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".
This cocojams2 series on English language hand clap and jump rope rhymes isn't meant to be a comprehensive listing of those rhymes. For instance, I've chosen not to include a number of versions of rhymes that are generally found on other children's rhyme sites.
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".
Also, 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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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.
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.
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Editor's Comment:While I've found some English language playground rhymes that begin with the letters "U, V, X, Y, or Z", I've found very few "hand clap rhymes" or "jump rope rhymes" whose titles begin with those letters. I'll post the ones that I've collected.
Please add to this cocojams2 collection. Thanks!
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WHEN __ WAS A BABY (Comment)Examples of this rhyme family are presented regardless of their title. They will also be presented in no particular order. Note that some contributors describe these rhymes as a hand clap game, and/or a jump rope rhymes (with mimicking actions suggested by the words.) t's also possible that some children chanting these words only do the mimicking actions.)
WHEN __ WAS A BABY [Examples]
LUCY
you can do this with a jump rope, or a hand clap, i did it with hand claps. just an old Florida rhyme:
When Lucy was a baby, a baby
When Lucy was a baby She went a little like this:
Wah Wah
When Lucy was a toddler, a toddler, a toddler,
When Lucy was a toddler She went a little like this:
Wah Wah, suck my thumb
When Lucy was a kid, a kid, a kid
When Lucy was a kid She went a little like this:
Wah Wah, suck my thumb, give me a piece of bubble gum
When Lucy was a teenager, a teenager, a teenager
When Lucy was a teenager She went a little like this:
Wah Wah, suck my thumb, give me a piece of bubble gum, ohh, ahh, lost my bra, left it in my boyfriend's car
When Lucy was a grown up, a grown up, a grown up
When Lucy was a grown up She went a little like this:
Wah Wah, suck my thumb, give me a piece of bubble gum, ohh, ahh, lost my bra left it in my boyfriend's car, shh shh babies sleeping
When Lucy was an grandma, a grandma, a grandma
When Lucy was a grandma She went a little like this:
Wah Wah, suck my thumb, give me a peice of bubble gum, ohh, ahh lost my bra, left it in my boyfriend's car, shh babies sleeping, god i'm old.
When Lucy was dead, dead, dead,
When Lucy was dead
She went a little like this:
Wah Wah, suck my thumb, give me a piece of bubble gum, ohh, ahh, lost my bra left it in my boyfriend's car, shh babies sleeping, god i'm old, great i'm dead
-Morgan;, Cocojams, 5/16/2007 [also posted by Azzi Powell on this Mudcat discussion thread: http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=109480 "When Susie Was A Baby" on 15 Mar 08
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/11/when-pebbles-was-baby-hand-game-part-i.html, and http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/11/when-pebbles-was-baby-part-ii.html for examples of and commentary about these "When Miiss Suzie (and When Miss Lucy) Was A Baby.
In my pancocojams blog posts about these cumulative rhymes if "When Miss Lucy (or Miss Suzie) Had A Baby" rhymes were offshoots of "Miss Lucy Had A Baby" and "Miss Suzie Had A Steamboat."
I think that the "When Pebbles Had A Baby" rhyme is a variant form of the "When Miss Susie (or "Miss Lucy") Had A Baby" rhymes.
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WHEN PEBBLES WAS A BABY
When Pebbles was a baby, a baby, a baby
When Pebbles was a baby, she used to go like this:
"Wah! Wah!" (mime crying)
When Pebbles was a toddler, a toddler, a toddler
When Pebbles was a toddler she used to go like this:
"Wah! Wah!"
"Give me a Sucker" (mimes lollipop)
When Pebbles was a kid, a kid, a kid
When Pebbles was a kid she used to go like this:
"Wah! Wah!"
"give me a sucker"
"I know the answer!" (waves hand in air)
When Pebbles was a teenager, a teenager, a teenager
When Pebbles was a teenager she used to go like this:
"Wah! Wah!"
"Give me a sucker"
"I know the answer"
"Ohh! Ah! I lost my bra! I must have left it in my boyfriends car!!" (cover chest)
When Pebbles was a mother, a mother, a mother
When Pebbles was a mother she used to go like this:
"Wah! Wah!"
"Give me a sucker"
"I know the answer"
"Ohh! Ah! I lost my bra! I must have left it in my boyfriends car!!"
"Ding Dong Dinner's ready!" (mime pulling bell)
When Pebbles was a grandma, a grandma, a grandma
When Pebbles was a grandma she used to go like this:
"Wah! Wah!"
"Give me a sucker"
"I know the answer"
"Ohh! Ah! I lost my bra! I must have left it in my boyfriends car!!"
"Ding Dong Dinner's ready!"
"Oh! my aching back!" (bend over)
When Pebbles was in heaven, in heaven, in heaven
When Pebbles was in heaven, she used to like this:
"Wah! Wah!"
"Give me a sucker"
"I know the answer"
"Ohh! Ah! I lost my bra! I must have left it in my boyfriends car!!"
"Ding Dong Dinner's ready!"
"Oh! my aching back!"
"Alleuia!" (throw arms up)
- Marai, https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080731094608AARt5vg "HELP does anyone know the lyrics to this childhood handgame", 2008
-snip-
"Pebbles" is probably "Pebbles Flintstone" from the American animated television series about people living during cave men times, The Flintstones.
Here are some comments about this rhyme from the discussion thread of this video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSOxq1eovtw"Sally Was A Baby" Fun New Hand Clapping Game [The publisher of this video in 2013 is LivingHealthyAus. That names infers that this rhyme example was chanted in Australia.j
ty durden, 2014 "back in the early 1990s we use to play this game, but with the name Pebbles instead of Sally. what I can remember was it went... wah wah, tie my shoe, 2+2 is 4, oooh ahhh i lost my bra i think i left it in my boyfriends car.. i dont remember it after teenager...:
** Reply: Siobhan Chapman, 2014 "Yep. Pebbles here, too. We did 3 year old, 5 year old, teenager, mother "Now brush your teeth and go to bed", grandma "Ohhh my aching back" then dead Pause end game. Yeah morbid, I know. But it was fun. :-}"
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JustDonda, 2014
"That's cute. My kids said waah waah, tie my shoes, help me do my homework, ooh aah lost my bra left in my boyfriends car, help me find my babies, help me find my rocking chair, ooh I can fly, look at my long curly tail, (as a skeleton) ooh I can dance, (as dust) ah-choo I think I'm allergic to myself, bye-bye (they fall over)"
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/when-billy-boy-was-one-poor-pinocchio.html for other text examples of these rhymes and for videos of these rhymes.
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WHEN BILLY BOY WAS ONE
I'm an elementary teacher from Minnesota. I'd like to add a hand clapping, patting game I learned from some first grade girls back in the 1970's. They claaed it "Billy Boy." As they chanted the lyrics they clapped their own hands, then the opposite hand of their partner, then their own opposite shoulders, and finally their knees.
"When Billy Boy was one (sung as two syllables) he learned to suck his thu-umb, (two syllables again.)
Thumb-dee-ah-dah, thumb-dee-ah-dah,
Half past one, cross down,
When Billy boy was two-o, he learned to tie his shoe-oo,
Two-dee-ah-dah, two-dee-ah dah,
Half past two cross down." etc.
three: climb a tree,
four: shut the door,
five: jump and dive,
six: pick up sticks,
seven: got to heaven,
eight: clean his plate,
nine: sing this rhyme,
ten: he learned to say, 'THE END!'"
-Skeezyks http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4300#1434593, "Children's Street Songs", 31 Jan 05
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/when-billy-boy-was-one-poor-pinocchio.html for a pancocojams post about this rhyme.
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WHO TOOK THE COOKIE FROM THE COOKIE JAR (Comment)The way that I played "Who Stole The Cookie From The Cookie Jar" in the 1950s was seated in a circle and chanting the rhyme while keeping time with individual hand claps alternating with thigh patting. (I now would consider those hand claps and thigh pats as a carry over from the 19th century African American tradition of "pattin Juba".) That style of playing this rhyme is the way I've usually seen it and read about it. Consequently, I was surprised to read an example of "Who Stole The Cookie From The Cookie Jar" given as a jump rope rhyme. Here's that example:
WHO TOOK THE COOKIE FROM THE COOKIE JAR
Who took the cookie from the cookie jar? (* Turners sing opening verses *)
Not I took the cookie from the cookie jar.
Then who took the cookie from the cookie jar?
Number 1 took the cookie from the cookie jar.
Not I took the cookie from the cookie jar. (* Jumper1 enters, sings alone *)
Then who took the cookie from the cookie jar? (* All jumpers sing this *)
Number 2 took the cookie from the cookie jar. (*Jumper1 sings alone *)
Not I took the cookie from the cookie jar. (* Jumper2 enters, sings alone *)
Then who took the cookie from the cookie jar? (* All jumpers sing this *)
Number 3 took the cookie from the cookie jar. (* Jumper2 sings alone *)
Not I took the cookie from the cookie jar. (* Jumper3 enters, sings alone *)
Then who took the cookie from the cookie jar? (* All jumpers sing this *)
(* Continues until all are in *)
(* Before start all jumpers take numbers *)
(* Numbers can be called in any order *)
(* Jumper singing alone decides who to call *)
Source:
Robin B Cano and Peter H Neumeyer (1973) Jump Rope Jingles and
Other Useful Rhymes Houghton Mifflin Co: Boston. pp 30.
[Posted on http://mudcat.org/jumprope/original/rhyme265.htm "Jumprope Hypertext Archives", Stan Kulikowski collection]
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WIRE BRIAR LIMBER LOCKWire briar, limber lock.
Six geese in a flock.
One flew east.
One flew west.
One flew over
The cuckoo's nest
-Source: Jack and Olivia Solomon (1980) Zickary Zan: Childhood Folklore, University of Alabama Press, page 182
[Posted on http://mudcat.org/jumprope/original/rhyme265.htm "Jumprope Hypertext Archives", Stan Kulikowski collection]
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YONDER COMES THE TEACHERYonder comes the teacher With a big fat stick. Wonder what I made On arithmetic? 5, 10, 15, 20, ... (* Continues counting *)
Sources: Jack and Olivia Solomon (1980) Zickary Zan: Childhood Folklore, University of Alabama Press. pp 182 and Roger D Abrahams (1969) Jump Rope Rhymes A Dictionary University of Texas Press: Austin, TX. pp 228
[Posted on http://mudcat.org/jumprope/original/rhyme265.htm "Jumprope Hypertext Archives"; Stan Kulikowski collection]
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ZING ZING ZING
Zing-Zing-Zing
Zing-zing-zing, and away we go
To the Jackie Gleason studio.
Calaree! Calarah!
One apiece,
No repeats
Or hesitations
Or demonstrations!
Name some...
Foods: “Ham.” “Turkey.” “Eggs.” “Cheeseburger.” “Bacon,” “Sausage.” “Hot dog.” “Watermelon.” “What?” “Watermelon.” “Toast.”
“Hamburger.” “I said hamburger.” “No you didn't,” ALL: “Yes she did. You out!”
Cars: “Mustang. “”Pinto.” “What!? What you all naming?
Oh.” “Mustang II.” “Firebird.” “Mercury.” “Cutlass Supreme.” “Cadillac.”
“Mustang.” “Supreme II.” “Cutlass S.” “Um ...F'irebird.” “You out!”
-Band 2 of Old Mother Hippletoe: Rural and Urban Children’s Songs New World NW 291 http://www.newworldrecords.org/linernotes/80291.pdf, Washington, D.C., schoolgirls, vocals, Recorded 1976 at Smithsonian Institution Festival of American Folklife, Washington, D.C.
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Given the demographics of Washington, D.C. in the late 1970s, "Washington, D.C. schoolgirls" meant "Black school girls".
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Here's the album notes for this game: "Zing-Zing-Zing” is a game of elimination, The rules are often bent to accommodate differing levels of skill. As can he seen from the texts, children are constantly making up new games, a good sign that singing games are still alive and well in our cities."
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Those notes don't indicate that "Zing Zing Zing" is a hand clap game, but it "reads" almost exactly like the "Concentration" hand clap games that are featured in the "C, D" section of this series.
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