted from African American originated & performed Hip Hop music.

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Example #5: ORANGE LETLHAFULA 2017




TheVoiceBW, Published on Jun 1, 2017

The 2017 edition of the Orange Lethafula.

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post provides information about the Botswana music and dance group "Dikakapa". This post also includes five videos of that group and selected comments from all but one of these videos discussion thread. Most of the selected comments provide information about what the individual songs mean.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the performers who are featured in these videos. In addition, thanks to 4thejuice, the publisher of these videos on YouTube.

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INFORMATION ABOUT DIKAKAPA
From https://www.musicinafrica.net/directory/dikakapa
"Dikakapa is a traditional music group from Gaborone, Botswana made up of nine members who are mainly members of the Botswana Defence Force, except for its two female members. Members include Dragon, Comeback, Jumbo, Ngo, Suzzi, Stsuatsue, Skuta, Esa, Fix-Stena, Tshumu, Tshutshu, Katli. The group came to the music scene in 2006 and has since made an impact in the country. They draw their musical inspiration from artists such as Seragantswana, Scar,Vee, Gong Master and Extra Musica.

As of July 2016 they were not signed to any record label. Their debut album ‘Selempu-re ya kae Batswana’ earned them a mark. Some of the songs are their own compositions but they also modify and record some common songs to suit their style."
-snip-
I didn't include any of these comments below, but it should be noted that a number of comments to some of the discussion threads of videos that are showcased below (but particularly Dikakapa-Pula) expressed their regret that "Gong Master" had left Dikakapa. I'm not sure when that happened.

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Example #1: Dikakapa-O tswa kae



4thejuice Published on Apr 26, 2008

Gake rate metsamao ya gago...
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread (These comments are numbered for referencing purposes only.)

1. SBUDEX, 2011
"What they sayin...? Bt she's kinda Hot. :P"

**
2. Loasa, 2011
"@SBUDEX The whole song is one of those dreaded 'traditional interventions' that has come about as a result of the girl spending too much time away from home. As its tradition, the other guys are probably her uncles who've been called to help put her in a righteous path . The father is basically saying 'I don't like your behavior.if you're truly my child, you'll listen and obey me. I want you to grow up into a proper woman,someone worth marrying.You're breaking my heart my child.'"

**
3. kenn Gondwe, 2015
"Hey Guys, Am a Malawian-Zambian born and found this song the best. I just love it even when i can understand the langauge. Help me with the basic meaning of the song and how i can get their music on CD. Please.

**
Reply
4. Morebodi Modise, 2015
"+kenn Gondwe The group is called Dikakapa and they are from Botswana singing in Setswana. The song is about a rebellious young girl whom her grand-parents are rebuking her for misbehaving, particularly of sleeping out late, not respecting her virtue as a potential wife."

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5. adnissak ordep, 2016
"let's keep our music, dance and African tradition now and for the future generations."

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Badisa Bonamelo, 2016
"Edmore is a story of a girl who does not behave well and always uncontrollable and does not listen to her parents she says i am coming from wherever i want at anytime"

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Example #2: Dikakapa-Pula



4thejuice Published on Apr 27, 2008

pula naa naa!retlaa dika re kotshe!
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread (These comments are numbered for referencing purposes only.)

1. Kat LaFrance, 2010
"Beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing with the world!"

**
2. janny dada, 2012
"love love this video.thnx 4 the upload.made me all teary.love Africa...my mother land.my African people love u all.from East to west to North to south, Central etc

**
[The following comment is written in response to several comments that “pula” means something different in Romanian]

3. TheTassmanian, 2013
"hahaha, i get what you mean i checked from google translate. Pula is simply rain in Setswana, pula na na means it should rain.. they are basically saying it should rain so they may eat and have full tummies.

**
[This is written in response to questions about what the song means in English]

4. Costain Oaitse Kebatlege, 2014
"my English is not that good but I'll try; they are saying, rain come down so that we can have plenty of food to eat and have our stomachs full. the man is saying, we'll eat porridge. and then they keep on repeating..."

**
5. Christine Amann, 2015
"This sounds like it is music from botswana. The comments talk about ssestwana. What is the difference?"

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Reply
6. Amogelang Moeng, 2015
"+Christine Amann SeTswana is a language spoken in Botswana ma'am"

**
7. Maipelo Molathiwa, 2016
"pula means rain,the song is all about being happy tat year because it is raining, and we will have better harvest"

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Example #3: Dikakapa-Mmalobeto



4thejuice Published on May 15, 2008

basha reja maswe!reja ntshothwane mogodu wa peba!
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread (These comments are numbered for referencing purposes only.)

1. justice bapadile, 2012
"he is saying he dates older women becoz his agemates go out with older men, who have cars and money"

**
Reply
2. Obakeng Modise
"banna ba ba tona. elder man took my girlfriend so im consoling myself by dating older woman"

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Example #4: Dikakapa-Tsala



4thejuice Published on May 15, 2008

ao tsala yame!
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread (These comments are numbered for referencing purposes only.)
1. Gofha Ronald Molale, 2011
"this song talks about how some FRIENDS-'TSALA' are good for nothing..and the back up singers confirms this by saying..."Oh wel my friend,yes,you my friend!""

**
2. Agustin Pius, 2013
"Real African dance in an African setting even though I don't understand a word.

**
3. Pious Chavula, 2013
"Tell me what does this song say. I like ghe dancing."

**
Reply
4. Tlhabo I AM, 2013
"He is singing about his friend who betrayed him and then laughed at him when he was in trouble. He basically tells this "friend" of his to stop laughing because what comes around goes around. The language is seTswana from Botswana!!!!"

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Example #5: Dikapakapa selempu



petrose taole Published on Jun 19, 2017

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series on commercialized children's jump rope and hand clap rhymes.

Part I features an excerpt from Chapter 4: "Double Dutch And Double Cameras: Studying The Transmission of Culture In An Urban Shool Yard" by Ann Richman Beresin in the 1999 book Children's Folklore: A Sourcebook edited by Brian Sutton-Smith, Jay Mechling, Thomas W. Johnson, Felicia McMahon (Utah State University Press) and an excerpt of Chapter 4 "Nike, Nike, Who Can Do The Nike: New Commercialization and Scripted Exploitation" in the 2010 book Recess Battle: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling by Anna R. Beresin.

My comments about the status of the commercialized rhymes that the researcher/writer showcased are given in the Addendum to this post.

Part II showcases examples of children's jump rope and hand clap rhymes that include a brand name for a product, item, or a store.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Ann Richman Beresin for her research and her writing. Thanks also to all of the girls whose play is discussed in this excerpt and thanks to all others who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
Portions of this post are included in this previous pancocojams post: https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/excerpt-about-recreational-double-dutch.html

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EXCERPT I:
Chapter 4: "Double Dutch And Double Cameras: Studying The Transmission of Culture In An Urban Shool Yard" by Ann Richman Beresin in Children's Folklore: A Sourcebook edited by Brian Sutton-Smith, Jay Mechling, Thomas W. Johnson, Felicia McMahon (Utah State University Press, 1999)
http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1059&context=usupress_pubs

[Pancocojams Editor's Note: This chapter is quoted without citations.]

"[page] 79
...Several games were studied in this larger exploration of the folklore of the 1991-92 Mill School yard [Philadelphia Pennsylvania], including the games of the third- through fifth-grade boys. This paper, however, will serve as a window to the specific game worlds of the double dutch players. (For a complete view of the larger study, which includes handball, folk basketball, hopscotch, step dancing, and play fighting, see Beresin 1993.) Double dutch was perhaps the chief peer-led activity for African American girls at the Mill School, and provided a performance focus for a mobile audience of both girls and boys in the school yard.

[...]

[page 82]
As Cheyna, a fourth-grade African American girl had said, "Want to hear my favorite?" (Snap fingers on down beat. Accented syllables are capitalized)
Big MAC, Fillet FISH, Quarter POUNDer, French FRIES, Ice COKE,
Milk SHAKE, Foot
Fillet FISH, Quarter POUNDer, French FRIES, Ice COKE, Milk
SHAKE,
BOUNCE
Fillet FISH, Quarter POUNDer, French FRIES, Ice COKE, Milk
Shake,
HOP
Fillet FISH, Quarter POUNDer, French FRIES, Ice COKE, Milk
Shake,
TURN
Fillet FISH, Quarter POUNDer, French FRIES, Ice COKE, Milk
Shake,
CRISS

[page 83]
Big Mac appeared in twenty-three out of fifty-six live unrequested recordings of double dutch chants, closely followed by a follow-the-Ieader game, "Challenge Challenge, One, Two, Three." This contrasted with the rest of the active repetoire, of which two or three versions were recorded of each. First observed in mid-October, "Big Mac," and its occasional partner "Challenge Challenge," were the only chants jumped at recess until February. Most of the other rhymes did not appear at all until April. "Big Mac" represented forty percent of all the songs sung for double dutch, with "Challenge Challenge" representing thirty percent.The remainder totaled three to six percent, tallying another thirty percent. "Big Mac" was therefore not only the first jump-rope rhyme to appear in the school yard and not only the most frequently jumped, but, as we will see, also the one used for learning how to play the game of double dutch itself.

Collectors of jump-rope games have typically emphasized the antiquity of the games and rhymes, in part because of the archive methodology available, as discussed, and in part because of the inherent romance in finding things old. Paradoxically, the most significant rhyme for the players of this game was the newest one, invented by the McDonald's Corporation as a menu chant. Again and again the local jump-rope experts-the third, fourth, and fifth-grade girls-claimed that the "Big Mac" rhyme was commercial and approximately ten years old, but that the game was learned from their mothers and sisters. The dating of this particular chant was confirmed by the national public-relations office of the McDonald's Corporation, which indicated that the menu chants are periodically placed in local papers as part of a contest. It is significant that McDonald's has been a national sponsor of double dutch competitions since the late 1970s and that the only other long commercial text that emerged was in an interview setting: This was "R-E-E-B-O-K do your footsies the Reebok way." Reebok is also a national sponsor of double dutch competitions. All of the new attempts at double dutch recorded in the school yard were done to the "Big Mac" rhyme. When Isha, a fifth-grade expert jumper, was asked what was the easiest rhyme, she answered, "Challenge Challenge," because "you just had to imitate what was done before you." When asked why the younger girls and the ones new to double dutch started with "Big Mac," she answered, "Because they don't have nothing else." Commercial culture is, for the kids of the school yard, the most basic of common culture. The commercial is easily learned: It's short, it's quick, and it's "fun in the mouth." Children who are bused in from all sections of the city know it, and children from all economic levels have access to it. It may have been introduced by the corporate-sponsored leagues and ad campaigns and may be a future classic example of the "invention of tradition" (Hobsbawm and Ranger 1983), but it would not have continued if it did not serve some function.... recess period that allows only fifteen minutes for play in this city.

In an environment where raw materials are inaccessible and consistently removed from the play time, it appears that the African American children from poorer neighborhoods, rich with oral traditions, are teaching non-African American children what can be done, as Isha says, "when you don't hanve nothing else". This is especially true of the play of girls, which is especially repressed in the school yard by the institution of school itself. Here it is commercial culture that is the common denominator, both within the ethnic tradition and across ethnic traditions.

One of the most relevant texts on this topic is Newell's 1883 book Games And Songs Of American Children. His essays "The Inventiveness Of Children" and "The Conservatism Of Children" address the dynamics inherent in the play study, the idea of play being both traditional and transitional, and the idea that children reconstruct and reinvent performances relevant to their complex lives. The key word is "relevant". Valuable things are reused, recycled and retold. And, as we will see, the repetition of the commercial rhyme may be fixed, but the variation and frequency of the game can be found in the foot work. In a sense, the folklorist begins with the text, but cannot stop there."...

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EXCERPT II
from Recess Battle: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling by Anna R. Beresin (University Press of Mississippi, Jackson; 2019)

[Pancocojams Editor's Note: This book is quoted without citations. The underlined portions of the rhymes are as they were given in the chapter and represent the accented beat of the rhyme.[

"[page 64]
....Many traditional double-dutch songs list specific steps in order, and the commercial ones utilize the old formulas well:

footsies - two basic running steps with one small two-footed bounce
hopsies - one foot hopping
bouncies - two footed small jumps
turnsies - a complete rotation while inside the two turning ropes
walksies - basic running step
criss - crossing both legs repeated while jumping

At times multiple players jump at the same time, and jumpers often improvise, adding fancy turns and gestures while increasing the speed and duration of the jumping. The game was studied by the Mill School's [Philadelphia, Pennsylvania] seven-year-olds and perfected by the twelve-year-olds....

These new rhymes were slick jump rope games, emerging from jump rope competitions, sponsored by the "Big Three" corporations whose names were in the jingles- Nike, Reebok, and McDonalds.

The children who jumped rope spoke these words every day, over and over, each time I observed in 1991, 1992, and 2004. Unlike earlier generations which parodied commercials during play, the Mill School girls repeated the jingles verbatim, though the children were not robots. They

[page 65]
concentrated on moving their own way, adding fancy jumps, turns, and twists, leaning on an older tradition for variation.They parodied each others' styles, exaggerated gestures, rolled their eyes at each other, and burst out laughing. Movement offers commentary when the words make little room for it-assuming the players are allowed to movw

This chapter introduces the new commercially scripted jump rope rhymes, which have yet to be published anywhere , and makes a case for paying attention to their increased popularity. One the one hand, they squeeze out older, bolder, more subversively dreamy traditional rhymes; on the other hand, the children utilize traditional style and turn the advertisements into what they really are- a big game.

The games with commercial texts were consistently used to teach outsiders the African American art of double-dutch. They are the "easiest", the students said, "our favorite" . "It's what you use when you don't have nothing else".


Nike

NikeNike
Who can do the Nike?
Foot to the N-I-K-E
Hop to the N-I-K-E
Walk to the N-I-K-E
Bounce to the N-I-K-E
Turn to the N-I-K-E
Criss to the N-I-K-E
(1992, 2004)

Reebok

R-E-E
B-O-K
Do your footsies the Reebok way
R-E-E
B-O-K
Do your hopsies the Reebok way
R-E-E
B-O-K
Do your footsies the Reebok way
R-E-E
B-O-K
Do your walksies the Reebok way
R-E-E
B-O-K
Do your bouncies the Reebok way
R-E-E
B-O-K
Do your turnsies the Reebok way
R-E-E
B-O-K
Do your crisses the Reebok way
(1992, 2004)

[page 66]
Big Mac [Version 1]

Big Mac, Filet o'Fish
Quarter Pounder Frenchie Fries
Icee Coke, milk shakefoot

Filet o'Fish
Quarter Pounder Frenchie Fries
Icee Coke, milk shakebounce

Filet o'Fish
Quarter Pounder Frenchie Fries
Icee Coke, milk shakehop

Filet o'Fish
Quarter Pounder Frenchie Fries
Icee Coke, milk shaketurn

Filet o'Fish
Quarter Pounder Frenchie Fries
Icee Coke, milk shakecriss

Filet o'Fish
Quarter Pounder Frenchie Fries
Icee Coke, milk shakewalk/u>
(1991, 1992, 1999, 2004)


Big Mac (Version 2)

Big Mac, Filet o'Fishshake and fries
She's a mean mama honey and that'snolie
Together
McDonald's got footsiesplay that beat
McDonald's got hopsies.
(1992, 1999)

[page 67]
Challenge, Challenge/Big Mac/Hey Consolation Medley
(Challenge is a competitive follow-the-leader game)

Challenge, challenge
1,2,3,4,5,6,7.8, 9, 10

Big Mac, Filet o’ Fishfoot
And bounce
And hop
And turn
And walk
And criss

Hey consolation
Where have you been?
Around the corner, and back again
Stole my money
Knocked my honey
,u>Papa’s go the hiccups
Mama’s got the ice
So come on baby
Let’s slice that ice

2, 4, 6, 8, 10 hop
2,4,6,8,10 turn
2, 4, 6, 8, 10 criss
2,4,6,8,10 turn walk
(1991, 1992, 1999, 2004)

Only one song mixes modern commentary, traditional moves, and commercial messages.** Although it mentions specific corporations, it is not a simple advertisement. The first two lines come from a rap by recording artist KRS-One, but the rest of the Mill School’s version diverges from the original yet stays true to its message of confidence. Tashi and Naisha gave it special status., and its words were sung with an eye twinkle. This one was different. It is complex in its layering of street competition, sarcasm. And African American traditional foot work. In this sense, it is much more than a traditional singing game.

[...]

[page 69]
In 1992, twenty-three of the fifty-six rope rhymes performed (41 per cent) had commercial themes; in 1999, that figure had risen to twenty-six percent, included all the older traditional rhymes. “Big Mac” was heard daily from 1991 through 1999 an into 2004, while “Reebox” and Nike” gradually made their way into the mainstream rope repertoire. I was shocked not only by their prevalence but by their dramatic increase over time. Rope was not more popular in 1999-there were always several games going on simultaneously. The commercial texts were now more popular.

[page 70]
The commercial texts became new bridges between neighborhoods, social classes, and ethnicities. …
These commercial rhymes are also qualitatively different from the commercial parodies of the 1970s.

McDonald’s is our kind of place
They feed you rattlesnakes
Hamburgers up your nose
French fries between your toes
The next time you go there
They’ll steal your underwear
McDonald’s is our kind of place

McDonald’s is your kind of place
Hamburgers in your face
French fires up your nose
Ketchup between your toes
McDonald’s your kind of place
Ain’t got no parking space
McDonald’s your kind of place.

Winston taste good like a cigarette should
No filter, no taste, just a fifty cents waste

Winston taste bad like the last on I had
No filter, no flavor, just plain toilet paper

Oh! I wish I wasn’t an Oscar Meyer Weiner
That’s what I wouldn’t want to be
Because if I was an Oscar Meyer Wiener
There would soon be nothin’ left of me.

[page 71]
...Given the volume of commercial messages presented to children via television and radio, on billboards and storefronts, on clothing and food items, it is not surprising to find commercial texts increasingly prevalent in children’s lore. But this phenomenon represents more than just a repository of larger cultural images. Some commercials are emerging right in the classroom.

Channel 1 is the commercially driven television show that advertises directly in classrooms on a daily basis. The well-publicized deal allows poor schools across the country gain access to free media technology in exchange for permitting students to view advertising in the classroom. [10] . Channel 1, and every morning Channel 1’s “news” and “entertainment” shows could be heard drifting down the hallway/ The commercial songs in the school yard are reinforced not only by the commercial breaks between segments of shows but by the characters in the educational programs. “I sure could go for a cheeseburger”, said the story’s happy lion. The forth-graders take in everything-story, burger, and bun.

The terms of the Mill School’s contract with Channel 1 required administrators to play the commercially sponsored “educational” programs every school day. No matter how large the generosity of Channel 1, the Ronald McDonald House, or Nike’s Project PLAY (a $10 million sport and playground program), the agenda is to fill children’s bodies with the McDonald’s- approved diet and cover them with Nike-approved footwear. [11]. These acts of charity can be seen as at best assuaging corporate guilt and at worst as image manipulation.

McDonald’s representatives confirmed to me that the Bug Mac chant had arisen from a campaign conducted in the advertising inserts included

[page 72]
with Sunday newspapers. I received a copy of the record, which was designed to look like a jukebox and presented the “menu chant” version as a mock lesson:

Good Morning, Class.
Today we’re going to learn the McDonald’s Menu Song and give a listener out there a chance to win a million dollars. So repeat after me: Big Mac, Filet o’ fish….

At the end of the recording, nobody wins. Only the teacher can properly say the Big Mac rhyme.

McDonald’s, Reebok, and Nike each sponsor national double-dutch competitions. Coaches of local double-dutch leagues long for corporate sponsorship of their underfunded community programs. The corporate sponsorship supports the double-dutch leagues, which in their professionalism require uniforms and sneakers. And this corporate largesse comes with corporate jingles.

But these campaigns ask poor children to purchase what they cannot afford. Black children, who make up the majority of Philadelphia’s poor and the majority of the Mill School’s student body, are double exploited; poor black, female children are triply exploited. [11]...

[page 73]
In light of the recognition that comes with sound and motion, each sneaker conversation and each jump rope jingle is money in the bank for Nike, McDonald’s, or Reebok. Like the Coca-Cola logo painted on the bottom of Philadelphia’s public swimming pools, and stenciled onto the backboards of recreation centers basketball hoops, the school yard becomes a television screen for agenda that is not that of the children or the school and that benefits no one in the school region with a livable wage....

Commercial games have become a new tradition, simultaneously old and brand-new, that is embedded in the folkloric process of cultural recycling and fueled by industry...

[page 74]
Like jazz before them, hip-hop and school yard rhymes are misunderstood, underappreciated, and eaten up by racialized commercial interests beyond their control. [18] Sociologist Juliet Schor take us further: “Although many aspects of African American culture have had a long historical association with cool, such as jazz and sartorial styles as well as a legacy of contributions to popular culture, what is happening now is unique. Never before have inner-city styles and cultural practices been such as dominant influence on, even a definer of popular culture. [I]n the words of Douglas Holt again…it is now the context itself- the neighborhood, the pain of being poor, the alienation experience of black kids. These are the commodifiable assests.” [19]

But Naisha and Tashi have their own list of commodifiable assets. They require that as song be aesthetically pleasing, that it have an interesting rhythm, that it be familiar enough that it is immediately obvious what to do, that it allow for skill-serious skill- to be displayed, and that it be fast. The can mix and match movement styles with prefabricated texts, and if they have the freedom, they can make medleys all of their own....*

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ADDENDUM: My comments about the "commercialized rhymes" that were quoted from Recess Battle: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling by Anna R. Beresin (University Press of Mississippi, Jackson; 2019)

The "Nike" and "Reebok" rhymes don't appear to be found anywhere but the Recess Battle book. There's no other online citation for either of these rhymes. Also, for what it's worth, I've never come across either of these rhymes in my direct collection (among mostly African American girls and boys in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area- which is about four and a half hours away from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

**
I haven't found any other example of "Big Mac" [Version 1 or Version 2] as they are given in the Recess Battles book. However, there are countless versions of the rhyme "Big Mac", in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area and throughout the United States (and probably throughout much of the world, thanks to the internet, travelers, missionaries, etc.) However, "Big Mac" appears to be most often referred to as "Welcome To McDonalds, and also appears to be most often played as a two person hand clap game. My guess is that most children and teenagers don't even know that "Welcome To McDonalds" (aka "Big Mac") used to be a jump rope rhyme.

**
As somewhat of an aside, the line "She's a mean mama honey and that'snolie in "Big Mac" [Version #2] is adapted from the 1981 hit R&B song "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)" by Carl Carlton. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She%27s_a_Bad_Mama_Jama_(She%27s_Built,_She%27s_Stacked)

**
Excerpt II Recess Battles [above] doesn't quote the rhyme "Criminal Minded [Version 1 and Version #2] that are found on Page 68. Those rhymes will be included in Part II of this commercial rhymes series.

**
I have found three other examples of the rhyme "Hey Consolation" that is given as part of "Challenge Challenge". Those other examples use the word "Hey Concentration" instead of "Hey Consolation". Click https://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/10/g-h-hand-clap-jump-rope-rhymes-examples.html for one example of that rhyme.

The beginning lines of the "Hey Consolation" portion of the "Challenge Challenge" rhyme and the "Hey Concentration" rhymes ose rhymes are lifted from "Hambone Hambone" ("Where you been/round the world/ and back again) song/rhyme.

A pancocojams post that features "Hey Consolation"/"Hey Concentration" rhymes will be published soon, and that link will be added here.

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This concludes Part I of this pancocojams series on commercialized children's jump rope rhymes & hand clap rhymes.

All of the rhymes that were quoted in this post as well as some additional rhymes are included in Part II of this pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a two part pancocojams series on commercialized children's jump rope and hand clap rhymes.

Part II provides an alphabetized list of selected examples of children's jump rope (or ball bouncing) and/or hand clap rhymes that include a brand name for a product, store, or television channel.

Additional examples in this collection include parodies and other children's recreational rhymes that are chanted without any accompanying activity.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/08/commercialized-childrens-jump-rope-hand.html for Part I of this series. Part I features an excerpt from Chapter 4: "Double Dutch And Double Cameras: Studying The Transmission of Culture In An Urban Shool Yard" by Ann Richman Beresin in the 1999 book Children's Folklore: A Sourcebook and an excerpt of Chapter 4 "Nike, Nike, Who Can Do The Nike: New Commercialization and Scripted Exploitation" in the 2010 book Recess Battle: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling by Anna R. Beresin.

My comments about the status of the commercialized rhymes that the researcher/writer showcased are given in the Addendum to this post.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who contributed examples that are included in this collection. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES
These examples are given in alphabetical order based on what I believe is the most often used title for that rhyme.
The titles are capitalized.

Although most of these rhymes have countless versions, I've usually only included one or two examples in this collection. Numbers that are assigned by me for multiple examples of a specific rhyme are given with no particular order and no intended preference.

The brand names aren't identified or explained in these examples, but they are often spelled with capital letters.

Hyperlinks or book sources for the source of these versions are included after the entry along with any demographic information (geographical location/dates) that is available for those versions.

The dates that are given with some of these examples are either the dates that the contributor remembers performing or hearing the rhymes, the dates that the researcher collected the rhymes, or the dates that the particular example was published.

The performance activity/activities are given in brackets after each entry. If not physical activity is performed when that rhyme is sung.

The underlined portions of the some double dutch rhymes are as they were given in Recess Battle: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling by Anna R. Beresin (University Press of Mississippi, Jackson; 2010) [hereafter given as Recess Battles. These underlined words or syllables represent the accented beat of the rhyme.

Here's some information about the movement commands that are included in the double dutch rhymes:
from Recess Battle, page 64:

"Many traditional double-dutch songs list specific steps in order, and the commercial ones utilize the old formulas well:

footsies - two basic running steps with one small two-footed bounce
hopsies - one foot hopping
bouncies - two footed small jumps
turnsies - a complete rotation while inside the two turning ropes
walksies - basic running step
criss - crossing both legs repeated while jumping"
-snip-
Note: Recess Battles examples were from African American girls in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

**
I've included brief comments after some of these examples.

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EXAMPLES OF "BRAND NAME" HAND CLAP AND JUMP ROPE RHYMES

A, B,
ABC IT'S AS EASY AS 1, 2, 3
ABC it's easy as 1,2,3,
My momma takes care of me (or it can be my momma sings do,re,mi)
My papa watched MTV,
My granny says:
Ooh, aaah, I wanna piece of pie.
Pie too sweet, i wanna piece of meat.
Meat too ruff I wanna ride a bus.
Bus too full, I wanna ride a bull.
Bull too black I want my money back.
Money back too green, I wanna a Lima bean.
Lima bean not cooked, I wanna read a book.
Book not read I want to go to bed.
Bed not made I want some lemonade
Lemonade too sour I wanna take a shower.
Shower too cool, I wanna go to school.
School too dumb, I wanna suck my thumb.
Thumb too dirty, I wanna ride a birdie.
Birdie too slow and that's all I know so close your eyes and count to ten, Whoever messes up starts all over again.....
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
No one messed up so that's the end!
-https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-lyrics-to-the-ABC-hand-game, Joy Ahmed, no year given; [hand clap rhyme]
-snip-
This rhyme may be known as "Ooh Ahh I Wanna Piece Of Pie". There are countless versions. Some versions may refer to "BET" (Black Entertainment Television) instead of "MTV". A version of this rhyme that includes a parody of an old "Winston" cigarette commercial is given in the "O,P," section below.

****
A PIZZA HUT
A Pizza Hut (make a square in the air)
A Pizza Hut
Kentucky Fried Chicken (flap your arms like you're doing the chicken dance)
And a Pizza Hut
A Pizza Hut
A Pizza Hut,
Kentucky Fried Chicken
And a Pizza Hut

McDonalds McDonalds (use two hands-make an "M" in the air, starting in the middle)
Kentucky Fried Chicken
And a Pizza Hut
Mc Donald's, Mc Donald's,
Kentucky Fried Chicken
And a Pizza Hut

A Jabba the Hut
A Jabba the Hut
Luke Skywalker
And a Jabba the Hut
A Jabba the Hut
A Jabba the Hut
Luke Skywalker
And a Jabba the Hut
Darth Vader Darth Vader
Luke Skywalker
And a Jabba the Hut
Darth Vader Darth Vader
Luke Skywalker
And a Jabba the Hut

A Burger King (mime eating a burger)
A Burger King,
A Taco Bell (mime ringing a bell)
And a Burger King
A Burger King
A Burger King,
A Taco Bell
And a Burger King
Red Lobster, Red Lobster, (make claws)
A Taco Bell
And a Burger King
Red Lobster, Red Lobster,
A Taco Bell
And a Burger King
-https://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/pizza-hut.html
-snip-
I'm including this example even though I think it's most often sung as a imitative motion camp song. It's possible that some children might recite it as a hand clap or a jump rope game.

****
BIG MAC [Version 1]
Big Mac, Filet o'Fish
Quarter Pounder Frenchie Fries
Icee Coke, milk shakefoot

Filet o'Fish
Quarter Pounder Frenchie Fries
Icee Coke, milk shakebounce

Filet o'Fish
Quarter Pounder Frenchie Fries
Icee Coke, milk shakehop

Filet o'Fish
Quarter Pounder Frenchie Fries
Icee Coke, milk shaketurn

Filet o'Fish
Quarter Pounder Frenchie Fries
Icee Coke, milk shakecriss

Filet o'Fish
Quarter Pounder Frenchie Fries
Icee Coke, milk shakewalk
Recess battles, (1991, 1992, 1999, 2004), [double dutch jump rope rhyme]
-snip-
Four hand clap versions of "Big Mac" are given in the "Welcome To McDonalds" entry given below

**
BIG MAC (Version 2)
Big Mac, Filet o'Fishshake and fries
She's a mean mama honey and that'snolie
Together
McDonald's got footsiesplay that beat
McDonald's got hopsies.
Recess battles, (1992, 1999), [double dutch jump rope rhyme]

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BAZOOKA ZOOKA BUBBLE GUM
My mom gave me a penny
She said to buy a henny
But I didn't buy no henny
Instead, I bought BUBBLE GUM
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA BUBBLE GUM

My mom gave me a nickel
She said to buy a pickle
But I didn't buy no pickle
Instead, I bought BUBBLE GUM
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA BUBBLE GUM

My mom gave me a dime
She said to buy a lime
But I didn't buy no lime
Instead , I bought BUBBLE GUM
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA BUBBLE GUM

My mom gave me a quarter
She said to buy some water
But I didn't buy no water
Instead, I bought BUBBLE GUM
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA BUBBLE GUM

My mom gave me a dollar
She said to buy a collar
But I didn't buy no collar
Instead, I bought BUBBLE GUM
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA BUBBLE GUM

My mom gave me a five
She said to stay alive
But I didn't stay alive
Instead, I choked on BUBBLE GUM
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA BUBBLE GUM

i learned that one in elementary school... not sure how i remembered it! have fun... whoever needs this
-i know hand games! ; http://blog.oftheoctopuses.com/; 12/22/2005 [website no longer accessible]; [hand clap rhyme?]

**
BRICK WALL WATERFALL (Version #1)
Brick Wall Waterfall
Girl, you think you got it all.
ou don't. I do.
So BOOM with that attitude.
Peace Punch Captain Crunch.
I got something you can't touch.
Bang Bang Choo Choo Train
Wind me up I do my thang.
Reeses piece 7 Up
Mess with me I'll kick your butt.
Elbow elbow, wrist wrist.
Shut up girl,
You just got dissed.
-from https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/01/brickwall-waterfall-examples-analysis.html"Brickwall Waterfall" (Examples & Analysis) [hand clap rhyme]

**
BRICK WALL WATERFALL (Version #2)
brick wall waterfall
girl you think you got it all
you dont i do
so boom with that attitude
yo momma yo dadda
yo bald headed grandma
she 99 she think she fine
she goin out with frankinstien
shes hip shes fat
she needs a tictac
not a tic not a tac
but the whole six pack
sorry to be mean
but she needs some listerene
not a sip not a swallow
but the whole dang bottle oh!!!!!!!
-ash; Cocojams.com. 10/26/2007
-snip-
Cocojams.com was the name of my cultural website. After almost 15 years, I voluntarily closed that website in October 2015. some of the reader submitted children's rhymes and cheers material can be found on pancocojams and some can be found on my other blog "cocojams2".

When Cocojams.com was active (until 2014), the "Brickwall Waterfall" either separately or in combination with "Bang Bang Choo Choo Train") was by far the hand clap rhyme that was most often submitted to that site by children. preteens, and teens.

****
C, D
CHALLENGE CHALLENGE/BIG MAC/HEY CONSOLATION Medley
(Challenge is a competitive follow-the-leader game)

Challenge, challenge
1,2,3,4,5,6,7.8, 9, 10

Big Mac, Filet o’ Fishfoot
And bounce
And hop
And turn
And walk
And criss

Hey consolation
Where have you been?
Around the corner, and back again
Stole my money
Knocked my honey
,u>Papa’s go the hiccups
Mama’s got the ice
So come on baby
Let’s slice that ice

2, 4, 6, 8, 10 hop
2,4,6,8,10 turn
2, 4, 6, 8, 10 criss
2,4,6,8,10 turn walk
Recess battles, (1991, 1992, 1999, 2004)[double dutch jump rope rhyme]

**
COCA COLA CAME TO TOWN (Version #1)
this is what ne and my friends say

coca Cola came to town
diet Pepsi shot him down
Dr pepper fixed him up
now we're drinking 7up

7up has got the flu
now were drinking mountain dew

mountain dew fell down a mountain
bow we're drinking from the fountain

oh no the fountains broke
now we're drinking cherry coke

cherry coke is so laat year
now we're drinking ginger beer

ginger beer got in a fight
now we're drinking ice cold sprite

ice cold sprite is out of date
now we're drinking lemonade

lemonades starting to fade
now were drinking power ade

power ade played hard to get
now we're drinking turbo jet

turbo jet fell in a lake
now we're drinking chocolate shake

chocolate shake thought it was banta
now we're drinking orange Fanta

orange Fanta got hit by a tree
now were drinking boiling tea

boiling tea was caught by her
now were drinking sparkling water

sparkling water got shot by cupid
now we're feeling very stupid

all these drinks were so so bad
now we're feeling very sad
Victoria Robertson, 2016; discussion thread for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6Cw-Awwm_M [hand clap rhyme]
-snip-
"Coca Cola Came To Town" rhymes document and reflect the 1980s Coke vs Pepsi "Cola Wars". Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cola_wars for more information about the advertisement battle between these two soda brands.

**
COCA COLA CAME TO TOWN (Version #2)
Ours always was:
Coca Cola went to town, Pepsi Cola knocked him down. Dr. Pepper helped him up, now we're drinking Seven Up. Seven Up caught the flu, now we're drinking Mountain Dew. Mountain Dew fell off the mountain, now we're drinking from the fountain. Fountain broke, now we're back to plain old Coke, turned to mush, now we're drinking Orange Crush, Orange Slush disappeared now we're drinking Root Beer, I tried and tried with all my might but I just can't find the......SPRITE!
lol. When we said Sprite you had to tag someone or something xD
Haven't heard that in years hahahahaha

I still don't understand how Coke can just turn to mush, but whatever. lol. I was probably 5 haha
-anonymous, http://www.amirite.com/260398-coca-cola-came-to-town-pepsi-cola-knocked-him-down-dr-pepper-fixed-him-up-now-were-drinking [partner hand clap rhyme, or competitive group hand slap rhyme?]
-snip-
Another example of "Coca Cola came to town" is given below in the entry for "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky".

****
COMET (Version #1)
Comet, it makes your teeth turn green.
Comet, it tastes like gasoline.
Comet, it makes you vomit.
So drink some Comet, and vomit, today!
-http://www.topix.com/forum/city/huntsville-oh/TFIPIRQI91LHJ5DI9, Detroit, Michican, [parody of a commercial, recited without any other performance activity]
-snip-
information given on that site: (sung to the tune "Colonel Bogey March" theme from
the movie "Bridge on the River Kwaii")

"Submitter comment: Matthew only recently learned this song, and thought is
was new. When he tried to teach it to his older cousin,
Joshua, who lives in the Chicago area, Josh had already heard of it."

**
COMET (Version #2)
We used to sing
Comet, will make your father mean
Comet, will make your mother scream
Comet, will make you vomit
So get some Comet, and vomit, today
-Mickey527, Feb 22, 2010, https://www.disboards.com/threads/comet-parody-anyone.2403629/ [parody of a commercial, recited without any other performance activity]

**
CRIMINAL MINDED [Version 1]
Criminal minded, you've been blinded
Looking for a shoe like mine, can't find it

Mine cost more
Yours cost less
Mine Footlocker
Yours Payless

So criminalminded
Foot, you got it
So criminalminded
Foot, you got it
So criminalminded
Hop, you got it
So criminalminded
Walk, you got it
So criminalminded
Criss, you got it
Recess battles, (2004) [double dutch jump rope rhyme]
-snip-
"Criminal minded you've been blinded/ "lookin for a style and you can't find it" are beginning lyrics of a 1987 KRS_One rap song.

**
CRIMINAL MINDED [Version 2]
Criminal minded, you've been blinded
Looking for a shoe like mine, can't find it

Mine cost more
Yours cost less
Mine Footlocker
Yours Payless

Do your footsies, 1, 2, and three
And your hopsies, 1, 2, and three
And your bouncies, 1, 2, and three
And your walksies, 1, 2, and three
And your turnsies, 1, 2, and three
And your crisses, 1, 2, and three
Recess battles, (1999) [double dutch jump rope rhyme]

**
DOWN BY THE BANKS Of The HANKY PANKY (Version #1)
Down by the banks of the hanky panky.
Where the bullfrog jumps from bank to bank. Say As Es Is Os ees I did it.
Bing Bong your daddy smells like King Kong.
I pledge allegiance to the flag
Michael Jackson makes me gag.
Coca-cola burnt him up
Now we're talkin 7 up
7 up has no caffeine
Now we're talking Billy Jean
Billy jean went out of style.
Now we're talking Bobby Brown.
B-o-b-b-y B-r-o-w-n went out of town
GUEST,amy in Kentucky, http://awe.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034&messages=263, Origins: Down By The , May 14, 2001
-snip-
There are numerous examples of this partner hand clap or group (competitive) hand slap rhyme.

This rhyme documents the actual event that occurred in 1984 when Pop Star Michael Jackson suffered serious burns on
his head while filming a soft drink commercial. Ironically, given the Cola Wars, although many examples of this rhyme that I've found say that "Coca Cola burnt him up", Michael Jackson was actually filming an ad for Pepsi Cola.

Some examples of this rhyme have the line "Michael Jackson is a [derogatory term for homosexuals that rhymes with "gag"], reflecting some rumors that were spread about that celebrity.

**
DOWN BY THE BANKS Of The HANKY PANKY (Version #2)
Down by the banks of the hanky panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
Singing Eeep Op Eeep Op
Skiddle diddle eep op op
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
I pledge allegiance to the flag
Miley Cyrus makes me gag
Miley Cyrus came to town, Coca Cola shot her down
Dr. Pepper drink it up, now we're drinking 7-Up
7-Up has no caffeine, now we're drinking gasoline
Gasoline ran out of fuel, now we're drinking Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew fell off the Mountain, now we're drinking from the fountain
Fountain broke, now we're drinking PLAIN-OLD-DIET-COKE
-Guest, http://awe.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034&messages=263, Origins: Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky, March 20, 2012
-snip-
This example is part of the HUGE family of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhymes. it combined with an example from the somewhat smaller rhyme family "Cola Cola Came To Town". Two examples of that rhyme are given above.

Most of the "I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag" rhymes mention Michael Jackson. However, since that Pop artist's sudden death in June 2009, I've found a few other examples of this rhyme that substitute another celebrity's name for Michael Jackson. It appears to me that the celebrity who is named in this insult rhyme is usually someone who is disliked by fans of a particular music genre.

**
DREAM LOVER
Dream lover, where are you?
Upstairs on the toilet stool.
What are doing way up there?
Washing out my underwear.
How did you get them so clean.
With a bottle of listerine.
-http://mudcat.org/jumprope/jumprope_display_all.cfm; Source: Abrahams (1969) [dump rope rhyme; parody of 1959 Pop song with that title]

****
E, F
FIRECRACKER FIRECRACKER
Firecracker, firecracker, oh, oh, oh.
Firecracker, firecracker, oh, oh, oh.
Boys have got the muscles.
Teachers got the brains.
Girls have got the sexy legs,
And we won the games.
If you want to take motion,
Take it slow.
This is how the motion goes:
Pepsicola, CocaCola, Royal Crown.
You've got to hypnotize her.
Boom dorizer,
Knock 'em down.
-Burkhard Leuschner, 1980, http://mudcat.org/jumprope/jumprope_display_all.cfm' [jump rope rhyme]
-Snip-
Here's the comment from the contributor of this version:
"I was on holiday in France, Bourgogne, at a castle with an
English landlady, whose two nieces were visiting with her.
Katy and Miranda, Chateau Leveault, 11 August 1980 *)
-snip-
Contemporary versions of "Firecracker, Firecracker" are also performed as a children's cheerleader cheer or as a hand clap rhyme.

****
G, H
GIVE ME A BREAK (KIT KAT BAR RHYME)
Give me a break
Give me a break
Break me off a piece of that kit kat bar

That chocolate crispy taste is gonna make your day
And whereever you go
You hear the people say

Give me a break
Give me a break
Break me off a piece of that
KIT KAT BAR!
-pittypassion, 2008; https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081204205947AARvcYx [hand clap rhyme based on the late 1989s Kit Kat candy's commercial jingle]

****
I, J
I WON'T GO TO MACY'S
I won't go to Macy's (* A big store in New York *)
Anymore, more, more.
There's a big fat policeman
At the door, door, door.
He takes me by the collar.
He makes me pay a dollar.
I won't go to Macy's
Anymore, more, more.

Source: Abrahams (1969)
-http://mudcat.org/jumprope/jumprope_display_all.cfm [jump rope rhyme; the most widely known contemporary versions of this rhyme are known as "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico".
-snip-
Here's some information about this rhyme from the Folk song index:
http://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/OpGap478.html
"DESCRIPTION: "I won't/don't go to school/Granny's/Macy's any more, more, more, There's a big fat teacher/copper/policeman at the door, door, door" who takes me by the hair/collar and sits me in a chair/makes me pay a dollar...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1935 (Howard)
KEYWORDS: playparty hair police
FOUND IN: Britain(England(North,South)) US(MA,SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Opie-Game, p. 478, ("I'm not going to school any more, more, more") (2 texts)
ADDITIONAL: Dorothy Mills Howard, "The Rhythms of Ball-Bouncing and Ball-Bouncing Rhymes" in The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. LXII, No. 244 (Apr 1949 (available online by JSTOR)), #6 p. 168 ("I won't go to Macy's any more, more, more") (1 text)
RECORDINGS:
Mabel Hillery, Janie Hunter and her grandchildren, "I Want To Go To Mexico" (on JohnsIsland1)
NOTES: Opie-Game has "not going to school" as a clapping game and separates it on that basis from a ball-bounce "don't go to Grannie's" which derives from "I won't go to Macy's." Macy's, as Opie-Game notes, is a famous department store in New York City. "

****
I HATE BOSCO
I hate Bosco
It's not the drink for me
My mommy put it in my milk
To try to poison me
One day I fooled Mommy
I put some in her tea
And now I have no mommy
To try to poison me!
-Remember, Cookeville, Tennessee, Jun 19, 2010, http://www.topix.com/forum/city/huntsville-oh/TFIPIRQI91LHJ5DI9 [parody of a commercial, recited without any other performance activity]

**
I'M CONCHITA BANANA
I'm Conchita Banana
And I'm here to say
How to get rid of your teacher
The easy way
Put a banana on the floor
and watch your teacher
slide out the door.

Down, down, down, the stairs she goes
Where she lands know one knows
And while she's gone, the kids have fun
Drinking, whiskey, beer, and rum
- http://www.topix.com/forum/city/huntsville-oh/TFIPIRQI91LHJ5DI9 Detroit, Michigan, no date recorded, [teacher taunt, parody of a commercial; recited without any other performance activity]

****
K, L
An example of the "Kit Kat bar" rhyme is found under the title "Give Me A Break".

****
M, N
MCDONALD'S IS YOUR KIND OF PLACE (Example #1)
McDonald's is your kind of place.
They serve you rattlesnakes,
French fries between your toes,
Hamburgers up your nose.
The last time that I was there
They served me underwear.
McDonald's is your kind of place.
-NightWing; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=87050 Lyr Req: Kid's Parodies; 10/11/2004 [parody recited without physical activity?]

**
MCDONALD'S IS YOUR KIND OF PLACE (Example #2)
McDonalds is your kind of place!
Hamburgers in your face!
French Fries up your nose!
Pickles between your toes!
And don't forget those lousy shakes!
They're made from polluted lakes!
McDonalds is your kind of place!

**
MISS SUE (Version #1)
back in my day it went a little something like this:

Miss Sue (clap clap clap)
Miss Sue (clap clap clap)
Miss Sue from Alabama, her real name's Suzianna
she's sittin in a rocker, eatin Betty Crocker
watch the clock go tick tock tock tock, banana rock
tick tock tick tock banana rock
ABCD123
wash those spiders off of me
mooshka, mooshka, i see mommy
mooshka, mooshka, i know karate
mooshka, mooshka, oops i'm sorry
mooshka, mooshka, FREEZE.
-RespectMyThickness, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-svfUMX3BM [hand clap rhyme]
-snip-
Betty Crocker is a fictitious woman who helped market cook books. She is (was?) especially known for her recipes for cakes, cookies, pies and other baked goods..

The screen name "RespectMyThickness" was accompanied by a photograph of a Black woman. In African American Vernacular English, "thick" means a person (usually a female) who is "heavy set". "Thick" doesn't have the negative connotations of "fat".

**
MISS SUE (Version #2)
Miss Sue
Miss Sue from Alabama
Her name was Suzianna
Sitting in a rocker
eating Betty Crocker
Watching the clock go
Tick Tock
Tick all around go
Tick Tock
Tick all around
A-B-C-D-E-F-G
Gotta wash that stain right out of me
Gotta Boom-shot
Gotta Boom-shot
Gotta crick in my side
Gotta crick in my side
Salt and pepper said "DO NOT MOVE"
(alternate ending)
Salt and pepper said" DO NOT MOVE,
FIRST ONE TO MOVE IS A BLACK-EYED-PEA
SECOND ONE TO MOVE IS A BEAUTY QUEEN
-Dani (White American, Southern USA), http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=63097"Folklore: Do kid still do clapping rhymes?", September 22, 2003

**
MY MOTHER AND YOUR MOTHER (LIVE ACROSS THE STREET) (Version #1)
my mother your mother live across the street 18,19 blueberry street every night they had a fight and this is want they said tonight boy's are rotten made out of cotton girls are sexy made out of Pepsi boy's go to Jupiter to get more stupider girls go to college to get more knowledge............. that's all I know😳😔
-Jah'Niyah Brock, 2016; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0KMFSj-FrQ Fun hand games "The summary of this 2011 video by two young African American women reads in part "old school hand games from way back". [hand clap rhyme, "also used to be" [?] used as a jump rope rhyme and ball bouncing rhyme]

Here's a true story: About ten years ago, I took my pre-teen nieces and two of their girl friends who were the same ages to get pizza. The girls were helping me put on a rhyme and cheer demonstration later that day. When we ordered pizza I asked the girls what they wanted to drink, and each one said "Pepsi". I said something like "You guys really like "Pepsi" and one of my nieces said "It's because pf the rhyme.". I said "Which rhyme?" and all of the girls recited the 'Girls drink Pepsi to get more sexy" line. That incident demonstrated to me the real life power of children's recreational rhymes.

**
MY MOTHER AND YOUR MOTHER (LIVE ACROSS THE STREET) (Version #2)
my mother your mother was wrong lmao:
my mother your mother lived down the sreet 18 19 marble street and every night they had a fight, this is what they said all night.
girls are sexi made out of pepsi
boys are rotten made out of cotton
girls go to mars to get more bras
boys go to jupiter to get more stupider
incy wincy lolly pop incy wincy woo incy wincy lolly pop i love you!
-Gabriella Casuscelli, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0KMFSj-FrQ Fun hand games

**
NIKE
NikeNike
Who can do the Nike?
Foot to the N-I-K-E
Hop to the N-I-K-E
Walk to the N-I-K-E
Bounce to the N-I-K-E
Turn to the N-I-K-E
Criss to the N-I-K-E
Recess Battle, (1992, 2004)

****
O, P
OOH AH I WANT A PIECE OF PIE (with the "Winston cigarette" verse)
I learned it at summer camp as a clapping game:
Winston tastes good just like a cigarette should
Just like an - ooh, ah, I want a piece of pie
Pie too sweet, I want a piece of meat
Meat too brown, I want to go to town
Town too far, I'll have to take a car
Car too black, I want my money back
Money too green, I want a limosine
..... I want some lemonade
Lemonade too sour, by now we have the power
To close our eyes and count to ten
Whoever messes up has to do it again.
And at this point, the clapping pattern got more complicated and the players closed their eyes and counted to ten.
-Guest, Chocolate Pi; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=26926"Lyr Req: Oh my, I want a piece of pie", October 10, 2000

**
PAC MAN
Pac Man come on tardy
And Toya had a party
She gonna move her feet
Yeah yeah
And dance to the beat
Yeah yeah
She gonna hop til she drop
Yeah yeah
She gonna turn till she burn
Yeah yeah
And criss till she miss
Yeah, yeah
Reeces Battles, (29004), [double dutch jump rope rhyme)
-snip-
"Toya" is a girl' name or a clip of a female name. Substitute the jumper's name or nickname.

**
PEPSI COLA HITS THE SPOT (Version #1)
Pepsi Cola hits the spot
Ten minutes later hits the pop.
-https://research.udmercy.edu/find/special_collections/digital/cfa/index.php?field=keyword&term=COMMERCIAL The James T. Callow Folklore Archive, learned in Michigan; no date collected [umor Ridicule, Mockery, recited with no accompanying performance activity

**
PEPSI COLA HITS THE SPOT (Version #2)
A Pepsi parody from my childhood:
Pepsi Cola hits the spot
In your stomach it will rot
Tastes like beer, tastes like wine,
(Shouted)OH MY GOSH, IT'S TURPENTINE!
-RangerSteve, 21 Oct 02, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=52618&messages=341 Jingles you remember. [parody of a commercial; recited with no accompanying performance activity]

****
Q, R
REEBOK
R-E-E
B-O-K
Do your footsies the Reebok way
R-E-E
B-O-K
Do your hopsies the Reebok way
R-E-E
B-O-K
Do your footsies the Reebok way
R-E-E
B-O-K
Do your walksies the Reebok way
R-E-E
B-O-K
Do your bouncies the Reebok way
R-E-E
B-O-K
Do your turnsies the Reebok way
R-E-E
B-O-K
Do your crisses the Reebok way
(1992, 2004), Reebok [double dutch rope jump rhyme]

****
S, T

****
U, V

****
W, X
WELCOME TO MCDONALDS (Version #1)
Welcome to McDonalds
May I take your order?
Big Mac
Filet of Fish
Quarter pounder
french fries
Icy coke, milk shake
Sundae, and apple pie.
You deserve a break today
So get up, and get away
To McDonalds!
And the dish ran away with the spoon.
-TMP and friends, mid 1980s, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania [hand clap rhyme]
-snip-
The line "and the dish ran away with the spoon" is from the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle". "TMP" is my daughter. When I asked her why she and her friends added this line to this rhyme, she said she didn't know, but it just fit.

I've seen some online examples of "Welcome To McDonalds" that also included this verse.

****
WELCOME TO MCDONALDS (Example #2)
welcome to mcdonalds
may i take your order
see my pinky
see my thumb
see my fist
you better run
-sarahwentloco ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=eMkpiLjKWU8 Welcome To McDonalds Game; October 2011 [hand clap rhyme]

**
WELCOME TO MCDONALDS (Example #2)
Welcome to mc-Don-lads may I take your or-der, Big Mac, French fries, coca-cola apple pie.Rock paper scissors shoot x 3
-Ami, 2015, https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080602191636AAROyG0 [hand clap rhyme]
-snip-
These are only three hand clap versions of "Welcome To McDonalds" (also known as "Big Mac". There are countless versions of these rhymes.

****
Y, Z

****
This concludes Part II of these two part series on the commercialization of children's rhymes.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams series provides information about the use of national names as references for ways of playing jumping games.

This post is divided into two sections. Section A presents selected online quotes about "Double Dutch" and other national name referents for the game or sport in which people jump in the middle of two ropes.

Section B presents selected online quotes about the use of national names to describe the jumping game that is most commonly known in the United States as "Chinese jump rope", but is known as "Elastics" and "Yogi" in some other nations.

A few comments in Section B don't contain any "national name", but provide additional information, opinions, and/or memories about this jumping game.

The Addendum to this post showcases two YouTube videos of what is commonly known in the United States as "Double-Dutch" and three YouTube videos of what is commonly known in the United States as "Chinese jump rope".

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to all those who are featured in those videos and thanks to the publishers of those videos on YouTube.
-snip-
DISCLAIMER: This post isn't meant to be a comprehensive compilation of national names for these jumping games. Nor is this post meant to be a comprehensive listing of all the geographical areas that use certain national referents for these games.

****
This is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on Double Dutch (jump rope) and jump roping rope in general, particularly as those activities relate to African American females.

Click the tags below to find other posts in this series.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
In both sections of this posts these excerpts from online hyperlinked sources are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.

Multiple quotes from two Mudcat folk music forum discussion threads are given with dates and in the relative chronological order that they are found in those sources. Other comments from those discussions include geographical locations where certain national referents were/are [?] used.

Section A, Excerpt #1
From https://books.google.com/books?id=Y4rYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA5&lpg=PA5&dq=double+irish+jump+rope&source=bl&ots=VkZjl2hZph&sig=puhMuBKf4BxchX5XjZid-H6PevA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiO1tG_y8XVAhWDz4MKHefyAfsQ6AEIXjAN#v=onepage&q=double%20irish%20jump%20rope&f=false"Some Jump Rope Rimes From South Philadelphia" by Roger D. Abrahams in Keystone Folklore Quarterly, Volume 8, Spring Issue 1963, edited by Simon Bronner

[page 3]
"The Negro in the neighborhood of South Philadelphia in which I lived and collected from 1958-1960 not only jumped rope extensively, but developed such coordination in doing so that many of their games were considerably more complex than those observable in most places elsewhere....The most common method of [jump rope] play is "single jumping", the rope being turned by two "enders" in a single strand...

This, however, is the least common method of playing in the neighborhood. The 'double dutch' games in which the 'enders' double the ropes and turn the two strands separately and alternately overhand, are much more common. In this game a rhythm is created that is twice as fast but not as insistent as in "singles".

[page 4]
The most common rime used with this game, especially by the younger children (5-8) is the simple counting one:
2,4,6-8, 10
2,4,6-8, 20
2,4,6-8, 30
etc.
(The 6-8 are said much quicker than any other number.)

or
D.I.S.H. choice
(With the "s" and the "h" said much faster than other letters.)

"Double-dutch" and its companion "double-Irish" call for an even more complicated rhythmic effect, paralleled by complications in motor responses....

[...]

page 5
"In the game with two “enders”, there are three standard ways of turning the ropes, “single”, double Dutch”, “Irish or “double Irish” (the same as double-dutch only underhanded and much more difficult). The most common types are the counting games...

[...]

Page 8
D. I.S. H. Choice
This is a jump that allows you to pick which way you want the rope turned. “D” stand for “Double Dutch”, “I” for “Irish”, “S” for single turn, “H” for “hop”, and “choice” is for any of the previous four.
The one you miss on is the one you must do.

D.I. S. H choice
D.I. S. H choice
D.I. S. H choice
H O P, hop
1, 2, 3"
-snip-
A portion of page five of this chapter is quoted in Excerpt #1 of Section B of this post.

****
Section A, Excerpt #2
From https://books.google.com/books?id=hbLYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA196&lpg=PA196&dq=ome+Jump+Rope+Rimes+From+South+Philadelphia&source=bl&ots=QUbJvlaP9b&sig=H27ZITELUV_n8blFctvGrBZHDzw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwimzdeZzcfVAhUE8IMKHfR6BAYQ6AEITDAG#v=onepage&q=ome%20Jump%20Rope%20Rimes%20From%20South%20Philadelphia&f=false"An Annotated Collection of Children's Lore: Part III of Oral Tradition Among Children Of Central New York State" by David Winslow in Keystone Folklore Quarterly, Fall Issue 1966

[page 111]
"Jump Rope Rhymes

Some of the jump rope argot used in the United States follows

[...]

page 152
"DOUBLE ROPE OR DOUBLES - Two ropes are used, one end of each in each turner's hand. They can be turned either towards or away from each other. Sometimes called DOUBLE DUTCH.

[...]

page 153
"The inventiveness of children is illustrated in the recent improvisations on jump-rope games: the games have gone international. Irish takes practice. Jumpers must hop backwards as two ropes are turned counter-clockwise. In French, one rope drops to the sidewalk and the jumper hops three times over the moving second rope. Then she must do the splits, all without touching the ground rope. Jewish jump rope requires that the jumper hold one rope while the other is twisted and turned over her head making the jump rope area smaller and smaller with each turn. Finally, the space is so small that she has to crouch down and jump. Hungarian is done on one foot. The enders loop a long rope around their waists then swing in one direction with the right rope, and the opposite direction with the left. In Chinese the ropes give way to stretchy, tied together rubber bands. Trash cans can serve as enders. The idea is complicated but girls know upon which number to jump with each foot, or both feet, when to carry one rubber band across the line to another, and when to make a diamond pattern with them".
-snip-
This chapter includes a great number of jump rope rhymes and information about and examples of other children's recreational play.

****
Section A, Excerpt #3
From https://books.google.com/books?id=lI5ERUmHf3YC&pg=PT5841&lpg=PT5841&dq=double+jewish+jump+rope&source=bl&ots=Ou-9lH1DHz&sig=ovO0Vln79tDX_k1c1y-QfpOlFa4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiwl_nIx8XVAhWI5IMKHfROAtEQ6AEIPjAE#v=onepage&q=double%20jewish%20jump%20rope&f=false"The Encyclopedia of New York City: Second Edition, editors Kenneth T. Jackson, Lisa Keller, Nancy Flood (Yale University Press, Dec 1, 2010) [book review by Amanda Durgan, Steven Zeitlin
..."The largest collection of games and rhymes were amassed in the 1930s and 1940s by Esther and Oscar Hirschman, who wrote under the names Ethel and Oliver Hale, They recorded many versions of such activities as ball games, hopscotch, and jump rope (not only double Dutch but double Irish, double Jewish, French Dutch, and French Fried), in addition to documenting favorite rhymes and pranks. Titled “From Sidewalk, Gutter, and Stoop”, their 1000 page manuscript was acquired by the New York Public Library. About this time, the term pushmobile became popular for a kind of scooter fashioned from a roller skate and an orange crate. By the turn of the twenty-first century street games were seen less frequently in the city owing to television, video games, an a commercialized toy industry, those that have persisted continue to evolve as the urban environment changes."

****
Section A, Excerpt #4
From https://books.google.com/books?id=2A93c_JS6sQC&pg=PA298&lpg=PA298&dq=criminal+minded+jump+rope+rhyme&source=bl&ots=Klgdfj6QdY&sig=BjAQUAL7o7Gdy4RIMa7sWKGU0lY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjrlovwv8HVAhVC_IMKHXNkBqUQ6AEIOTAD#v=onepage&q=criminal%20minded%20jump%20rope%20rhyme&f=false“Double Forces Has Got The Beat: Reclaiming Girl’s Music In The Sport of Double- Dutch" by Kyra D. Gaunt in The Girls' History and Culture Reader: The Twentieth Century, edited by Miriam Forman-Brunell and Leslie Paris (University of Illinois Press, January 2011)

[page 283]
"Double-Dutch, Double-Jewish, Double-Black; Children Performing Difference

Despite its presence in the South, double-dutch’s origins seem to be based in the multiethnic streets of New York City. It was also prevalent in several other cities, including Philadelphia, New Haven, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., among others.

The origin of its name alone highlights its curious association with ethnicity in New York City that does not seem to be limited to African American culture. Many of its associations are defined by stereotypical views of immigrants and their language as “foreign” or “alien”. According to ethnographers Amanda Dargan and Steven Zeitlin, the successive waves of immigrants in New York heightened concerns about ethnicity and American-ness, ant the alienation of new immigrants was often apparent in the form of ridicule of the sounds of “foreign” languages. Children, as well as adults, passed on such prejudices and attitudes about non-English speech and community. “Girls jumped in an American style but called it “double Dutch” or “double Jewish”....Prejudice insinuated itself into the games of the smallest children”.

[page 284]
Racial/ethnic prejudice is at the heart of the matter, whether one is castigating Jewish, Irish, or African-American children. Contrary to the racial insinuations of outsiders, double-dutch play among black girls created an arena where race and gender identity moved from the periphery to the center, sometimes embracing and reinterpreting the very epithets that others used to signify inferiority of their race and sex.

Double-dutch is an unusual name for a girls’ game and is probably impossible to determine where the African American girls or Jewish girls who performed this practice in neighborhoods throughout New York City got the idea of the practice itself. It may stem from colloquial meanings already present in the metropolitan migrant communities.

References to the elliptical use of the adjective “Dutch” in the OED Online (2005) suggest three, arguably, but likely sources 1) double Dutch, a language that one doesn’t understand; “gibberish”, dating back to a translation of Moliere in 1876; 2). “to beat the Dutch” (“to do something extraordinary or startling”), and 3) “that beats the Dutch”, “that beats everything”), all of which could apply to the everyday practice generally attributed to African American culture.

From my reading of the OED Online, the term does not appear to have any direct connection to the adverbial phrase “going Dutch” or to the use of the noun, “the old Dutch” to refer colloquially to “a wife”, though the gendered connotations may be of interest here. It is most likely attributably to the three definitions above, for the game of double-dutch lies beyond the realm of verbal language of explanation. Many observers identify it as something extraordinary in sight that looks impossible to achieve, even magical. It is, I believe, a game that beats all other games girls of any ethnicity play, hands down."...
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor's Note:
I found it interesting that when Kyra D. Gaunt shared theories about the origin of the term "double dutch", she didn't mention the statement that appears to be the "go to" reason for this name by the founders of the American Double Dutch League (formerly the National Double Dutch League) and many others: that "The Dutch settlers brought the game to the Hudson River trading town of New Amsterdam (now New York City). When the English arrived and saw the children playing their game, they called it Double Dutch."...[quoting http://www.nationaldoubledutchleague.com/History.htm, the history webpage that honors David Walker, one of the founders of the sport of Double Dutch.

I wonder if there was a tradition in the Netherlands (and/or in Germany*) of jumping with two ropes- before this recreational game was known in the United States. (And, if so, did they chant rhymes when they jumped?). Also, did Dutch (and/or German*) immigrants to New York City jump with two ropes and chant rhymes when they did so?
-snip-
*I asked about Germans because of this information:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Dutch
"The Pennsylvania Dutch (Pennsilfaanisch Deitsch, About this sound listen (help·info)) are a cultural group formed by early German-speaking immigrants to Pennsylvania and their descendants. The word "Dutch" does not refer to the Dutch people (Nederlanders) or their descendants, but to German people whose ethnonym in their own language is Deitsch (in dialectal German) or Deutsch (in standard German). Most emigrated to the U.S. from Germany or Switzerland in the 17th and 18th century. Over time, the various dialects spoken by these immigrants fused into a unique dialect of German known as Pennsylvania German or Pennsylvania "Dutch". At one time, more than one-third of Pennsylvania's population spoke this language."...

****
Section B, Excerpt #1
From https://books.google.com/books?id=Y4rYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA5&lpg=PA5&dq=double+irish+jump+rope&source=bl&ots=VkZjl2hZph&sig=puhMuBKf4BxchX5XjZid-H6PevA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiO1tG_y8XVAhWDz4MKHefyAfsQ6AEIXjAN#v=onepage&q=double%20irish%20jump%20rope&f=false"Some Jump Rope Rimes From South Philadelphia" by Roger D. Abrahams in Keystone Folklore Quarterly, Volume 8, Spring Issue 1963, edited by Simon Bronner
[page 5]
"Another sort of game much like jumping rope found its way into the neighborhood [of South Philadelphia] some time in 1959. This was another game of agility played by girls called "Indian Jumping". Thick rubber bands were tied to each other in about an eight or ten foot circle, and two "enders" put their legs inside the circle and pulled it so that there were two parallel lines of bands. The jumper then did a series of foot movements while saying any of the jump-rope rhymes, especially the ones that called for actions. The foot was placed between the parallel strands, and then put out, under the first strand and over the second (this was possible because of the great pliancy of the long row of bands.) This action was alternated until missed, as in jumping-rope.

The two games, jumping-rope and "Indian jumping" require a great deal of agility, and the Negro children in this neighborhood had more than their share of this facility, and took great delight in demonstrating it."...
-snip-
This chapter continues with text for a number of rhymes that Roger Abrahams observed and collected from these children.

****
Section B, Excerpt #2
From
http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=35850
Subject: RE: Child's Game: Elastics
1.
Subject: RE: Child's Game: Elastics
From: Joe Offer
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 12:28 AM

"Yes, the Opies have a lot to say about the subject, and I think it's worth quoting in entirety. My wife Christina says she called it "Chinese Jumprope" when she was growing up in Woonsocket, Rhode Island - and she claims to have been very good at it.
-Joe Offer-

ELASTIC SKIPPING

This is not skipping in the usual sense, for there is no turning rope to jump. Instead, the two enders stand with feet apart inside a loop of elastic, which passes round their ankles and is thus stretched into a long oblong frame between them. The role of the enders is completely static, and their place can be taken by dustbins or chairs...

In the summer of 1960 elastic skipping arrived in England as 'an entirely new game', and was for eighteen months, apparently, the exclusive possession of London children. 'This year's craze', said a 10-year-old girl in Fulham, 'is American Skipping. Karen Clark brought American Skipping over from America.'...

However, when a powerful craze comes over from the United States there is not one point of entry but many. American families coming to London undoubtedly brought the game with them; but so did American Air Force families coming to bases in England and Scotland. For instance, when 'Chinese Ropes' was the rage in Dunoon Grammar School in 1962, about fifty of the girls in the school were from the nearby American Air Force base. 'Chinese Ropes' (or 'Rope', or 'Ropies', or 'Skipping'), reflecting the American name 'Chinese Jump Rope', continued to be the term in Scotland (e.g. Jedburgh, 1972; Glasgow and Paisley, 1975).

Elastic skipping spread rapidly in 1963-4. There could scarcely have been a junior school playground in Britain where it was not known. 'French Skipping' was now the most usual name in England and Wales, though Londoners remained faithful to 'American Skipping'. (Any foreign name was felt to be appropriate, however: e.g. 'Dutch Skipping' in Liss, 1964; and 'German Skipping' in Bedford, 1966.) By the mid-197os the predominant name was simply 'Elastics', and the game is still, in the 1990s, known by that name.

Correspondents followed the game's progress with excitement: a teacher in St Helier, Jersey, said: 'Linda, who sent you "American Skipping" in November [1963] tells me she learnt the game in Hampstead "a few years back"; a parish priest in Workington wrote 'Chinese, or French, skipping went round Workington like wild fire this Easter [1964], and I know that it had hit Liverpool and Preston before last Christmas.'...

The game reached other countries too. It arrived in Israel in 1960 ('Gummi', Eifermann (1968), 218-20). In Australia it had certainly arrived by 1962, when Ian Turner saw it in Canberra; 'It was called "American Hoppy",' he said, 'then I saw it no more until 1967 lfl Melbourne, when it was called "Elastics".' Subsequently it was reported in Afghanistan, Austria, the Argentine, Germany, Greece, India, Italy ('Elastici'), Kenya, the Netherlands (1962, when it was called 'the English Twist' or 'the Russian Twist'), Norway ('Hoppe strikk', i.e. 'Jump Elastics'), Turkey, and Yugoslavia-so it would be safe to say it had become worldwide....

From Children's Games With Things, Iona & Peter Opie, 1997 (Oxford University Press)"
-snip-
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iona_and_Peter_Opie
"Iona Archibald Opie, CBE, FBA (born 13 October 1923)[1] and Peter Mason Opie (25 November 1918 – 5 February 1982) were a married team of folklorists, who applied modern techniques to children's literature, summarized in their studies The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (1951) and The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren (1959). They are also noted anthologists, and assembled large collections of children's literature, toys, and games."...

**
2. Subject: RE: BS: Elastics
From: GUEST,mg
Date: 25 Apr 02 - 09:20 PM

"I had never seen it in the states until the immigrants from S.E. Asia came..the girls would collect rubber bands and do it on the playground..they were quite graceful and athletic at it.. mg"

**
3.
Subject: RE: BS: Elastics
From: catspaw49
Date: 25 Apr 02 - 09:22 PM

"I know it was in the states long before that because Mark's sisters that I mentioned above played it as "Chinese Jump Rope" in the 50's....and this was a small town in eastern Ohio, not exactly the first place it would have popped up!"

**
4.
Subject: RE: Child's Game: Elastics
From: alison
Date: 28 Apr 02 - 09:53 AM

"we used elastic bands and called it "German jumps"

slainte

alison"

**
5.
Subject: RE: Child's Game: Elastics
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 13 May 05 - 11:39 PM

"My sister used to play Chinese jump rope with her friends, in Philadelphia, early 60's (she was born in 1956). I always assumed that it was no more "Chinese" than a "Chinese fire drill," but then I recently saw a movie made in China about China in the 30's (can't remember which one) and there were girls playing...Chinese jump rope. Those girls, like my sister, used rubber bands tied together. (Nobody would buy a cloth-covered something from a store when you could make the "rope" yourself, and there were so many other things to spend your fifteen cents on.) I think they cut the rubber bands before they tied them, but I wouldn't swear to that.

Aloha,
Mark"

**
6.
Subject: RE: Child's Game: Elastics
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Sep 05 - 09:28 PM

"I'm originally from Northern Ireland and we played this game in the 1960's. We called it german jumping. I can't remember if we used rhymes or not. We used coloured elastic bands and part of the fun was knotting them together to make the elastics."

**
7.
Subject: RE: Child's Game: Elastics
From: GUEST,Susan Rains
Date: 11 Nov 07 - 09:34 AM

"Hi played Elastics in South England in the late seventies which we called chinese skipping,"

**
8.
Subject: RE: Child's Game: Elastics/ball games etc
From: GUEST,Sue/South Wales

Date: 28 May 08 - 06:55 AM

"Enjoyed reading the rhymes, triggered lots of childhood memories. I remember playing french skipping in the 70's. Later reduced to "'lastics ". Also remembered that it died out in the playground because of minor injuries and incidents. I feel that a lot of these games have died out because of health & safety issues and compensation claims being taken to a ludicrous degree! These games were important in building confidence, team work, social interaction, sharing etc and promoting physical stamina...all of which are sadly lacking with a lot of youngsters these days."

**
9.
Subject: RE: Child's Game: Elastics
From: GUEST,Jane
Date: 03 Sep 08 - 11:24 PM

"I payed Chinese Jump Rope in the late 60's and early 70's in Jamaica, West Indies.
Now my 9 y/o daughter who has only been in her new elementary school one week has started a new trend showing the kids how to play.
I am trying to remember the chants but I think we used MISSISSIPPI and ENGLAND, IRELAND, SCOTLAND FRANCE, INSIDE, OUTSIDE, MONKEY PANTS
ENGLAND, IRELAND, SCOTLAND WALES, INSIDE, OUTSIDE, MONKEY TAILS.
Thanks for the memories!"

**
10.
Subject: RE: Child's Game: Elastics
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 21 Nov 08 - 04:46 AM

"We have been trying to introduce traditional rhymes into our playground too - we called this German elastics here in Northern Ireland and we used coloured elastics which were joined together"


**
11.
Subject: RE: Child's Game: Elastics"
From: GUEST,Sue
Date: 10 Apr 09 - 09:43 AM

"I played 'American Skippy' or 'elastics' at Osborne Park Primary school in Western Asutralia in 1960s. Also played game with sticks called fly and two balls against a wall. I stumbled across this sie while looking for two ball rhymes to teach my granddaughter. I rmember throwing blls a gainst the wall and singing; One two buckle my shoe and we'd have to touch our shoe before we caught the ball, three four close the door and make the action of closing a door etc."

Thanks for the memories.

**
12.
Subject: RE: Child's Game: Elastics
From: GUEST,Rachel
Date: 01 Oct 10 - 02:49 PM

"Hi all,

This is weird, I was talking to my husband about this game this week, and he had never heard of it (NC where I now live), but I grew up in Nottingham, England, and I remember playing it in the early/mid 80's.

I remember calling it simply 'Chinese', and we used knicker elastic, and our chant was extremely boring, but it completely explained what we did;

'In, Out, In, Out, In, On, In and away!

Thanks for letting me reminisce!"
-snip-
"NC" probably refers to North Carolina, United States.

**
13.
Subject: RE: Child's Game: Elastics
From: GUEST,Patsy
Date: 10 Feb 11 - 09:59 AM

"In Bristol we played 'Elastics' with the rules that Guest described 11 Sep 09 we called it French Skipping. Skipping or jumprope was as popular as anywhere else for girls but if you were invited to play French Skipping you knew that you were 'in' with the popular girls."...

**
14.
Subject: RE: Child's Game: Elastics
From: GUEST,BRidgett
Date: 09 Feb 11 - 04:07 PM

"Played this in the mid-80s in St. Louis Missouri USA. We played to the song: In Out Side Side On In Out ("out" meaning straddling the elastic). We called it Chinese Jumprope and did not have special songs, just the directions. But we had different "levels" like skinnies and eyes-shut and typewriter and diamonds. It seemed like it had been handed down as Gospel Truth when I was in 3rd grade...but many of the levels were probably made up to keep the game going!"

**
15.
From: GUEST,Emma (now in NC, USA)
Date: 20 Aug 11 - 03:31 PM

"I played this as French skipping in Cheshire UK and then in Singapore in the 70's! Have wanted to introduce my daughters to it but could never remember the order of the moves, thanks so much for the info and memories!"

****
Section B, Excerpt #3
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=35850 Subject: Help with playing 'Chinese Jump Rope'

1.
Subject: RE: BS: Chinese Jump Rope
From: GUEST,cleod
Date: 27 Jun 01 - 07:11 AM

"Hey, I'm Asian and yes, I did play Chinese jumprope (called Chinese garter, since that was what we used instead of rubber bands) in my grade school years... I remember pestering my mom for shoes without buckles so I could get past the tricky bits...
Chinese jumprope - in, out, step on, in out, twist, out, twist, out, diamond, out, diamond, out.

Japanese jumprope - i know we called it japanese, but i have no idea what made it so japanese...all we did was jump over a rope (going progressively higher as the game goes one...the really good players were the ones who could cartwheel over the highest part)

There was another variation called 'triangle', but i can't remember the rules anymore.

Hope this helps! cleod"

**
2.
Subject: RE: Chinese Jump Rope
From: Sonnet
Date: 24 Dec 03 - 09:44 AM

"Thanks for bringing back childhood memories. I loved playing Chinese Skipping! If I remember correctly, the elastic would be raised up the legs of the two people on the ends (or up the buffet legs if no-one was playing out)on completion of a full correct sequence. We also referred to the game as Lastics, probably because we played with knicker elastic rather than rubber bands.

The descriptions so far tally with how we played here in Penistone, South Yorks, in the late 60's.

Jay McS"

**
3.
Subject: RE: Chinese Jump Rope
From: GUEST,Patricia
Date: 03 May 07 - 01:21 PM

"I remember playing the 'rubber band rope jumping" game! But the rhyme we used was different from all I have read here! We had no idea what we were saying but it went like this:

Yoki and the Kaiser, Yoki addy ay, Tamba, so-ba, Sa-du, sa-day. :Yoki in the Kaiser, Yoki allee-ah, Kick him in the so-po, Sa-du, sa-day!

I read in the book :Sally Go Round the Sun: by Edith Fowke, that this was a Korean children's game and the children of missionaries brought it back to Canada in 1939. Original words: Riojun, Kayo, Yaku navide atc.

This song was taught to commemorate victory of the Russian-Japanese war of 1905 and written by a Japanese poet (after this war the Japanese occupied Korea)."

**
4.
Subject: RE: Help with playing 'Chinese Jump Rope'
From: Crowhugger
Date: 02 Jun 09 - 01:31 AM

"In Ottawa in the mid 1960s we called it "Yogi" but after reading past posts that is likely a corruption of the word "Yoki" from one of the chants. I don't recall the chants we used, just vaguely the steps if that's what they're called. We made up our own sets of steps as well as doing version everyone knew. Since my mother sewed, that's type of elastic we used, the 1/4" wide kind, as I recall. I begged her for black elastic so it wouldn't look like it came from underwear--what did I know in grade 4? She only ever provided white elastic.

What a trip down memory lane!"

**
4.
Subject: RE: Chinese Jump Rope
From: GUEST,Patricia
Date: 03 May 07 - 01:21 PM

I remember playing the 'rubber band rope jumping" game! But the rhyme we used was different from all I have read here! We had no idea what we were saying but it went like this:

Yoki and the Kaiser, Yoki addy ay, Tamba, so-ba, Sa-du, sa-day. :Yoki in the Kaiser, Yoki allee-ah, Kick him in the so-po, Sa-du, sa-day!

I read in the book :Sally Go Round the Sun: by Edith Fowke, that this was a Korean children's game and the children of missionaries brought it back to Canada in 1939. Original words: Riojun, Kayo, Yaku navide atc.

This song was taught to commemorate victory of the Russian-Japanese war of 1905 and written by a Japanese poet (after this war the Japanese occupied Korea).

**
5.
Subject: RE: Help with playing 'Chinese Jump Rope'
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Jun 09 - 10:04 PM

"I got the Klutz book of Chinese jump rope - Klutz usually having some good stuff to work with - and they boast that they have "all the traditional games". Closer inspection of the book itself reveals that they have games traditional to two schools in San Francisco instead - coming from NYC, not one of those games is one I know to play Chinese Jump Rope with!

But if you can't remember a single thing you did with Chinese Jump Rope you won't likely mind that :)

What we did most of the time, btw, is go in, out (that's a straddle, not jumping out), in, on, in, out (out means out here), over (jump and catch the closer end of the jump rope over your feet as you do so), out (jump and release the jump rope entirely).

But then we moved from Brooklyn to Staten Island. You wouldn't think such a little move would make such a big difference, it's the same city even (and everybody here, all the grown-ups, are not only from Brooklyn but often from the same neighborhood we were!), but here the kids did regular jump rope instead of Chinese Jump Rope."

****
ADDENDUM: SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Example #1: Jumpin' For Gold in Double Dutch 2009 Holiday Classic - New York Post



New York Post Published on Dec 19, 2009

Teams from all over the world compete in the 18th Annual Double Dutch Holiday Classic at the Apollo in Harlem. http://video.nypost.com

**
Example #2: doubledutch flash freestyle by ebene



jojodoubledutch, Published on Mar 24, 2011

presentation de l'epreuve "freestyle" en double dutch sur un plateau sportif au centre georges pompidou à paris "chatlet " avec le presentateur franco-américain de la NBA : georges eddy
-snip-
Google translate from French to English: "Presentation of the "freestyle" event in duplicate dutch on a sporting platform in the center george pompidou in paris "chatlet" with the Franco-American presenter of the NBA: georges eddy"
-snip-
I don't know when the rules for Double Dutch sports competitions changed regarding male participation and I don't know what those rules are now. However, there was a time when Double Dutch competitions were only for females, and then the rules were changed to allow for only one male in each competing Double Dutch team.

****
Example #3: Chinese Jump Rope



Loni Gee Published on Sep 16, 2010

4 girls from Guangzhou Middle School have fun just before the school song starts.

****
Example #4: Classical Chinese Jump Rope Tutorial (fun game outdoor or indoor)



Glander Chen, Published on Jul 3, 2012

Beijing styles in 1970's.

Included basic styles "The Six Step","The Seven Step", double rope freestyle and single rope freestyle variation 1,2,3.

**
Example #5: Elastics / French Skipping / Chinese / Yorkshire 1980s / playground games / keep fit



Published on Jun 14, 2013, (HD) Trying to remember our old playground games to teach to my kids. Plenty of different versions of this but these are them moves we did in Yorkshire, early 1980s. Can't remember all of them but if you went wrong you swapped with one of the kids standing in the elastic. If you completed all the moves you then moved to 'kneesies' then 'hipsies' etc.

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases two sound files of Red Saunders & His Orchestra With Dolores Hawkins & The Hambone Kids's "Hambone" record (1952, 1963).

Information about Red Saunders is also included in this post along with information about The Hambone Kids
The lyrics to the 1963 version of this record are also provided in this post.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Red Saunders & His Orchestra and Dolores Hawkins and The Hambone Kids for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this sound file on YouTube.
-snip-
This post is part of an ongoing series about the "Hambone" song and percussive body patting activity.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/10/pattin-juba-hambone-and-bo-diddley-beat.html
for a 2011 pancocojams post on Hambone (pattin juba) beat and body percussion.

Click the tag below for other pancocojams posts that are also part of an ongoing series on "Hambone".

****
INFORMATION ABOUT RED SAUNDERS & HIS ORCHESTRA
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Saunders_(musician)
"Theodore Dudley "Red" Saunders (March 2, 1912 – March 5, 1981)[1] was an [African] American jazz drummer and bandleader. He also played vibraphone and timpani...

Saunders remained in control of the Club DeLisa house band until the club closed in 1958, apart from a hiatus between 1945 and 1947 when he led a smaller band at other venues in Chicago. Among his sidemen were Leon Washington, Porter Kilbert, Earl Washington, Sonny Cohn, Ike Perkins, Riley Hampton, singer Joe Williams and Mac Easton. Among the arrangers he employed were Johnny Pate[3] and Sun Ra.[2]
He made his first recordings as bandleader for Savoy Records in late 1945, and later accompanied such rhythm and blues performers as T-Bone Walker, Big Joe Turner, Sugar Chile Robinson, Rosetta Tharpe, Willie Mabon, Little Brother Montgomery and LaVern Baker (then credited as "Miss Sharecropper") on sessions. He continued to record under his own name with relatively little commercial success for several years, until early 1952 when his recording of the traditional children's song "Hambone" on the OKeh label, with Dolores Hawkins and the Hambone Kids (who included Dee Clark), reached some R&B charts. In 1956, he recorded with Guy Warren on Warren's album Africa Speaks—America Answers![2] Despite his regular gig and disinclination to go on the road, Saunders also played with Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Woody Herman. He continued to lead a band at the Regal Theater in Chicago into the 1960s, and played with Little Brother Montgomery and Art Hodes at the New Orleans Jazz Festival in the 1970s."....

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE "HAMBONE" RECORD BY RED SAUNDERS AND HIS ORCHESTRA WITH DELORES HAWKINS & THE HAMBONE KIDS
From http://www.somanyrecordssolittletime.com/?cat=2010 Hambone / Red Saunders & His Orch. with Delores Hawkins & The Hambone KidsSUNDAY, JULY 8TH, 2012
"Red Saunders found his first successful footing in the depression era Chicago clubs. His endless singles, on many labels, seemed to finally reach an early doo wop/RnB mix of ghetto wildness, a frenzy evident here.

First released in February 1952, the record was accompanied by large display ads in Billboard showing The Hambone Kids performing in front of Red Saunders and his drums. The originally issued take of ‘Hambone’ included Dolores Hawkins’ whistling but lacked her vocal interjections that appear on this version; it also included a brief passage for the full band and a tenor sax solo. The Kids’ rhythmic practice was known as hamboning or patting juba: slapping various body parts as a substitute for drumming. Dee Clark, one of those Hambone Kids, also loudly stamped his heel on the 2nd and 4th beats.

Peaking at #20 on the Billboard RnB chart, it was, like Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ ‘I Put A Spell On You’, a consistent seller. By ’63, parent company CBS decided to reissue ‘Hambone’ as Okeh 7166, pictured here. And then again in ’67 (Okeh 7282). These reissues used an alternate take running 2:13, in which The Hambone Kids and Dolores Hawkins are accompanied throughout by guitar, bass, and drums only; the rest of Red Saunders Big Band / Orchestra contributing only shouts of “Hambone!” at the beginning and end of the piece.

There are many versions of ‘Hambone’ floating around this earth, as was the case with all big selling black records in the 50′s, endless vanilla white artists watered them down for middle America consumption. This here is the real deal though."

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THIS RECORD
From The Virgin Encyclopedia of The Blues by Colin Larkin[Google books, page 1879]
"He [Red Saunders] recorded on Sultan, Savoy, and Supreme before securing a contract with OKed. The featured vocalist on his 1950/1 session was "Jumpin' Joe Williams, some years and a coat of polish before his stint with Count Basie. Sanders also claim to fame was a ramshackle 1952 novelty hit 'Hambone'. 'The Hambone Kids', Sammy McGrier, Ronny Strong, and Delecta Clark (who grew up to become Dee Clark), patted 'juba', slapping their bodies in syncopated rhythms, between singing childish verses that anticipated Bo Diddley, while Dolores Hawkins ejaculated 'Yeah!' at the end of each stanza."

****
From http://www.madmusic.com/song_details.aspx?SongID=4306
"Re-popularized in the early 60s by NYC kids host and former radio actor Sandy Becker on his show on WNEW Channel 5 in NY. He developed a character called Hambone [dressed in a bizarre marching-type uniform, pith helmet with huge feather and 6"-long "glasses"] and would strut and stride around on camera while the song played, and would also put up words on signs on a board to form a witty saying. Becker was also a cartoon voice actor (Go Go Gophers, others) and is fondly remembered by kids of the 50s & 60s from the NY area. The 1952 release was re-released in 1963 due to the popularity of Becker's character, and was a re-edited take with Becker squealing "Yeaaaahhhhhhh!!!" in character over the original record. Among the Hambone Kids was a young Dee Clark, who would later have hits such as "Raindrops", a staple of oldies radio."

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SHOWCASE SOUND FILES:
Example #1:Red Saunders - Hambone (Original Version)



Michael McKenna, Published on Feb 15, 2013

This is the first version of Red Saunders'"Hambone" from 1952 - released as OKeh 6862 - which has a saxophone break in the middle of the song - does not have the drawn-out "YEAH!" exclamations found in the later version - and does not have the "false fade"prior the the last exclamation of "Hambone!". The later version was issued with "Rumble Mambo" by Link Wray on the reverse side as OKeh 7166 in 1963 and OKeh 7282 in 1967.

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Example #2: Hambone - Red Saunders and his Orchestra with the Hambone kids - HQ



jrocuts, Published on Aug 14, 2010

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LYRICS: HAMBONE (Version #2)
Hambone!

Hambone!

Hambone, hambone
Have you heard?
Papa’s gonna buy me a mocking bird
And if that mocking bird don’t sing
Papa’s gonna buy me a diamond ring
And if that diamond ring don’t shine
Papa’s gonna take it to the five and dime
Hambone!
Yeah!

Hambone, Hambone, where you been?
Round the world and I’m goin' again
Hambone Hambone, where's your wife?
In the kitchen cookin' rice.
Hambone
Yeah! Yeah!

Look at him holler, look at him moan*
He always called for his hambone.
We he get it he eat it fast
That ole hambone just wouldn't last.
Hambone!
Yeah! Yeah! Ah Yeah! Ah ha!

-snip-
This is my transcription of this song from that sound file. Additions and corrections are welcome.

*I can't decipher what is said in this line. I got those words from this version of "Hambone" which is partly attributed to Red Saunders

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases the 1964 record "Ham Bone" by Washboard Willie". Information about Washboard Willie is included in this post along with information about the washboard instrument and information about Washboard Willie's 1964 record "Ham Bone".

A sound file of and lyrics for that song are also included in this post..

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Washboard Willie for his musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this psot and thanks to the publisher of this sound file on YouTube.
-snip-
This post is part of an ongoing series about the "Hambone" song and percussive body patting activity.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/10/pattin-juba-hambone-and-bo-diddley-beat.html
for a 2011 pancocojams post on Hambone (pattin juba) beat and body percussion.

Click the tag below for other pancocojams posts that are also part of an ongoing series on "Hambone".

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INFORMATION ABOUT WASHBOARD WILLIE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washboard_Willie
"William Paden Hensley (July 24, 1906[1] or 1909 – August 24, 1991),[2] known as Washboard Willie, was an [African] American Detroit blues musician, who specialised in playing the washboard. He recorded tracks including "A Fool on a Mule in the Middle of The Road" plus "Cherry Red Blues", and worked variously with Eddie "Guitar" Burns, Baby Boy Warren, and Boogie Woogie Red.[2]

Hensley was born either in Bullock County, Alabama, in 1906,[1] or in Columbus, Georgia, in 1909.[2] "Washboard Willie", as he became known, did not take up music until his thirties. By 1948 he had relocated to Detroit,[3] and in 1952, he watched Eddie "Guitar" Burns performing and played along with Burns' backing group. He impressed the proprietor and ended up with a three-year residency with the band.[4]
Working full-time washing cars for a living, he decided to name his own musical ensemble, Washboard Willie and the Super Suds of Rhythm, working off of the name of a once-popular laundry detergent![4][5] He graduated from just playing the washboard to incorporate a bass drum and snare and, in 1955, gave Little Sonny his first booking.[4] In 1956, Hensley made his own debut recording of "Cherry Red Blues," with "Washboard Shuffle;" and then "Washboard Blues Pt. 1 & 2."[6] His recording career continued until 1962 utilising Boogie Woogie Red on piano accompaniment. The recordings were not issued until 1969 on Barrelhouse Records. However, in 1966, Willie did release a single with the tracks "Natural Born Lover," and "Wee Baby Blues." His band remained in demand playing nightly in both Detroit and Ann Arbor.[4]
In 1973, he toured Europe with Lightnin' Slim, Whispering Smith, Snooky Pryor, Homesick James and Boogie Woogie Red; he also played at the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival that year on the Saturday afternoon "Detroit Blues" show. A compilation album, American Blues Legends '73 was issued on Big Bear Records with Willie contributing the tracks, "I Feel So Fine" and "Kansas City."[4][6] Six years later he stopped playing professionally.[4]"

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE WASHBOARD INSTRUMENT
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washboard_(musical_instrument)
"The washboard and frottoir (from Cajun French "frotter", to rub) are used as a percussion instrument, employing the ribbed metal surface of the cleaning device as a rhythm instrument. As traditionally used in jazz, zydeco, skiffle, jug band, and old-time music, the washboard remained in its wooden frame and is played primarily by tapping, but also scraping the washboard with thimbles. Often the washboard has additional traps, such as a wood block, a cowbell, and even small cymbals. Conversely, the frottoir (zydeco rubboard) dispenses with the frame and consists simply of the metal ribbing hung around the neck. It is played primarily with spoon handles or bottle openers in a combination of strumming, scratching, tapping and rolling. The frottoir or vest frottoir is played as a stroked percussion instrument, often in a band with a drummer, while the washboard generally is a replacement for drums."...

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INFORMATION ABOUT WASHBOARD WILLIE'S "HAM BONE" RECORD
From http://www.somanyrecordssolittletime.com/?cat=2010 Ham Bone / Washboard Willie
SUNDAY, JULY 8TH, 2012
"Roger Armstrong played me ‘Ham Bone’ in ’07. I’d never heard the version prior, but hunted for it ever since. Let me tell you, this was one hard record to find. Forget about price, it was all about a copy turning up at all. Subsequently I’d been searching unsuccessfully for ages, but just prior to our London trip last week, the first pressing to list on eBay in years appeared. Not about to lose it, I put in a crazy high bid, and luck was on my side.

Funny enough, the auction closed while I was in the UK, sitting in Camden’s Spreadeagle pub with Roger himself. No lie. What a nice email alert to get anywhere, but nicely full circle in this case.

By far the most successful version, according the BILLBOARD chart number, is that by Red Saunders & His Orch. with Delores Hawkins & The Hambone Kids. Love it as you will, still Washboard Willie’s is clearly in a class of it’s own.

Having turned professional in ’52 at thirty years old, a very late bloomer even then, this full time car washer’s apparent first stroke of genius was to name his band Washboard Willie & The Super Suds Of Rhythm. Now who wouldn’t want every record they made on name alone?

Originally playing only his washboard from work, his second stroke, by ’55 he added a bass and snare drum, his third. Listen to Washboard Willie’s performance on ‘Ham Bone’, from ’64, and you’ll hear how he mastered a most primal idea, thereby achieving for himself a permanent slot in music history."...

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SHOWCASE SOUND FILE: Washboard Willie - Ham Bone



DeepGospel, Published on May 9, 2015

Great solo drums/vocal record, produced by Detroit's legendary Joe von Battle. [1964]

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LYRICS - HAM BONE
(Washboard Willie)

Ham in the hambone pat’em on the shoulder
If you get a pretty girl, I'll show you how to hold her.
Up to the big house down to the kitchen
Come on get your hook and line Let’s go fishin’
Mama caught a red bass I caught a hammer
Mama caught a big fish, big enough for dinner
Hambone!
Hambone Hambone where you been?
All around the world and back again
Come on gal let’s go where it’s found
come on gal let’s mess around
come on gal let’s go to school
come on gal let’s cut the fool

Hambone

Hambone is a good ole man
He washed his face with a frying pan
He combed his hair with a wagon wheel
He died with a toothpick in his heel
Hambone.
-snip-
These lyrics are spoken rather than sung and are accompanied by a snare drum .

This is my transcription of this song from that sound file. Additions and corrections are welcome.

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents information about the "Hambone" song and text (lyric) examples of various versions of "Hambone".

This post particularly focuses on examples of "Hambone" that either include "Hush Little Baby Don't You Cry" ("Mockingbird") verses or "Frog Went A' Courting" verses.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the featured artists and the publishers of these YouTube examples.
-snip-
This post is part of an ongoing series about the "Hambone" song and percussive body patting activity.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/10/pattin-juba-hambone-and-bo-diddley-beat.html for a 2011 pancocojams post on Hambone (pattin juba) beat and body percussion.

Click the tag below for other pancocojams posts that are also part of an ongoing series on "Hambone".

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INFORMATION AND THEORIES ABOUT THE MEANING[S] OF "HAMBONE" SONGS/RHYMES (with or without lyrics)
These comments and song examples are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.

The "Song Example" title and the numbers that are assigned for the text (lyrics) examples of this song which are included in this post are given for the purposes of this blog post and aren't included in the source material that is quoted. I've written these examples with numbers in italics to differentiate those numbers from the remainder of those comments.

Excerpt #1:
From Step It Down: Games, Plays, Songs & Stories from the Afro-American Heritage, edited by Bessie Jones and Bess Lomax Hawes, (University of Georgia Press, originally published in 1972, 1987 edition), pages 34-35

"You just say it, and then you say it with your hands

"Hambone" probably refers to the part of the anatomy most involved in playing this hand jive game, though there is undoubtedly more to it than that. Most young black men, I find, know it in one version or another.

"Hambone" may be performed alone or with a group all jiving together. While the rhyme is being said, the players slap their thighs, lightly on the offbeat. After each line of the poem, they pat in the following rhythm [a drawing of musical notes is included here.] ...

The "patting" may be done on one side of the body only, using the right hand or thigh; or on both sides at the same time in parallel motion. The triplet phrase is done as follows:

1. Slap the side of the thigh with the palm of the hand in an upward brushing motion.
2. Continuing the upward brushing: strike the side of the chest with the palm of the hand.
3. Strike the thigh downward with the back of the hand.

Voice
Song Example #1

HamboneHambone pat him on the shoulder
If you get a pretty girl, I'll show you how to hold her.
Hambone, Hambone, where have you been?
All 'round the world and back again.
Hambone, Hambone, what did you do?
I got a train and I fairly flew.
Hambone, Hambone where did you go?
I hopped up to Miss Lucy's door.
I asked Miss Lucy would she marry me.
(falsetto)"Well I don't care if Papa don't care!"
First come in was Mister Snake,
He crawled all over that wedding cake.
Next walked in was Mister Tick,
He ate so much it made him sick.
Next walked in was Mister Coon,
We asked him to sing us a wedding tune,
Now Ham-....
Now Ham....

Action
Pat thigh on the offbeat while the rhyme is being recited. (The first two lines have been underscored on the offbeat as an example.) At the end of each line of the rhyme, do the hambone "pat" as previously described."
-snip-
Note: The lyrics in this excerpt are given as Example #1 of "Hambone" in this pancocojams post.

SHOWCASE VIDEO: Example #1
Bessie Jones - Hambone



WallakAt, Published on May 26, 2012
-snip-
I remember reading somewhere that Bessie Jones said that the "Hambone, hambone where you been/round the world and back again" verse was about an actual bone with ham meat that was re-used [in a soup] over and over again because people were poor. However, I can't find where I read that statement. I offer this theory for the "record" and not because I necessarily believe it is true.

However, in this example of the song "Hambone", and in other examples, "Hambone" appears to be used as a person's (probably male) nickname.

****
Excerpt #2:
From http://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/18/arts/re-creating-hambone-body-music-of-the-past.html"Re-creating Hambone, Body Music of the Past" by Glenn Collins, Published: July 18, 1987
..."The body music called hambone is made by using the hands to slap the thighs and the chest muscles. ''I guess lots of people have never seen it,'' said the 23-year-old Mr. [Derique] McGee of the art of hambone. ''Sometimes I'm asked if I invented it.''

In fact, hambone "is a living bit of black history, a neglected part of our heritage that flourished in minstrel shows and vaudeville,'' he said ...

According to Dr. Joseph Boskin, professor of history and Afro-American studies at Boston University, Mr. McGee's efforts to revive hambone "are representative of a growing movement in America to keep alive elements of black culture that have survived through the generations."

Like rap music, which has been traced to African roots,the rhythmic patting motion of hambone has its origin in West African dance, ''where movement was a form of communication and religious ceremony,'' said Professor Boskin. It ''was refined in the plantations,'' he added. 'A Lost Art' to Be Preserved’.

[...]

Although the etymology of the word hambone is debated, "It makes sense that the word comes from hitting your thigh, your hambone," said Mr. McGee."..

****
Excerpt #3
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=17443
Subject: Lyrics Req. Hambone

1.
Subject: RE: Lyrics Req. Hambone
From: Stewie
Date: 26 Jan 00 - 07:39 PM

"There's a version recorded on a lovely CD: Various Artists 'Georgia Folk: A Sampler of Traditional Sounds' Global Village Music CD 03. It is performed by Ray Favors - with body patting, mouth popping etc - and was recorded by Dave Evans in 1970."

Song Example #2

"HAMBONE

Hambone, hambone have you heard
Papa gonna buy me a mockingbird
If that mockingbird don't sing
Papa gonna buy me a diamond ring
If that diamond ring don't shine
Papa gonna buy me a nanny goat
It that nanny goat don't rate
Papa gonna whup my boom-de-yay
Hambone!

Hambone, hambone where you aye (?)
In the chicken house cookin' rye
Hambone, hambone where you bin
Round the world and I'm goin' agin
Hambone!"

**
2.
Subject: RE: Lyrics Req. Hambone
From: Bill in Alabama
Date: 26 Jan 00 - 08:41 PM

"I was taught to hambone by friends who worked as "delivery boys" for a small neighborhood grocery store in Chattanooga, where you could telephone in your grocery list and have the goods delivered to your back door. The verses floated in from many other songs, I'm sure. A couple that I recall were "Hambone, Hambone, where ya been? Around the world and I a-goin' again. What you gonna do when you get back? I'm gonna take a little walk down the railroad track." Back in the 'fifties, Bo Diddely put the hambone rhythm to the guitar, replaced the name Hambone with his own name, and became a rock & roll icon."

****
3.
Subject: RE: Origins: Hambone
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 08 Mar 12 - 05:18 PM

"Hambone, as a term, was applied to itinerant, unpaid actors in the 1890s (quote from 1895 in Lighter*).

Application of the term to juba patting or juba dancers (body music)seems to be fairly recent; the earliest quote* in 1921.

Articles on the net and in literature put the term as equivalent to juba patting, and then mention the antiquity of body music, but use of the term for the action-song has not been traced back before the quotes in Lighter.
There seems to have been a transference of the term from the itinerant actor to juba patting or body music, perhaps in the 1930s.

*Lighter, Historical Dictionary of American Slang

****
Song Example #3
From http://www.metrolyrics.com/hambone-lyrics-taj-mahal.html

Hambone! Hambone! [title]

Hambone, hambone
Where you been?
Round the world and I'm going again
What you gonna do when you come back?
Take a little walk by the railroad track
Hambone

Hambone, hambone
Have you heard?
Papa's gonna buy me a mocking bird
And if that mocking bird don't sing
Papa's gonna buy me a diamond ring
And if that diamond ring don't shine
Papa's gonna take it to the five and dime
Hambone"

****
Song Example #4

From http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/h/hambone.shtml

HAMBONE
(Red Saunders / Leon Washington)

[as sung by Bill Haley]

Hambone! Hambone!

Hambone, hambone
where you been?
Round the world and I’m going again
What you gonna do when you come back?
Take a little walk by the railroad track
Hambone

Hambone, hambone
Have you heard?
Papa’s gonna buy me a mocking bird
And if that mocking bird don’t sing
Papa’s gonna buy me a diamond ring
And if that diamond ring don’t shine
Papa’s gonna take it to the five and dime
Hambone

Hambone, hambone
Where you been?
Round the world and I’m going again
I just skinned an alley cat
To make my wife a Sunday hat
Took the hide right off a goat
To make my wife a Sunday coat

Hambone, hambone
Where’s your wife
Out to the kitchen, cooking beans and rice
Hambone (2x)

Hambone, hambone
Trying to eat
Ketchup on his elbow, pickle on his feet
Bread in the basket
Chicken in the stew
Supper on the fire for me and you

Look at him holler, look at him moan
That hambone just can’t hambone
Hambone (2x)
-snip-
The "skinned the cat/to make a Sunday hat" verse is from the "Juba This And Juba That" song. That song is included in Thomas W. Talley's now classic book Negro Folk Rhymes: Wise And Unwise. In the notes for that book, Talley wrote that "skinning the cat" was a dance step. https://archive.org/stream/negrofolkrhymes00tallgoog/negrofolkrhymes00tallgoog_djvu.txt

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Showcase Video #2

Hambonin' Nebo; Hambone



NeBo411, Published on Dec 4, 2007

NeBo performs the artistic, thigh-slapping artform called Hambone.
-snip-
Song Example #5

HAMBONE (a contemporary version with spoken word additions)
(NeBo411)

Now what you are about to see
is a little bit of lost history.
A little bit of lost history.
But I’m glad
Somebody showed me.
Whether one or two or all alone
Everybody can enjoy
a little hambone.
Hambone, hambone what is that?
Hambone is more than a hit or a pat.
Hambone is more than a rhyme.
Hambone is more than a notion.
To get into hambone
you gotta show emotion.
So look up!
Listen here!
Hambone’s about to bring you some cheer. Hah!

[Begins hambone patting and after several pats with no words, continue pattin while saying these lines]

Hambone, hambone have you heard?
Mama’s gonna buy me a mockin’ bird.
If that mockin’ bird don’t sing
Mama’s gonna buy me a diamond ring.
If that diamond ring don’t shine
Mama’s gonna buy me a fishing line.
If that fishing line should break
Mama’s gonna throw it in the lake.
If that water splash on me
Mama’s gonna beat my b.u.t.

[Stops hambone pattin and without any break flows into the next line]

Tea is what I like to drink
When I know I need to think.
When I like a little song
I like to do the -Hambone. Hah!

[Begins hambone pattin’ again then after several pats says]

Break it down! Hah! Hah!

[Does mouth pop]

Hambone!
-snip-
*Transcription from the YouTube video by Azizi Powell, 8/17/2010.

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Showcase Video #3
Hambone by Adrian elementary school



keith feagin Published on Mar 20, 2015

ham bone, ham bone, have you heard?
-snip-
This is a "Mockingbird" version of the "Hambone" song.

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series

Part I presents various examples of the Double Dutch rhyme "Hey Concentration". An example of this rhyme which was published online as a circle game is also included in this post.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/08/probable-sources-for-double-dutch-rhyme.html for Part II of this series. Part II presents lyrics for and videos of two songs that I believe are the probable sources for the Double Dutch jump rope rhyme "Hey Concentration".

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to all those who contributed examples that are included in this post.

****
This is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on Double Dutch (jump rope) and jump roping rope in general, particularly as those activities relate to African American females.

Click the tags below to find other posts in this series.

If you know of any additional examples of this rhyme, please share them in the comment section below, along with demographic information (particularly the decade you heard or performed this rhyme and how you performed it, example: jump rope, hand clap game etc. Thanks!

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PART I: EXAMPLES OF THIS RHYME
These examples are given in the order that I found them or (in the case of the example that is given last), that the rhyme was shared with me.

I've numbered these examples for referencing purposes only.

Rhyme Example #1
"Hey concentration
Where have you been
Around the corner
And back again
Stole my money
Stole my honey
Mama's got the hiccups
Daddy's got the flu.
Now come on boys
Let's slice the ice.
Slice it 1
Slice it 2
Slice it 3 4 5
Slice it 6
Slice it 7
Slice it 8 9 10
Hey everybody
Come on and do your thing.
2 up bop, bop.
2 down bop, bop
2 up bop, bop.
2 down bop, bop
2 up"
-snip-
The authors noted that this is a Double Dutch Jump Rope rhyme. Here are the performance directions for jumping double dutch that the authors included with this rhyme:

"Two players face each other, holding two ropes, one in each hand. The right hand of one player turns one rope counterclockwise, and his left hand turns the other rope clockwise.

The right hand of the second player turns counterclockwise and his left hand turns clockwise. The right hand and left hands of each player correspond in moving.

One child "jumps in" when one rope is up in the air and the other is down. His foot pattern is a skip from side to side."

Source: Eleanor Fulton, Pat Smith, Let’s Slice The Ice ( published St. Louis, Missouri. Magnamusic-Baton, 1978, page 27)
-snip-
I've searched but haven't found any definitions for or references to the phrase "slice the ice". In the context of this rhyme, I think that "slice the ice" was probably a commonly used African American Vernacular English phrase that meant to perform a rhythmic movement or dance step in which the person slides from one side to another. Note that the authors write that the "foot pattern is a skip from side to side."

It's interesting that the authors used the pronoun "his" instead of "her" since traditionally most Double Dutch jumpers have been female. I think the use of that male pronoun reflects 1970s grammatical practices, and shouldn't be read to mean that the players were males.

****
Rhyme Example #2

"Challenge, Challenge/Big Mac/Hey Consolation Medley
(Challenge is a competitive follow-the-leader game)

Challenge, challenge
1,2,3,4,5,6,7.8, 9,10

Big Mac, Filet o’ Fish foot
And bounce
And hop
And turn
And walk
And criss

Hey consolation
Where have you been?
Around the corner, and back again
Stole my money
Knocked my honey
Papa’s go the hiccups
Mama’s got the ice
So come on baby
Let’s slice that ice

2, 4, 6, 8, 10 hop
2,4,6,8,10 turn
2, 4, 6, 8, 10 criss
2,4,6,8,10 turn walk
(1991, 1992, ;.1999, 1004

Only one song mixes modern commentary, traditional moves, and commercial messages. Although it mentions specific corporations, it is not a simple advertisement. The first two lines come from a rap by recording artist KRS-One, but the rest of the Mill School’s version diverges from the original yet stays true to its message of confidence. Tashi and Naisha gave it special status, and its words were sung with an eye twinkle. This one was different. It is complex in its layering of street competition, sarcasm. And African American traditional foot work. In this sense, it is much more than a traditional singing game"...


Source: from Recess Battle: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling by Anna R. Beresin (University Press of Mississippi, Jackson; 2010) page 67
-snip-
I'm not sure which record the author refers to when she wrote that the first two lines of this rhyme are from a KRS-One rap.

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Rhyme Example #3
"Hey concentration, where have you been?
Around the corner and back again?
Stole my money, stole my honey,
Mama’s got the hiccups, papa’s got the flu!"

Source: http://www.bethsnotesplus.com/2015/09/hey-concentration.html
-snip-
The editor of that website categorizes this song as an "American folk song: circle game" and provides the following performance instructions:

Hey concentration = two small steps forward (half note = beat)
Where have you been = Put hands out in “Where?” motion (pulse hands twice)
Around the corner = Turn around in circle once
Back again = two steps back
Stole my money = turn and face partner and pat own knees twice
Stole my honey = High five both partner’s hands
Mama’s got the hiccups = Pat knees twice
Papa’s got the flu = Turn and face inside of the circle, ready to start over

Optional ending:
Mama’s got the hiccups = Facing partner, walk past partner to the next person (new partner)"

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Rhyme Example #4
Pancocojams Editor's Note:
This example is included in an online blog post about the opening credits scene for Spike Lee's 1994 movie Crooklyn. That name is a purposely adapted nickname for Brooklyn, New York. I've included an excerpt of that post along with the "Hey Concentration" rhyme example.
From https://bigmediavandal.blogspot.com/2008/02/imagery-saturdays-games-people-play.html Saturday, February 09, 2008, "Imagery Saturdays: Games People Play", By Odienator

"My favorite opening credits sequence of Spike's is the one that opens Crooklyn. There's a lot wrong with Crooklyn as a feature: Spike Lee can't write a female character to save his life, the film is fragmented and meandering, and the entire anamorphic sequence, while bold, is annoying. Still I love this movie for the sense of nostalgia it evokes. In an argument with a film critic buddy of mine, I completely acknowledged every flaw he pointed out. "But I was there," I told him, "and I think that's what Spike's going for in this movie. He's preaching to the choir of kids from the 70's."

Crooklyn opens with a quick survey of a Brooklyn neighborhood, and as it plays out, we see a whole slew of games being played by the neighborhood kids. The scene is scored to the Stylistics' People Make the World Go Round, a song that kicks in as the Universal logo spins on the screen. I'm not going to lie; I felt 4 years old when I saw these games on the screen. My eyes got wet and a flood of memories came back to me. That's what I hope to invoke with this free association rant about the images below. So, ask your Mom if you can come out and play with the Odienator. Hurry up. The streetlights come on in an hour.

[...]

Another "girl" game I partook in was double dutch. The girls swung their bodies with attitude while they turned the rope, and I'd get tingly feelings I didn't know anything about until much later. In my neighborhood, jumping rope was verboten for boys, but honestly I didn't care. I didn't have any male friends anyway, except for my cousins, and the guys in my hood were too busy yelling at me because I was the smart kid, calling me "professor" and "White boy" because "keepin' it real" hadn't been coined yet. This was a way I could get close to the girls, and it paid off later when I joined one of the double dutch troops who competed in things like the McDonalds contests. We kicked ass, and I met a lot of women. So nyaah.

Another thing I loved about double dutch was that it got the adults involved. My cousins would be outside jumping, and my Mom or one of my numerous aunts would come outside and ask for a jump. Now, keep in mind that, to us, these women seemed older than dirt. In actuality, my Mom was in her 20's and some of my aunts were in their late teens. They would kick off their shoes and then, after that hilarious back and forth motion everybody did before jumping into the rope, would jump in and jump like the experts they were. Sometimes they showed off, too, jumping in what we called "hot peas and butter," a really fast turn of the rope. Whenever we tried that, we'd get whelped up and look like the zebra on the Fruit Stripe gum package.

And remember those songs the girls would sing, using the rhythm of the rope and their feet as percussion:

"Hey Concentration
Where have you been?
Around the corner and back again.
Stole my money
And my honey
Papa got the hiccups, Mama got the slice.
So come on baby let's slice that ice,
Slice 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1!
I knew an old lady who lived in a town.
She tried to do the jump but she turned around.
She tried to do the split but she did the kick.
Oh my Lawd now what is this?"
-snip-
The authors's "Hurry up. The streetlights come on in an hour" statement refers to the fact that for many African American children (and probably other children), the rule was that children had to be in their homes when the street lights came on. I remember this well from my childhood in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the 1950s.

I haven't found any definitions online or offline for the phrase "slice the ice". My guess is that "slice the ice" was an African American Vernacular English phrase that had the same or very similar meaning as "cut the rug" = "to enthusiastically perform social dances".

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Rhyme Example #5:
"Hey concentration Where have you Been
Around the corner and back Again
Stole my Money and my Honey
Papa's got the hiccups
Mama’s got the Slice"

Source: https://books.google.com/books?id=hvy0BAAAQBAJ&pg=PT93&lpg=PT93&dq=hey+concentration+where+have+you+been&source=b"Hip Hop Family Tree Book 1: 1970s–1981" By Ed Piskor, page 93
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor's note:
This book is a comic book, graphic novel. The page that is quoted above is a series of comic strip panel drawings whose words and pictures refer to a ten minute news segment on the national news series 20/20 about how Hip Hop music was entering the American mainstream. The text that is given above specifically refers to one of the drawings that depicts three black girls in matching blue shirts and white shorts jumping double dutch on a city sidewalk chanting the rhyme "Hey Concentration".

Here's the text that was given above that drawing:
"The piece also does a good job relating the deeper origins of the culture to long-standing traditions in the black south like the CALL AND RESPONSE elements of church sermons, rhyme talk in games, and old story rhymes."
-snip-
It's interesting that out of all the possible Double Dutch rhymes that the author of this book could have chosen for the girls to chant, he chose "Hey Concentration".

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Rhyme Example #6
"Hey concentration
Where have you been
Around the corner
And back again
Stole my money
Stole my honey
Mama's got the hiccups
Papas got the mumps.
Now come on baby
Let's slice that ice.
Slice 10 9 8 7
6 5 4 3 2 1
Gypsy Gypsy, Rosalie
Who on earth can your old man be?
Is he a rich man, poor man
baker man, chief?
Dr, lawyer, store man, thief.
Now spell your name on one foot.
That's a N-i-n-a
Nina's a girl from overseas
She don't dig no boys in dungarees.
She lives uptown, she lives downtown
She lives all around
Now let's get down.
(then you hot jump as fast as you can for as long as you can)"

Source: vis email from Nina Gonzalez (Jersey City, New Jersey)

Nina also added this comment. "I love this. when i was a little girl in jersey city nj we had a variation of hey concentration which was/is my favorite rope song"
-snip-
Thanks Nina!
-snip-
Unfortunately, there's no other demographic information for this example (such as the decade that Nina remembered chanted this rhyme.).

Nina emailed me this rhyme on 8/6/2017, writing that she had tried to add it as a comment to this page on my cocojams2 blog: http://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/10/g-h-hand-clap-jump-rope-rhymes-examples.html.

With considerable regret, I disabled the comment feature on cocojams2 blogs (and my other blogs except for pancocojams), because of the large number of spam comments that I received on those blogs. However, I have added Nina's example to that blog post page on hand clap and jump rope rhymes that begin with the letters g-h.

Comments for those blogs can be sent to my email address azizip17 dot com at yahoo dot com for possible inclusion in a specific post on those blogs.

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This concludes Part I of this pancocojams series on "Hey Concentration" Double Dutch rhymes.

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