This cocojams2 series showcases examples of English language hand clap & jump rope rhymes, with a special focus on examples from African American culture*. The pages present examples whose "titles" begin with the featured two letters, with the exception of post #11 in this series which features examples whose titles begin with the letters "u" - "z".)
Unless otherwise indicated, the examples given below were (or "are") "hand clap rhymes".
A number of the examples in this collection were featured on my cocojams.com cultural website that was online since December 2001. That website vanished late October 2014 [!?!) and I am partially recreating its playground rhymes pages from back-up files and from recent internet "rhyme harvesting". That's the story behind this blog name cocojams2.
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This cocojams2 series on English language hand clap and jump rope rhymes isn't meant to be a comprehensive listing of those rhymes.**.ADDED MARCH 18, 2021
* Like my now deleted website cocojams.com, cocojams2 features examples of playground rhymes from White people and other non-African Americans. No racial information is available for most of those persons who contributed examples of rhymes that are showcased in this blog.
*WHAT I MEAN BY "AFRICAN AMERICAN RHYMES"
1. those examples which were chanted by African Americans as well as children & youth of other races, but may have been composed by non-African Americans.
and
2. those examples that seemed likely to have been composed by African Americans given documentation that those rhymes appear/ed to be mostly chanted by African Americans, and/or given the content (subject matter, words & phrases, and/or structure of those rhymes).
3. those examples whose contributors self-identified as African American or whose contributors indicated that they learned those examples from one or more African Americans also fit in that category.
I believe that a person's race or ethnicity (with "ethnicity" in the USA meaning Latino/Hispanic) can influence what types of rhymes and/or what versions of a particular rhyme a person knows, how that rhyme is chanted or performed, and whether the person understands certain vernacular words in that rhyme.
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**WHAT I MEAN BY "RHYMES"Rhymes - a catch-all term that means rhyming verses [playground rhymes and not nursery rhymes], cheers, singing games, and chants
A number of these rhymes are featured in posts on my pancocojams blog. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/ and either enter that rhyme's name or enter the words "children's rhymes" or "African American rhymes and cheers".
The content of this post is presented for folkloric and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who have contributed to this collection.
EDITOR'S NOTE ABOUT ADDING COMMENTS ON THIS BLOGWith 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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EXAMPLES OF HAND CLAP & JUMP ROPE RHYMES
Note: These examples are published in alphabetical order based on their titles or the first few words of their first line. Multiple versions of specific rhymes are presented in chronological order based on their publishing date online or their collection date, with the oldest dated examples presented first.A, B
ABC (Version #1)
A.B.C.My momma takes care of me.
My father don’t yell at me.
Caught you with your boyfriend.
Naughty, Naughty.
Didn’t do the dishes.
Lazy, Lazy.
Ate all the candy
Greedy, greedy.
Jumped out the window.
Man, you’re crazy!
-anonymous woman (White; Washington, D. C), collected by Azizi Powell,1999; posted on Cocojams on 2/26/2006
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A B C (Version #2)
A B Cit's easy as 1 2 3
yer mama's got funky feet
oosh ahsh I want a piece of squash
sqhash too sweet I want a piece of meat
meat too tough I wanna ride a bus
Buss too full I wana buy a bull
bull too black I want my money back
money too green I want a limosine
Limosine too long
I wanna write a song
song too old I want a pot of gold
gold to yella' I wanna kiss a fella
fella too fat
and that's the end of that
or
gold too yellow I'll Tickle you with a feather (and you reach out and try to tickle the person who you're playing with)that's all I can remember right now...
-Reebob; 2/12/2004; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4300&messages=155; Children's Street Songs
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A B C (Version #3)
abc, easy as 123,my momma takes care of me,
my daddy watches mtv,
ooh ahh i want a piece of pie,
pie to sweet i wanna piece of meat,
meat to rough i wanna ride a bus,
bus too full i wanna ride a bull,
bull not black i want my money back,
money back too green i wanna jelly bean,
jelly bean not cooked< i wanna read a book,
book not read i wanna go to bed,
bed not made i want some lemonade lemonade too sour
i wanna take a shower,
shower too cool i wanna go to school,
school too dumb i wanna suck my thumb,
thumb to dirty i wanna ride a birdie,
birdie too slow and thats all i know,
so close your eyes and count to ten,
whoever messes up starts all over again,
12345678910...
snip
Compare these examples with "Oh My, I Want A Piece Of Pie" rhymes.
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ABC (Version #4)Yo' papa's on L-I-C.
Get offa my feet.
That's how nasty people can be.
Fudge, fudge, fudge.
The doctor called the judge.
Mama's havin' a baby.
Papa's goin' crazy.
If it's a boy,
I give it a toy.
If it's a girl,
I give it a curl.
If it's a twin,
I give it a spin.
Wrap it up in toilet paper,
Put it down the elevator.
First floor, stop, your mother.
Second floor, stop, your father.
Third floor, stop.
Now you better watch out
'cause S-T-O-P spells stop."
On the final word, "Stop," both players would freeze.
[Handclapping game learned in Summit, New Jersey, when I was about 11, from an African American girl friend of mine who lived in Orange, New Jersey. It must have been ~1990 or 1991.]
-Anonymous, September 25, 2010, cocojams
-snip-
According to the commenter "L-I-C" means "liquor".
The lines for this rhyme are usually "ABC/It's as easy as do, re, mi," [or "it's as easy as 1, 2, 3"]. Those lines are lifted from the Jackson Five's May 1970 R&B single and album cord enttled "ABC".
Notice the combination of this rhyme with the "fudge, fudge call the judge" rhyme.
Here's an additional comment that Anonymous sent in with this rhyme:
"[My memory of] the clapping game for the “A-B-C” song is clear. The clapping game involved slapping your right hip, and snapping your fingers and clasping hands. I am attaching a sound file of the song as I remember it.
As I remember it, “L-I-C” was a reference to liquor... I interpreted the song as a rather grim story".
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A.B.C. HIT IT
A.B.C.Hit it!
Thats the way uh huh uh huh i like it uh huh uh huh
Thats the way uh huh uh huh i like it uh huh uh huh
peace puch captain crunch
break a wall waterfalls/,girl you think you know it all
" you dont i do/ so, poof with the attitude
wait, come back,
you need a tic tac
not a tic not a tac but the whole six pack
yo mamma, yo daddy,
your bald headed granny
she 99
she thinks shes fine,
she going out with frankenstein
go granny go go,
go granny wooooo
-stariewitch; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkgtAELLndA ; April 26, 2008.
snip- This example was largely written as run-on sentences. I added the line breaks where I believe the lines occur.
A number of contemporary rhymes include the line "That the way I like it". That line comes from the Kool and the Gang" record with that title.
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AMA LAMA KUMA LA VISTAWhat about the song that goes like this..
Flea.. Flea fly..
Flea Fly Flow.
Ama lama kuma lama kuma la vista,
Oh oh oh oh not the vista vista,
issilini dissilini
Oo aa aa malini, akaraka, cukara ich bam boom,
ip diddly ope en bope why not shout and bout
.......ssssssss.... Bang!
Anybody else know this?..."
-Danny; http://blog.oftheoctopuses.com/000518.php10/1/2003 ; 10/1/2003 -snip- This blog is no longer accessible.
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AMEENA SUPERSTINA
Ameena *clap clap clap*Superstina *clap clap clap*
Lazy boys *clap clap clap*
Super girls *clap clap clap*
*now faster*
Ameena
Supersteena
Lazy boys
Super girls
S
T
O
P
STOP
*no one moves*
The first to move loses and the last to stay in one position without moving wins.
-Guest, NK; http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=63097 Folklore: Do kids still do clapping rhymes?; March 18, 2011
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A PIZZA HUTA Pizza Hut
a pizza hut
a pizza hut
Kentucky fried chicken and a pizza hut
mcdonalds
mcdonalds
kentucky fried chicken and a pizza hut
it even comes with actions!!!
-miraclem; http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080426225540AA5Rj0d, 9/2008
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APPLE ON A STICK
Apple on a stick
Makes me sick
Makes my tummy go
Two forty six
Not because it’s dirty
Not because it’s clean
Not because I kissed my momma
Behind the magazines
Girls, girls
Do you wanna fight?
Here come Dickey
With her pants on tight.
She can wiggle
She can woggle
She can do all that
I bet you ten dollars
You can’t do this
Count to ten with your eyes closed
A-baby one
A-baby two
A-baby three, four, five
Baby, I don’t take no little jive
A-baby six
A-baby seven
A-baby eight, nine, ten
You better back it up and do it again
Source: Apples On A Stick Barbara Michels and Bettye White (New York: Coward / McCann, Inc)
collection of playground rhymes from Black children in Houston Texas, 1983, page 11
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/05/geographic-locations-for-examples-of.html "Apple on a stick hand clap rhymes with geographic locations"
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BANG BANG CHOO CHOO TRAIN
Examples of this rhyme are included on cocojams2's children taunting rhymes post.
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BAZOOKA ZOOKA BUBBLE GUM
My mom gave me a pennyShe said to buy a henny
But I didn't buy no henny
Instead, I bought BUBBLE GUM
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA BUBBLE GUM
My mom gave me a nickel
She said to buy a pickleBut I didn't buy no pickle
Instead, I bought BUBBLE GUM
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA BUBBLE GUM
My mom gave me a dime
She said to buy a limeBut I didn't buy no lime
Instead , I bought BUBBLE GUM
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA BUBBLE GUM
My mom gave me a quarter
She said to buy some waterBut I didn't buy no water
Instead, I bought BUBBLE GUM
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA BUBBLE GUM
My mom gave me a dollar
But I didn't buy no collar
Instead, I bought BUBBLE GUM
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA BUBBLE GUM
My mom gave me a five
She said to stay aliveBut I didn't stay alive
Instead, I choked on BUBBLE GUM
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA BUBBLE GUM
i learned that one in elementary school... not sure how i remembered it! have fun... whoever needs this
-i know hand games! ; http://blog.oftheoctopuses.com/; 12/22/2005 [website no longer accessible]
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BIG MAC[This comment is given as the summary statement for this YouTube video of a 1981 McDonald's Ad entitled "Double Dutch"]
"Multiple generations of middle-class African-Americans enjoy McDonald's food as the 12-to-18-year-old females perform elaborate jump-rope theatrics and chant the following jingle:
Big Mac, Filet-O-Fish, Quarter Pounder, French Fries / Icy Coke, Thick Shakes, Sundaes, Apple Pie / Big Mac, Filet-O-Fish, Quarter Pounder, French Fries / Icy Coke, Thick Shakes, Sundaes, Apple Pie / If you're hungry then for goodness sake / Give yourself a tasty break / With Big Mac, Filet-O-Fish, Quarter Pounder, French Fries / Icy Coke, Thick Shakes, Sundaes, Apple Pie / At McDonald's!
-Ken Kuhl, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k19Bqr2SjbI
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Here's a comment about this ad from another YouTube video comment thread for this same McDonald's ad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UWq26V01po
in reply to J Womack
"Double dutch is one of three types of musical play that most urban kids in predominately black settings were first exposed to in early childhood. The black public sphere was dominated by these games for the very young and carried popular songs and dance to them -- like their own popular broadcasting system -- where there was no adult supervision. It was orally and kinetically passed down -- by word of mouth and body and girls were the primary agents while boys tended to rap and dance."
Kyra Gaunt, Ph.D., Dec 13, 2012
Kyra Gaunt is the author of the book The Games Black Girls Play: Learning the Ropes from Double-Dutch to Hip-Hop
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/05/mcdonalds-handclap-rhymes-source-ad.html for examples of two other McDonalds jingles that have been used as jump rope and/or hand clap rhymes.
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BLONDIE AND DAGWOOD (Jump Rope Rhyme)
and does anyone remeber this:blondie and dagwood went to town
blondie bought a dressing gowndagwood bought the evening paper
and this is what it said
close your eyes and count to ten
if your out you'll hold an end
one two three (to ten doing pepper)
-Guest, guest; http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=46932&messages=132 Child's Game: Elastics; November 18, 2008
-snip
Blondie" and "Dagwood" are comic strip characters. In that comic strip they are a married couple with children.
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BLUE BELLS TACO SHELLS (Version #1) Jump Rope RhymeStart swinging rope back and forth without doing a full turn)
Blue Bells Taco Shells
eevy ivy ooover (now regular jump rope
i went down town to see james (or charlie) brown
he gave me a nickle
to buy me a pickle
the pickle was sour
he gave me a flower
the flower was dead
and this is what he said
,
he said: johnney jump on one foot one foot one foot,
johnney jump on two feet, two feet, two feet,
johnney jump on three feet, three feet, three feet,
johnney jump on four feet four feet four feet
johnney jump on FIVE FEET!
(try to touch all hands and butt to the ground in one jump. everybody messed up here)
-Talia G.(African American female), 12/5/2006, Cocojams
-snip-
Editor: I love the folk etymology change of "cockle shell" to "taco shell". I'm sure that Talia is much more familiar with taco shells than cockle shells. Me too :o)
The rhyme "Policeman Policeman" often has these "jump with two feet etc lines.
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BLUE BELLS COCKLE SHELLS (Version #2); Jump Rope Rhyme/Skipping RhymeBluebells, cockle shells,/ Eevie, ivy, over;
I like coffee, I like tea;
I like the boys, and the boys like me.
Tell your mother to hold her tongue;
She had a fellow when she was young.
Tell your father to do the same;
He had a girl and he changed her name.
- http://www.homeschool.co.uk/resource/skipping-rope-jump-rope-hopscotch-songs.html, (assessed 5/23/2010)
This example and the example that is next include verses from the large "I Love Coffee, I Love Tea" rhyme family.
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BLUEBELLS COCKLE SHELLS (Version #3) Jump Rope Rhyme/Skipping RhymeBluebells, cockle shells,
Eevie, ivy, over;
Mother went to market
To buy some meat;
Baby's in the cradle
Fast asleep.
The old clock on the mantel says
One o'clock, two o'clock.
(to twelve o'clock)
Bluebells, cockle shells,
Eevie, ivy, over;
I like coffee, I like tea;
I like the boys, and the boys like me.
Tell your mother to hold her tongue;
She had a fellow when she was young.
Tell your father to do the same;
He had a girl and he changed her name.
- http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101113222223AAw99M5 "What are your favorite jump rope rhymes,
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BLUE BELLS COCKLE SHELLS (Version #4) Jump Rope Rhyme/Skipping RhymeBluebells, cockle shells,
Eevie, ivy, over;
Mother went to market
To buy some meat;
Baby's in the cradle
Fast asleep.
The old clock on the mantel says
One o'clock, two o'clock.
(to twelve o'clock)
- http://www.homeschool.co.uk/resource/skipping-rope-jump-rope-hopscotch-songs.html, (assessed 5/23/2010)
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BLUE BLUE (Jump rope; ball bouncing rhyme)Blue Blue/ Buckle my shoe/(or "Tie my shoe)[bend down while jumping to act like you're tieing your shoe lace
Red red
Pee the bed.
Pink pink
Gee, you stink.
White white
Say good night.[fold your hands in a prayer motion while jumping; like you're saying your good night prayers]
Yellow yellow
Kiss a fellow.
Green green
Eat ice cream. [make motions like you are eating ice cream]
Brown brown
Get out of town. [jump out of the rope]
Black black
Don't come back.
- Azizi Powell, memory of my childhood, Atlantic City, New Jersey (1950s)
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BO BO SKI WATTEN TOTTEN (Versions #1 & #2)Bo-bo ski watten totten/, Ah-ah-ah, boom boom boom
Itty bitty wotten totten
Bo bo ski watten tatten
Bo bo ski wotten tatten-BOOM.
(A longer version)
Bo-bo ski watten totten,
Ah-ah, ah-ah boom boom boom
Itty bitty wotten totten
Bo bo ski watten tatten
Bo bo ski wotten tatten
Freeze please American cheese (stop clapping)
Please don't show your teeth to me
(Resume clapping and repeat verse with additions of different things to hide; lips, eyes (eyes shut)
-iluvmate; http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080418164413AAb904S [This link is no longer viable.]
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BOP BOP TOMATOMy heart goes bop bop together
I like the weather
Bring back my love to me
My heart goes criss cross
Tomato sauce
Ear to ear
Three musketeers
Eye to Eye
Three apple pies
Hip to Hip
Potato Chip
Bop Bop Tomato
Bop Bop Tomato
Bop Bop Tomato
FREEZE!
-http://girlgriots.tumblr.com/Abouthttp://girlgriots.tumblr.com/About, 2012
-snip-
The first three lines of this rhyme remind me of the rhyme that is known as "Two Lips". Examples of that rhyme are found in the "T" post of this cocojams2 series.
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BOOM TICK TOCK (Version #1: hand clap rhyme)
Another one I remember is entitled Boom tick tock and it is a hand clap only song. I cant describe the handclaps well by computer. The sung words are:
Boom tick tock
Boom tick ee walley walley
Boom tick tock boom tick ee walley walley.
STOP!/
I said a one more time!
I hope this was helpful.
-FloJaune G.; African American female (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, memories of 1990s; email to Azizi Powell, 2005
-snip-
This rhyme may have been lifted from the "Miss Sue From Alabama" rhyme.
-snip-
Another example of "Boom Tick Tock" is included in this pancocojams post: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/09/foot-stomping-cheers-alphabetical-list.html "Foot Stomping Cheers Alphabetical List (Numbers - C)"
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BRICKWALL WATERFALLExamples of this rhyme will be included on the cocojams2 children's taunting rhymes post.
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Thanks for visiting cocojams2.
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