What The Word "Backbone" Means & How "Let Your Backbone Slip" Is Performed In The "Little Sally Walker" (Sitting In A Saucer) Singing Game

ichagall, Apr 20, 2010

Little Sally Walker Bessie Jones
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Here's the words to this version of "Little Sally Walker":
Little Sally Walker
Sitting in a saucer
A weepin and a cryin over all she has done.
Rise Sally rise*
Wipe your weepin eyes*
Turn to the east
And turn to the west
Turn to the very one that you love the best.
And put your hands on your hips
And let your backbone slip
Oh, shake it to the east, Sally
Shake it to the west, Sally.
Shake it to the very one that you love the best.
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An alternate version: "Rise up from your seat/Wipe your cheeks".
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Notice that in this video, the man who was chosen as center person is also known as the female character "Little Sally Walker". 

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents information about the meaning of the words "let your backbone slip" in the singing game "Little Sally Walker".

This post also showcases two YouTube video that show two different ways that the "let your backbone slip" movement is performed in the "Little Sally Walker" (sittin in a saucer) singing game. 

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the unknown composers of versions of "Little Sally Walker" that include the "put your hands on your hips and let your backbone slip" words. Thanks also to all those who were associated with the YouTube videos that are showcased in this pancocojams post and thanks to all those who are quoted in this pancocojams post.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/05/african-american-versions-of-little.html for the 2025 pancocojams post entitled "African American Versions Of "Little Sally Walker" (with city/state and/or decades played) from a 2025 Facebook page."

Click the "Little Sally Walker" tag below for other pancocojams posts about this singing game. 

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 - "Little Sally Walker" | In Rehearsal for "Black Pearl Sings!"

 MilwRep, Jan 4, 2018

In this excerpt from rehearsals for "Black Pearl Sings!," Peal (Lynette DuPree) teaches Susannah (Colleen Madden) how to properly dance to the folk song, "Little Sally Walker." Performances begin January 19th [2018 in Washington, D.C.]
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Click.https://dctheatrescene.com/2016/04/27/black-pearl-sings-metrostage-review/

Black Pearl Sings! at MetroStage (review)

April 27, 2016 by Debbie Minter Jackson
" "Black Pearl Sings! is a powerful, entertaining story of two women from vastly different walks who have life-changing interactions that revolve around snippets of historical music."...

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WHAT IS THE BACKBONE? 
The "backbone" is "the spine column" (spine)".
 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/backbone 

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WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE WORDs "LET YOUR BACKBONE SLIP" IN THE SINGING GAME "LITTLE SALLY WALKER"?
AI Overview [May 12, 2025]
" "Let your backbone slip" is an expression, primarily used in hip-hop and dance, that refers to a movement where the body, especially the upper body, is loosened and relaxed, allowing the spine to bend and sway with the music. It can also be a metaphor for expressing oneself authentically and without rigid control.

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

Literal Meaning:
In the context of dance, "backbone slip" describes a specific move where the dancer relaxes their upper body and allows their spine to bend and move with the music. This involves loosening the hips and allowing the body to sway and move in a fluid, almost snake-like way.

Metaphorical Meaning:
The expression can also be used metaphorically to suggest letting go of rigid control and embracing a more relaxed and expressive way of being. It can imply being more open to new experiences and allowing oneself to be swayed by emotions or impulses.

In essence, "let your backbone slip" can be understood as both a literal dance move and a metaphorical call to release inhibitions and embrace authenticity and expressiveness."
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I believe that in the context of the singing game "Little Sally Walker, the words "let your backbone slip" don't refer to an actual dance move but are both the literal meaning and the metaphorical meaning that are given above."

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HOW DO PEOPLE LOOK (ACT) WHEN THEY "LET YOUR BACKBONE SLIP" (DURING THE SINGING GAME "LITTLE SALLY WALKER")

Showcase Video #1
All of the players in this game sing the commands to this game song, except for the person in the center of the circle. The center person follows the commands that others are singing, but remains silent throughout the entire time that he or she is in the center of the circle. The center person performs the motions at the same time as the other people who are playing this game.

The "let your backbone slip" motion immediately follow performing the motion to "put your hands on your hips". All of the players perform those motions at the same time.

"Let your backbone slip" means to rhythmically swing your hips side to side to the beat. This is the same motion that is done for the words "Shake it to the east and shake it to the west".
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This is the way that I've always performed "let your backbone slip" and the way that I've always seen in performed online and offline, with the exception of Showcase video #2 in this pancocojams post.  

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Showcase Video #2
All of the players in this game sing the commands to this game song, except for the person in the center of the circle. The center person follows the commands that others are singing, but remains silent throughout the entire time that he or she is in the center of the circle. The center person performs the motions at the same time as the other people who are playing this game

After the players put their hands on their hips, they lean slightly forward and quickly shake their back. While the players (except for the center person) sing "Shake it to east and shake it to the west", the players swing (shake) their hips from the left to the right." 

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
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DISCLAIMER
As I indicated above, I believe that "letting your backbone slip" is a state of mind or a state of spirit in which a person is relaxed and lets go of rigidity.

However, there may be certain dance movements that are most often associated with "letting your backbone slip".

This pancocojams post doesn't mean to state or imply that these two videos that are showcased in this post are the only ways that a person can "let their backbone slip".

I'm interested in knowing what you think "let your backbone slip" mean and what ways that you have performed or have seen others perform when you "let the backbone slip" during the "Little Sally Walker" singing game or otherwise.  

Thanks in advance!  

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

African American Versions Of "Little Sally Walker" (with city/state and/or decades played) from a 2025 Facebook page

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents some examples of the singing game "Little Sally Walker" from a 2025 discussion thread of the Facebook page of  Vintage & Iconic African American Everything.

This compilation also includes some examples of "Little Sally Walker Walking Down The Street" and a few other recreational singing games and rhymes. 

That discussion was sparked by a brief black & white (no color) 1975 film clip of Black American girls and boys performing the singing game "Little Sally Walker" (sitting in a saucer).

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Vintage & Iconic African American Everything" Facebook account for embedding a 1975 film clip of Black children playing a version of the singing game "Little Sally Walker" and thanks to that Facebook account for starting a discussion thread about that singing game and other recreational games and rhymes. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/02/a-few-examples-of-little-sally-walker.html?m=1 for the closely related 2022 pancocojams post entitled "A Few Examples Of "Little Sally Walker" Singing Games That African Americans Remember (with geographic location & decade remembered or collected)."

The comments that are given in that 2022 pancocojams post aren't included in this 2025 post.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/05/how-let-your-backbone-slip-is-performed.html for the pancocojams post entitled What "Backbone" Mens &"How "Let Your Backbone Slip" Is Performed In The "Little Sally Walker" (Sitting In A Saucer) Singing Game".

Click the "Little Sally Walker" tag below for other pancocojams posts about this singing game

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1975 FILM CLIP OF BLACK AMERICAN CHILDREN PLAYING A VERSION OF THE "LITTLE SALLY WALKER" SINGING GAME
This film clip that has the title "Children playing Little Sally Walker (1975) #1970s " is embedded on https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3653896478089568 "Vintage & Iconic African American Everything" Facebook account, January 29, 2025. 

This clip is a part of a longer documentary that is filmed in black & white (not color]. Unfortunately, I can't find this clip or that documentary on YouTube. If you have any information about the titles of these YouTube videos, please share them in the comment section of this pancocojams post. Thanks, in advance. 

shows Black American children (girls and boys) playing this ring game together, different ages (from pre-school to early middle school ages? From the girls and pre-school to elementary school ages for the boys)  I can’t find this video on YouTube. It’s part of a longer documentary since it cuts off when an older Black woman is sitting in a chair talking.

Film show a group of Black American boys and girls playing this game standing out doors holding hands and moving counterclockwise around one person standing in the middle of the circle [That person represents Little Sally Walker.

Note: The words "Little Sally Walker" are also used if a boy is the center regardless of the fact that "Sally" is a female name only.

Here are the words to that singing game:

"Little Sally Walker sittin in a saucer
Weepin and a cryin for a cool drink of water
Rise Sally Rise
Wipe between your eyes
Put your hand on your hip
And let your backbone slip
We’re gonna shake it to the East
We’re gonna shake it to the West
We’re gonna shake it to the one that you love the best
Mama said so
Papa said so…
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An older Black woman in that film is heard sharing her memories of the words to this singing game, although she doesn't say the last part of that game.

Commenter #31 [quoted below] wrote that the last line of that version of "Little Sally Walker"  that she remembers is "That's what you do if you wanna get a beau" [The word "beau" means "boyfriend" or "girlfriend" rhymes with the word "so"].

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS FACEBOOK PAGE
There are a total of 1,598 in reply to the first comment about the film of Black girls and boys performing "Little Sally Walker" that is embedded on that Facebook page. 

Given the name of this Facebook page and some of its comments that specifically referred to race and nationality, it's likely that all of these commenters are African American.

I tried to retrieve all of the comments that include the words to this singing game that the commenters remembered and/or comments that include demographic information (location, decade remembered playing this singing game). Unfortunately, at some point, I was unable to see the comments since I wasn't signed in to any Facebook account (I gave up my Facebook account decades ago). However, this compilation doesn't include all of the comments that I was able to read. For instance, I didn't include comments that said something like "I agree" or "I remember this from my childhood" that were given without any lyrics to any singing game or that were given without any demographic information. 

This compilation also includes some comments about a few other recreational rhymes, singing games, and other play activities that those commenters remembered. 

Numbers are added to these comments for referencing purposes.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3653896478089568 "Vintage & Iconic African American Everything" Facebook page of January 29, 2025. 

All comments are from February 2025.

Some of these comments refer to the 1975 film that was embedded in that Facebook page that showed children playing a version of "Little Sally Walker" (sittin in a saucer.) 

1. Melvenia V Pressley
"Wow! Thanks for sharing this brings back so many memories we played out doors. We played red light green light 123, hopscotch, jumped rope, hide and seek and so much more . We got our exercise."

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2. Kimberlee Brown
"Wow! All of them are at least 60 years of age now, some of them are older than 60. My brother was born in 1962 and he's 62 or 63."

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3. Jean Nanna Mayer
"I remember playing this but only with girls. The boys wouldn't play because of the name"Sally".....LOL."

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4. Val Sawyer
"Jean Nanna Mayer some boys would play with us, because when they got to the part” shake it to the east,shake it to the west, shake it to the very one you loved the best, that was their time to shake it in front of the girl they had a cruse on!🥰"

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5.  Veronica Johnson
"Jean Nanna Mayer ...I never recall boys playing it."

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6. Wallace Collins
"Old man this takes me back I remember kids used to play this outside at school doing recess"

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7. Dee Madden
"Wallace Collins oh my, we use jump rope at recess to, or at lunch, cause we went out of school for lunch"

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8. PeaceLove Atman
"I've never heard of little Sally walker...it was ring around the rosie for my era....Sally walker sounds so much better and was way more positive.

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9. Nora Keithley
"PeaceLove Atman

Either have I. I am 73 and it was Ring around the Rosie.

It looks like fun."

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10. PeaceLove Atman
"Nora Keithley WOW, i wonder if the words were different within each state"

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11. Tavika Kersey
"PeaceLove Atman ring around the rosie pocket full of posies ashes ashes we all fall down, something like that 😝"

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12. Doris Neal-Alexander
"We played this as kids in the Chgo. Henry Horner Projects.. we said "Lil Sally Walker was walkin down th street, she didn know wat t do so she stopped in front of me. We said gone girl shake that thang, shake that thang, shake that thang, gone girl shake that thang, shake that thang and Stop! I can see my friends faces and that was over 50 years ago! 🥹 Thank you for the memories!!! 💋💋💋"

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13. Gloria Anderson
"This is what we sang in the Fifties!

Little Sally Walker

Sitting in a Saucer

Weeping and a Crying for

some young man!

Oh ! Rise Sally Rise

And wipe your weeping eyes

Now rise to the East

Now rise to the West

Now rise to the very one that you love the best

Shake it to the East

Shake it to the West

Shake it to the very one that you love the best!

Now put your hands on your hips and let your backbone slip !"

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14. Shikim Collins
"Our generation was little sally walker walking down the street. She don’t know where she’s going but she’s always follow me. I said now gone girl shake that thang , shake that thang stop and repeat gone girl shake that thang shake that thang 🛑"

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15. Lashawnda Monique Boykin
"Shikim Collins I been looking for this comment because that’s the version I knew 80’s Midwest."

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16. Catherine Davis
"We sang ..lil Sally waker sitting in a saucer she weeping she wipping all her tears away rise sally walker wipe your tears away put your hands on your hip and let your backbone slip.. you skake it to the east ..and you skake it to the west ..you shake it to the one that you love the best..."

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17. Carilyn Young
"Yes I remember that song when I was elementary school in the south."

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18. Panessa Bankston
"I remember growing up my friends and I would play this☺️, I don't remember the boys playing,I noticed someone saying it was innocent times then, so true, now it's just crazy, kids will never understand how much fun we had growing up, anyhoot God bless all and remember, keep reminding them it was once safe for kids to play outside , but things have changed, people have changed, and it's only getting worse,STAY SAFE AND BE BLESSED 🙏"

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19. Lori Guilbeau
"It sounds completely different. We didn't sing all the words!!!! What a strange but funny feeling I have, hearing and seeing kids playing together. Just having innocent fun."

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20. Janice Swearinger
"I remember this but the words were a little different at the end of the song, but it still brings back good memories as a kid 👍♥️"

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21. PJ Edwards
"In Houston Texas in the 1970s, we said...

Little Sally Walker sitting in a saucer rise Sally rise wipe your weeping eyes put your hand on your hips and make your backbone slip oh shake it to the East oh shake it to the West oh shake it to the very one you love the best turn to the east turn to the West turn to the very one you love the best."

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22. Tracey Tball Williams
"PJ Edwards , 'and if you got a boyfriend I’ll tell you what to do, take some salt and pepper and shake it on your shoe now gone girl shake that thing shake that thing stop turn to the east turn to the west turn to the boy that you love the best'. I’m 62 years, and that song just came out my mouth so naturally"

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23. Lisa Fisher
"Tracey Tball Williams I forgot about that version!"

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24. Marilynn Pointer
"PJ Edwards exactly the way we did it in Memphis!!! Back then was the best days!! ❤️"

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25. Ambree Blake
"PJ Edwards yes we did sing it exactly like that in Houston. My Lord! Great memories!"

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26. Mattie Jones
"PJ Edwards, same in Arlington, Tennessee. But my times was in the 50's"

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27. Renita Abraham
"PJ Edwards we did too but we did say the last line like the video....mama said so papa said so that's the way you do it when you want to catch a boo 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣"

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28. Candice Carter Allen
"PJ Edwards this is how we did it in the L.A. area too"

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29. Ella Guillory Washington
"PJ Edwards the words were same in Lake Charles LA as in Houston. Back in da day… 60’s for me. I was teenager in the early 70’s, didn’t sing it much then."

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30. Tamela Holley
"PJ Edwards same in Mississippi I teach red light green light stop n bubble gum bubble gum in the ditch still today to my grands n they lovvveee the simple games"

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31. Callie Marshall
"PJ Edwards moma said so, papa said so, that's the way you do it when you wanna catch a beau! 😊"

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32. Kimberly Alford Sitton
"PJ Edwards yes indeed , we did Houston , Proud"

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33. Cheryl L Whittington Lockley
"PJ Edwards we did it in San Diego California...oh yes!!!!"

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34. Denise Huntjones
"PJ Edwards I remember your same version of this growing up in my part of NC."

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35. Lucille Shields
"PJ Edwards yes that's the way we sang it in Alabama to."

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36. Michelle Waller
"PJ Edwards we sang it the way you mentioned in California also."

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37. Jennifer Marie Jones
"PJ Edwards same - born and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana."

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38. Cynthia Giddens Hunter
"PJ Edwards I was born in 1953 and I played these same games growing up."

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39. Shebrew Shebrew
"PJ Edwardsthat’s what we said in the 80’s in Oklahoma."

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40. Zaneta Tolbert-Dean
"PJ Edwards that is what we song in Chicago as well"

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41. Anna Longmeyer
"PJ Edwards that's the way we did it in Santana California"

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42. Lisa Neal
"PJ Edwards my grandma taught me from Missouri."

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43. Rita Whitsett Franklin
"PJ Edwards We sung it like you did in the 60’s in Mobile, Alabama."

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44. Tracy Savoy
"PJ Edwards im from Houston and we said this one too!!! Remember Hollywood Swing It?"

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45. Gwendolyn Ann Lollis-Smith
"PJ Edwards In New Orleans we said that same thing 😅😅😅😅"

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46. Cindy Chretien
"Omg was we singing this song wrong lol we always sang Lil Sally Saucer sitting in the water cry Sally cry wipe off your eyes ?? We sang the I was going to Kentucky I was going to a fair I met a senorita with diamonds in here hair shake it shake it shake it shake it if u can shake it like a milk shake and shake it once again turn to east turn to the west turn to the one u like the best! And Ms Mary Mac Mac Mac all dressed in black black black with silver buttons buttons buttons all down her back back back with ask our mother for 50 cents to see the elephant elephant elephant jump over the fence fence fence"

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47. Kimberly Alford Sitton
"I was born in 65 , grew up in these years with games etc. as girls we wore cool locks , like the lil girl in red , now called different , and shorts under your dress, but when returning home from school , you were to put on play clothes , meaning you didn’t play any games , in your school attire , and as a lil girl ,, you better act like a lil young lady , around boys at school , or in the neighborhood , they kept their eyes 👀 on us"

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48. Nora Keithley
"PeaceLove Atman

Interesting question. Was this only in the black communities? I grew up as a military child and most of my school years, was overseas."

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49. April Love
"I’m from Cali,

We use to sing:

down down baby …down down… a roller coaster… sweet sweet baby sweet sweet. ..Don’t let me go…shimmy Shimmy Coco pop shimmy, shimmy…rise…Shimmy Shimmy Coco pop… I had a boyfriend ….a biscuit …he so sweet… a biscuit …like a cherry tree… a biscuit…ice cream, soda pop cherry on top …aweee BB awww Baby, I said it… I meant it… I’m cool ..smooth ?something….. don’t remember the rest😆😆"

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50. Alieda Viruet
"April Love I'm from Chicago

We used to don't a variation of this song like this:

Down down baby, down down the roller coaster...

Sweet sweet baby I don't wanna let you go...

Just because I kiss you, don't mean I love you...

Shimmy shimmy coco pop, shimmy shimmy rock...

Shimmy shimmy coco pop, shimmy shimmy break down...

Man and lady sittin' on a bench, trynna make a dollar out of fifteen cent...

You missed, you missed, you missed like this

🤣😂😂Little less innocent than your lyrics... though we didn't realize it as kids."

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51. Sherrea Jones
"April Love We did also in Dallas Texas I'm sure I'm lot older cause we sang and played these games in the 59s and 60s things started changing more in late 70s"

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52. Michelle Waller
"April Love This is another one we also sang. We used to sing another version of little Sally Walker and another too."

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53. Cassandra Thomas
"April Love must be a 70s or 80s baby because my children sang that. 😅😅"

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54. Wendy Miller
"April Love yup. I remember those playground rhymes. I lived in Watts/Compton at the time."

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55. Barbara Miller
"Lucille Shields you are ABSOLUTELY right. 1950’s. My classmates and I played this game and many others in Mobile, Alabama. Sweet Memories."

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56. Marjie Edwards
"Lucille Shieds you are right. The 50s. Not the 70s."

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57. Rosalyn Sinkfield
"Lucille Shields such good memories, when children were children 😃💗"

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58. Anita Cloutier Bridge
"Lucille Shields I agree. Kids played this way before the 70’s."

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59. Tommie Jean Thomas
"Lucille Shields ABSOLUTELY! I'm 82 and we did "Little Sally Walker" when I was 5.🙏❤️🎶💃🌹💋"

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60. Bunnie Gaines-Tabb
"Lucille Shields these games were pre civil war! They are African traditions which combine percussions, dance, calls and responses. They had no toys..."

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61. Veronica Johnson
"Lucille Shields .truth!"

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62. Keith Duncan
"My Nana says she Remembers this

this is Priceless"

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63. TenishiaNene Smith
"Wow!! We enjoyed playing games like this even in the 90's.

But Man, looking at how short some of these little dresses were. Somebody lied to us talking about when we were coming up you wouldn't see girls with these little dresses yall wear now. Honey they couldn't even bend or fall without everything showing lol"
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This comment refers to the 1975 film of children playing this singing game (ring game) that was embedded on that Facebook page. 

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64. Benita P. Traphan
"Takes me back to my childhood when I played with children in my neighborhood. Those were the clothes we wore. Short little dresses were so cute. What innocence! Today’s children don’t have the innocent fun we had fifty years ago."

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65. Nikki Berry
" 'Little Sally Walker walking down the street...She didn't know what to do so she stopped in front of me. She said, "Hey girl, shake that thang, shake that thang, don't stop.' Repeat and everytime she stops. The person she stops in front of does a dance and they switch places."

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66. Kawana MsKay Renee
"Nikki Berry we use to say jumped in front of me.. and said gone girl shake that thang stop.."

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67. Unique Buckley
"Kawana MsKay Renee we said gone girl do yo thang do yo thang in the 90s"

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68. Lisa Marie
"Kawana MsKay Renee I’m from Detroit. That’s how we sang it!❤️"

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69. Ray Ray
"Nikki Berry this is the one we sang in school in mid 2000's ❣️"

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70. Taneisha McIntosh
"Nikki Berry yesssss I was looking for this version, we were poppin it at the playground in 1998 lol"

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71. Kendra Thompson
"Nikki Berry now this is the Sally Walker I remember lol"

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72. Era Smith-Perry
"Nikki Berry 💯except we said gone girl shake that thang🤣"

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73. Terri Allen
"Nikki Berry I guess we all had different words.."

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74. Georgia Williams
"Terri Allen I know right. I remember something like. Little Sally Walker sitting in a saucer? Rise Sally rise and wipe your weeping eyes etc..."

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75. Daniele Green
"Nikki Berry my mama used to sing the one they’re singing*. We used to sing the one you just wrote. Maybe it’s different for every generation. I was born in 1988."
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This comment refers to the film that is embedded on that Facebook page.

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76. Artimease Jackson
"Nikki Berry shake that thing Stop 🥰🤣"

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77. Treneice Okpaku
"Nikki Berry this the one!!! 90s in Kansas"

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78. Linnie Butler
"Nikki Berry Right. Thats the later version my nieces used to say. Except they would say "gon girl shake that thang." I guess lil Sally grew up. 😄😄😄😄🥰"

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79. Carliss Deniece
"Coming up in the 70’s in Mississippi I remember

Lil Sally walker

Ring around the Rosie

Miss Mary Mac

I don’t wanna go to Mexico no more

It was one song when two people were facing each other and you sing a song and using your hands to the song…I done forgot so many years ago. Times were tough but we were happy."

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80. Kathy Newby
"Carliss Deniece hello Queen I remember those also i lived in a different state but we played the same games must be a cultural experience"

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81. Catherine Davis
"Carliss Deniece Mrs Mary Mac mac mac all dress in black black black with 24 buttons buttons buttons right down her back back back...lol"

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82. Jackie Smith
"Carliss DenieceTake me out to the ballgame was one"

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83. Drama Mo
"Carliss Deniece tweet-tweet-tweetalie"

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84. Erin Traynum Cameron
"Carliss Deniece we did the Mexico one too in Ohio where I’m from

I don’t wanna go to Mexico no more more more

There’s a big fat policeman at the door door door

If you grab him by the collar you SHOLE to make him holler

I don’t wanna go to Mexico no more more more

🥰🥰"

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85. Carliss Deniece
"Erin Traynum Cameron That’s it 😂 we say catch him by the collar and make him pay a dollar 😂😂"

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86. Alieda Viruet
"Erin Traynum Cameron in Chicago we said, he grabbed me the collar, he made me pay a dollar🤣🤣😂"

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87. Lucille Shields
"1970's heck these ring games were back in the 50's when I was a child at my elementary school, good memories."

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Sweet Honey In The Rock - "No Mirrors In My Nana's House"

tubelogin, Uploaded on Nov 18, 2009
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This animated version of "No Mirrors In My Nana's House" was shown on the American children's television station "Nick Jr". The composer of this song is Ysaye M. Barnwell and the illustrator for this video is Chris Rashchka.

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases the song "No Mirrors In My Nana's House".

Information about the vocal group "Sweet Honey In The Rock" and a video of that group's performance of this song are also included in this post.

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

All copyrights remain with theeir owners.

Thanks to Ysaye M. Barnwell for composing this song and thanks to thee musical legacy of Sweet Honey In The Rock. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
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This post is an exact reprint of a 2014 pancocojams post. That 2014 post includes several comments from people who remember their mother, grandmother, or teachers reading this book.
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I'm reprinting this post (with additions) on Mother's Day 2025. Happy mother's Day to all those people regardless of their gender who have "mothered" or are "mothering" other people and/or "fur babies".

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INFORMATION ABOUT SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK
From http://sweethoneyintherock.org/
"Sweet Honey In The Rock® is a performance ensemble rooted in African American history and culture. The ensemble educates, entertains and empowers its audience and community through the dynamic vehicles of a cappella singing and American Sign Language interpretation for the Deaf and hearing impaired. Sweet Honey’s audience and community comes from diverse backgrounds and cultures throughout the United States and around the world, and includes people of all ages, economic/education/social backgrounds, political persuasions, religious affiliations, sexual preferences and differing abilities."

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From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Honey_in_the_Rock
"Sweet Honey in the Rock is an all-woman, African-American a cappella ensemble. They are an American Grammy Award–winning (and many times nominated) troupe who express their history as African-American women through song, dance, and sign language.[1] Originally a four-person ensemble, the group have expanded to five-part harmonies, with a sixth member acting as a sign-language interpreter. Although the members have changed over three decades, the group continues to sing and has helped to produce several children's records as well as those intended for adults.

Sweet Honey in the Rock was founded in 1973 by Bernice Johnson Reagon, who was teaching a vocal workshop with the Washington, D.C. Black Repertory Company.[1] Reagon retired from the group in 2004. The name of the group was derived from a song, based on Psalm 81:16, which tells of a land so rich that when rocks were cracked open, honey flowed from them. Johnson has said that this first song in which four women blended their voices was so powerful, that there was no question what the name of the group should be. The ensemble's most powerful messages are proclaimed through an enormous catalog of songs addressing the world's woes. They are currently occupied with immigration injustices, congressional greed and lack of compassion for hurting citizens, the environmental imbalance, racial issues and women's issues."...

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LYRICS: NO MIRRORS IN MY NANA'S HOUSE
from CROSSINGS by Ysaye .M. Barnwell ©1992

There were no mirrors in my Nana's house,
no mirrors in my Nana's house.
There were no mirrors in my Na's house,
no mirrors in my Nana's house.
And the beauty that I saw in everything
was in her eyes (like the rising of the sun).

I never knew that my skin was too black.
I never knew that my nose was too flat.
I never knew that my clothes didn't fit.
I never knew there were things that I'd missed,
cause the beauty in everything
was in her eyes (like the rising of the sun);
...was in her eyes.

There were no mirrors in my Nana's house,
no mirrors in my Nana's house.
And the beauty that I saw in everything
was in her eyes (like the rising of the sun).

I was intrigued by the cracks in the walls.
I tasted, with joy, the dust that would fall.
The noise in the hallway was music to me.
The trash and the rubbish just cushioned my feet.
And the beauty in everything
was in her eyes (like the rising of the sun).
...was in her eyes.

There were no mirrors in my Nana's house,
no mirrors in my Nana's house.
And the beauty that I saw in everything
was in her eyes (like the rising of the sun).

The world outside was a magical place.
I only knew love.
I never knew hate,
and the beauty in everything
was in her eyes (like the rising of the sun).
...was in her eyes.

There were no mirrors in my Nana's house,
no mirrors in my Nana's house.
There were no mirrors in my Nana's house,
no mirrors in my Nana's house.
And the beauty that I saw in everything
was in her eyes (like the rising of the sun).

"Chil', look deep into my eyes."
"Chil', look deep into my eyes."
"Chil'..."

Source: http://www.ymbarnwell.com/lyrics.php
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Dr. Ysaye M. Barnwell is a member of the vocal group Sweet Honey In The Rock.

The word "nana" means "grandmother" or "grandparents" in a number of languages throughout the world, including the Twi language of the Akan people in Ghana and the Ivory Coast.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/09/what-nana-means-in-akan-culture-its-use.html for a pancocojams post on the word "nana".

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Birmingham Jubilee Singers - "Sweet Mama, Tree Top Tall" (an early 20th century "Blues" song)

CanadianFolkBlues, Published on Jun 6, 2012

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases the song "Sweet Mama Tree Top Tall" by the Birmingham Jubilee Singers. Information about the Birmingham Jubilee Singers is included in this post.

This post also includes definitions of the word "jubilee" and information about the referent "Jubilee singers" as it applies to African American religious and secular singers.

Lyrics to the Birmingham Jubilee Singers' version of "Sweet Mama Tree Top Tall" are also included in this post along with my comments about the meanings of three African American Vernacular English expressions that are found in this song: "tree top tall", "turn your damper down" and "don't like my peaches, don't shake my tree".

This pancocojams post also includes an example of an African American children's rhyme that includes those lines from that song which have become a "floating verse" (i.e. words/lyrics that appear in other songs/rhymes regardless of their genre). 

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the Birmingham Jubilee Singers for their musical legacy. Thanks also to those quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this sound file on YouTube.
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This post is largely a reprint of a pancocojams post that was published in 2013. . That 2013 post had been updated at least once in 2013.

There are no comments in the discussion thread for that YouTube sound file or for that 2013 pancocojams post.

Information about the word "Jubilee" is added to this 2025 post along with information about the Fisk Jubilee Singers, particularly regarding the fact that while Jubilee singing groups mostly performed religious music (African American Spirituals), they also performed non-religious music which can be classified as Blues.
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I'm reprinting this post (with additions) on Mother's Day 2025. Happy mother's Day to all those people regardless of their gender who have "mothered" or are "mothering" other people and/or "fur babies".

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WHAT THE WORD "JUBILEE" MEANS IN THE NAME OF THIS MUSIC GROUP AND OTHER BLACK AMERICAN MUSIC GROUPS 
The word "Jubilee" in the name of the music group "Birmingham Jubilee Singers" follows the naming custom of the Fisk Jubilee Singers. Here's some information about that group from
" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisk_Jubilee_Singers
"The Fisk Jubilee Singers are an African-American a cappella ensemble, consisting of students at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. The first group was organized in 1871 to tour and raise funds for college. Their early repertoire consisted mostly of traditional spirituals, but included some songs by Stephen Foster. The original group toured along the Underground Railroad path in the United States, as well as performing in Europe. Later 19th-century groups also toured in Europe.

[…]

History
….[The music group’s name is] “in memory of the Jewish year of Jubilee."[2] This was a reference to Jubilee described in the book of Leviticus in the Bible. Each fiftieth Pentecost was followed by a "year of jubilee" in which all slaves would be set free.[3] Since most of the students at Fisk University and their families were newly freed slaves,[5] the name "Jubilee Singers" seemed fitting.

The Jubilee Singers' performances were a departure from the familiar "black minstrel" genre of white musicians performing in blackface. One early review of the group's performance was headlined "Negro Minstrelsy in Church--Novel Religious Exercise," while further reviews highlighted the fact that this group of Negro minstrels were, oddly enough, "genuine negroes."[6] "Those who have only heard the burnt cork caricatures of negro minstrelsy have not the slightest conception of what it really is," Doug Seroff quotes one review of a concert by the group as saying.[7] This was not a uniquely American response to the group's performance, but was typical in audience receptions in Europe as well: "From the first the Jubilee music was more or less of a puzzle to the critics; and even among those who sympathised with their mission there was no little difference of opinion as to the artistic merit of their entertainments. Some could not understand the reason for enjoying so thoroughly as almost everyone did these simple unpretending songs."[8]

…The original Jubilee Singers introduced slave songs to the world in 1871 and were instrumental in preserving this unique American musical tradition known today as Negro spirituals. They influenced many other troupes of jubilee singers who would go on to make their own contributions to the genre,"...
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"Negro" is an outdated referent for African Americans (Black Americans) since the 1960s. Although it was the custom for mainstream America to spelling the referent "Negro" with a lower case "n", that population protested that practice because it was offensive given the fact that the spelling for referents for all other races began with an upper case letter. That referent is sometimes informally used by African Americans (Black Americans) as a put down of a person from that population who is behaving in ways that are obsequious toward White people and/or in ways that ae against the well being of Black people (i.e. "acting like an Uncle Tom")
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Here's a sentence from AI (Google results May 11, 2025) that apparently refers to other African American Jubilee music groups such as the Birmingham singers" 
. .."While known for their spirituals, the group's [Fisk Jubilee Singers] performances and the spirituals themselves became a foundation for the development of blues, gospel, jazz, country, and rock music."

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE BIRMINGHAM JUBILEE SINGERS
From http://www.last.fm/music/Birmingham+Jubilee+Singers
"The Birmingham Jubilee Singers were an American gospel quartet from Birmingham, Alabama.

They were put together in 1926 by Charles Bridges, a native of Birmingham suburb Pratt City, who studied voice at his high school and sang with the Dolomite Jubilee Singers after graduating....

The group became Alabama’s first professional quartet when in 1926 they were discovered by a Columbia Records talent scout, and travelled from Jefferson County to record in Atlanta. They achieved nationwide popularity through their live radio broadcasts over WAPI, WVRC and WJLD.

Becoming one of Columbia’s most prolific black vocal groups, they played vaudeville stages in New York and Chicago with the likes of Ethel Waters. They played a mix of both gospel songs and secular material, performing on gospel and vaudeville stages alike.

The group disbanded in the 1930s when Dave Ausbrooks died. Their complete recorded works were reissued on two compact discs in 1995 by the Document Records label."
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Italics added to highlight this sentence which refers to the types of music that this group sang. In the mid 20th century to date (2025) African American Gospel groups don't record Blues music or almost any other type of secular (non-religious) music 

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LYRICS - SWEET MAMA TREE TOP TALL
(As sung by the Birmingham Jubilee Singers on "Birmingham Jubilee Singers: Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order: Volume 1: 1926 – 1927" (Document Records, DOCD-5345):

1. Sweet mama, treetop tall, baby, turn your damper down.
I smell your bread cookin', honey. Done got good an' brown.
I'm goin' away sweet mama just worry you off my mind,
'Cause you keep us both worried 'bout the baby all the time.
Sweet mama, treetop tall, baby, turn your damper down.

2. Sweet mama, treetop tall, baby, turn your damper down.
I smell your bread cookin', honey. Done got good an' brown.
I just got a letter from a gal in Rome.
Says she got plenty money, gonna bring it home.
Sweet mama, treetop tall, baby, turn your damper down.

3. Sweet mama, treetop tall, baby, turn your damper down.
I smell your bread cookin', honey. Done got good an' brown.
I've got a gal in Georgia, two in Tennessee.
Got three in Alabama good enough for me.
Sweet mama, treetop tall, baby, turn your damper down.

4. Hey beauty, wake up honey, I know you heard the whistle blow.
You got a few more minutes to get your clothes on; then you have to go.
Your hands are already rough and your feet are long.
... can't see what'n the world you're waitin' on.
Hey beauty, wake up honey, I know you heard the whistle blow.

5. Sweet mama, treetop tall, baby, turn your damper down.
I smell your bread cookin', honey. Done got good an' brown.
I'm standing on the corner with my hat in my han',
... waitin' for the woman ain't got no man.
Sweet mama, treetop tall, baby, turn your damper down.

6. Sweet mama, treetop tall, baby, turn your damper down.
I smell your bread cookin', honey. Done got good an' brown.
If you don't like my peaches, don't you shake my tree.
... let my peaches be.
Sweet mama, treetop tall, baby, turn your damper down.
(I said) Baby, turn your damper down.
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Hat tip to Jim Dixon and Arkansas Red for this transcription.
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=24332&messages=22 "Lyr Req: Sweet Mama Tree-Top Tall (Lasses White)"

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EXPLANATION OF THE TERM "TREE TOP TALL"
"Tree top tall" is a referent for a very tall person

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[Update 11/7/2013]

EXPLANATIONS OF THE TERM "TURN YOUR DAMPER DOWN"
"Turn your damper down"
Here's an explanation of "turn your damper down" from
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=24332&messages=22
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Sweet Mama Tree-Top Tall (Lasses White)
From:GUEST,Arkansas Red-Ozark Troubadour
Date: 03 Jun 13 - 01:29 PM

"From what I understand "turning a damper down" in cooking with a wood stove means to reduce the heat. So the double entendre in this song probably refers to "sweet mama" having "the hots" for other men, and spreading it around, so she is advised to keep her damper turned down and "make it hot" for her man only. This I was told by an [sic] black blues singer who probably knew more double entendres in songs than anybody. Blues are filled with double entendres. That's what makes the blues so great."
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Here's another opinion about what "turn your damper down" from that same discussion thread:

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Sweet Mama Tree-Top Tall
From:GUEST,Arkie
Date: 22 Jul 05 - 10:23 AM

Having grown up in a farm house heated by a woodstove with a damper in the stovepipe, I've always taken the phrase to mean "calm down" or "don't be so intense". The phrase was sometimes used in conversation when someone had become a little overheated or excited. While I suspect that some may have conjured up sexual imagery from the phrase, in my own experience it was related to a volatile temper.
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In my opinion, that non-sexual meaning is more accurate for this Blues song. Here's another non-sexual example of "turning your damper down" that I shared on that discussion thread in 21 Jul 05 -11:19 PM

from an article about Bessie Smith*:

"Her relationships with other female singers were often stormy. Bessie did agree to record with rival, Clara Smith (no relation) a few songs of which My Man Blues portrays the two in mock competition over the same man. The following dialogue comes from that 1925 recording.22

(Bessie:) It is my man, sweet papa Charlie Gray.
(Clara:) Your man? How do you git that way?
(Bessie:) Now look here, honey, I been had that man for umpteen year.
(Clara.) Child, didn't I turn your damper down?
(Bessie.) Yes, Clara, and I've cut you every way but loose!"

*A hyperlink was given to this article, but the link is no longer active.

Here's information about wood burning stove dampers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood-burning_stove
"Keeping the air flowing correctly through a wood-burning stove is essential for safe and efficient operation of the stove. Fresh air needs to enter the wood compartment to provide oxygen fuel for the fire; as the fire burns, the smoke must be allowed to rise through the stove pipes, and exit through the chimney. To regulate air flow, there are damper devices built into the stove, flue, and stove pipes...

By opening or closing the dampers, air flow can be increased or decreased, which can fan the fire in the wood compartment, or "dampen" it by restricting airflow and reducing the flames.”
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I think that "turn your lamp down low" (in Blues songs) is a closely related expression to "turn your damper down".

Here's information about turning the flame of a kerosene lamp down low from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerosene_lamp
"The kerosene lamp (widely known in Britain as a paraffin lamp) is a type of lighting device that uses kerosene (British "paraffin", as distinct from paraffin wax) as a fuel...

Lighting a flat-wick lamp requires filling the fuel tank (fount) with fuel and allowing time for the wick to absorb the fuel. The wick is trimmed straight across with a pair of sharp scissors before lighting. With the glass chimney lifted off the lamp, the wick is turned up and lighted with a match or other lighter. The wick is turned down if smoke develops, and the lamp chimney lowered. After a few minutes warm-up the lamp can be turned to full brightness. Extinguishing the lamp is done by turning down the wick and blowing out the flame, or by turning the wick down below the top of the wick tube."

So, to conclude, I believe that "turn your damper down" and "turn your lamp down low"] mean "to reduce the heat you are emitting" - to "cool out" and not be "heated", "hot", "hot and bothered" or "enflamed" by someone or about something. Another of saying this is "to cease being or refrain from being irritated or angry at someone or about something."

However, at the same time or separately, both of those expressions may also have the sexual meaning whose explanation s given above.

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[Update 11/7/2013]

EXPLANATIONS OF THE TERM "IF YOU DON'T LIKE MY PEACHES, DON'T SHAKE MY TREE
If you don't like my peaches, don't you shake my tree.
... let my peaches be" is a floating verse that is found in a number of Blues songs & other songs. "Peaches" in those Blues songs had a sexual meaning" and that line means the same thing as "If you don't like me, don't come around me looking for just sex."

This verse is also found as a taunting line in a few contemporary American children's playground rhymes and children's cheer leader cheers where it's usually given as "if you don't like my apples, don't shake my tree".

I think that most of these taunting rhymes/cheers originated with African Americans although they were/are also recited by non-African Americans. Here's one example that I cited in this discussion thread on the "don't like my apples don't shake my tree" expression http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=123813

I'll BE

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.

Source: 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)

That line's inclusion in children's cheerleader cheers is undoubtedly lifted from its use in Blues songs and/or songs from other genres, although few children reciting that line know or care about the source for that line.

The main non-sexual meaning of the "if you don't like my peaches [apples], don't shake my tree" expression is "If you don't like me, leave me alone."

The referent "Castle Square Black" probably refers to a Black person who lives in a certain neighborhood or in a certain housing project that is named "Castle Square". ("The projects" is a term that has been used in the United States since the 1950s to refer to government subsidized housing with low rents).  

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Visitor comments are welcome.