Cocojams2 showcases examples of English language playground rhymes, cheers, and singing games, with special emphasis given to African American examples.
This post showcases two examples of the foot stomping cheer entitled "Really". My daughter collected the first example in 1992 and the second example in 2006.
This is the first of an ongoing cocojams2 series that showcases examples of continuity & change in English language rhymes & cheers.
These examples documents a cheer that remained alive and with quite consistent words over a period of time. However, I'm not sure if this cheer is still known now, or if it is known, if its performance has changed.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who contributed to this post.
****
FFATURED EXAMPLES
Example #1: REALLY [1992]
All: Really ah hah!
Really ah hah!
Soloist #1: Really my name is Lisa.
Really my sign is Aries.
Group except for soloist: Say what?
Soloist #1: Ah Aries.
Group except for soloist: Say what?
Soloist #1: Cause I’m F-I-N-E fine.
Like a D-I-M-E. dime.
Don’t waste my T-I-M-E. time.
I'll blow your M-I-N-D mind.
Cause I’m a pro.
Group: Say what?
Soloist #1: A P-R-O.
Group: Say what?
Soloist #1: Cause I’m a triple P.
Triple R.
Triple O.
Sexy pro.
-African American girls ages 7-12 years attending Lillian Taylor summer camp, Pittsburgh, PA 1991-1992, collected by T.M.P., camp counselor/step coach, 1992
*Substitute soloist's name or nickname and her astrological sun sign.
Directions:
Repeat entire cheer from the beginning with the next soloist. The soloist says her name or nickname, and gives her astrological sign. Continue in this pattern until every member of the informal group has had one [equal] turn as the soloist.
The beat pattern for this cheer was "stomp clap stomp stomp stomp clap." The girls performed this cheer standing in a horizontal line.
Notes:
In 1992 my daughter, T.M.P., was a camp counselor for two years at Kingsley Association's Lillian Taylor summer [week day] camp. Lillian Taylor was a coed day camp with one overnight session every two weeks. The attendees of this camp were all African American. The camp was located outside of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The campers were from various Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania neighborhoods, but most of them came from the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh where Kingsley Association was (and still is) located. Kingsley is in a new building in that large neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and unfortunately hasn't sponsored a camp for a number of years.
One of my daughter's responsibilities at that camp was as the step coach. This segment of the camp came about as a substitution for the swimming component. The swimming session was for campers who already knew how to swim and a number of the campers either didn't know how to swim, and/or were afraid to learn. My daughter loved to step as a member of a little sister group to the historically Black Greek letter fraternity, Omega Psi Phi.) So she suggested the idea of a step component to the camp, and the camp administration enthusiastically accepted that idea. My daughter remembers both girls and boys attended these sessions. Because people who weren't members of a specific Greek letter fratrnity or sorority aren't supposed to do step routines or say step chants that belong to those organizations, my daughter would help the campers improvise new steps and chants that were similar to but not the same as those step chants.
Because my daughter was aware of my interest in what I call "foot stomping cheers", she asked girls* who were members of her "stepping sessions" if they would mind helping me collect cheer examples. The girls were enthusiastic about this. On one occasion she audio taped a number of cheers, and on another occasion I came to the camp and watched some girls perform foot stomping cheers for me. The "Really" cheer is included on that audio-tape and was also performed for me during that session.
It's important to note that my daughter didn't know this cheer before she heard it in that camp. The cheers she knew were from the mid to late 1980s and many of those cheers were unknown to the campers.
One other "aspect" of this cheer may be of interest to readers: My daughter didn't like the "sexy pro" words to that cheer. Neither she nor I think that most of the girls -particularly the younger girls- considered the implications of what a "sexy pro" meant (a prostitute). We think that the girls believed that "sexy pro" meant a girl who was very good at looking attractive, and "attractive" to them meant "sexy".
However, my daughter strongly suggested that the girls change those words to that cheer. Here are her alternative words:
"Cause I'm a star
And S. T. AR.
[You have to say the "ar" together fast in order to maintain the beat.]
I have no idea whether after that session those girls continued to say "Really" their way or my daughter's way.
*Notice that although boys participated in stepping, the related performance activity of foot stomping cheers was considered something that only girls did.
****
Example #2: REALLY [2006]
Really uh huh really uh huh
really my name is (say your name)
really my sign is (say your sign)
say what
a (say your sign)
say what
cause Im f i n e fine
like an d i m e dime
dont waste my t i me time
Ill blow your m i n d mind
-Deajaih; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Garfield neighborhood), cocojams.com, 2/21/06
I didn't document Deajaih's age. However, she was under the age of 13 years old because she was a student at Fort Pitt elementary school when this cheer was collected.
Notes:
My daughter was a teacher at Fort Pitt elementary school. She also taught in that school's after school program. When the students in her after-school clas finished their homework, my daughter allowed them to play on the computer. I asked her if any of her students would visit my cocojams.com cultural website and share a rhyme or example. At that time, that site had a form that allowed a person to submit examples without having an email address. That is how Deajaih's example of "Really" came to be posted on cocojams. This was Deajaih's independent contribution to that site. My daughter didn't teach that cheer to her or to any other Fort Pitt student. Although my daughter and I conducted a game song group for 1 1/2 hour a week at Fort Pitt school (between 2004-2006), the "Really" cheer wasn't part of that group's repertoire. Nor was that example presented by any student during our volunteer "show and tell" segments when students could share a rhyme or cheer that they knew with the group.
I believe that it's significant that Deajaih lives in the same East Liberty/Garfield neighborhood near where Kingsley is located -although its location has changed. ["Garfield" is a predominately African American neighborhood of Pittsburgh that is adjacent to one part of a rather large section of Pittsburgh that is known as "East Liberty". [My children were raised in
that East Liberty community that is very near Garfield, and I still live there.] Some parts of East Liberty are currently undergoing gentrification. But most of East Liberty, in
the late 1970s when I moved there and 1991-1992 and 2006 when these examples were collected, remains predominately African American.
It may not be significant, but it is curious that Deajaih's version of that cheer ends before the "sexy pro" portion that my daughter [and I] thought was problematic. Perhaps that was a coincidence.
This is Part II of a two part cocojams2 series on four cheers that were featured in two movies in the "Bring It On" cheerleader movies series.
Part II provides information about the Bring It On series of cheerleader movies and provides examples of what I believe are the African American sources of five cheers that are featured in two of those Bring It On cheerleader movies.
YouTube video clips and text examples of those cheers from the Bring It On movies series are also included in this post.
Click http://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-influence-of-bring-it-on-movies-on.html for Part I of this series.
The purpose of Part I is to document in part the cultural impact of Bring It On cheerleader movies specifically with regard to their inclusion of African American originated cheers and their use of modified forms of African American cheer performance styles.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all persons quoted in this post and thanks to all persons who are featured in these embedded videos. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.s
****
DISCLAIMER These posts aren't meant to be an endorsement or a promotion of the Bring It On movie series. On the contrary, I have serious concerns about those movies' reliance on stereotypical depictions of African Americans, Latinas, those movies' stereotypical references to gays, and those movies' use of profanity.
**** EDITOR'S NOTE ABOUT THE COMMENT FEATURE ON THIS BLOG
With considerable regret, I have disabled the comment feature on cocojams2 blogs (and on my other blogs except for https://pancocojams.blogspot.com, because of the large number of spam comments that I received on those blogs.
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.
"Bring It On is a 2000 American teen cheerleading comedy film
directed by Peyton Reed and written by Jessica Bendinger. The film stars
Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford, and Gabrielle Union. It was the
first of the Bring It On film series and was followed by five direct-to-video
sequels, none of which contain any of the original cast members: Bring It On
Again (2004), which shared producers with the original, Bring It On: All or
Nothing (2006), Bring It On: In It to Win It (2007), Bring It On: Fight to the
Finish (2009), and Bring It On: Worldwide Cheersmack (2017). The plot of the
film centers around a team's preparation for and participation in cheerleading
competitions.
Bring It On was released in theaters in the North America on
August 25, 2000. Bring It On earned a worldwide gross of approximately $90
million. Since its release, the film has become a cult classic.[2]
-snip- The first movie in that series, produced in 2000, is often highly acclaimed in the teenage cheerleader movie genre http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bring_It_On_(film). And, according to a 2008 Wall Street Journal article that is cited in "Bring It On"'s Wikipedia page, "Outside of the United States, American-style cheerleading is sometimes referred to as Bring It On-style cheerleading." However, "Bring It On" style cheers are either exact versions of or modified versions of certain African American cheers, rhymes, or chants or are patterned after those African American originated cheers, rhymes, or chants.
Furthermore, the hip shaking, stomping movements that often accompany the performance of "Bring It On" style cheers are attempts to duplicate, or exaggerate or otherwise modify the performance styles of those American originated cheers, rhymes, or chants.
**** INFORMATION ABOUT AND EXAMPLES OF THESE CHEERS
(given in no particular order and numbered for referencing purpose only)
1. U.G.L.Y.
"U.G.L.Y." is an example of a dissing (insulting), confrontational cheer. Some versions of that rhyme also include the self-bragging verse "C.U.T.I.E".
An example of the U.G.L.Y. cheer was also included in the 1986 American movie "Wildcats".
Here's a clip of that scene:
U.G.L.Y. You ain't got no aliby, you're ugly!
jennifercarey7033, Uploaded on May 11, 2006
A hilarious scene from the 1986 movie "Wildcats" with Goldie Hawn.
-snip-
In that movie an urban school's African American cheerleading squad chanted the cheer during a football game.
-snip-
The U.G.L.Y cheer was performed by the characters Daphne and Celeste on the soundtrack of the 2000 Bring It On cheerleader movie. These lyrics are found on a number of websites, including http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/bringiton/ugly.htm
-snip-
In 2006, Guest Spain, a contributor to the "I'm Rubber. You're Glue: Children's Rhymes" thread of the online folk music forum Mudcat wrote "I heard the "ugly" chant in Boston in various summer camps in the late [19]70s. I've always assumed its even older than that". http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=81350&messages=221.
In 2003 I collected a version of U.G.L.Y from Janell, an African American woman from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Janell told me that her predominately African American high school's cheerleaders chanted this rhyme before it was featured in that 1986 Wildcat movie. Here's Janell's example and one other example of that cheer:
U-G-L-Y (Version #1)
U-G-L-Y
You ain’t got no alibi
You're ugly
What? What?
You’re ugly.
M-O-M-M-A
That is how you got that way
Your Momma yeah yeah
Your Momma
-Janell H (African American woman), from her memories of high school cheerleader cheers in Pittsburgh,PA in the mid to late 1980s; collected by Azizi Powell in 2003
****
U-G-L-Y (Version #2)
U-G-L-Y.
You don't have an alibi.
You UGLY.
Yea Yea.You UGLY.
M-A-M-A.
How you think you got that way
YO MAMA.
Yea Yea. YO MAMA.
D-A-D-D-Y.
You don't even know that guy.
YO DADDY.
Yea Yea. YO DADDY.
C-U-T-E.
Don't you wish you looked like me.
I'm CUTE.
Yea Yea I'm CUTE
-Coach Kasey; 8/25/2006
-snip- This example was published in this post without any attributions. I believe that I collected it from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on that date but I can't find any collection notes for it. As a result, I don't know whether this version was chanted at some earlier date and/or in 2006.
**** "U-g-l-y You Ain't Got No Alibi" 's African American originated is indicated by its use of African American Vernacular English (such as "ain't got no" and "yo" which -in the context of this example- means "your). This cheer's confrontational, self-bragging content, and the fact that the media choose Black characters to perform this cheer also points to its African American roots.
****
BRR IT'S COLD IN HERE http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0204946/ gives this summary for the plot of the 2000 movie Bring It On:"A champion high school cheerleading squad discovers its previous captain stole all their best routines from an inner-city school and must scramble to compete at this year's championships."
-end of quote-
"Inner-city" is a euphemism for "African American".
"Brr It's Cold In Here" was the cheer that revealed that those Toros routines were stolen from the Clovers.
Here's a transcription of that cheer from the DVD of that movie:
[The Toros version]
"Ready girls?"
I said brr it’s cold in here
I said there must be Toros in the atmosphere
I said brr it’s cold in here
I said there must be Toros in the atmosphere
I said OEOEO ice ice ice
I said OEOEO ice ice ice
[Clover version]
"Do your thing Isis!"
I said brr it’s cold in here
There must be some Clovers in the atmosphere
I said brr it’s cold in here
There must be some Clovers in the atmosphere
I said OEOEO ice ice ice
Slow it down
OEOEO ice ice ice
Here we go
ESTE ES EL VIDEO DE TRIUNFOS ROBADOS DONDE LOS TOROS LE ROBAN LA PORRA A LOS CLOVERS
-snip-
Translated from Spanish to standard English = "This is the video in which the Clovers do the chant that they stole from the Toros.
**** THE APHA PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY, INC. SOURCE OF "BRR IT'S COLD IN HERE" "Ooh it's cold in here" is a line from a signature chant of the historically Black (African American) Greek letter fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Several A Phi A chants include the words "oooh it's cold in here"; "ice ice ice, too cold too cold", and "ice ice baby". Those A Phi A chants were performed before the 2000 Bring It On movie and before the 1989 hit song "Ice Ice Baby" by White American rapper Vanilla Ice (with its "ice ice baby/too cold too cold" refrain).
Furthermore, the "O E O E O" phrase (which is also given as "owee owee o" and similarly spelled words) that are often found in examples of "Brr It's Cold In Here" are from the 1984 R&B song "Jungle Love" by Morris Day & The Times.
**** SHABOOYA ROLL CALL & INTRODUCE YOURSELF Two cheers from the 2006 movie Bring It On:All Or Nothing can be categorized as "Introduce Yourself" cheers "Shabooya Roll Call" and "Introduce Yourself".
A. SHABOOYA ROLL CALL
"Shabooya Roll Call", the first cheer that is performed in Bring It On:All Or Nothing may be one of the most widely known cheers from any of the Bring It On movies.
Here's a video clip of that cheer: [This video replaces one that was no longer available.]
Shabooya: Dancing On Duh Table
iluzyoo, April 3, 2011
-snip- This scene is a very modified version of the movements that would occur if "Shabooya Roll Call" was actually performed outside of the movies. First of all, students wouldn't be allowed to dance on the lunch table. But besides that, the textual pattern and the bragging/insulting words of the cheer fit the confrontational style of that foot stomping cheer. However, the way it is performed is waaay off. There's actually very little foot stomping and hand clapping done. Instead, the emphasis is on the girls looking and sounding tough (and/or sexy), strutting in front of each other facing their audience.
The discussion thread for that particular 2011 YouTube video includes lots of "Shabooyas" that the commenters shared. Many of them fit the bragging/ insulting others (and not yourself or your family) pattern of "Shabooya Roll Call". Other examples miss the assignment.
Here's my transcription of the words to Bring It On: All Or Nothing's version of "Shabooya Roll Call" Camille: Here we go now! Camille, Kirresha, Leti: [starts dance routine] Sha boo ya sha sha sha boo ya. Roll call. Sha boo ya sha sha sha boo ya. Roll call. Leti: My name is Le ti. Group: Yeah I like to par ty Group: Yeah. And when I shake it, Group: Yeah the boys say "ay ma mi!". Camille, Kirresha, Leti: Sha boo ya sha sha sha boo ya. Roll call. Camille: My name Camille. Group: Yeah Give you three wishes. Group: Yeah You see me shake it, Group: Yeah 'cause I'm de li cious. Camille, Kirresha, Leti: Sha boo ya sha sha sha boo ya. Roll call. Kirresha: My name Kir re sha. Group: Yeah Get out my face. Group: Yeah 'Cause when I shake it, Group: Yeah it's like an earth quake.
**** SHABOOYA ROLL CALL FROM SPIKE LEE'S 1966 MOVIE "GET ON THE BUS" The earliest example of "Shabooya Roll Call" that I have found is in Spike Lee's 1996 movie "Get On The Bus".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/right-rhyming-pattern-for-shabooya-roll.html for a pancocojams post on Shabooya Roll Call that includes the text of that "Get On The Bus" version of that chant as well as the text of Bring It On: All Or Nothing's version of that cheer. That post also includes comments about the correct structural and rhyming pattern for "Shabooya Roll Call" cheers.
**** B. INTRODUCE YOURSELF FROM "BRING IT ON: ALL OR NOTHING" Here's a video clip of "introduce Yourself" that is performed in Bring It On: All Or Nothing".
Bring It On All or Nothing - Introduce Yourself!
waveandsmile, Jan 4, 2007 -snip- Britney adds lines from Shabooya Roll Call to her Introduce Yourself chant. However, the movement activity is definitely not the same as that which she observed the three girls performed who did that "dance" and chant upon the lunch room table. -snip- AN EXAMPLE OF "INTRODUCE YOURSELF" FROM THE MID 1980S (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
Here's a version of "Introduce Yourself" that I collected from my daughter in the mid 1980s: Group: Hey, Shaquala! Soloist #1: Yo! * Group: Innn-TRO-duce yourself. Soloist #1: No way. Group: Innn-TRO-duce yourself. Soloist #1: Okay. My name is Shaquala. Group: Hey! Hey! Soloist #1:They call me Quala. Group: Hey! Hey! Soloist #1: My sign is Aries. Group: Hey! Hey! Soloist #1: I like to dance. Group: Hey! Hey! Soloist #1: I wanna be a dancer for the rest of my life. -T.M.P.; Pittsburgh, PA mid. 1980s; transcribed from audio tape by Azizi Powell, 1997
Repeat the entire cheer from the beginning with the next soloist. Each soloist substitutes her first name or nickname and provides information in the same categories such as her first name, her nickname, her astrological sun sign, what she likes to do. The cheer continues from the beginning until every member of the group has had one turn as soloist.
* When the African American interjection "Yo!" was dropped from usage in the late 1980s, the soloist's part was changed to “What?”; These words were spoken in a scornful "what are you botherin me for" tone, and not in a questioning manner.
** The word "introduce" was elongated so that it was pronounced "innn-TRO-duce".
It appears that many cheers that were chanted in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (and elsewhere) in the 1980s and 1990s are no longer chanted -and may not even be remembered. However, in 2006 I collected this example of "Introduce Yourself" from an African American girl who lives in the same neighborhood of Pittsburgh that my daughter lived in (and where I still live):
Introduce yourself to shy introduce yourself I try my name (say your name) yeah I cheer for (say who you cheer for) my sign is (say your sign) and when I'm up I'm hot stuff And when I'm down don't mess around and when I'm me don't scream or shout or you'll get knocked out! -De'ajaih; (African American girl; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), collected by Azizi Powell, 5/16/2006
Part I provides a definition of "Bring It On" style cheers".
The purpose of Part I is to document in part the cultural impact of "Bring It On" cheerleader movies specifically with regard to their inclusion of African American originated cheers and their use of modified forms of African American cheer performance styles.
Click http://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-african-american-sources-of-bring.html The African American Sources Of Bring It On (2000 & 2006) Movies Cheers. Part II provides text (words) and video examples of two cheers from the 2000 movie Bring It On, the first movie in this cheerleader series. The title of those cheers are"U. G. L. Y.", "Brr It's Cold In Here", and one cheer from the third "Bring It On" movie "Bring It On: All Or Nothing" - "Introduce Yourself.
That post also focuses on "Shabooya Roll Call", another very popular cheer from Bring It On: All Or Nothing". In addition, Part II provides information and examples of those cheers' African American sources, as well as video clips from the Bring It On All Or Nothing movie.
****
DISCLAIMER
These posts aren't meant to be an endorsement or a promotion of the Bring It On series of movies. On the contrary, I have serious concerns about those movies' reliance on stereotypical depictions of African Americans and Latinas. I also have concerns about those movies' stereotypical references to gays, and those movies' use of profanity.
****
EDITOR'S NOTE ABOUT ADDING COMMENTS ON THIS BLOG
because of the large number of spam comments that I received on those blogs, with considerable regret, I have disabled the comment feature on cocojams2 blogs (and on my other blogs except for https://pancocojams.blogspot.com,
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.
"Bring It On is a 2000 American teen cheerleading comedy film directed by Peyton Reed and written by Jessica Bendinger. The film stars Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford, and Gabrielle Union. It was the first of the Bring It On film series and was followed by five direct-to-video sequels, none of which contain any of the original cast members: Bring It On Again (2004), which shared producers with the original, Bring It On: All or Nothing (2006), Bring It On: In It to Win It (2007), Bring It On: Fight to the Finish (2009), and Bring It On: Worldwide Cheersmack (2017). The plot of the film centers around a team's preparation for and participation in cheerleading competitions.
Bring It On was released in theaters in the North America on August 25, 2000. Bring It On earned a worldwide gross of approximately $90 million. Since its release, the film has become a cult classic.[2]
-snip- The first movie in that series, produced in 2000, is often highly acclaimed in the teenage cheerleader movie genre http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bring_It_On_(film). And, according to a 2008 Wall Street Journal article that is cited in "Bring It On"'s Wikipedia page, "Outside of the United States, American-style cheerleading is sometimes referred to as Bring It On-style cheerleading."...
Cocojams2 Editor's Note: "Bring It On" style cheers are either exact versions of or modified versions of certain African American cheers, rhymes, or chants or are patterned after those African American originated cheers, rhymes, or chants.
Furthermore, the hip shaking, stomping movements that often accompany the performance of "Bring It On" style cheers are attempts to duplicate, or exaggerate or otherwise modify the performance styles of those American originated cheers, rhymes, or chants.
****
THE TEXTUAL CONTENT AND STRUCTURE OF "BRING IT ON" STYLE CHEERS
"Bring It On" style cheers have one or both of the following textual characteristics:
1. "Mainstream" cheerleader cheers focus on the athletic game itself, and/or on the athletic team playing the game that the cheerleader squad is connected with. "Mainstream" cheerleader cheers also have the purpose of helping to raise the spirit (enthusiasm) of the fans of the athletic team that the cheerleader squad is connected with. This is often done by leading the fans in chanting uncomplicated cheers or chants. In contrast, "Bring it on" style cheers often have bagging words that focus on the cheerleading squad itself
2. "Bring it on" cheers often have words that are confrontational and diss (insult) the other cheerleading squad
3. "Bring it on" cheers are chanted using a group/consecutive soloist call & response structure: The group voice is usually heard first, and a soloist responds. At the conclusion of this pattern, the cheer begins from the beginning with a new soloist. This pattern continues until every one in the group has one turn as the soloist.
A small number of "Bring it on" cheers Such as "Introduce Yourself" have what I refer to as a "command, refusal, command, compliance" textual pattern or an adapted version of that pattern.
"Command, refusal, command, compliance" [crcc] is my term for foot stomping cheers in
which the group commands (or demands) that the soloist do something and the
soloist initially refuses to do that thing. Mainstream examples of these types of cheers
usually are adapted forms of this pattern. In those adapted forms the group
asks the soloist to do something and the soloist immediately complies (agrees
to do what is asked of her.)
A person who immediately complies with a demand or a request
conveys a different tone for those cheers and an entirely different cultural
message than a person who initially refuses to do what is demanded or
requested. I believe that these are crucial differences.
In "traditional" foot stomping cheer examples of
these cheers, the soloist's initial refusal to comply with the group's command
is part of the "tough" street girl persona. A "tough girl" does what she wants
to do when she wants to do it. Nobody can tell her what to do and when to do
it. The fact that the girl initially
refuses to do what is demanded of her demonstrates or suggests that the girls
(and their community) place a high value on being independent and not (immediately)
acceding to orders (or expectations) that others have for them.
In the context of those cheers, the soloist's response of "No way" means that "I'm not going to show you how to
do that dance right now just because you ask me to." The "no way" response doesn't mean "I don't know how to do what you want me to do". In alternative (later) forms of this textual pattern, the soloist initially refuses to do what is commanded of her, but then says "I'll try" and does the commanded action (or doesn't say anything but just does that action).
In another (perhaps even later) alternative form of these types of these textual patterns, (such as in "Bang Bang Choo Choo Train'/"Peanut Butter In A Cup" cheers), the soloist initially refuses to do what is commanded of her, and then explains why she can't do it (i.e. "My back is aching, my bra [or skirt, or belt] is too tight...".
****
THE PERFORMANCE STYLE OF "BRING IT ON" STYLE CHEERS
"Bring It On" style cheers have one or both of the following performance elements
1. Cheers are performed with hip shaking and/or foot stomps.
2. Cheers may also include gestures and body movement from African American culture such as "talk to the hand", leaning in a confrontational manner toward the opposing cheerleader squad, and gritting (purposely exhibiting a mean, menacing facial expression).
Text examples of these cheers are showcased in Part II of this cocojams2 series.
****
THE GENERAL TONE OF "BRING IT ON" STYLE CHEERS
The expected tone for mainstream cheerleaders is to be peppy (full of energy) and always smiling. In contrast, "Bring It On" style cheers are confrontational and cheerleaders rarely smile when they are performing those types of cheers. Instead, Bring It On" cheerleaders often "grit on" their competitor's cheerleader squad - meaning they exhibit "a grit face" (a sullen, mean expression). Another difference between "Bring It On" style cheers and mainstream cheerleader cheers is that "Bring It On" style cheers often diss (insult) the opposing athletic team or the opposing team's cheerleaders.
Furthermore, while the focus of mainstream cheerleaders is the game being played (i.e. their school's athletes), their school, and their fans, the focus of many Bring It On style cheers are the cheerleaders themselves. The braggadocio and confrontational words and body movements that accompany those cheers are characteristic of many Black music genres such as Blues and Hip-Hop. And that is to be expected since "Bring It On style cheers" is just another name for (sometimes modified) African American children's foot stomping cheers.
****
MORE COMMENTS ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE OF "BRING IT ON" STYLE CHEERS
"Foot stomping cheers" are often called "stomp cheers". These types of cheers originated among African American in the 1970s and are very closely related to the performance art of "steppin'". "Steppin" originated among historically Black (African American) Greek lettered fraternities and sororities and became more performed and more widely known in the 1970s.
Furthermore, the "Bring It On" style of cheerleading is also related to the African American originated form of cheerleading that is known as "Stomp and Shake". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/05/overview-of-stomp-shake-cheerleading.htmlfor a pancocojams post on "stomp and shake cheerleading". "Pancocojams" is another cultural blog that I curate.
****
This concludes Part I of this two part cocojams2 series.
This cocojams2 post examines the meaning of "soul Sister number 9" and showcases text examples and videos of examples of children's playground rhymes that include that referent.
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 the publishers of the videos that are featured in this post.
EDITOR'S NOTE ABOUT ADDING COMMENTS ON THIS BLOG
With considerable regret, I have disabled the comment feature on cocojams2 blogs (and on my other blogs except for https://pancocojams.blogspot.com, because of the large number of spam comments that I received on those blogs.
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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WHAT SOUL SISTER MEANS
"Soul sister" means "a Black female" (and not necessarily one who is your sibling). That referent who coined in the 1960s by African Americans, along with the term "soul brother","soul man", and "soul music". These terms are found in the lyrics and titles of numerous examples of African American non-religious music.
The term "soul sister number nine" in playground rhymes means that the person is bragging on herself. "Soul sister number nine" means "a superlative soul sister". "Number 9" is a spiritually powerful number. And besides, it's easier to rhyme with than the number "10" :o)
-snip-
The implication of the terms "soul brother", "soul sister", and "soul man" (the comparable term "soul lady" wasn't used) was that African American people and (by extention) other Black people were more in touch with or more comfortable getting in touch with and expressing the spiritual and emotional aspects of life than any other race/ethnicity. Whether this is true or not isn't the topic of this post.
I'm not sure which came first- "soul" prefacing the word "sister", "brother", and "man" or the word "soul" prefacing the word "music". The term "soul music" began to be used in the 1960s as a referent for certain genres of African American non-religious music. Here's an excerpt from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_music
"Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the United States in the 1950s and early 1960s. It combined elements of African-American gospel music, rhythm and blues, and often jazz....
According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of funky, secular testifying".[2] Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps and extemporaneous body moves, are an important feature of soul music. Other characteristics are a call and response between the soloist and the chorus, and an especially tense vocal sound. The style also occasionally uses improvisational additions, twirls and auxiliary sounds...
Soul music dominated the U.S. R&B chart in the 1960s, and many recordings crossed over into the pop charts in the U.S., Britain and elsewhere"
THE VERNACULAR MEANING OF "CLOUD NINE" Added October 26, 2018
The #9 in the referent "soul sister #9" probably comes from the cultural meaning given in the United State to "cloud nine". Here's some information about "cloud nine" from http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-clo1.htm "World Wide Words: Cloud Nine
"The phrase to be on cloud nine, meaning that one is blissfully happy, started life in the United States and has been widely known there since the 1950s."
[...]
The expression is often said to have been popularised by the Johnny Dollar radio show of the early 1950s, in which every time the hero was knocked unconscious he was transported to cloud nine. I can’t find a contemporary reference to this. But there was another show, often listed alongside it in the schedules:
"Cloud Nine. Friday. 8:00 p.m. This excitingly new show presented by the Wm. Wrigley Jr., Co. blends fantasy, music, drama and comedy into 30 minutes of imaginative entertainment."
This is the first use of the phrase we have. But there is indirect evidence that it was by then already known. As one instance, the Los Angeles Times reported that a yacht taking part in a race around Catalina Island in June 1947 was called Cloud Nine.
[....}
Variant forms of the expression are recorded even earlier.".."
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EXAMPLES OF "SOUL SISTER NUMBER NINE" IN PLAYGROUND RHYMES
These examples are presented in chronological order based on the date of my direct collection of the example, or their posting date on YouTube, with the oldest examples given first.
For the record, all of these examples are bragging, confrontational rhymes that have their source in African American culture and contain a number of African American Vernacular English sayings.
The term "soul sister" is written in italics to highlight it in the examples.
Example #1
Ah Beep Beep
Walkin down the street
Ugawa. Ugawa
That means Black power.
White boy.
Destroy..
I said it. I meant it
And I'm here to represent it. Soul sister number 9
Sock it to me one more time.
Uh hun! Uh Hun!
Source: Tracy S.,(African American female); Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; childhood remembrance, 1968 ; collected by Azizi Powell, 2000 {in Pittsburgh, Pennslyvania}
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Tracy told me in 2000 that, although she was in kindergarten at the time, she has clear memories of {Black} older girls & girls her age standing on their porches reciting this rhyme in a taunting way while White policeman were patrolling the streets of her neighborhood during the riots that occurred as a result of Martin Luther King's assassination. Tracey said that she considered this to be more than a taunt. She said that the rhyme to be an expression of Black pride & unity as well as a taunt directed to the White policemen.
"Ugawa" ("Ungawa"), pronounced "oon-GAH-wah", is a word created by an American movie producer to represent the speech of Black Africans in Tarzan moves, and to represent the language that the fictitious character Tarzan used to talk to animals. In the late 1960s & early 1970s, afro-centric African Americans took hold of that word and included it in a rhyme that both celebrated Black power. A common verse in those rhymes was "Ungawa!"/"Black power!" or "Ungawa/"We got the power" (with "power" in both examples pronounced like "po-wah").
In the example given by Tracy, "white boy. Destroy" means "Destroy white boys". Whether she knew what she was saying and whether she should have been saying it is a whole 'nuther matter.
"Sock it to me!" was a popular African American saying during the 1960s. That phrase probably originated as a sexualized expression. However, that phrase was popularized by its use in Aretha Franklin's hit 1960s R&B record "Respect". In that record, and in other records and vernacular use, "Sock it to me" may have meant "Give it to me." (meaning give me the best that you've got!"). Contrary to some interpretations, in that Aretha Franklin record, and in James Brown's use of that phrase "Sock it to me" never meant "Hit me".
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Example #2
I'll be. be
Walking down the street,
Ten times a week.
Un-gawa. Un-gawa {baby}
This is my power.
What is the story?
What is the strike?
I said it, I meant it.
I really represent it.
Take a cool cool Black to knock me down.
Take a cool cool Black to knock me out.
I'm sweet, I'm kind. I'm soul sister number nine.
Don't like my apples,
Don't shake my tree.
I'm a Castle Square Black
Don't mess with me.
- John Langstaff, Carol Langstaff Shimmy Shimmy Coke-Ca-Pop!, A Collection of City Children's Street Games & Rhymes {Garden City, New York, Double Day & Co; p. 57; 1973}
-snip-
"What is the story"/"What is the strike" = "What's happening". "What's up?".
"Take a cool cool Black to knock me down" = It would take a cool, cool Black [person] to knock me down. "Cool" is used in its vernacular sense and means "hip" (up to date with the latest street culture and also "unruffled", in control of her or his emotions.
"Castle Square" is probably a neighborhood or a housing develpment within a neighborhood.
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Example #3 Soul Sister Number Nine
Sock it to me one more time
Say Ungawa we got the power
Say Ungawa we got the power
Little Sally Walker's walking down the street
She didn't know what to do so she jumped in front of me
She said "go on girl, do your thing do your thing
go on, girl do your thing, do your thing. Stop!!
-A clip from the 2003 American movie "Soul Of Rock"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvGia9u1McM.
-snip-
The poster of that YouTube video, rachelarmstrong,
(January 24, 2008) included the words to that rhyme on the video clip screen shot. Her transcription is given above.
-snip- As a friendly correction to that caption, I heard "Say Um Ungawa/ We got the powa".
Here's that video:
Soul Sister Number Nine (?)
Ray [VII] Uploaded on Jan 24, 2008
From the movie "The School of Rock"
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Click http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0332379/ for information about that movie.
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Example #4
"The lastest hand clapping rhyme i've heard from my daughter goes something like this:
eenie meanie popsaweenie
you are the one for me
education, numeration
I like you
Going down down baby
Down by the river
sweet sweet sugar
I like you So sister number 9
hit me with it one more time
Caught you with your boyfriend
naughty naughty
Didn't do the dishes
lazy lazy
Jumping out the window
cos you flippin CRAZY
Crazy has to be screamed out at the top of your voice in the worst essex/cockney accent you can muster
She's 8 (year 3) What is the world coming to
-stormin norm (Great Britain) :http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=405667 , June 22, 2006
-snip-
"so sister number nine" is a folk processed form of "soul sister number 9". The eight year old probably wasn't familiar with that term and changed it to something that made more sense to her.
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Example #5
serbiiis
Ayraness, Uploaded on Sep 21, 2009
soul sister number nine stuck it to me one more time
said un, ungawa, we got the power
said un, ungawa we got the power
little sunny walker walking down the street
she don't know what to do
so she jump in front of me
and said go on girl do your thing,
do your thing,do your thing,
said go on girl do your thing, do your thing, stop!
-snip-
Here are comments from that video's viewer comment thread, including two comments from me:
Azizip17, 2009
"Hello! It's interesting to learn that this rhyme (which is actually a combination of two African American rhymes) has made it to the Philippines. I wonder if you learned it from the "American School of Rock" movie. "Ungawa" is a made up word which movie producers said was like "African talk". But in the late 1960s, Black people used it to convey pride in our African heritage. That rhyme dates from that time. "Little Sally Walker walking down the street" is a girls' circle game. Thanks!"
**
Azizip17, 2009
"Sally Walker: Girls form a circle with 1 person in the middle. They stand, not holding hands and sing the words. The middle girl jumps in front of a person & does a dance. That person does the same dance. She becomes the new middle person. The original words for the phrase "Stuck it to me" are "sock it to me", meaning "give it to me." This originally had a sexualized meaning. By the way, the phase "Sock it to me" is prominently featured in Aretha Franklin's 1967hit R&B song "Respect"
**
ayraness, 2012
"WE'RE NOT REALLY SURE ABOUT THE LYRICS OF THIS SONG. THEY'RE FROM MY FRIEND COZ SHE HAS A DVD OF THE SCHOOL OF ROCK WITH BONUS FEATURES :)"
**
BigMTBrain, 2013
"Hahaha... Just now, out of the blue, I started chanting the main refrain that I recall from childhood. Indeed, the girls in the neighborhood would do exactly as Azizip17 explains; however sometimes, they would also chant it while jumping rope. I also recall that the main refrain went something like... "I said un, ungawa, knows ya got the power. Said un, ungawa, knows ya got the power..." ("power" being pronounced as "powah" to better rhyme with "ungawa") :)"
This is Part II of a two part cocojams2 series on switching places ring games. This post provides text and video examples of two contemporary "switching places" circle games: "Little Sally Walker" (Walking Down The Street) and "Ride That Pony". The Addendum to that post features a video of a Ghanaian switching place ring game.
Click http://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/11/switching-places-ring-games-part-1.html for Part I of this series. Part I provides a general description of those games and other comments about these types of ring (circle) games as well as descriptions of other ways that the center person is identified in recreational singing games.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those whose rhyme examples are featured in this post. Thanks also to all those who are featured in the videos and who published these videos on YouTube.
EDITOR'S NOTE ABOUT ADDING COMMENTS ON THIS BLOG
With considerable regret, I have disabled the comment feature on cocojams2 blogs (and on my other blogs except for https://pancocojams.blogspot.com, because of the large number of spam comments that I received on those blogs.
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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"LITTLE SALLY WALKER (WAS WALKING DOWN THE STREET
Little Sally Walker was walking down the street
[clap, clap]
She didn't know what to do so she stood in front of me
I said "Oh girl, do your thing, do your thing
Stop! [or "and switch"]
"Oh girl, do your thing, do your thing
Stop! [or "and switch"]
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A TEXT EXAMPLE OF "LITTLE SALLY WALKER (WAS WALKING DOWN THE STREET" WITH INSTRUCTIONS
"Little Sally Walker
Description
Get everyone in a circle with one person in the middle.
The person in the middle walks around inside the circle while everyone else sings, "Little Sally Walker walking down the street. She didn't know what to do so she stopped in front of me. (at this point, the one in the middle stands in front of someone and does a dance move)
(Still singing....) Hey girl, do that thing do that thing and switch! (the person who got picked does the dance move) (still singing) Hey girl do that thing do that thing and switch!
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THREE VIDEO EXAMPLES OF "LITTLE SALLY WALKER (WALKING DOWN THE STREET"
These examples are presented in chronological order based on their posting date on YouTube, with the oldest examples given first.
Example #1: Little Sally Walker
itsthemama3, Uploaded on Nov 6, 2008
A game that the girls will play 4ever...and then come home and sing it in the shower!!!
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Example #2: Little Sally Walker :)
AnnaGraceBananaFace, Uploaded on Feb 25, 2009
Playing little sally walker in the munchkin room at the show in Irving on the 23rd!!
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Example #3: Little Sally Walker
AlphanumericAlyssa, Uploaded on Dec 24, 2009
While waiting for pizza we had a game of Little Sally Walker!
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A TEXT EXAMPLE OF "RIDE THAT PONY" WITH INSTRUCTIONS
"Ride That Pony
A fun singing camp game!
To start the game, one person stands in middle of the circle and everyone starts to clap in a rhythm. The person in the middle begins the game by galloping around the circle while the group sings the following song:
Here we go, ride that pony, ride around that big fat pony, this is how we do it. (move in a galloping motion, swinging hand over head)
The middle person then stops in front of someone else and both partners perform the following lines and actions.
Stand facing each other and swing arms in a circle in front of your body, keeping elbows in: "Front to front to front, my baby"
Jump so both are standing next to each other with the same arm motions as before: "Side to side to side, my baby"
Jump one last time so both are facing with backs to each other with the same arm motions are before: "Back to back to back, my baby, this is how we do it.
The person in the middle then switches places with the person they were just dancing with and the game continues until everyone has had a turn in the middle.
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TWO VIDEO EXAMPLES OF "RIDE THAT PONY" WITH COMMENTS
These examples are presented in chronological order based on their posting date on YouTube, with the oldest examples given first.
Example #1: Ride that Pony
vballprincess, Uploaded on May 4, 2006
Me and team before volleyball game in reno having some fun. I am the one with the braids and gray shirt.
Here's a comment from that video's discussion thread:
DefineNormal94, 2010
"We did this version at our One Act Play Competition: Ride Ride Ride That Pony! (Repeat 2x) And this is how it goes! Front to front to front to front baby! Side to side to side to side baby! Back to back to back to back baby! This is how it goes! The whole game consisted of casts from 5 highschools, and a few kids from ODU. That's a lot of kids. When I did it, I stopped in front of one of my fellow male cast members and was like "NO!" and went to the next person cuz it would have been weird."
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Example #2: Ride That Pony
AttheCircus, Uploaded on Apr 20, 2008
The Webster Groves High School choir students play a long game of Ride that Pony in the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs on April 18, 2008.
Here's a comment from that video's discussion thread:
pryncess1997, 2009
"at my camp for us it wuz Ride Ride Ride That Pony Ride Ride Ride That Pony Ride Ride Ride That Pony This is how we do it Front Front Front, my baby Back Back Back , my baby Side Side Side , my baby This is how we do it and it repeats lol its so much fun"
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ADDENDUM: Ghana Easter Trip - Circle clapping game
aliedaleedz's channel, Uploaded on Jul 4, 2011
-snip-
I don't know anything about this game. I'm curious to know if it originated in Ghana, West Africa, or if it's an American game that was taught to Ghanaian students.
Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/03/a-childrens-circle-game-from-ghana-west.html for a pancocojams* post entitled "A Children's Circle Game From Ghana, West Africa Whose Movements Are Similar To Two African American Circle Games: "Ride The Pony " & "Little Sally Walker Was Walking Down The Street"." *Pancocojams is the name of the main cultural blog that I curate.
This is Part I of a two part cocojams2 series on switching places ring games. This post provides a general description of those games and other comments about these types of ring (circle) games as well as descriptions of other ways that the center person is identified in recreational singing games.
Click http://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/11/little-sally-walker-ride-that-pony_9.html for Part II of this series. Part II provides text and video examples of two contemporary "switching places" circle games: "Little Sally Walker" (Walking Down The Street) and "Ride That Pony". The Addendum to that post features a video of a Ghanaian switching place ring game.
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.
EDITOR'S NOTE ABOUT ADDING COMMENTS ON THIS BLOG
With considerable regret, I have disabled the comment feature on cocojams2 blogs (and on my other blogs except for https://pancocojams.blogspot.com, because of the large number of spam comments that I received on those blogs.
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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GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SWITCHING PLACES GAMES
"Switching places" games is a term that I coined for a sub-set of ring (circle) games. These games can be considered a variant form of "show me your motion" games.
In regular "show me your motion games" the person in the center of the ring remains in the center and does a brief dance or other movement and then the group forming the circle ties to exactly imitate that middle person's movements. At that same time the middle person continues to do the same movement.
However, in "switching places" games, the middle person moves to face one particular person who remains standing in her or his place forming the ring. That person could be considered the middle person's "partner". That partner might be arbitraily chosen or chosen on purpose. When the middle person does her or his movements, the person she or he is standing in front of must do the same movement. At the same time that the person in the middle and the person she is facing does that movement, according to the way the game is played, the other people forming the circle might simply watch those two dance. Or they might continue to sing and clap (and in some renditions also stomp their feet) to the beat. However, they don't attempt to do the actions performed by the center person and her partner. In some renditions of those games, the game immediately begins again with the partner as the new center person. In other renditions, the center person and her partner switch places two times before that partner becomes the new center person and the game begins again.
Sometimes large groups have two (or more) center persons at the same time. Each one stands in front of another person in the ring, and plays the game as the instructions above describe. I think that this is a modification that is used because adults directing the play experience (and the group members themselves) want to have as many people in the group participating in thee game as possible in the short amount of time that may be allotted for these games.
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AFRICAN AMERICAN ORIGIN
I believe that the "switching places" singing games "Little Sally Walker" (Walking Down The Street) and "Ride That Pony" which are featured in Part I and Part II of this series originated among African Americans because of the structure of their text (lyrics) and because of their performance activities. However, I came across a video of children from the Bahamas (Caribbean) playing the "switching places singing games" "Rock My Cherry". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/examples-of-show-me-your-motion.html for a pancocojams post about that game and other Bahamian children's recreational ring plays (circle games). Note that the hip winding and pelvic thrust dance movements in that game would be considered too sexualized by many Americans.
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HOW OLD IS THE SWITCHING PLACES" METHOD OF CHOOSING THE NEXT CENTER PERSON IN RING GAMES?
I'm not sure how old this method of choosing the next center person is, but here are dates for some examples that I've found thus far:
1950s - the old "Little Sally Walker" Ring Game
The earliest example that I've found of "switching places" to choose a new center person is an example of [the old] "Little Sally Walker" that was sent to my now deactivated cocojams.com website:
Little Sally Walker, an African-American version of a children’s game song (as played by Anna Robinson in the mid 1950's; who is now in her 60's).
Little Sally Walker,sittin’ in a saucer,
weepin' and cryin’ cause nobody loves her.
Rise Sally rise wipe your weepin’ eyes>br>
put your hands on your hip,
and let your backbone slip.
Oh, shake it to the East;
Oh, shake it to the West.
Shake it to the very one that you love the best.
The game of Little Sally Walker is for ages 7 – 12
Here's a description of the action that accompanied this rhyme: Prior to song starting- Girls form a circle; one girl is chosen to be “Sally”
1st line- "Sally" sits down on the inside of the circle (as if sitting in a saucer) and pretends to weep and cry; the rest of the circle walks counter-clockwise holding hands and walking to the song’s beat
2nd line & line 3 -“Sally” remains inside the circle but now rises to stand in the center part of the circle and does what the rhyme is saying(wipes her eyes); the rest of the group is now standing still and claps their hands and stomps their feet to the beat.
3rd line & 4th line -Sally now stops and puts her hands on her hip and moves her hip into a dip and the girls in the circle who performed this rhyme stand still while "Sally" in the middle performs a movement.
As the rhyme progresses the children forming the ring try to exactly imitate Sally's movements (they shake their hips to movements the same time Sally does) on the words to the East the hips move to the right, and on the words to the West the hips move to the left.
Still standing in front of whoever Sally may stop in front of "Sally" continues doing the same dance or movement of her hips that she did previously.
5th- On the words you love the best Sally is standing still and facing the girl she stopped in front of, now the game is over; the former “Sally” rejoins the ring, and the new Sally immediately enters the center of the ring and the game begins again. When both boys and girls play this game together the game takes on a little more interest.
-Anna R., Cocojams.com, 5/8/2008
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Two Contemporary "Switching Places" Circle Games
The games "Little Sally Walker" (Walking Down The Street)* and "Ride That Pony" are the only American examples of switching places games that I have identified thus far. I believe both of those games, and their switching places activities are relatively new. Here are dates that I've found thus far for oldest examples of these games:
Early Collection Dates For "Little Sally Walker" (Walking Down The Street)
1999 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (collected by Azizi Powell)
The oldest example of "Little Sally Walker" (Walking Down The Street) that I've found is one that I observed being played by African American girls (under age 12 years) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1999):
Little Sally Walker was walkin down the street.
She didn’t know what to do so she stood in front of me.
I said ooh girl do your thing.
Do your thing, Stop!
I said ooh girl do your thing.
Do your thing, Stop!
-African American girls (about 7-9 years old), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (North View Heights Public Housing Program), 1999; collected by Azizi Powell, 1999
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A full description of its performance activity can be found in cocojams2: African American Singing Games & Movement Rhymes (A-L) link that is given above.
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2001 - summer camp game, as mentioned by LNL in a 2004 comment posted to a Mudcat (online folk music forum) discussion thread:
http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4300#1126685 "Children's Street Songs"
LNL wrote that she first came across "Little Sally Walker (Walking Down The Street) and "Ride That Pony" when she was a camp counselor "three years ago" (resulting in 2001 as the year she saw those games). LNL described "Little Sally Walker (Walking Down The Street" as "Little Sally Walker" being reincarnated." Here's that example:
"Little Sally Walker,/walking down the street.
She didn't know what to do, so/she jumped in front of me and said:
'Hey, girl, shake that thing,/shake that thing like it ain't no thing.
Come on, girl, shake that thing,/shake that thing like it ain't no thing."
LNL also wrote that campers played the game "Ride That Pony". The words to that game are found in Part II of this series.
LNL's post implied that both of those games were new to her. But I'm not sure if those games were new to those campers. LNL also indicated that those two games were favorites of the campers and that staff often had to stop their performances from getting "too involved".
Unfortunately, LNL didn't mention how the camp was played, where the camp was. Nor did she give any demographical information about the campers. However, given that the majority of Mudcat bloggers are from the United States, and given that LNL also wrote that "We also did the fairly innocuous "Wisconsin Milk" song, and a ton of other call-and-responses that don't quite qualify as street games", a likely conclusion is that the camp was located in the United States.
That forum's archiving feature show that LNL only posted five times on Mudcat- all between February 1, 2004 and March 9, 2004. So the possibilities of retrieving demographical information from that blogger are quite slim. That said, I use "around 2001" as the oldest example that I've found for the "Ride That Pony" singing game.
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2003 -A rhyme that includes "Little Sally Walker (Walking Down The Street" is included in the 2003 American movie "Soul Of Rock"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvGia9u1McM.
-snip-
The poster of that YouTube video rachelarmstrong
(January 24, 2008) included the words to that rhyme on the video clip screen shot. The words she gave are:
Soul Sister Number Nine
Sock it to me one more time
Say Ungawa we got the power
Say Ungawa we got the power
Little Sally Walker's walking down the street
She didn't know what to do so she jumped in front of me
She said "go on girl, do your thing do your thing
go on, girl do your thing, do your thing. Stop!!
-snip-
As a (friendly) amendment to that transcription, I hear the two chanters saying "Say Unn Ungawa. We got the powa. Say Unn Ungawa. We got the powa."
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"Ride That Pony"
2001-The oldest example of "Ride That Pony" that I've found is in the 2oo4 Mudcat comment by LNL (link given above). That comment mentions campers playing that game three years ago.
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PRECUSORS TO THE SWITCHING PLACES ACTIVITY IN RING GAMES
Selecting a person from the ring, dancing in front of that person, and then switching places with that person appears to me to be a new strategy for selecting a new center person for ring (circle) singing games. Other ways of selecting the next center person are (from what I think are the oldest methods to the newest):
1. The center person purposely choose a partner from the ring, and escort that partner to the center of the ring. The two dance. The center person then rejoins the others in the ring. Her (or his partner) becomes the new center person and the game immediately begins from the beginning.
2. Towards the end of the song, the center person purposely moves in front of a person in the ring or remains in the center of the ring and purposely points to a person in the ring. The center person then rejoins the others in the ring and the person she (or he) moved in front of or pointed to becomes the new center person.
3. Towards the end of the song, the center person closes both eyes (and, often, also puts one hand over her eyes) and then turns around in the center of the circle with one arm extended pointing to those forming the ring. When the song ends, the person who the center person is pointing to becomes the new cnter person. The former center person rejoins the ring, and the game begins again.
4. [Note: This method of playing ring games may have been first used around the same time as #2 and/or #3.
A designated person (who might be a player in the game or might be someone else directing the playing), assigns numbers to the players. The group forms a circle, and sings a song that is centered around or includes randomly calling out a number. When a person's number is called, she or he enters the ring and does a dance. At the end of the song, that person rejoins the group, and the song begins from the beginning.
For the record, the only way that I played circle games during my childhood (in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the 1950s) was using the #2 strategy.
****
WHO PLAYS THESE GAMES
Unlike many ring games that are currently played in the United States, "switchng places" ring games are not only played by very young children but have also been adopted by older children, teenagers, and (usually young) adults. Furthermore, unlike many ring games, males appear to play these switching games much more readily and eenthusiastically than they play other singing or chanting games, with the exception of hand slapping games such as "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" and "Stella Ella Ola".
For children, the lightly competitive hand slapping games and the non-competitive "switching places" games may often be adult initiated (for instance, as part of an elementary school's school's music class). However, those games sometimes appear to be initiated by the children themselves.
For children, teens, and adults, those hand slaping games and the switching places games are played as "ice breakers" (getting to know people activities), as stress relieving activities, and "just for fun" by members of sports teams, cheerleaders, summer campers, performing arts groups, and school and university students.
"Ride That Pony"'s movements are indicated by that song's lyrics. But what makes "Little Sally Walker" (Walking Down The Street) fun to play and fun to watch is the different dances or moves that different center people do. As is the case with older "show me your motion" games, in "Little Sally Walker" (Walking Down The Street) each center person is supposed to perform a dance or movement that is different from those that were performed by any center person who camee before her (or him). That said, I've also come across videos of both of those games in which every center person does the same dance. Those videos are much less interesting to watch.
Additional text examples and video examples of those two games are found in Part II of this series.
This is Part II of a two part cocojams2 series that features selected examples of African American singing games & movement rhymes. These examples include ring (circle) games, line games, play party songs, and other movement rhymes. These examples either originated with African Americans or are African American versions of those rhymes that originated with non-African Americans.
This post showcases a sample of children's rhymes whose titles (first words) begin with the letters "M-Z. This post also includes a quote about African American ring games and as well as my general comments about these rhymes.
DISCLAIMER: This collection isn't meant to be a comprehensive listing of examples in these categories. Nor is this collection meant to imply that African Americans are the only ones to chant or sing these rings or similar rhymes. Note: In this series all of these examples are referred to as "rhymes".
This series don't mean to imply that only African American children play these games.
These examples are posted for folkloric and recreational purposes.
Thanks to all who have contributed these rhyme examples.
EDITOR'S NOTE ABOUT ADDING COMMENTS ON THIS BLOG
With considerable regret, I have disabled the comment feature on cocojams2 blogs (and on my other blogs except for https://pancocojams.blogspot.com, because of the large number of spam comments that I received on those blogs.
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.
**** COMMENT ABOUT RING GAMES
(From Notes to the vinyl album Mother Hippletoe: Rural and Urban Children's Songs, written by Kate Rinzler* (album published by New World Records, NW 291 MONO, 1978)
..."In ring games the players may sit on the ground, stand in place, or move. They may remain in a ring or weave, add to a group in the center, or add to a line until there is no ring. The ring may be empty or have a leader in the center or outside. The players may hold hands, clap hands, or not touch. They may or may not mime a text. They may skip, slide, walk, chase, fall down, or stand still. They may take turns or be eliminated one by one. In the United States the games derive from British and African traditions, the result of the interaction of children from two cultures."
-snip-
That excerpt is from the notes to Band 2, Items 1, 2, 6, and 7
Ring Games: Sally Died; Ronald McDonald; Zoodiac; Zing-Zing-Zing
Washington, D.C., schoolgirls, vocals.
Recorded 1976 at Smithsonian Institution Festival of American Folklife, Washington, D.C.
Given the demographics of Washington, D.C. in the late 1970s, "Washington, D.C. schoolgirls" meant "Black school girls".
**** MY COMMENTS ABOUT THIS QUOTE AND THESE EXAMPLES
Kate Rinzler wrote that "In the United States the [ring] games derive from British and African traditions, the result of the interaction of children from two cultures". My friendly amendment is that the interaction is between British and African traditions, and not necessarily any direct interaction between people from those traditions. (Besides, British people can be of African descent and vice versa).
Reading the notes that Kate Rinzler wrote in 1978 about the performance directions for the ring games (and the jump rope rhymes) that are featured in that Mother Hippletoe album points out the fact that performance directions can and often have changed over time in the same (racial & national) population, and can also be different within that same or multiple populations in the same time. For example, Rinzler describes "Mary Mack" as a ring game. My direct experience of "Miss Mary Mack" (in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the 1950s) was that it was only performed as a partner hand clap game. Furthermore, my observations of "Miss Mary Mack" in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area (late 1970s to 2005) was that it was only performed as a partner hand game. However, I've read elsewhere that some children performed "Mary Mack" as a jump rope rhyme.
The term "ring games" usually is defined as "circle games". However, Kate Rinzler wrote that "ring games are not necessarily played in rings".
One overarching characteristic of most of the African American singing games and movement rhymes (those showcased in this cocojams2 series and others) is that they provide opportunities for their performers to move, with "dancing" being the pre-eminent movements. Notice that many of the ring games direct the person in the middle to "show me your motion", followed by the rest of the group declaring "we can do your motion." Also, notice that a number of the featured movement rhymes include the verse that exhorts the chanters to move "to the front/to the back/to the side, side, side". Not just the words, but the up tempo, percussive tunes of these rhymes and singing games also encourage their chanters and their singers to move, and to dance their worries away. It's no wonder that a number of Rhythm & Blues records and records from other genres of African American include titles and verses from these children's singing games and rhymes.
****
EXAMPLES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN SINGING GAMES & MOVEMENT RHYMES (M-Z)
These examples are published in alphabetical order based on their titles or on the first few words of their first line. Multiple versions of specific rhymes are presented in chronological order based on their publishing date online, their (book) publishing date, or the date that I directly collected them. The oldest dated examples are presented first. The rhyme category of the example is noted in parenthesis after the example's "title". A limited number of videos are included in this post.
M , N
MY MAMA'S CALLING ME (singing game)
Leader: My Mama's calling me.
Chorus: (You can't get out of here.)
My Mama's calling me.
(You can't get out of here.)
What shall I do?
(Pat your ones to your knees.)
What shall I do?
(Pat your twos to your knees).
What shall I do?
(Pat your threes to your knees).
Pat your all.
-snip-
-Cheryl Warren Mattox, Shake It To The One That You Love The Best: Play Songs and Lullabies From Black Musical Traditions (JTG of Nashville, 1989, p. 13)
Here are the notes from that book about "My Mama's Calling Me" (Description: African American ring game).
"Call and response" is a form of music widely heard throughout Black cultures. This song provides a simple example of the "call and response" technique, which is an exchange between a leader (soloist) and the group (chorus). The child in the center of the ring is the leader and sings the "call". The other players sing the "response". During the game action thee leader tries to break out of the ring, but the other players attempt to keep her in. Whoever lets her out becomes "it" and goes to the center of the ring."
-snip-
My guess is that "ones", "twos", "threes", and "your all" refer to body patting (pattin' Juba), with "ones and twos" meaning "one hand and two hands", "threes" meaning your two hands and your head, and "pat your all" means your whole body.
Here's a video of the song (without those particular game movements)
My Mama's Calling Me
Julie Lo, Dec 8, 2016
-snip-
Several commenters wrote that they did this singing game in their school.
snip-
Here's the summary statement for a 2009 video of "My Mother's Calling Me" that was embedded in this post, but is no longer available:
"Continental Elementary, Green Valley AZ K-1 featuring a group of girls singing in "My Mama's Callin' Me", an African/American Circle Game that the children really enjoyed playing so we incorporated it into our concert. Circle games are a great way for teachers to pick out potential soloists, because the person in the middle gets to sing a solo, and they don't even realize it!!!"
****
MISTER RABBIT (singing game)
From Old Mother Hippletoe vinyl ablum:
Like “Catfish,” “Mister Rabbit” is from the large animal-song repertoire. In one widely used formula the rabbit is asked
numerous questions, which he answers in rhyme, in call-and-response fashion, as in the following examples:
“Your coat’s mighty gray”
“’Twas made that way”
“Your feet’s mighty red.”
“I’m almost dead.”
“Your tail’s mighty white.”
“And I’m getting’ out o’ sight.”
The collector’s notes state that this is a ring game in which pairs of children clap hands and an odd man out steals a
partner.
Call: So go, rabbit
Response: Rabbit, rabbit.
Leader: Mr. Rabbit, what makes your ears so thin?
Rabbit: Always hopping right in the wind.
Call: So go, rabbit,
Response: Rabbit, rabbit
Rabbit, rabbit.
(Twice)
-Susie Miller and two boys, vocals.
Recorded 1939 in Vicksburg, Miss., by Herbert Halpert. Library of Congress Archive of American Folk Song AFS 3074 B1. Ruth Crawford Seeger, Animal Folk Songs for Children.; found in
-snip-
"Mister Rabbbit" was popularized by Anglo-American folk singer Burl Ives who included it in his 1950s record 'Little White Duck' and other Children's Favorites". A number of children's music books and websites include the Burl Ives' version of that song's lyrics, usually without any mention of its African American singing game roots. Click http://www.metrolyrics.com/mr-rabbit-lyrics-burl-ives.html for those song lyrics and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0VQeByzDLo for a sound file of Burl Ives' rendition of "Mister Rabbit".
****
O,P
OLD GRANDPAW YET (play party)
From notes written by Kate Rinzler, Old Mother Hippletoe... record
“Old Grandpaw Yet” seems to be a game with a loner sitting in a chair in the center of a ring."
Old Grandpaw Yet,
Not a soul can he get,
And he’s tired of living here alone, here alone,
And he’s tired of living here alone.
Some of you young girls,
Take pity on his case,
And make him a wife of his own, of his own,
And make him a wife of his own.
You can rise to your feet
And kiss the first you meet,
For there’s plenty all around the chair, chair, chair
There’s plenty all around the chair.
Old Grandma Yet,
Not a soul can she get,
And she’s tired of living here alone, here alone,
And she’s tired of living here alone.
Some you young men,
Take pity on here case,
And make her a husband of her own, of her own,
And make her a husband of her own.
You can rise to your feet
And kiss the first you meet,
For there’s plenty all around the chair, chair, chair,
There’s plenty all around the chair
-Old Mother Hippletoe, http://www.newworldrecords.org/linernotes/80291.pdf
****
OLD JOHN THE RABBIT
"According to Herbert Halpert, the ring game “Old John the Rabbit” was played by a circle of children with a lead singer in the center. The tune and response are the same as those that Bessie Jones teaches for “Shoo, Turkey.”
At the end of her game, a line of children sit on their haunches and, to the refrain “Shoo, turkey, shoo, shoo,” hop in the fashion children also use to imitate rabbits. In tradition, games frequently change. They are added to and subtracted from as the aesthetics and knowledge of games vary from group to group. One can easily imagine “Old John the Rabbit” acquiring a rabbit hop from the “Shoo, turkey, shoo” of the game with identical vocal form. As other words are found with this tune, so other tunes are found with these words.
In American Negro Rhymes, Wise and Otherwise (Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat, 1968 (reprint of 1922 edition), pp.
263-71), Thomas W. Talley gives a glimpse of the process of floating texts from one game to another. "A game like “Old John the Rabbit,” played by young and old alike, [This song] Commonly went on continuously for a quarter of an hour or more...It was considered...an accomplishment for a leader to be able to sing “calls” for so long a time…and still a greater accomplishment to sing the calls both in rhyme and with meaning."
Call: Old John the rabbit
Response: Yes, ma’am.
Similarly
Got a mighty bad habit,
Going in my garden,
Cutting down my cabbage.
My name is Mary.
Got sweet potatoes.
And if I live
To see next fall,
I ain’t gonna pick
No cotton at all
-Four girls, vocals. Recorded 1939 in Amory, Miss., by Herbert Halpert. Library of Congress Archive of American Folk Song AFS 2975 A3.,Old Mother Hippletoe: Rural And Urban Children's Songs http://www.newworldrecords.org/linernotes/80291.pdf
*The correct title for Thomas W. Talley's book is Negro Folk Rhymes: Wise And Other Wise.
-snip- Added April 3, 2021 The
word "Similarly" In the directions for this singing game means to
sing the response "Yes, ma’am” after every "call".
-snip-
Notice in this singing game the lead singer’s voice (the call) is heard before
the group’s voice (the response.)
However, that order is inverted in contemporary (around late 1970s to around 2010) African American girls foot stomping cheers. In those cheers, the
group voice is heard before the soloist (lead singer).
Notice the words “My name is Mary” followed by the response and then Mary sings
something about herself “got sweet potatoes”. My guess is that each lead singer
said her or his name and sand something else about themselves. However, the
lines before “My name is [insert name] and the four end lines probably remained
the same with each lead singer..
**** OLD LADY SALLY WANTS TO JUMP (line game)
Old lady Sally wants to jumpty-jump
Jumpty-jump, jumpty-jump
Old lady Sally wants to jumpty-jump
And old lady wants to bow.
Throw that hook in the middle in the pond *
Catch that girl with the red dress on.
Go on, gal, ain't you shame?
Shamed of what?
Wearing your dress in the latest style.
Many fishes in the brook.
Papa catch 'em with a hook.
Mama fried them in a pan.
Baby ate 'em like a ma.
Preacher in the pulpit.
Preaching like a man.
Tryin to get to Heaven on a 'lectric fan
Do your best, pappy daddy do your best.
-Recorded at Lily's Chapel School, York, Alabama (1950s), http://media.smithsonianfolkways.org/liner_notes/folkways/FW07004.pdf -snip-
*Given in Shake It To The One That You Love The Best (Cheryl Warren Mattox) as "Thrown that fish in the middle of the pond/Catch that girl with the red dress on".
-snip-
Directions (from the Smithsonian Folkways record):
The children stand in two lines facing each other. They all sing. Both rows jump back and forth, each child with his feet together.** On the last line "Old Lady Sally wants to bow", the lines jump forward and each child bows to the one opposite him**. This is all sung and acted out very rapidly. Ordinarily, the children clap their hands. In June, however, after a day of chopping cotton, jumping back and forth was enough.
Old Lady Sally is an old woman still trying to get a man. She goes "jumpty-jump" to appear young and she wears a red dress in the latest style to "catch one of the many fish in the brook". The children think that she should be ashamed of herself for not acting like an old woman should.
**** WAY DOWN YONDER IN THE PAW PAW PATCH (singing game)
Where, oh where is dear little Susie? *
Where, oh where is dear little Susie?
Where, oh where is dear little Susie?
Way down yonder in the paw-paw patch.
Pickin up paw paws puttin em in the basket
Pickin up paw paws puttin em in the basket
Pickin up paw paws puttin em in the basket
Way down yonder in the paw paw patch
-Azizi Powell, childhood memories (Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the 1950s.)
-snip-
* The name given is changed to the name or nickname of the person hiding from the rest of the group in the designated "paw paw patch").
I remember "Way Down Yonder In The Paw Paw Patch" as a movement game. I probably learned it from teachers at my Baptist church's Vacation Bible school (summer school/ camp).I also remember learning "Zoodio" and "In the River On The Bank" at that same chuch sponsored summer school/camp. "In the River On The Bank" is a competitive movement line game of Caribbean or African American origin. The leader tries to get people in the group to jump the wrong way when he (or she) says "in the river" or "on the back". The last person remaining is the winner.
Examples of "Zoodio" are found below. Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD9CUNpbQQk for a link to a video of "In The River On The Bank" that is played by fencing students.
**** PEEP SQUIRREL [line game and other activities]
Peep squirrel
Ya di da di deedy um
Peep squirrel
Ya di da di deedy um
Hop squirrel,
Ya di da di deedy um
Hop squirrel,
Ya di da di deedy um
(Each line is repeated as above.)
Run squirrel.
Ya di da di deedy um
Come here squirrel,
Ya di da di deedy um
Whoa mule,
I can't get the saddle on.
Hold that mule,
I can't get the saddle on.
Go that squirrel,
I can't get the saddle on.
Go that squirrel,
I can't get the saddle on.
Ya di da di deedy um-a
Ya di da di deedy um-dum!
-Bessie Jones and Bess Lomax Hawes, Step It Down, p. 214
-snip-
Here's a quote from book:
[This is] "one of Mrs. [Bessie] Jones' songs that she says is especially for children. You can sing "Peep Squirrel" while the children dance, or while you're bouncing a child on your knee, or at a slower pace, it makes a fine song for a tired baby and a warm lap and rocking chair."
A shorter version of "Peep Squirrel" is included in Cheryl Warren Mattox's book Shake It To The One That You Love Thee Best, page 36. "Peep Squirrel" is described in that book as a line game. "Players stand very still in two lines pretending to be trees. One child plays the part of the squirrel peeping, hopping and running around the "trees". On the verse "catch the squirrel", the race is on and whoever catches the "squirrel" takes over that role. "Yaddle-da-di deeedle-dum" represents the soft, fluttery sound of a squirrel scurrying through leaves."
****
PIZZA PIZZA DADDY-O (Version #1) [movement rhyme]
Mary had a baby (Tanya, Sherry, etc.)
Pizza Pizza daddy-o
How you know it?
Pizza Pizza daddy-o
Cause she told me
Pizza Pizza daddy-o
What's his name
Pizza Pizza daddy-o
Jessie James
Pizza Pizza daddy-o
What's special?
Pizza Pizza daddy-o
Toilet tissue
Pizza Pizza daddy-o
Let's jerk it
Pizza Pizza daddy-o
Let's swim it
Pizza Pizza daddy-o
Let's skate it,
Pizza Pizza daddy-o
Let's freak it,
Pizza Pizza daddy-o
Let's twine it
Pizza Pizza daddy-o
Let's bat it
Pizza Pizza daddy-o
Let's fan it
Pizza Pizza daddy-o
Let's spin it
Pizza Pizza daddy-o.
-From the DVD- The Films of Bess Lomax Hawes, http://www.media-generation.com -snip-
Here's a video clip of this film:
Pizza Pizza Daddy-O
John Melville Bishop, Uploaded on Dec 12, 2009
-snip-
Another clip of this film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2YodFqZ7nQ
briefly shows an even shorter segment of "Pizza Pizza Daddy-O" as well as other singing games. That video's summary statement indicates that the video entitled "Pizza Pizza Daddy-O" is "A 1967 film by Bob Eberlein and Bess Lomax Hawes that looks at continuity and change in girls' playground games at a Los Angeles school".
****
PIZZA PIZZA MIGHTY MOE [movement rhyme, version #2]
Evalina?
Pizza, Pizza, Mighty Moe,
Well, have you seen her?
Pizza, Pizza, Mighty Moe,
She's got a wooden leg
Pizza, Pizza, Mighty Moe,
But can she use it?
Pizza, Pizza, Mighty Moe,
Oh, yes, she can use it.
Pizza, Pizza, Mighty Moe,
Well, do she 'buse it?
I know she use it.
Well, can she ball it?
Pizza, Pizza, Mighty Moe,
I say ball it!
-Bessie Jones and Bess Lomax Hawes, Step It Down... (originally published in 1972), p. 63
-snip-
Here's an excerpt from that book's comments about "Pizza Pizza Mighty Moe": "They [Bessie Jones and other people from the Georgia Sea Islands who were the contributors to this book saw] "a remarkable play [performance of the rhyme] presented by the children of Brunswick, Georgia elementary school a few years ago....apparently "Pizza" has caught on among the Island children as well as Los Angeles...."
-snip-
I believe that "Pizza Pizza Mighty Moe" is about a girl (whose name is Moe ?) who can really dance (in spite of her wooden leg.) The line "Well, do she 'buse it?" means "Can she really dance well" [To "abuse" something in this sense is a compliment.]. The line "Well, can she ball it? and "I say ball it!", "ball" means to dance really fast and/or "dance really good". That meaning comes from the phrase "balling the jack".
****
PIZZA PIZZA DADDY-O (Version #3) (movement rhyme)
(Jimmy) is having a birthday party.
Pizza, pizza, daddy-o!
How do you know?
Pizza, pizza, daddy-o!
Cause I saw it!
Pizza, Pizza, daddy-o!
Let’s jump it!
Jump it, Jump it daddy-o!
Let’s shake it!
Shake it, shake it, daddy-o!
Let’s hop it!
Hop it, hop it, daddy-o!
Let’s twist it!
Twist it, twist it daddy-o!
Let’s monkey it!
Monkey it, monkey it, daddy-o!
Let’s boogie it!
Boogie it, boogie it, daddy-o!
-Linda Gross and Marian E. Barnes, Talk That Talk, (New York, 1989; Simon & Schuster, pp. 444-445, from the Philadelphia (PA) School at 25th and Lombard in South Philadelphia).
-snip-
This singing game appears to provide an excuse for the girls to show off their dancing ability. While the commands "let's jump it!", "let's shake it", and "let's boogie it" refer to dancing movements, "the twist" and "the monkey" are actual names of R&B dances.
**** PIZZA PIZZA DADDIO (Version #4) (movement rhyme) The version at my school was "annie has a boyfriend
(Pizza pizza daddio) how do you know it? (Pizza pizza daddio) cause she told me
(Pizza pizza daddio) let's rope it (rope it rope it daddio) let's swim it swim
it swim it daddio) let's twist it (twist it twist it daddio) let's end it (end
it end it daddio!) -basil the frog, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2YodFqZ7nQ , Pizza Pizza Daddy-O, published by folkstreamer, August 3, 2006
**** PUNCHANELLA [ring game]
Hi, I was checking out this site and got so excited reading all of these cheers. It is so cool to see the cheers I did as a child in Birmingham, AL and see how differently they are done in different parts of the county. I am 26 and I try to pass down as many cheers as I can remember to my nieces and my daughter (8,6,and 2). Here's one:
Look who's here punch-a-nella, punch-a-nella
Look who's here punch-a-nella in the shoe
Oh what can you do, punch-a-nell, punch-a-nella
What can you do, punch-a-nella in the shoe
We can do it too, punch-a-nella, punch-a-nella
We can do it too, punch-a-nella in the shoe
Now choose your partner, punch-a-nella, punch-a-nella
Choose your partner, punch-a-nella in the shoe
We would all stand in a circle and one person would be in the middle and we would clap and stomp. The person in the middle would perform a dance during the line "oh what can you do...", then the group would imitate that dance on the next line. Then the person in the middle would cover their eyes and spin around during the line "now choose your partner...." and whomever they landed on at the end of the rhyme went into the circle next.
-Joi, cocojams.com; 3/23/2008
****
Q, R
RABBIT(singing games)
"Rabbit‘s rhythm and tune are reminiscent of marching calls and auctioneering. In black country schools, Bessie Jones recalls, children were taught “drills”-chanting, marching, and changing formations. Such drills, and games that sound like drills, may have originated in the teachers and children expressing their pride in the military training of black troops who figured decisively in the Civil War.
The sentiment expressed in the text, that a a rabbit would make a good pot of stew, probably derives from the fact that farmers cooked many wild animals. Bessie Jones recalls that she and her childhood friends sometimes shot small birds and cleaned, cooked, and ate them, just like grown-ups.
In American Ballads and Folk Songs (New York: Macmillan, 1934), Alan and John Lomax give a game text with variations of lines of this song, to be accompanied with “hambone” percussion-clapping hands and slapping thighs and face.
Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit,
See that rabbit sticking in the sand,
I wish I had him in my pan.
Ol’ rabbit skipped,
Ol’ rabbit hopped,
Ol’ rabbit jumped
Right in my pot.
-Four girls, vocals. Recorded 1939 in Amory, Miss., by Herbert Halpert. Library of Congress Archive of American Folk Song AFS 2975 A4. [from Old Mother Hippletoe]
****
RABBIT IN THE PEA PATCH (singing game)
Rabbit In The Pea Patch
Rabbit in the pea-patch, shoo-lye-love [sing sentence 5x]
Shoo-lye love, my darling
You love Miss Sally [substitute another name [5x]
Shoo-lye-love, my darling
You stole my partner, shoo-lye love [5x]
Shoo-lye-love, my darling
But I’ll get another one, shoo-lye-love [5x]
Shoo-lye-love, my darling
Pretty as the other one, shoo-lye-love [5x]
Shoo-lye-love, my darling
-Old Mother Hippletoe record
-snip-
A “pea patch” is a small garden where peas are grown. This song doesn’t tell any story. It is actually just an excuse for dancing. Another name for couple dance songs such as these is “play party” songs. Some African American and Anglo-American religious groups that were opposed to couples dancing permitted couples to hop and skip around to songs such as this one, because they could consider it a game instead of a dance.
According to Kate Rinzer, author of the Old Mother Hippletoe record’s notes, "This song was sung in unison by people who were watching the game being played. Boy and girl couples performed this “play party game” by skipping hand in hand around a lone boy. The boy would eventually “steal” a girl of his choice from one of the couples. The person who is now alone becomes the new “rabbit in the pea-patch”.
****
RONALD MCDONALD [ring or line game]
Ronald McDonald lo-o-o-oves a french fry! (Twice)
Ooh, s-s-wah-wah!
A french fry!
I found my lover.
A french fry!
He's so sweet,
A french fry!
Just like a cherry treat.
A french fry!
Additional stanzas may be about a hamburger, a milk shake, and so on, or the game may be expanded to include such nonedibles as the Jackson Five.
--Old Mother Hippletoe record
-snip-
"The Jackson Five" is the R&B sibling singing group that starred a young Michael Jackson.
Here are that record's notes about this song:
"Ronald McDonald” is played in a ring, in couples, or in lines (ring games are not necessarily played in rings). Each child claps her partner’s hands with right palm down and left palm up. On the refrain they make a motion symbolizing the food mentioned."
Other examples of "Ronald McDonald" are included in cocojams2's Hand Clap & Jump Rope Rhyme post.
****
S, T
SALLY DIED [ring game]
Slow
CALL: Sally died! (Girl in center chants)
RESPONSE: How did she die? (Girls in circle chant)
CALL: Oh, she died like this! (Leader strikes death pose)
RESPONSE: Oh, she died like this! (Circle mimics)
CALL: Sally died!
RESPONSE: How did she die?
CALL: Oh, she died like this! (New death pose)
RESPONSE: Oh, she died like this (Circle mimics)
CALL: Sally's living!
RESPONSE: Where's she live?
Double time; unison
Oh, she lives in a country called Tennesee! (Scissors jump)
She wears short, short dresses up above her knee!
She can shake that thing wherever she goes! (Satirical dance motion)
She can shake that thing wherever she goes!
Hands up, tussie, tussie, tussie, tus! (Raise hands)
Hands down, tussie, tussie, tussie, tus! (Hands ankle height)
Turn around, tussie, tussie, tussie, tus! (Full turn jump)
Touch the ground, tussie, tussie, tussie, tus! (Touch ground with jump)
Oh, she never went to college!
(Circle chants while leader whirls in place with hand covering eyes, other arm extended)
She never went to school!
But I found out
She was an educated fool!
The girl in the center stops abruptly on “fool,” pointing to the new leader.
- Old Mother Hippletoe..., http://www.newworldrecords.org/linernotes/80291.pdf
Band 2, Items 1, 2, 6, and 7
Ring Games: Sally Died; Ronald McDonald; Zoodiac; Zing-Zing-Zing
Washington, D.C., schoolgirls, vocals.
Recorded 1976 at Smithsonian Institution Festival of American Folklife, Washington, D.C.
-snip-
Here's the note written by Kate Rinzler for this game: " “Sally Died” is played with a leader in the center who chooses her replacement."
-snip-
Note that the girl in the middle doesn't close her eyes and put her left hand over her eyes before turning around to arbitrarily pick a new middle person. Closing your eyes to choose the next middle person is the custom that I'm familiar with (from my childhood in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the 1950s), and my observations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania [1969- to date] of how a new middle person is picked. That said, I think that the custom of the middle person purposely picking her or his replacement predates the custom of arbitrarily picking her or his replacement.
Read the entry for "Aunt Jenny Died" in Part I of this series.
****
SATISFIED [ring game]
I'm goin up north
sat-is-fied!
And I would tell you
sat-is-fied!
Lord I am
sat-is-fied!
Some people up there
sat-is-fied!
Goin' to bring you back
sat-is-fied!
Aint noth-in' up there
sat-is-fied!
What you can do
sat-is-fied!
Mama cooked a cow
sat-is-fied!
Have to get all the girls [boys]
sat-is-fied!
Their bel-lies full!
sat-is-fied!"
[repeat from the beginning, substituting another thing that Mama cooks, such as
"Mama cooked a chicken
sat-is-fied!
Have to get all the girls etc.]"
-Harold Courlander, Negro Folk Music, USA,{Example 18} p. 152 [Originally published in1963] -snip-
Here are Courlander's notes about this example:
"In the Negro ring game sone shown in Example 18, recorded in Alabama, there are the usual fun-inspired lines without any special significance, but there is an interspersed ironic theme about people who migrate north to better themselves, only to find that their lot has not been improved. This type of social allusion is characteristic of adult songs of critical comment, and is found in numerous Negro ring game lyrics. The responsive form of the song is comparable to that of cetain kind of religious or [prison chain] gang singing. The leader sings everything but the last word of each line, which is reserved for the chorus [the rest of the singers]."
****
SEE SEE RIDER (SATISFIED) (ring game)
"Another ring game (Example 19) with the same response "satisfied" deals with another subject, but like the previous song {Example 18} the social complaint has a theme somewhat beyond the experience of participating children.
Beginning with the line "See see rider"
{a phrase appearing in a number of blues songs, sometimes written as C.C. Rider}, there is a kind of generalized blues statement of discontent, followed by specific criticism:
See see rider,
satisfied!
What's the matter?
satisfied!
I got to work,
satisfied!
I am tired,
satisfied!
And I can't eat,
satisfied!
Satisfied Lord,
satisfied!
After other lines of nonsense variety, the song admonishes the older generation, seemingly for its double standards:
Mamma Mamma,
satisfied!
Leave me alone.
satisfied!
When you were young,
satisfied!
were you in the wrong?
satisfied!
Papa Papa,
satisfied!
You the same.
satisfied!
You the one,
satisfied!
Give Mamma's name,
satisfied!"
-Harold Courlander, Negro Folk Music, USA,{Example 18} p. 152
-snip-
This example and the preceding one are included with lyrical transcriptions in the "Ring Games and Play Party Songs" chapter of Negro Folk Music, USA.
The numbers that are given are the numbers that these singing games have in that book which ws originally published in 1963.
****
SEVEN ELEVEN [movement rhyme]
7-11 and ah 42.
How many pop-ups
can you do?
Wiiith ah 1- 2- 3- 4
(The word “with” is spoken with emphasis and drawn out)
5-6-7-8.
7-11 and ah 42.
7-11 and ah 42.
How many bongos
can you do?
Wiiith ah 1, 2, 3, 4.
5, 6,7, 8.
7-11 and ah 42.
7-11 and ah 42.
How many jumping jacks
can you do?
Wiith ah 1, 2, 3, 4.
5, 6,7, 8.
7-11 and ah 42.
Repeat the rhyme as many times as you wish, each time substituting a new movement and doing the movements starting from “1” to the count of “8” {or any number you wish to end with.
-African American girls & boys, about 8-12 years, Ammon Recreational Center; Pittsburgh, PA} Collected by Azizi Powell, 1999
-snip-
I collected this rhyme from children during a cultural presentation that my associates and I did as part of our "Alafia [ah-LAH-fee-ah] Cultural Services game song groups. Those special programming events were held throughout the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in mostly African American neighborhoods.
The children stood in a line and recited this rhyme in unison. “Pop-ups” was the children’s term for the exercise commonly called “sit-ups”.
“Bongos” was the children’s term for a rhythmical side-to-side hip shaking motion.
“Jumping Jacks” is commonly used term for an exercise that combines clapping your hands above your head while you jump with your feet apart and then together.
It seems to me that "7-11 And Ah 42" could also be played as a "show me your motion" game. In that formation, the group would form a circle with one person in the middle. The middle person would call out which movement to do, and the others would exactly imitate that movement or be "out". Also, another rule could be that if the person in the middle repeated the movement that a previous person had called out, he or she had to remain n the middle. That "ring game" style of playing that game would have to also include a "Who do you choose" verse in order to pick a new middle person.
I didn't ask the children who showed me this fast paced game what "7 11 and ah 42 mean.
According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sevens,_Elevens,_and_Doubles "7-11"and Doubles (also referred to as "7s, 11s, and doubles", "7/11/2x", Sloppy Dice is a drinking game played with two dice.[3][4] The game can be played with as few as two people, but is usually played in a group of five or more. The object of the games is to roll a 7, 11 or any double." end of quote
"42, also known as Texas 42, is a trick-taking game played with a standard set of double six dominoes." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/42_(dominoes),p>
“7-11” is the name of a chain of all-night convenience stores in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I think those stores got that name because they are open from 7 o’clock in the morning to 11 o’clock at night, but I'm not sure that this has anything at all to do with this rhyme. It's possible that the number "42" was used just because the number two rhymes with the word "do". In that case, any number ending in two could have been used. Maybe the words don’t mean anything but just sound good together.
****
T, U, V
THIS A WAY VALERIE (also known as "Strut Miss Lucy") (line game)
This-A-Way Valerie
This-a-way, Valerie
Valerie, Valerie,
This-a-way, Valerie
All day long.
Oh, strut, Miss Lizzie
Lizzie, Lizzie
Strut Miss Lizzie
All day long.
Oh, here come another one
Just like the other one,
Here come another one
All day long.
****
TIDEO (singing game)
Pass one window, Tideo.
Pass two windows, Tideo.
Pass three windows, Tideo.
Jingle at the window, Tideo
Tideo! Tideo!
Jingle at the window, Tideo
- as sung in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNBfj0PKkD0 -snip-
I believe that the word "Tideo" in this song is used as a name or nickname, Maybe it came from the name "Matilda" (Tilda)" but that's just a guess. This "Tideo" song is documented as coming from the Southern USA & my guess is that it is of African American origin.
It's possible that earlier versions of this game song substituted other names instead of always singing "Tideo". However, the word (or name) "Tideo" probably came from the word "dideo". That word is found in earlier (19th century) dance songs from the USA such as "Sail Away Lady" and "Lead A Man". My sense is that dideo was just an imitation of music notes. However, I believe that in later versions of "Sail Away Lady", "dideo" became "daddy o".
Here's that video:
3rd Grade Music - Singing Game Tideo (Fairmont Anaheim Hills Campus)
Fairmont Schools, Uploaded on Jun 16, 2011
...In this music activity, students experience 16th note rhythms in 4/4 meter, they sing in tune to a wide-range melody, and they work as a team.
At Fairmont Private Schools, Anaheim Hills Campus [California], students come to music twice a week. They enjoy our sound-proof studio complete with a dance floor and African drums. Students participate in singing, dancing, instrument playing, and creating music!
****
W, X
WATERFLOWER (Also known as "Wallflower") [ring game]
Water-flower
Water-flower, water-flower,
Growing up so tall,
All the young ladies must surely, surely die;
All except Miss 'Lindy Watkins,
She is everywhere,-
The white folks say, the white folks say,
Turn your back and tell your beau's name.
Doctor, Doctor can you tell
What will make poor 'Lindy well?
She is sick and 'bout to die,
That will make poor Johnnie cry!
Marry, marry, marry, quick!
'Lindy, you are just love sick!
Johnnie is a ver' nice man,
Comes to the door with hat in hand,
Pulls off his gloves and show his rings,
'Morrow is the wedding-day.
-Altona Trent John, Playsongs of the Deep South, published in 1944.
-snip-
This is a co-ed ring game with one person in the center.
This is an African American version of the British singing game "Waterflowers".
****
Y, Z
ZING ZING ZING
This game is a form of the "Concentration" listing game. As such it is included in cocojams2's handclap rhyme post U-Z.
**** ZOODIO
"Zoodio" is also found as "Here We Go Zoodio", "Zudio" and "Zodiac" and similar titles
HERE WE GO ZOODIO (Version #1 (line game]
Here we go Zoodio Zoodio Zoodio
Here we go Zudio all night long
Step back Sally Sally Sally
Step back Sally all night long
Walkin down the alley alley alley
Walkin down the alley all night long
-Azizi Powell, childhood memories, Atlantic City, New Jersey, 1950s
-snip-
I learned this singing game when I was around eight years old from an African American woman taught at our church's vacation Bible school. She said she sung learned it when she was a child in Georgia.
Here's how I taught this game to children in the early 2000s as part of my Alafia Childrens Ensemble game song groups:
1. Children chose a partner.
2. The partners stand facing each other.
3. The partners crossed their hands and held their partner's hand in a criss cross manner.
4. While singing the first lines "Here we go Zoodio, Zoodio, Zoodio/Here we go Zoodio all night long", the partners swing their crossed hands back and forth to the beat. And, while standing still, they also move their slightly bent knees up & down to the same beat.
5. On the words, "Step back sally", the partners jump back and forth, first away from, and then toward their partner.
6. On the words, "Walking through the alley", the partners strut to another partner.
7. The song begins again and continues in this pattern.
****
ZOODIO (Version #2) [line game]
Here we go zoodiac, zoodiac,
zoodiac,
Here we go zoodiac, all night long!
Oh, step back, Sally, Sally, Sally,
Step back, Sally, all night long!
Oh, a-walkin' down the alley,
alley, alley.
A-walkin' down the alley, all night long!
Oh, what did I see
I saw a big fat man from Tennessee!
I bet you five dollars I can beat that man!
To the front. to the back, to the si'-si'-si'. (Twice)
I called the doctor, and the doctor said
I got a pain in my si', oooo-chi-ah!
(Twice)
I got a pain in my si’ [side]
-http://www.newworldrecords.org/linernotes/80291.pdfOld Mother Hippletoe... -snip-
"si’" = side
Here's the album note for this game: “Zoodiac” is generally played in two lines. It ends with the children “walking down the alley” by ones or in couples between the lines."
****
HERE COMES ZODIAC (Version #3) [line game]
ok the zodiac thing I did at camp but it had more words.
Here comes zodiac zodiac zodiac here comes zodiac all night long
here comes sally walking down the alley here comes sally all night long
here comes another one just like the other one here comes another one all night long.
I looked out yonder and what do I see? A big fat man from tennesse. I bet ya five dollars that ya can't do this, I bet ya five dollars that ya can't do that.
to the front to the back to the side side side. to the front to the back to the side side side. You lean wayyyyyy back, you got a hump on your back, you lean way back you got a hump on your back. Do the camel walk.
