pancocojams: Pancocojams Compilation Of Foot Stomping Cheers (Alphabetical List: H

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision: November 14, 2024

This is Part III (H - J) of a five part series that provides an alphabetized list of text (word only) examples of foot stomping cheers. I'm referring to this collection as the pancocojams (Azizi Powell) compilation of foot stomping cheers.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/09/foot-stomping-cheers-alphabetical-list.html for Part I (Numbers - C) of this series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/09/foot-stomping-cheers-alphabetical-list_40.html for Part II (D- G) of this series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/09/foot-stomping-cheers-alphabetical-list_53.html for Part IV - K-O

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/09/foot-stomping-cheers-alphabetical-list_22.html for Part V: P-Z

Click the foot stomping cheer tag below for additional pancocojams posts about this subject.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES ABOUT FOOT STOMPING CHEERS
"Foot stomping cheers" is the term that I coined in 2000 for a sub-set of children's cheerleader cheers that have distinctive textual structures and distinctive performance styles.

Read the Pancocojams Editor's Notes that are given in Part I of this series about the history of foot stomping cheers, their textual structure, and how they are (or were) performed.

These examples are presented in alphabetical order based on the first number or the first letter of the first letter of the first word. The source (i.e. book, direct collection, or website) is given below the example along with demographic information and/or comments.

Examples given with the citations "cocojams.com" were sent to my now no longer active cultural website cocojams.com which was online from January 2001-November 2014. That website had an easy to use online form for visitors to submit rhyme & cheer examples and comments. As a result, many of the examples came from children, preteens, and teens.

Alafia Children’s Ensemble was a cultural group for girls and boys ages 5-14 years old that my daughter Tazi Powell and I formed in the 1999 to 2004. in Braddock, Pennsylvania and for girls ages 8-9 years old in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (2002-2004.

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EXAMPLES: H-J

These examples are presented in alphabetical order based on the first number or the first letter of the first letter of the first word. The source (i.e. book, direct collection, or website) is given below the example along with demographic information and/or comments.

___ HAS THE POWER

All:(including soloist named or nickname):
Ree Ree* has the power
to scream and shout.
But Deandre** has the power
to knock
you
out.
Say what?
To knock
you
out.
Okay.

[Repeat the entire cheer with another girl’s name or nickname or with another boy’s name or nickname]
-Riantai (Ree Ree); African American female, age 8; Faison Primary School (Homewood area of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 30, 2009; collected by Azizi Powell, October 30, 2009

* Girl in your competitor' cheerleading squad’s name or nickname
**Girl in your cheerleading squad

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HEY MY NAME IS ___
we sing this when we do warm up running before a field hockey game person:hey my name is katie and you kno what i got?? group:uh huh?? person: i got a team thats hotter than hot group:uh huh?? person: good d(defense) and offense too. group: uh huh uh huh. person: were gunna kick the whoopsies outta you!!!! then take turn until the whole group is finished
-kate: 11/23/2006, cocojams.com

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"HOLLYWOOD SWINGIN" EXAMPLES
Note: Based on online comments and based on direct comments from Black women I interviewed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, "Hollywood Swingin" is almost always remembered as a partner hand clap rhyme and not as a foot stomping cheer.

Click https://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/10/g-h-hand-clap-jump-rope-rhymes-examples.html for my cocojams2blog post entitled "(G, H) Hand Clap & Jump Rope Rhymes Examples". That post includes some of the examples of "Hollywood Swinging" (and similar titles) hand clap rhymes that are also found below. However, that page doesn't mean that those are the only examples of Hollywood Swinging" that were performed as hand clap rhymes.

HOLLYWOOD NOW SWINGING/DYNOMITE
Hollywood now swingin'! (4 times)
CALL: Name is Nita.
RESPONSE: Hollywood now swingin'!

Similarly

I know how to swing.
Everytime I swing.
Stevie come around.
CALL: He popped me once!
He popped me twice!
All I felt was -dynomite!
RESPONSE: Dynomite, dynomite! (Twice)
Dynomite!
CALL: Here she is.
RESPONSE: Dynomite!
Similarly
Foxy Brown!
You mess with me,
I'll shoot you down!
Down, down,
To the ground,
Up, up,
CALL: Just out of luck!
RESPONSE: Dynomite, dynomite! (Twice)
-Barbara Borum and other Washington, D.C. schoolgirls, recorded in 1976 in Washington, D. C. by Kate Rinzler, album notes Kate Rinzler, "Old Mother Hippletoe, Rural and Urban Children's Songs"; http://www.newworldrecords.org/linernotes/80291.pdf ; 1978
-snip-
I happened upon a copy of the Oh Mother Hippletoe vinyl record set at a library used book sale sometime in the late 1990s. I bought that record for its record notes even though I didn't have a record player at that time. Band 3 "Cheerleading" of that record features four* examples of what the author of the record notes calls "cheers".

*Hollywood Keep Swinging/Dynomite" are probably two different cheers. While I haven't found the exact phrase "down to the ground"/ up up just out of luck" in other cheers or rhymes, the going down" followed by "getting up" words are quite common in foot stomping cheers.

*HOLLYWOOD ROCK SWINGING (version #2)

Hollywood rock swinging.
Hollywood rock swinging.
My name is Aniesha
I'm number one
My reputation is having fun
So if you see me just step aside
"Cause mighty Aniesha don't take no jive.

Hollywood rock swinging.
Hollywood rock swinging.
My name is katrina
I'm number two
My reputation is me and you
So if you see me just step on back
'Cause mighty Katrina don't take no slack.

Hollywood rock swinging.
Hollywood rock swinging.
My name is Natasha
I'm number twelve
My reputation is ringing that bell
So if you see my just step aside
"Cause mighty Aniesha don't take no jive
-Apples On A Stick: The Folklore Of Black Children by Barbara Michels and Bettye White (1983; p. 14);
-snip-

That book's preface indicates that the source of all of the examples in that book were Black children from Houston, Texas.

No performance directions are given in this book for any example. But, based on the example given in the Mother Hippletoe record as cited above (and other sources such as the Recess Battles book, this "Hollywood" example was probably performed as a foot stomping cheer. That said, I've collected examples of "Hollywood Swinging" in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that were performed as a two person hand clap rhymes, and these contributors don't remember it being performed as a foot stomping cheer. Despite that, it seems to me that the evidence that "Hollywood Swingin" used to be performed as a hand clap rhyme in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (besides my vague memory of seeing that cheer being performed that way and my surprise when I saw it performed as a hand clap rhyme, is the fact that almost all hand clap rhymes are chanted in unison while the words to " Hollywood" compositions have a soloist portion like the textual structure of foot stomping cheers.

**
When they recite their two line soloist rhyme, that rhyme doesn't have to correspond to their soloist number*. They can recite any two lined number verse that they remember or that they make up "on the spot". However, soloist weren't suppose to repeat a soloist rhyme that was already chanted. Therefore, they had to have another (or more than one other) "back up rhyme" that they could immediately chant in case someone said the rhyme that they were going to chant. And, the girls had to "stay on beat" while thinking about which solo rhyme to say and then while saying it when their soloist occurred.* Notice that the third girl in the above example said that her number was twelve. That doesn't mean that she was the Twelfth soloist.

*In my experience, soloists turns were decided for a particular cheer session (one or more cheers that were done during the same period of time) at the beginning of the cheer session by which girls were the fastest to yell out "One", "Two", "Three" etc.

***
HOLLYWOOD GOES SWINGIN (Version #3)
All: Hollywood goes swingin
Hollywood goes ___swingin
Swingin for the good times
Swingin for the bad times
Soloist #1: My name is Zizi
I’m cool and the gang
Mess with me. I’ll do my thang
If you see me walkin down the street
You betta speak.
Long time, no see
Sexy as I wanna be
Some hittin me high
Some hittin me low
Some hittin me on my-
Don’t ask what
Group: What?
Soloist #1: My b-u-tt butt
That's what.
- T.M.P, (African American female, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1985-1986); also collected by Tazi Powell (from African American girls, Pittsburgh [Lillian Taylor Camp], 1989, 1990
-snip-
(Repeat from the beginning with the next soloist who says her name or nickname. Continue this pattern until every girl in the group has had one turn as the soloist)
* ___ pause for a beat

The group members decide the order of soloists by the fastest ones to shout out 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. They then form a line (or a half circle facing their usually imaginary audience) in that order. The girls begin stepping for a short while before they start saying the cheer. This is to make sure that everyone is "on beat". They keep doing the step routine when they begin chanting throughout the entire cheer. If someone "messes up the beat", the cheer must start all over again from the beginning using the same order of cheerleaders. At the end of the cheer, the entire cheer begins again with a new soloist. This pattern continues until everyone in the group has the same equal turn as the soloist.

****
HOLLYWOOD GOES SWINGING (Version #4)
All: Hollywood goes swingin;.
Swingin’ for the good times.
Swingin’ for the bad times.
Soloist #1: My name is Ebony.
(And) I’m cool and the gang.
You mess with me
And I’ll do my thang.
My sign is Libra
And that’s alright.
Cause all Libra’s
Are out of sight.
All: Hey you,
Check it out!
You! You!
Check it out!
-TMP, Pittsburgh, PA, mid 1980s; Collected by Azizi Powell, 1996
-snip-
Repeat cheer with next soloist who gives her astrological sun sign.
The cheer continues until everyone has had one turn as the soloist.

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HOLLYWOOD GO SWINGIN' (Version #5)

Oooooooh, those brought back so many memories, I think I've got one though...

Hollywood go swingin'
Hollywood go swing-in'
Hollywood go swingin'
Hollywood go swingin'

My name is (your name)
I'm cool in the gang
If you don't like it
I'll show you my thang
My sign is (your sign)
and that's alright cuz
all (your sign)
are DYNO-MITE!!
-DiVa X-ta-C, 8/4/2000; http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=5627&page=2 Remember When...

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HOLLYWOOD GOT SWINGERS (Version #6)

Hollywood got swingers
Hollywood got swingers
Hollywood got swingers
Hollywood got swingers

My name is ______ I'm number 1
My reputation's just begun
My sign's ________ and that's alright
Cuz all ______ are dynamite!

Hush chile...I ain't lyin'!!!
- Mz Destiny, 03-25-2003, http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/archive/index.php/t-31403.htmlold school chants

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HOLLYWOOD KEEP SWINGIN (Version #7)
ya'll I just remembered this one.

It just came to me..
Hollywood Swingin”
Hollywood (keep) swingin’
Hollywood Swingin”
Hollywood (keep) swingin’
My name is ___ I’m number one.
My reputation is having fun.
So if you see me
Just step aside
Cause mighty ___
Don’t take no jive!

Repeat chorus
My name is ___ I’m number two
My reputation is loving you.

It goes on and on and on and on!

Have mercy!
- AKA2D '91; http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=4123&page=2;
12-29-2000

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HOLLYWOOD KEEP SWINGING* (Version #8)
I don't remember all of it but it went something like this:

My name is __________, my number is one,
my reputation is having fun,
those who see me step aside,
mighty (Zodiac sign) don't take no jive.

My name is ______, my number is two,
my reputation is loving you,
those who see me step aside,
mighty (Zodiac sign) don't take no jive

My name is _______, my number is three,
my reputation is being free,
those who see me step aside
mighty (Zodiac sign) don't take no jive.

Each person in the group would pick a number and it would go around until you get to the number 10. I don't remember all the rhymes, but I am sure creative people can think of stuff to say.;)
-sigmadiva, 03-25-2003, http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/archive/index.php/t-31403.html Old School Chants
-snip-
In a subsequent post to that discussion thread AKA2D '91 wrote "That was our Hollywood Keep Swinging!"

**

HOLLYWOODS ARE SWINGING (Version #9)
Hollywoods are swingin, Hollywoods are swingin

My name is Kisha and I’m cool in the gang

If you don’t like it, I’ll tell you one thang,

My sign is Aquarius and that’s alright,

Cause all ‘quarius are dynomite

Others: Uhn, she think she bad

Me: Bad enough to kick yo bleep (I used to say bleep for real back in the day)

Others: Uhn, she think she fine

Me: fine enough to blow yo mine

Others: Ah girl, stop yo lyin’ you know yo man leave you cryin

Hollywoods are swingin, Hollywoods are swingin
-Kisha, http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/archive/index.php/t-31403.html. "Old School Chants", 03-25-2003

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HOLLYWOOD NOT SWINGIN (Version #10)
When we were kids, what were some of your favorite hood cheers? Post 'em here. Mine was "Hollywood Not Swingin'"

Hollywood not swingin', Hollywood not...swingin'
Hollywood not swingin', Hollywood not...swingin'

Well my name is Yella, my number's 1,
My reputation is havin' fun,
So if you see me just step aside,
Because this light chick don't take no jiiiiiiiiivvveeee... .
-Cocaine, no location given, http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php/43158-Hood-Cheers, 8/18/2006

WARNING: That discussion thread includes profanity and sexually explicit references.

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HOLLYWOOD IN MY SWINGING (Version #11)
Tee Hee Hee... [laughing]
we had a similar one...

Hollywood in my swinging...hollywood in my swingin
hollywood in my swinging...hollywood in my swingin

My name is Goddess! and I'm Kool and the Gang..
and if you don't like it let me tell you one thang...
my sign is a scorpio and that's alright
cus all scorpios are dynomite!

homegirls: uh! she think she bad
me: hush honey I know I'm bad

Homegirls: uh! she think she cool
me: cool enough to steal your dude

homegirls: uh! she think she fine
me: fine enough to blow your mind

homegirls: aw girl stop that lyin
me: at least my man didn't leave me crying

(repeat until everyone gets a turn)
-Goddess, http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php/43158-Hood-Cheers, 9/18/2006

WARNING: That discussion thread includes profanity and sexually explicit references.

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HOLLYWOOD (Version #12)
Words -------------------------------------------------Basic Motion
Hollywood got Meeca------------------------in pairs, in two lines, retreating
Hollywood got Meeca------------------------right rocks back, left in place
Hollywood got Meeca------------------------right in place, pause, clap
And always do----------------------------------repeat until the end

[Meeca]
Well, it looks like me got number 20
Watch the power of the money
if you see me on the street
Hey girl you better speak

[all]

Hey you think you bad

{Meeca]
Me? I know I’m bad

[all]
Hey you think you cute

[Meeca]
Cute fine sexy too

[all]

Hey you think you fine
[Meeca]
I’m fine I’ll blow your mind

[109
I got a man, he’s twenty-nine
Tic tac Paddy whack
Who you think you looking at?
A-B-C-D- Gonna have a baby

Reese’s pieces butter cup
If you next U wish you luck

[all]
Hollywood got Licia
Hollywood got Licia
Hollywood got Licia
And always do

[Licia]
Well, it looks like me got number 4
Watch the prowler at the door
if you see me on the street
Hey girl you better speak to me

[all]

Hey you think you bad

[Licia]
Least I pick my maxi pad

[all]
Hey you think you cute

[Licia]
Least I’m not a prostitute

[all]
Hey you think you fine
[Licia]
I’m fine I’ll blow your mind
I got a man, he’s twenty-nine
Tic tac Paddy whack
Who you think you looking at?
A-B-C-D- Gonna have a baby

Reese’s pieces butter cup
If you next U wish you luck
- From Recess Battles: Playing Fighting, and Storytelling by Anna R. Beresin (University Press of Mississippi, Jackson, 2010, pages 108-109, in the section of that book whose sub-title is "Steps"), African American girls, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, (1992)

-snip-
Also, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/09/foot-stomping-cheers-alphabetical-list.html to read "Angels Go Swingin". That cheer is another example of "Hollywood Goes Swinging".

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HOLLYWOOD (Version #12)
Another one I remember is "Hollywood". Did you play Hollywood as a child?

I was thinking some of It was inappropriate. It went like this.

Hollywood goes swingin

Hollywood goes – swingin

My name is Aaya

On the phone

With my purple Reeboks on

[I think it goes like this]

If you see me on the street

Ooh you better start to speak.

“Ugh, she thinks she bad”

B. A. D.” that’s me baby

“Ugh, she thinks she cool”

Cooler than your mama, fool.

“Ugh she thinks she fine”

[Get ready- Begins chanting with a faster tempo]

Fine, fine, blow your mind

Take your man anytime.

Bring him home

Bring him back

I’m still drivin his Cadillac

He bought me one

He bought me two

He married me

Divorced you

Bang Bang and choo choo train

Come on girls, let’s do our thing

I can’t

Why not

“cause I can’t

Why not?

Because my back is hurtin

My bras too tight

My booty shakin from the left to the right

Left right

Reesie Peesie Buttercup

You mess with me

I’ll mess you up.

end of rhyme.
Original Poster- "What? I think there are a couple of different versions of that rhyme, too."

My name is Aaya

On the phone

With my purple Reeboks on

Ooh she thinks she bad

At least I got a wash rag.
-The Sol Doula, March 8, 2023, Richmond, Virginia “Hollywood Hand Clap Game" #childhoodmemories

*The Sol Doula is a young Black American woman.

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HULA HULA (Version #1)

Group: Hula Hula.
Who think they bad?
Soloist #1: I do.
Group: Hula Hula.
Who think they bad?
Soloist #1: I do.
Well, I think I’m bad cause
Cara’s my name
and love is my game.
I got this boy on my mind
and Lord knows he’s fine.
I got his name on my shirt
and don’t call it dirt.
Group: Ooh, she thinks she’s bad.
Soloist #1: Correction, baby I KNOW I’m
bad.
Group: Ooh, she thinks she’s fine.
Soloist #1:Fine enough to blow YOUR
mind.
-TMP.; Pittsburgh, PA, memories of mid. 1980s (cassette recorded in 1992 ; transcribed in 1996 by Azizi Powell)
-snip-
My guess is that the word "hula" in this cheer's title comes from the word "hollah" ("holler"), a colloquial word for "hello".

**
As is the case with all foot stomping cheers, this cheer continues without any breaks in the chanting/stepping until everyone has had one turn as soloist. If some one "messes up" (misses the beat or messes up the rhythm by hesitating in their solo part), the cheer has to begin again from the beginning. Consequently, if someone isn't sure that they know this cheer, they'll sit it out rather than attempt to perform it.

Foot stomping cheers always start with the right foot.

"Hula Hula’s" beat is stomp clap; stomp stomp clap. "Stomp clap; stomp stomp clap" appears to be the most often used foot stomping beat. Another beat is stomp clap, stomp clap).

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HULA HULA (Version #2)
Hula Hula
Who thinks she's bad now
Hula Hula
Who thinks she's bad)

I think I'm bad
'Cause Shelly's my name
Black is my color
And love is my game

(Ooh, She think she bad)
[posturing] Ooh, I know I'm bad.

(Ooh, she think she bad)

Ooh, I know I'm bad

(Ooh, she think she bad)
Chile, go kiss my ass (or “Chile, your breath is bad” or “Chile go take a bath”)

repeat rhyme from the beginning.
-bublackberry (African American woman); Connecticut; emailed to Azizi Powell, 11/11/05 .

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HULA HULA (Version #3)
Hula Hula
Now who thinks they bad
Hula Hula
Now who thinks they bad
I think I'm bad
'Cause Acie my name
Take a sip of my potion
And dance in slow motion
Uh-huh
She think she bad
Baby baby don't make me mad
Uh-huh
She think she cool
Baby baby don't act a fool
Uh-huh
She think she sweet
Sweetest person you ever meet
Uh-huh
She think she fine
Baby baby I'll blow your mind
-Apples On A Stick: The Folklore Of Black Children by Barbara Michels and Bettye White (1983; p. 13); That book's preface indicates that Black children from Houston, Texas were the source of all of the examples in that book.

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HELLO (A Version of "Hula Hula"- Version #4)
H-e-l-l-o,
we are here
to say hello to Mocha
Mocha is my name
and cheering is my game
Pink and purple are my colors
don't you worry 'bout my lovers.
(Uhm she think she bad)
Correction baby, I know I'm bad.
(Uhm, she think she cool)
Cool enough to steal your dude.
(Uhm, she think she fine)
Fine enough to blow his mind.
-”Miss Mocha, http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=31403&page=5, 03-28-2003
-snip-
Another blogger Honeykiss1974 wrote regarding "Hello"
"OHHHH Thank you Miss Mocha for this chant!

This one takes me BACK!!!! *lol* WAYY! BACK!!!

I remember doing this chant during recess in the third grade!"
-snip-
"1974" could be that blogger's birth year. If so, that would mean that she would have performed that cheer in the 1980s.

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NEICY THINK SHE BAD Y'ALL* (fragment, Version #5)
Neicy think she bad yall
"Who me?"-Neicy
Neicy think she bad
Neicy- It aint me who think i'm bad its you who think you bad your underarms your in between, oh girl its killing me (while fanning nose)
One thing you should know is take a bath your dirty ho
Neicy think she bad yall
Neicy think she bad

A neighboring cheering squad is usually on the receiving end of this and a fight will most likely break out by second verse
-NicoleBitchie, http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php/43158-Hood-Cheers/page2?s=c36b81842e44a5cd4a49678538954ac4, 8/18/2006
-snip-
The wording/text structure is very similar to the worlding/text structura of "Hula Hula" cheers.

****
WHO NOW WHO NOW (a version of Hula Hula, #5)
Who now Who now, Now who think they bad
Who now Who now, Now who think they bad
I do
I know I'm bad cause Afro's my name
Uh Huh
Football's my game
Uh Huh
Black is my color dont u worry about my lover
Um she think she bad
Bad bad super bad, bad enough I know I'm bad
Um she think she tough
Tough tough super tough tough enough to kick your butt
Um she think shes fine
Fine enough to blow Eric's mind
Um she think she's cute
Cute enough to steal your dude
-Afrochic (Memphis, Tennessee), http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=31403&page=5 Old School Chants, 03-30-2003

****
A FRAGMENT OF A CHEER WHICH MIGHT HAVE COME FROM HULA HULA (Example #6)
1) my name is strawflower (friends: yea)
im really fine (yea)
I'm from the south (yea)
And Ill blow your mind (yea)

It was done with a LOT of sass
-strawflower, June 25, 2017, https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/black-girl-rhymes-what-was-yours-growing-up.1196979/
page 2
-snip-
The number 1 may have been written to indicate that this is just the first soloist. When a foot stomping cheer is performed everyone in the group would have the same amount of time as the soloist.

****
STEP STEP TAKE A STEP (A version of "Hula Hula", version #7; Added July 12, 2019)
Step, Step, Take a Step
You got it
Come on
Again
Break it down now
Krissy is my name
Uno is my game
Blue is my color so don't worry bout my lover
Take a sniff of my potion
Rub it down like lotion
(Ooo she think she bad)
Correction baby I know I'm bad
(Ooo she think she cool)
Cool enough to steal yo dude
(Ooo she think she fine)
Fine enough to blow his mind
(Ooo she think she hip)
Hip hip potato chip, mess with me I'll bust yo lip
Girl, girl stop yo lying, least my man don't leave me crying
See that house on top of that hill? That's where me and my baby gon' lip
-snip-
http://thechocolatetease.blogspot.com/2013/03/childhood-rhymes.html , March 11, 2013
-snip-
This is one of several rhymes that the blog hostess (who identified herself in the comments as "Cookie") indicates are "childhood rhymes I used to play on the West side of Detroit while I grew up :)". The blog's title ("chocolate tease") and the photo of a Black girl on the blog serve to document that the blog's host is an African American woman.
-snip-
"See that house on top of that hill etc. is a floater verse in several African American girls' hand clap rhymes. The word "lip" at the end of this example is probably a typo for the word "live",

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/01/examples-of-see-that-house-up-on-that.html for the pancocojams post entitled ""See That House Up On That Hill" Verses In Various Children's Playground Rhymes".

****
HULA HULA

...the bus kids sang "Hula, Hula".......

"Well I think I'm Bad cause Cassie's my name!

Grey is my color, Don't you worry bout no other!!"

"Ooh, she think she's Bad!" "Correction babe, I KNOW I'm Bad."

"Ooh, she thinks she Fine!" "Fine enough to blow Your mind...!"

"Ooh, she thinks she's Sexy!" "Sexy enough to steal YOUR man...." ----- and over again, "Hula Hula, who thinks they're Bad?" "I do!" shouts the next person, claiming the leader spot in the next chorus.
-Cassie Quinlan, memories of African American children in Boston, Mass, chanting on the school bus she drove transporting those children to integrated schools in "White" neighborhoods (early 1980s) [received by email Feb. 24, 2023]

****
HUMP DE DANDA (Version #1)
All: Hump De Danda
Hump Hump De Danda
Hump De Danda
Hump HumpDe Danda
Soloist #1: (Well) My name is Toya.
Group: De Danda, Hump Hump De Danda
Soloist #1: I’m super cool.
Group: De Danda Hump, Hump De Danda
Soloist #1: You mess with me
Group: De Danda Hump, Hump De Danda
Soloist #1: and you’re a fool.
Group: De Danda Hump, Hump De Danda
Soloist #1: I’m goin down
Group: De Danda Hump, Hump De Danda
Soloist #1: to touch the ground.
Group: De Danda, Hump, Hump De Danda
Soloist #1: I’m comin up
Group: De Danda, Hump Hump De Danda
Soloist #1: to mess you up.
All: Humpty Dumpty
sat on ah wall
Humpty Dumpty
had a great fall.
Oosh, ain’t that funky now.
Oosh, aint that funky now.
Oosh, ain’t that, Oosh ain’t that
Oosh, ain’t that funky now.

(Repeat the entire cheer with the next soloist)
-African American girls (ages 6-12 years old; Lillian Taylor camp, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, collected by Tazi Powell, 1991 or 1992 (transcribed from audio tape by Azizi Powell, 1997)
-snip-
My daughter (Tazi Powell; married last name Hughes) and her friends performed certain foot stomping cheers in the mid 1980s. When my daughter was 18 and 19 years old, she worked as a camp counselor for a summer camp whose children came from various Pittsburgh neighborhoods (including East Liberty where we live). One of the main activities that my daughter was in charge at that camp of was "cheer sessions". During those sessions, Tazi taught girls (6- 12 years old) the cheers she knew and encouraged the girls to teach the ones that they knew to the other girls in their group. During one of these sessions, some girls performed the cheer "Hump De Danda".

When I first added this cheer (around 2001) to the foot stomping cheer page of my now deleted cocojams.com website, I mistakenly wrote that it was one of the cheers that my daughter and her friends performed in the mid 1980s. However, since that time (and today March 17, 2021 as I correct this entry), my daughter is very clear that she learned it from girls in her camp counseling group at Lillian Taylor camp. Furthermore, she immediately said that she believes that cheer came from Digital Underground's record "The Humpty Dance". Click https://hip-hop-music.fandom.com/wiki/The_Humpty_Dance for information about that 1990 Hip Hop record.

I apologize for this misinformation and how long it took me to correct it. That misinformation on my cocojams.com website may have resulted in a contributor repeating that wrong date and attributing the mid 1980s for when she remembers this cheer being performed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Read Version #2 immediately after this version.

UPDATE: March 23. 2021
There's a long example of Humpty Danda in the 2016 book Yo Mama Mary Mack and Boudreaux and Thibodeaux: Louisiana Children's Folklore and Play" By Jeanne Pitre Soileau. That example was recorded in 1979 which means that this cheer was chanted long before Digital Underground's "Humpty Dance" Hip Hop record. That example is given as #4 below.

That 1979 date means that it might have been possible that the "Humpty Dump" cheer was performed in Pittsburgh, Pennslyvania in the 1980s, as the contributor in the version #2 comment below wrote. However, my daughter re-affirms that she and her friends didn't know that cheer in the mid 1980s.

I apologize for the mistake that I made regarding attributing the "Hump-Dee-Danda" cheer to my daughter and her friends in the 1980s without checkingwith her. This shows how easily mistakes can be made in archiving community folkloric material if the collector isn't careful and doesn't keep written material to back up the examples that they collect.

****
HUMP DE DUMP (Version #2)
I am a cheerleading coach in Ga, I moved here from Pittsburgh (East Liberty) when I was about 10. We used to do all of the street cheers that you have listed back during the mid 80's, they brought back wonderful memories and that is something that I do not remember the girls from down south doing once we got here. I remember one called "Humpty de Dump"- hump de dump, hump, hump, de dump, - my name is is___, de dump, hump, hump, de dump- and if you watch me, de dup, hump, hump, de dump,-I'll show you I'm cool, de dump, hump, hump, de dump. (Then you do your dance)
-Tia (who remembers it from the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh, 8/25/05; cocojams.com
-snip-
The East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is where my family has lived since the mid 1970s.

Tia wrote that "We used to do all of the street cheers that you have listed back during the mid 80's, they brought back wonderful memories".

Read my comment above in which I corrected the date that my daughter collected the "Hump De Dump" cheer (to the early 1990s and not the mid 1980s as I had attributed it on that cocojams.com website). Given that I misattributed the "Humpty Danda" cheer to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the mid 1980s and not 1991 or 1990, I wonder in what decade Tia and her friends performed that cheer. I think it is most likely that she remembers this from the early 1990s, particularly if the 1990 Hip Hop record "Humpty Dance" inspired this cheer.

That said, read the cheer given as #4 below for a 1979 version of what Jeanne Pitre, the White American author of the 2016 book Yo Mama Mary Mack and Boudreaux and Thibodeaux: Louisiana Children's Folklore and Play" called "the Humpty Dumpty game".

****
HUMP DE DUMP (Version #3)
Hump-dee-dump (2x)
My name is _____. Dee-dump
I go to school. Dee-dump
I know I'm cool. Dee-dump
Cause I'm as fast as a dollar and nobody can make me holla but my man.*Said with 'tude and a body roll when we say man.*
DiamondPlatinum, Jun 24, 2017 https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/black-girl-rhymes-what-was-yours-growing-up.1196979/page-3
June 24, 2017
-snip-
This blogger noted that she was from the Midwest. [the Midwestern region of the United States]
-snip-
"'tude"= attitude [sassiness]

WARNING: some rhyme examples or comments on lipstickalley.com continue profanity, sexually explicit content, and the "n word".

****
HUMPTY DUMPTY (Version #4]

Pancocojams Editor's Note:

This version of "Humpty Dumpty" is older than the other versions that have been previously given on this page.

In the following excerpt from the 2016 book Yo Mama Mary Mack and Boudreaux and Thibodeaux: Louisiana Children's Folklore and Play"by Jeanne Pitre Soileau, Gregory is a 14 year old African American boy who is one of the teenagers who was "babysitting" a group of younger African American girls and boys during a St. Joan Of The Arc church bingo game on August 20, 1979 in New Orleans*, Louisiana.

Jeanne Pitre Soileau writes that Gregory heard a six year old girl reciting a rhyme that ended with the word "ass" and tried to stop her from saying that word. However, the girl continued reciting and said that word. JShe writes that "Gregory then raises his voice and forcefully initiates the game “Humpty Dumpty”, partly to cover up what he perceives to be a gaffe. The older girls, after hesitation and some false starts join with him”.

The following words are quoted from pages 51-52 in that book.

*Note: "New Orleans" isn't specifically mentioned on those pages. There is a "Joan Of Arc church in New Orleans and in certain other Louisiana cities. However, Jean Pitre Soileaiu is from "New Orleans" and most of her forty years of collection children's folk material is in New Orleans.

"Hump---ty dump dump dump

My name is April [Single player steps forward and sings and dances. Other players imitate her moves.]

Hump---ty dump dump dump.

And I’m fine.

Hump---ty dump dump dump.

Just like my sign.

Hump---ty dump dump dump

My sign is Capricorn

Hump---ty dump dump dump

Now check me out.

Oh oh oh Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall

Hump---ty dump dump dump

Now you do it [Points to Gregory]

My name is Gregory [Gregory claps and steps forward. All the players imitate him except for one girl who

vies with him for the floor. She can be heard saying all the words to the chant along with Gregory, and shouts out

the name of her sign, “Leo” louder than he can say his.]

Hump---ty dump dump dump.

And I’m fine.

Hump---ty dump dump dump.

Just like my sign.

Hump---ty dump dump dump

My sign is Leo [The girl, her eyes gleaming, outshouts Gregory here. Everybody laughs. Gregory yields center place, steps back and claps his hands along with the girls in the group. The girl takes his place.

Hump---ty dump dump dump.

Bad BAD Leo [Girl looks at Gregory.]

Hump---ty dump dump dump.

Now check me out [Girl does a little wiggly walk, head held high.]

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall

Hump---ty dump dump dump

Gregory feels part of the play now. He struts forward, and the noisy crowd he formerly vied with is now rhythmically clapping hands, listening. So he offers “I know another one…”And the girls, rolling their eyes at each other, defer to him.

“My name is Gregory

Hump---ty dump dump dump

My sign is Pisces

Hump---ty dump dump dump

My my Pisces [Does an intricate step. All laugh and repeat the step.]

Hump---ty dump dump dump

And I know it [Gives the girls a leer. Girls laugh, leer back, and follow his steps.]

Hump---ty dump dump dump

And I’m FINE [Gregory struts in a circle, girls follow.]

Hump---ty dump dump dump

And I ain’t lyin’ [Girls clap and laugh and eye-tease the girl who challenged Gregory earlier].

One small girl, about six, says breathlessly. “An’ we know you the man!.”

Hump---ty dump dump dump [Gregory and the other players break up laughing and clapping.]"

-snip-

Following her recounting of that experience, Jean Pitre, the author of that book, wrote that “Humpty Dumpty” is a girl’s game”.

To elaborate on that description, I consider this "Humpty Dumpty" game to be an example of what I call a foot stomping cheer.

Jean Pitre doesn't refer to "Humpty Dump" as a cheer. I reached that conclusion because
1. She wrote that "Humpty Dump" is a girl's game.

2. She mentions girls clapping while they say the words to "Humpty Dump" and also mentions Gregory strutting around a circle.

3. She mentions other people taking the place of the person singing.

4. The words for that example are very similar to the words for other examples of "Humpty Dump"/"Humpty Danda" that I've collected, including references to a person's astrological sign.

5. The line "Check me out" and other confrontational words in that 1979 example are found in a number of foot stomping cheers. For example, here's an excerpt of the 1976 cheer that is part of "Hollywood Now Swingin'/Dynomite" which is included in the 1978 vinyl record Old Mother Hippletoe, Rural and Urban Children's Songs http://www.newworldrecords.org/linernotes/80291.pdf )
"Foxy Brown!
You mess with me,
I'll shoot you down!
Down, down,
To the ground,
Up, up,
CALL: Just out of luck!
RESPONSE: Dynomite, dynomite! (Twice)
-Barbara Borum and other Washington, D.C. schoolgirls, recorded in 1976 in Washington, D. C. by Kate Rinzler, album notes Kate Rinzler

****
I'M A STAR

hi my name is Aundrea and im a star mess with me and ill take you far!
Squad: Woo, she thinks she's bad. Woo, she thinks she's bad.
You: Correction baby, i know im bad.
Squad: Woo, she thinks she's bad. Woo, she
thinks she's bad.
You: Child please!
-Aundrea; 2/28/2007; cocojams.com

****
INTRODUCE YOURSELF (Version #1)
Group except soloist: Hey, Shaquala!
Soloist #1: Yo! *
Group: Innn-TRO-duce yourself.
Soloist #1: No way.
Group: Innn-TRO-duce yourself.
Soloist #1: Okay.
My name’s Shaquala.
Group: Hey! Hey!
Soloist #1: They call me Quala.
Group: Hey! Hey!
Soloist #1: My sign is Aries
Group: Hey! Hey!
Soloist #1: I like to dance
Group: Hey! Hey!
Soloist #1: I wanna be a dancer for the rest of my life.

Repeat the entire cheer from the beginning with the next soloist. Each soloist substitutes her identifying information for the same categories (name, nickname, astrological sign, what she likes to do). The cheer continues from the beginning until every member of the group has had one turn as soloist.
-T.M.P.(African American female); Pittsburgh, PA mid 1980s; transcribed from an audio tape by Azizi Powell, 1996

****
INTRODUCE YOURSELF (Version #2)
Hey Serenity! Yeah!
Hey Serenity! Yeah!
Introduce yourself! I'll Try!
Introduce yourself! Allright!
My name serenity! Yeah!
Im 24! Yeah!
My reputation is so much more! Yeah!
So when you see me! Yeah!
Just step aside! Yeah!
Cause serenity! Yeah!
Don't take no Jive! 2 3 4.....Hey (whose next) Introduce yourself.
- serenity_24 (no location given); http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=4123&page=2; 12-29-2000, “remember when”

****
INTRODUCE YOURSELF (Version #3)
Introduce yourself
to shy
introduce yourself
I try
my name (say your name)
yeah
I cheer for (say who you cheer for)
my sign is (say your sign)
and when I'm up I'm hot stuff
And when I'm down don't mess around
and when I'm me don't scream or shout or you'll get knocked out!
-De'ajaih; (African American girl); Garfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania); 5/16/2006

****
INTRODUCE YOURSELF (Version #4)
group: Hey (name) individual: yeah group: introduce yourself
individual: no way group: introduce yourself ind.: ok...
my name is (name) group: yeah ind.: and i am proud
group: yeah ind.: thats why i cheer group: yeah
ind.: so very loud, so check me out
-Janice, (San Francisco, California) 10/11/2006, cocojams.com

****
INTRODUCE YOURSELF (Versions #5)
{I hope its good}

hey (name) hey what introduce yourself, no way,
introduce yourself ok 1 2 3 4 5 my name is (name) and
i say hi 6 7 8 9 10 back it up and meet my friend Hey
(name) hey what introduce yourself no way introduce
yourself ok 1 2 3 4 5 my name is (name) and i say hi 6
78 9 10 back it up and meet my friend hey (name) hey
what introduce yourself no way introduce yourself ok
shaboo ya sha sha shaboo ya roll call my name is
(name) i cheer so strong and so when i shake you
better bring it on shaboo ya sha sha shaboo ya break it down now
-tiffany; 9/28/2006, cocojams.com

****
INTRODUCE YOURSELF (Versions #6)
"Hey girl, hey you, introduce yourself. Introduce yourself."
Then each individual girl says a rhyme about themselves, like,
"My name is Joan (group says "check") I'm from AC ("check") I come to say ("check") Don't mess with me ("Check it out")
-Joan C. (White American female who wrote that this was chanted by Black, Latino, and White girls at the Catholic High School in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the late 1970s; from an electronic message to Azizi Powell; 2/11/2007
-snip-
.This is one of the earliest foot stomping cheers that I've come across.

Joan C's recollection of this year from the "late 1970s" places it in a similar time frame as the Washington, D.C. cheers that were collected in 1976 by kate Rinzler and featured on the 1978 Mother Hippletoe. This cheer is also in the same time frame as the "Humpty Dumpty" cheer from New Orleans, Louisiana that is included in the 2016 book Yo Mama Mary Mack and Boudreaux and Thibodeaux: Louisiana Children's Folklore and Play"by Jeanne Pitre Soileau.

Ironically, Joan C and I both blogged on Mudcat's online folk music discussion forum, but I didn't "know" her. I had shared some foot stomping examples on several Mudcat discussion threads, and Joan sent me this example. Prior to her sending me that example, I had no idea that she was from my hometown of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

****
INTRODUCE YOURSELF (Version #7)
hey gigi hey what hey gigi hey introudce your self i can't
why not because my back is aching skirt is to tight you
got my booty shaking from the left to the right
-gigi; 2/14/2007, cocojams.com

****
INTRODUCE YOURSELF (Versions #8)
sorta funny/lame but cool: (in a line, first person says)
Hey you! (last person) Hey, what? (first) Introduce
yaslelf (last) no way (first) introduce yorself! (last) I'm
(insert name) (whole line/group) What, what! (last) I'm
(insert name again) (last person moves to the front of
the line and now they are the first) (first) Hey you! ect.
go through until everyone has introduced theirselfs
doesnt work well with like cheers or soemthing but at
like assembalies or council presentations or whatever !
-me! ; 3/19/2007, cocojams.com

****
INTRODUCE YOURSELF ROLL CALL (Version #9)
All: Chick – boom Ah Ah chick a boom roll call
First Person: Hey Sonji
Second Person: Yeah baby
First Person: Hey sonjie
Second Person: Yeah baby
First Person: Introduce your self
Second Person: Right on
First Person: Introduce your self
Second Person: Right on my name is sonji
First Person: Check
Second Person: I like to sing
First Person: Check
Second Person: And when I sing
First Person: Check
Second Person: I do my thing
All: OOOOHHHH roll call Chick a boom, ah ah chick a boom roll call

Then each person is “called” one at a time. They make up a rhyme about what they like and the cheer repeats itself {African American girls; Late 70’s – early 80’s Elkhart Indiana}
-Sonjala A. (African American female); collected by Azizi Powell, 3/15/2008
-snip-
Sonjala shared one other cheer with me called "Tab".

**
INTRODUCE YOURSELF (Version #10)

Jump up
Jump back
Introduce yourself

Reina, hello, hello
Libra, hello hello

Jump up
Jump back
Introduce yourself
Reinforcement, Aug 20, 2006, https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/hood-cheers.43158/page-2 Hood Cheers

WARNING- This discussion thread includes profanity and sexually explicit references.

**
INTRODUCE YOURSELF (Version #11)

Britney: Hey Amber.

Amber: Hey what?