"Gon' Knock John Booker To The Low Ground" (children's game song) comments, lyrics, & examples)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post provides information about the African American game song "Gon' [Gonna] Knock John Booker" (To The Low Ground).

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the composers and singers of "Gon' Knock John Booker". Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.

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COMMENTS, LYRICS, AND DANCE INSTRUCTIONS FOR "GON' KNOCK JOHN BOOKER TO THE LOW GROUND"
From http://www.loc.gov/folklife/LP/AFS_L4_sm.pdf The Library Of Congress. Music Division; Archive of American Folklore
"The slave children played ring games, many of the tunes for which were adaptations of white game songs and country tunes. Three of these ring games follow; [titles "Rosey", ""Gon' Knock John Booker To The Low Ground", and Run [N word*] Run"

*This word is fully spelled ouot.

GON KNOCK JOHN BOOKER TO THE LOW GROUND
Gon knock John Booker to the low ground
Tu-da darlln' day.
Gon knock John Booker to the low ground
Tu-da darlln' day.
That lady bow to beat you.
Tu-da darlln' day.
That lady bow to beat you.
Tu-da darlln' day.
That gentleman bow to beat you
Tu-da darlln' day.
That gentleman bow to beat you

Tu-da darlln' day.

Chorus:
Hey-ay-ay,
Hey-ay-ay,
Hello, my lover
Keep a- g-wine on
Hello, my lover
Keep a-runnin on
Hello, my lover
Keep a- gwine
That ole mule buck
That ole mule buck
Keep a- gwine
Kicked the saddle off
That ole mule buck
Keep a- gwine
[The next lines repeat what has gone on before]
-snip-
This song was included in a section on Black American slave children's singing games. The song was sung by Harriet McClintock.

My explanations of some of the words in this song:
"Gon'" = gonna

"knock" = I believe that the word "knock" as used in this song (and as it is used in another African American children's plantation game "Knock Jim Crow") means "to dance" (and probably "to dance very well"; I believe that this use of "knock" is very much like the phrase "He knocked it out of the park (or out of the box") to refer to somebody doing something-other than playing baseball very well.

Visit http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/09/knock-jim-crow-real-origin-of-dance.html for additional comments that I wrote about what I think is the probable meaning of the word "knock" that is used in this song.

"the low ground" - a lower level of ground; Notice the similarity of that phrase to the line "knock Jim Crow to the new ground" in the plantation game song "Knock Jim Crow".

"John Booker" - a name that was used in a number of plantation dance songs (with titles such as "Jonny Boker", "Old Johnny Booker", "Mister Booger" "What Johnny Booker Wouldn't Do"). Visit http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-old-time-song-johnny-booker.html

My guess is that the singing game "Gon' Knock John Booker To The Low Ground" was adapted from those "Johnny Booker" dance songs/shanties, probably also with the adapted title and "low ground" line from the singing game "Knock Jim Crow".

"gwine" = going. The letter "a" is pronounced "ah" and is a commonly found vocal sound that has no meaning

"That ole mule buck"- the old mule bucked "leap[ed] with arched back and come down with head low and forelegs stiff, in order to dislodge a rider or pack" http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bucked

I wonder if the children who sung the line about the mule bucking performed the "bucking" movement that still lives on in the [new style] Black majorette dance routines. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/07/eight-dd4l-dancing-dolls-of-jackson.html for a pancocojams post that shows examples of "bucking". Note that "bucking" isn't the same as the tap dance movement of "buck & wing".

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SHOWCASE SOUND FILE
Molly McDonald- Gon' Knock John Booker to the Low Ground

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Nico Fournier Published on May 10, 2014

Afro-American Blues and Game Songs
-nip-
In response to a query [from the person recording this song] Molly McDonald shared that this game was played in the yard and in the house too.

There are no comments yet on this sound file's discussion thread.

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