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Saturday, July 13, 2019

"Bald Headed Granny" & Other African American Children's Rhymes About People With A Bald Head, Nappy Hair, Or Weaves

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Update: Feb. 12, 2022

This pancocojams post presents some examples of children's recreational rhymes that mention people with a bald head, people with nappy hair, or people who wear weaves.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-use-of-term-nappy-hair-as-self.html for a closely related pancocojams post entitled "The Use Of The Term "Nappy Hair" As A Self- Descriptor In The Song "Nappy Head" & In The Song "JuJu On The Beat"

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE

WARNING- I'm not presenting this compilation for recreational purposes as some of the examples include content that I consider to be problematic (and in one case that references Japanese, to be racist. I'm including that example (#6 below in the "Rhymes That Mention People With Bald Head" section ) for the historical and folklorlic records only. I believe that it's important to document that African Americans, like so many other Americans, unconsciously or consciously chanted rhymes that were hurtful to Asians and that is the only reason why I'm including that rhyme in this compilation. recreational purposes. 

Also, WARNING - Some of the rhymes on the source pages for certain of these examples include profanity and/or sexually explicit content. However, none of the examples in this panccojams compilation include sexually explicit content, and any profanity that is included in the examples in this compilation is given with amended spelling.

This compilation isn't meant to be a comprehensive collection of all of African American children's rhymes that mention  people with a bald head, or people with nappy hair, or people who have weaves.

Many of the examples of rhymes in this compilation include no demographic information, including no information about the race or ethnicity of those sharing the examples.

Based on their text (words) and structure, I believe that these rhymes originated with African Americans. Versions of certain rhymes in this compilation- particularly "Your (Yo) Mama, Your Daddy, Your Bald headed Granny" have been and continue to be relatively well known among American children regardless of race/ethnicity.

Some other rhymes examples included in this compilation may have been chanted by only a limited number of (probably mostly African American) children within a particular location and within a small period of time.

I consider all of the examples in this collection to be pre-dozens rhymes, i.e. insults [disses] that are chanted by children who, in doing so, are being prepared to engage in dozens challenges.

Here's some information about "the dozens":
"The Dozens is a game of spoken words between two contestants, common in black communities of the United States, where participants insult and use other verbal rudeness each other until one gives up. It is customary for the Dozens to be played in front of an audience of bystanders, who encourage the participants to reply with increasingly egregious insults in order to heighten the tension and, consequently, make the contest more interesting to watch....

Comments in the game focus on the opposite player's intelligence, appearance, competency, social status, and financial situation. Disparaging remarks about the other player's family members are common: especially mothers ("yo′ mama...")—to the extent that those outside the African-American community often use the specific term "yo momma jokes" incorrectly to refer to the Dozens.

Commentary is often related to sexual issues, where the game is then referred to as the "Dirty Dozens".[5]

...Both males and females participate, but the game is more commonly played among males of varying social status.[1]

The importance of mothers in African and African-American families is at the heart of the game: insulting someone else's mother is sure to inflame the passions of the other player."

Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dozens that link for more information about "the dozens" in African American culture.
-snip-
Please add to this collection by sharing examples of these types of rhymes (along with demographic information a-particularly where & when learned, how these rhymes were/are performed and the race/ethnicity of those performing them).

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CHILDREN'S RHYMES THAT MENTION PEOPLE WITH A BALD HEAD OR NAPPY HAIR
These rhymes are divided into two different sub-categories. These examples are given in no particular order. Consecutive numbers are assigned to the rhymes in that particular section for referencing purposes only.

PART I- RHYMES THAT MENTION PEOPLE WITH A BALD HEAD
Pancocojams Editor's Note:
In the United States describing children (sometimes excluding babies) as being "bald-headed" or "(having) no hair" is considered an insult in the United States.

Historically and in the present time in the United States long hair appears to have been and continues to be the desired characteristic for female children, teens, and women regardless of race or ethnicity. g Black females). The custom of Black female children, teens, and women in the United States and elsewhere wearing very long weaves ("box braids") is evidence of how long hair is highly favored.  

These rhymes aren't given in alphabetical order. 

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1. YOUR MAMA MY DADDY YOUR BALD HEADED GRANNY (Version #1)
your mama
my daddy
your bald headed granny
she 99
she think she fine
she break it down like frankinstin.
go frankie
go frankie
go, go, go frankie,
go frankie
go frankie
go, go, go frankie.
-erika, cocojams.com, 10/26/2006
-snip-
"Cocojams.com" is the name of the cultural website that I founded in 2000. Children, teens, and adults submitted examples to the children's rhymes and cheers section of that website which was voluntarily deactivated in October 2014.
-snip-
A few other examples of this rhyme with the words "my mama" etc instead of "your mama" can be found online. However, since these rhymes are supposed to be disses (insults), the correct wording is "your (yo) mama, your daddy, your bald headed granny" and not "my mama" etc. People wouldn't say "my mama" etc. since that would mean that they were insulting themselves.

Here's a YouTube discussion thread comment on a "yo greasy grimy granny" video that supports this position:
"from whut i understand this was derived from basing eg; your momma jokes maybe from socal or NYC... You would start off by saying your momma...and you would return with each line as a comback saying your daddy....and continue with the rest as a comback without the other party knowing what you where going to say...but this was 35 years ago and old"
-Suprahajimoto, 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBrAKK30dTA2011
-snip-
"Basing" is one of several regional terms for "playing the dozens".

"your mama jokes" means the same thing as "the dozens". These insulting jokes are referred to as "your mama" ("yo mama") because so many of those jokes (insults) begin with the words "Your mama [is] ____".

"Socal" = southern California; NYC = New York City.

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2. UR MOMMA UR DADDY UR BALD HEADED GRANNY (Version #2)
ur momma
ur daddy
ur bald headed granny
shes 99
she thinks shes fine
she breaks it down like frankenstein
u wish
u wish
u just got dissed
wait come back
i think u need a tic tic
i dont need mean
not a sip not a swallow but the whole dang bottle!
-kno 1, cocojams.com, 4/30/2007
-snip-
"breaks it down" = does his (or her) best dance moves
"dissed" = insulted (disrespected)
Note that the lines after "u just got dissed" are from the "Brickwall Waterfall" insult rhyme.
As an aside, notice the blogger's creative tag name "kno 1" = no one (rather than saying "anonynous").

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3. YOUR MAMA, YOUR DADDY, YOUR BALD-HEADED GRANNY (Version #3)
Your mama, your daddy
your bald-headed granny
she mean
she green
she need some vaseline
she white
she black
she ain’t coming back
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQxDFVPyoEs Your mama, your daddy, your bald-headed granny, published by TexasGonzo on Jul 6, 2013
-snip-
The summary of this video is "Jon and PJ's first rap song. Both of them are 8 years old"
-snip-
Note that one of these boys in the video is Black and the other boy is White.

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4. YO MAMA, YO DADDY, YOUR BALD-HEADED GRANNY (Version #4)
A-B-C-D-E-F-G you dont wanna mess with me.
yo mama yo daddy your bald headed granny she 99 she thinks shes fine shes goin out with frankenstein
she wish she wish she wish she had this lol
Daisy, 2009;
-snip-
My guess is that the words "she wish she had this" refers to either the girl who is chanting's butt or the girl who is chanting's boobs (breasts) as a big butt and big breasts are admired female characteristics. The girl chanting probably switched her hip (to emphasize her butt) or pointed to her breasts while she chanted that line.

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5. YO MAMA, YO DADDY, YOUR BALD-HEADED GRANNY (Version #4)
Yo' Momma, Yo' Daddy, Yo Bald Headed Granny. She got holes in her panites, got 2 buck teeth like a Japanese, got a big behind like Frankenstien, that ain't all she go beep beep beep down Sesame Street.
-BlaqNPreppy Aug 9, 2013, https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/ghetto-childhood-rhymes.553524/Ghetto Childhood Rhymes

-snip-
WARNING - I consider the reference to Japanese to be racist. I've included this example for the historical and folkloric record only.
I also want to caution readers that some rhyme examples in Lipstick Alley blogs include profanity and/or sexually explicit content Also, are that som

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6. 
BRICKWALL WATERFALL
Brick wall waterfall
boy/girl you think you no it all
you dont i do
so shh whith that Additude
Your Mama your daddy
your balled headed granny
she 99
she thinks shes fine
she going out whith frankinstine
shes hip
shes fat
she needs a tic-tac
not a tic not a tac
but the hole six pack
im sorry to be mean
but she needs some listrine
not a sip not a swallow
but the hole bottle
-Timothy, cocojams2, 2/2/2006; https://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/11/taunting-rhymes-k.html

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7. YOUR MAMA MY DADDY YOUR BALD HEADED GRANNY (Version #5) 
your mama 
my daddy 
your bald headed granny

she 99
she think she fine
she break it down like frankinstin.
go frankie
go frankie
go, go, go frankie,
go frankie
go frankie
go, go, go frankie.

my mama
my mama short and fine
she got a butt like mine
and when she walk the street
all cars go beep,beep beep
and when she go down low
she does a rollie o
and when she com up high
she does the butterfly.
stop. drop.
bring it to the top
pop pop
shake skake
vibrate vibrate
-erika, cocojams.com, 10/26/2006
-snip-
"cocojams" was the name of my no longer active cultural website. A lot of  the rhyme content on that website came from children, teens, and other people who could easily post examples on a page without adding an email address.  

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8. UR MOMMA UR DADDY UR BALD HEADED GRANNY (Version #6)
ur momma
ur daddy
ur bald headed granny
shes 99
she thinks shes fine
she breaks it down like frankenstein
u wish
u wish
u just got dissed
wait come back
i think u need a tic tic
i dont need mean
not a sip not a swallow but the whole dang bottle!
-kno 1, cocojams.com, 4/30/2007
-snip-
Click http://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/11/childrens-taunting-rhymes-m-z.html for explanations about the African American Vernacular English found in this example. 

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9. YO MAMA, YO DADDY, YOUR BALD-HEADED GRANNY (Version #7)
"Yo mama , yo daddy , yo bald-headed granny .. She 99 she THINK she fine - she break it down like Frankenstein"

:) childhood memories
-Kiera 💋, https://twitter.com/kieraaa_x3/status/171462605305692160 · Feb 20, 2012

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10. CANDY ON A STICK

I heard this version of apple on a stick, but mine is candy on a stick.

 

Candy on a stick you make me sick,

you make my heart go 2-4-6

not because its dirty, not because its clean,

all because i kissed a boy behind a magazine,

hey boy how ’bout a fight, i know a girl with her pants on tight,

she can wibble, she can wobble,

she can even do the splits,

but I betcha fifty bucks she cant do this, so close your eyes and count to ten,

and if you messup you gotta kiss (dylan or boyfriend)

2-4-6-8 who do we appreciate? yo mama ya ya yo daddy ya ya

yo bald headed granny whos sittin in the club with a big behind,

like frankin stein, goin beep beep beep,

down sesame street and when the light turns green…. (i forgot the rest but it has bad language most likely)
-LAURIE, August 18, 2011, https://losemyway.wordpress.com/2008/02/06/hand-clapping-games/
-snip-
WARNING: 
Some examples on that page include profanity. 

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11. TWO, FOUR, SIX, EIGHT WHO DO WE APPRECIATE
2,4,6,8 who do we appreciate?

Your momma, Your dadda

Your bald headed grandma

She’s 99 she thinks she’s fine

She’s going out with frankenstien

What’s this? What’s this?

You just got this!

What’s that? What’s that?

You just got slapped!
-SAMMY December 13, 2012. https://losemyway.wordpress.com/2008/02/06/hand-clapping-games/

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12.  I'M A LITTLE (WHATEVER GRADE)*

for swing swing swing our school did this

c,c,c at the bottom of the c

im a little (whatever grade or age) pretty as can be be

and all the boys around my blox are fightin over me me

my boyfriends name is CHRIS BROWN!

He lives in alabama with 25 toes and a big fat nose and this is how my story goes

see my pinky see my thumb see my fist you better run hold up wait come back you needa tic tac not one not two but the whole six pack

not ya mama not ya daddy but ya bald headed granny she wish she wish she wish she had hair like this
-Iysmqt :o, 2021,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zEcsIfe6lU&t=3s&ab_channel=Geneas "90’s hands games !!!!!" 
-snip-
*I consider  the words "swing swing swing" and the words "c,c,c at the bottom of the c" (sea, sea, sea at the bottom of the sea) to be introductory lines. As such, I believe that the "title" of this rhyme is "I'm A Little (add grader), for example "I'm A Little First Grader"   

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Pancocojams Editor's Note:
Here's a https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/scalawag definition for the word "scalawag" that I believe partially fits the term "scally wag". 
"scalawag is a lying, no-good rascal. Scalawags are not to be trusted, but sometimes they’re a little bit cute...

This funny, old-fashioned word refers to people who are deceitful and untrustworthy. Scalawags are up to no good.
Someone who steals your wallet or lies to your face is a scalawag. Scalawags play tricks and break laws, but they don’t do serious crimes. In U.S. history, scalawag has a more specific meaning: it refers to white Southerners who, after the American Civil War, supported the policies of Reconstruction that dismantled the Confederacy and granted citizenship to formerly enslaved people."
-snip-
I believe that the first sentence is the meaning that is meant in the "Bald Head Scally Wag" rhymes. I don't think that the other portion of the above definition of "scalawag: applies to those rhymes.]  

13. BALD HEAD SCALLY WAG (version #1)
Bald headed scally wag, ain't got no hair in the back
Slide slide slippery slide, yo momma ain't got no hair on the side
-pwells09, Jun 24, 2017, https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/black-girl-rhymes-what-was-yours-growing-up.1196979/ "Black Girl Rhymes What Was Yours Growing Up"

WARNING some lipstickalley.com. examples or comments include profanity and/or sexually explicit content. The examples below that include profanity are given in amended spelling for folkloric purposes only.
-snip-
The commenter known as "pwells09" has "my" last name, but isn't me or any relation to me.

The "bald-headed scally wag" is lifted (with some revisions) from verses of the 2001 Hip Hop song "Chickenhead" by Three 6 Mafia. That rap composition contains profanity and sexually explicit references.

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14. BALD HEAD SCALLY WAG (version #2)
Nic nac patty wack
B&&ch* you ain't got no hair in the back
weaved up, slide up
b&&ch* you need a shape up
-Queen Daenerys,Jun 24, 2017, https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/black-girl-rhymes-what-was-yours-growing-up.1196979/page-2 "Black Girl Rhymes What Was Yours Growing Up"

*This word is fully spelled out in this example.

This commenter wrote "Yes a lot of these brings back some good memories. I got one though." before she shared this rhyme. She also wrote " Lol. I know. A hawt mess" after she shared that rhyme. "hawt" - "hot" "Hawt mess" means something is "really messy" (in this case, meaning it's really socially unacceptable).

"A shape up" is when a barber or beautician shaves or trims a person hair to remove excess hair in order to achieve a particular shape or style and to achieve a more polished look.

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15. BALD HEAD SCALLY WAG (version #3)
Baldheaded scallywag, ain't got no hair in the back. Gelled up weaved up, yo hair is f&cked* up!

Petty Princess, Jun 25, 2017 https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/black-girl-rhymes-what-was-yours-growing-up.1196979/page-2 "Black Girl Rhymes What Was Yours Growing Up"
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this example.

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16. BALD HEAD SCALLY WAG (version #4)
Bald headed skiddle diddle, ain't got no hair in the middle
Bald headed skally wag, ain't got no hair in the back
-Tulipop, Jun 25, 2017; https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/black-girl-rhymes-what-was-yours-growing-up.1196979/page-3 "Black Girl Rhymes What Was Yours Growing Up"

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17.  BALD HEAD SCALLY WAG (Version #5)
Bald head scally wag ain't got no hair in the back perm press weave you know you need it.
-diamondsNcars, https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/ghetto-childhood-rhymes.553524/

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18.  BALD HEAD SCALLY WAG (Version #6)
Bald head scallywag,

Ain't got no hair in the back...

Bald head skittle diddle...

Ain't got no hair in the middle...
Silence_DoGoode, Feb. 27, 2013; https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/ghetto-childhood-rhymes.553524/page-2

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19.   BALD HEAD SCALLY WAG (Version #7)
Bald head scally wag ain't got no hair in the back perm press weave you know you need it.
-diamondsNcars, Aug 9, 2013; https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/ghetto-childhood-rhymes.553524/  Ghetto Childhood Rhymes

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20. BALD HEAD SCATTY WAG (version #8)
😆  I remember something like baldheaded skattywag? Aint got no hair in the back weavedup, gelled up,you need a touch up,  pinkoil oil sheen ain't got no vaseline ...
Shana Boswell, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-NKrzvqz_I&t=0s&ab_channel=Geneas. 90s hand games (part 2), Geneas, March 28, 2020
-snip-
"Weaves" are usually fake hair. "Gelled up" refers to using hair products that have a gell consistency that are used to manage or style one's hair.  "Touch up" means that the hair needs to be "done" again.  

"Pink Oil", "Oil Sheen" are brand names for hair products that are mostly marketed for Black females. "Vaseline" is a brand name for ointment that moisturizes dry skin. This product is commonly used by African Americans' dry, "ashy" skin.

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21. BALD HEAD SCALLY WAG (Version #9)
Bald head scally wag ain't got no hair in the back perm press weave you know you need it.
-diamondsNcars,, https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/ghetto-childhood-rhymes.553524/ "Ghetto Childhood Rhymes",  August 9, 2013

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22. SLIDE SLIDE SLIPPERY SLIDE
Slide, slide, slippery side. Yo mama ain’t got no hair on the side. SHE BALD!” (Instead of “kiss, kiss, kiss) 🤣
-TikaBabyGurl, 2021, comment in discussion thread for  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwhAP3nwJWQ&ab_channel=VibingWithP "90’s HAND GAMES WITH TAKEEYA LA’TI ( HILARIOUS 🤣 )"
-snip-
"Kiss, kiss, kiss" was in the version of "Slide Slide, Slippery Slide" that was featured in this video.   

A commenter replied to this example by writing "Chi-town days", meaning the "Yo mama" etc. words were chanted in Chicago, Illinois.

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23. TAKE A PEACH
Take a peach
take a plum
take a pocket full of gum.
Don't like it?
Don't take it.
Take it up,
take it down,
take it all the way around.
Hot dog baby,
Chicken and gravy.
Here comes the momma with the bald headed baby.
-Miss Mocha, http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=31403&page=5. "Old School Chants", March 28, 2003

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24, [no title given]

Cream cheese, cream cheese floatin' in the air,
That bald-headed man ain't got no hair.
-J. Mason Brewer, editor 
 American Negro Folklore (published in 1968, pg. 369

**

25. HOT SHOT BABY
hot shot baby
chicken and gravy
here comes a lady
with a bald head baby
*point to other person* THATS YOU
-http://www.inthe00s.com/archive/inthe80s/smf/1109960765.shtml "inthe00s forum" In the 1980s forum

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26
. [NO TITLE GIVEN]

want a piece of pie, pie too sweet
want a piece of meat, meat too rough
want to ride a bus, bus too full
want to ride a bull, bull too black
want my money back
money too green
makes me mean
here comes the lady with the bald headed baby
hot dog baby, sugar and gravy!
Chris W, https://www.mamalisa.com/blog/are-you-familiar-with-%E2%80%9Cwant-to-read-a-book-book-done-read/ , , March 17th, 2008

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27. 
CCC AT THE BOTTOM OF THE C

for swing swing swing our school did this

c,c,c at the bottom of the c

im a little (whatever grade or age) pretty as can be be

and all the boys around my blox are fightin over me me

my boyfriends name is CHRIS BROWN!

He lives in alabama with 25 toes and a big fat nose and this is how my story goes

see my pinky see my thumb see my fist you better run hold up wait come back you needa tic tac not one not two but the whole six pack

not ya mama not ya daddy but ya bald headed granny she wish she wish she wish she had hair like this
-Iysmqt :o, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zEcsIfe6lU , 90s Hand Games, Geneas, 2018

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PART II- RHYMES THAT REFER TO NAPPY HAIR

1. HEY, YOU OVER THERE WITH THE NAPPY HAIR
My husband actually taught my daughter's a song that he remembered as a child in the late 60s/early 70s.

Hey you, over there, with the nappy nappy hair.
My back is achin' my pants too tight, my bootie shakin' from the left to right
M' Gowa, Black Power, yo' mama needs a shower.
Destroy, little boys, soul sister number nine, sock it to me one more time.
Mmm! Mmm! Mmm!
- GUEST,Shamiere, 24 Mar 04; http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4300 Children's Street Songs
-snip-
A number of lines from this rhyme are found in some other African American originated children's rhymes, particularly "Bang Bang Choo Choo Train" rhymes. However, this is the only example that I've found that includes the line "Hey you, over there, with the nappy nappy hair."

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2. I KNOW YOUR HAIR IS NAPPY
I Know Your Hair Is Nappy
But I refuse to lend you my comb
If you have to beg ‘n plea for my Dixie Peach
I don’t mind cause you need it desperately

[Sing to the tune “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg”]
- "Yo' Mama: New Raps, Toasts, Dozens, Jokes, and Children's Rhymes from Urban Black America", (page 111), 2004. edited by Onwuchekwa Jemie
-snip-
“Ain’t Too Proud To Beg” is a hit 1966 R&B song by The Temptations.

"Dixie Peach" was a very popular brand of hair grease (hair pomade) in the 1950s and 1960s, particularly among Black people in the United States. Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomade for information about hair pomades.

Here's information about the book "Yo' Mama: New Raps, Toasts, Dozens, Jokes, and Children's Rhymes from Urban Black America"
from https://www.amazon.com/Yo-Mama-Toasts-Childrens-America/dp/1592130283
"Collected primarily in metropolitan New York and Philadelphia during the classic era of black street poetry (i.e., during the late 1960s and early 1970s) these raps, signifyings, toasts, boasts, jokes and children's rhymes will delight general readers as well as scholars. Ranging from the simple rhymes that accompany children's games to verbally inventive insults and the epic exploits of traditional characters like Shine and Stagger Lee, these texts sound the deep rivers of culture, echoing two continents. Onwuchekwa Jemie's introductory essay situates them in a globally pan-African context and relates them to more recent forms of oral culture such as rap and spoken word."

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PART III- RHYMES THAT MENTION WEAVES OR HAIR EXTENSIONS [Added Feb. 5, 2021]
Note: Some examples of "Bald Head Scally Wag" found above include the phrase "weaved up".

0-1-2-3
"0-1-2-3. sure looks like some weave to me. It's fake. Yeah, yeah, it's fake!"
Kim Possible, August 9, 2013; https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/ghetto-childhood-rhymes.553524/page-2
-snip-
This rhyme "sounds" to me like it's a part of the U. G. L. Y" rhyme/cheer. 

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OOH GIRL THAT AIN'T FAIR
Ooh girl that aint fair
Give that horsey back his hair.
-Willona Woods (Chicago, Illinois),March 2006; http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php/43158-Hood-Cheers/page4

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GATORS
All: Gaaators *
(clap two tines and stomp four times while turning around)
Gaaators
(clap two tines and stomp four times while turning around)
Soloist #1:
Gators ain't wid it
So Homewood betta quit it **
All: Gaaators
(clap two tines and stomp four times while turning around)
Gaaators
(clap two times and stomp four times while turning around)
Soloist #2: Homewood betta chill out
cause I’ll put their tracks out. ***


Directions:
Repeat entire sequence two more times; start facing forward, first time you say it, you turn to your right while you are clapping two times, 2nd time on the beat, you turn to the back, 3rd time you turn to your left forth time, you turn to the front; then to the “chorus”. Continue the same pattern of the group reciting the first part while a new soloist recites a new different two line mocking or confrontational verse.
-Sha’ona and Conraya; (African American females, 11 years old; Garfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, collected by Azizi Powell, June 2008
-snip-
Explanations:
 *The Garfield Gators is the name of a community football team in the Garfield section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Garfield is a mostly African American working class neighborhood.

**Homewood is a mostly African American working class neighborhood that is located near Garfield. Garfield and Homewood are rivals.

*** "Tracks" is another term for "(hair) weaves" "Weaves" are fake or real hair that is attached to a female's hair to lengthen it and/or give it more body

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NIC NAC PATTY WACK
Yes a lot of these brings back some good memories. I got one though.

Nic nac patty wack
bi--h* you ain't got no hair in the back
weaved up, slide up
b*tch you need a shape up

 

Lol. I know. A hawt mess
-Queen Daenerys, Jun 24, 2017, https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/black-girl-rhymes-what-was-yours-growing-up.1196979/page-2
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this rhyme.

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4 comments:

  1. Here's a version of the children's rhyme "Lemonade Crunchy Ice" that includes a taunting line about eye lashes:

    "Y’all forgot lemonade...😭 “lemonade... crunchy ice....sip it once... sip it twice... lemonade crunchy ice sip it once sip it twice turn around touch the ground kick you your boyfriend out of town!” *Go get some lashes @bigblinkzbyb"
    -Brooklyn Stampley, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwhAP3nwJWQ&ab_channel=VibingWithP [comment in the discussion thread for "90’s HAND GAMES WITH TAKEEYA LA’TI ( HILARIOUS 🤣 )"

    ReplyDelete
  2. Here's a comment from a Dec. 2021 daily kos article that refers to the Black American children insulting other Black children by calling them "baldheaded":
    https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/12/14/2068905/-Black-Kos-Tuesday-s-Chile-Do-not-try-to-gatekeep-my-Blackness-or-anybody-else-s#comment_82457334

    zenbassoon
    Dec 14, 2021
    Yup. I was teaching at one particular school in Gary, IN, with a 90%+ Black population and the second worst insult between the students was to call them dark skinned. Interestingly, the third worst insult was to accuse a student of “acting White”. The worst insult was to call someone “bald-headed”, even though they had a full head of hair. I asked them the significance of the dark skinned insult, and like you, Denise, I was flabbergasted at the colorism. I couldn’t get a straight answer on the “bald headed” insult though."
    -snip-
    I believe that baldhead is an insult among Black Americans because our preference for long straight hair for females goes waaay back. And that preference is “rooted”* in White aesthetics i.e. looking like what White people consider beautiful. Being baldheaded is one major opposite of having long straight hair.
    -snip-
    *No pun was intended.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Here's an excerpt from that corroborates the point that I made about why Black American children (and other Black Americans) historically and to a large extent now consider/ed "baldhead" to be an insult for Black females:
      <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/black-women-baldness”> https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/black-women-baldness</a> “Going Low: How Black Women Have Reclaimed Bald Beauty” by Stephanie Long, Feb. 25, 2020
      The shame of being bald is one that has haunted Black women for years. I got teased for being a “ball-headed (baldheaded) lil’ girl” when I was in grade school, mostly by the older Black girls in my neighborhood. While I disliked being picked on, I realize, in retrospect, how these girls’ actions were a projection of the harmful ideologies inherited by those around them — similar to Dr. Phil guest and recording artist Bhad Bhabie’s disparaging comments made toward “baldheaded h**s” in December 2019. Black women have grown up believing in the cultural commandment “thou shalt not cut off all that pretty hair.” And thanks to a long history of policing of both Black women’s hair and Black natural hair in general, many Black women have been programmed to abide by said scripture.
      Nell Painter, historian and Edwards Professor of American History at Princeton University, tells R29Unbothered that hair is undeniably correlated to women's appearance and place in society, which, as she notes, can be seen in the ways that many religious communities attempt to control women's hair. “The prevalence of white supremacy decreed that women should approach the appearance of northern European whiteness or risk social exile,” she says.
      “Most often, that meant straightening naturally nappy hair to make it approach northern European appearance,” she explains. “Even now, so-called 'natural hair styles' need the application of product to make nappy hair lie down, because unstyled, natural hair either stays tightly coiled close to the scalp or stands straight up.”
      Raisa Flowers, a makeup artist and model who opened Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty show last year, says she recalls being “obsessed with having butt-length hair” when she was younger.

      But I could not grow it past my shoulders because I was relaxing it and putting so much product in it. Some Black women obsess over their hair because they think having long hair has something to do with being feminine.

      It’s estimated that Black consumers spend $473 million on hair care each year. Whether looking for the best shampoos and conditioners to maintain a natural hair care regimen, or keeping up with wigs and weaves, hair is of utmost importance to the Black female community.”...

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    2. Black American females' preference for hair that is long and full is also reinforced by the Biblical scripture
      1 Corinthians 11:15
      But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory for her: For her hair is given her for a covering.
      -snip-
      That Bible verses has been rephrased in the saying that a woman's hair is her crown an glory.

      As a result of that Bible verse, Black females and other females in the United States and in many other cultures are looked down upon if they are bald or balding.

      Delete