Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents some examples of the "hey tomboy, wanna fight" verse in some children's hand clap* rhymes.
This post also points out the similarities between the "hey tomboy, wanna fight/meet me on the corner Saturday night and some lyrics from Louis Jordan's 1949 Jump Blues song "Beans And Cornbread".
In addition, this post also points out the similarities between the "hey tomboy, wanna fight" verse in some children's rhymes with another similarly worded verse in certain other children's hand clap rhymes*.
The content of this post is presented for cultural and recreational purposes.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
*Most children's hand clap rhymes are usually only performed by females. Also, many of these rhymes were originally chanted while jumping rope.
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
This post isn't meant to be a comprehensive compilation of children's rhymes that begin with or include the line "Oh ah, I wanna piece of pie" or similar wording. The "source" for each rhyme is provided after that example. These examples are given relative chronological order with the oldest examples given first.
These examples are numbered consecutively for referencing purposes only. When it is given, the "title" of the rhyme is capitalized and the "hey tomboy, wanna fight" verse (or a similarly worded verse) is given in italic to highlight it.
Notice that these "hey tomboy, wanna fight" verses all come from the large family of "Ooh ah, I wanna piece of pie" (or similar wording) children's rhymes (i.e. children's rhymes that have begin with that line or include a verse that begins with that line).
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/03/sources-for-and-some-examples-of.html for the 2020 pancocojams post entitled "Sources For And Some Examples Of The Children's Rhyme "Ooh Ah, I Wanna Piece Of Pie" ".
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EXAMPLES OF CHILDREN'S RHYMES THAT INCLUDE THE VERSE BEGINNING WITH "HEY TOMBOY, WANNA FIGHT" (or similar words)
1. 123 MY MAMA TAKES CARE OF ME (Version #3 of Oh Aah I Wanna Piece of Pie)
123 my mama takes care of me
my daddy sings do re me
oh ah i wanna piece of pie
pie too sweet i wanna piece of meat
meat too tough i wanna ride a bus
bus too full i wanna ride a bull
bull too mean i wanna jelly bean
jelly bean too red i wanna go to bed
bed not made i want some lemonade
lemonade too sour i wanna take a shower
shower to cold i wanna piece of gold
gold too pretty i wanna kiss a kitty
kittty too fat and thats the end of that
hey tomboy hey tomboy meet me on the corner on a saturday night
we can wiggle we can jiggle we can dance all night
close your eyes and count to 10 and if u mess up start over again
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
- Guest, sophie, http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=26926&messages=37, "Lyr Req: Oh my, I want a piece of pie", April 4, 2009
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Examples from https://www.mamalisa.com/blog/are-you-familiar-with-%E2%80%9Cwant-to-read-a-book-book-done-read/ "105 Responses to “Are you familiar with, “Want to read a book? Book done read.”?”
Example #2 [with #1 given above]
Lacey Says:
May 29th, 2011 at 9:23 pm
All these versions are close to what I remember it being. I remember it going…
ABC, easy as 123, mama sings Doe-Ray-Me…(don’t remember next line).
Oh-Ah, I wanna piece of pie, piece of pie too sweet I wanna piece of meat, piece of meat too rough I wanna ride a bus, ride a bus too full, I wanna ride a bull, ride a bull too black, I want my money back, money back too green I wanna jelly bean, Jelly bean not cooked I wanna read a book, read a book not read, I wanna go to bed, go to bed not made, I want some lemon aid, lemon aid too sour, I wanna take a shower, take a shower too cold, I wanna piece of gold, piece of gold not pretty I wanna kiss a kitty, kiss a kitty too fat, and that’s the end of that..
Hey tom-boy, hey tom boy,
Hey tom-boy, hey tom boy,
wanna pick a fight? meet me on the corner on a Saturday night. we can wiggle we can jiggle we can even to the splits, but I bet ya $5 dollars that ya cant do this…1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Went along with the clapping routine that was pretty complicated.
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Example #3
Rasanjana Says:
July 2nd, 2007 at 11:14 pm
ABC as easy as 123 my momma takes care of me, my daddy does Do re me
Ooh Ah I wanna piece of pie, pie not made I want some lemonade, lemonade too sour I wanna take a shower, shower too cold I wanna piece of gold not pretty I want a little kitty, kitty too fat and that’s the end of that, hey tomboy meet me at the alley at 7pm close you eyes and count to five 1-2-3-4-5 and do it all over again!
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Example #4
hahaha Says:
August 29th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
abc just as easy as 123 my mommas got the allergies baby you and me
ooh ah
want a piece of pie
pie to sweet
want a piece of meat
meat too red
want to go to bed
bed not made
want some lemonade
lemonade too sour
want to take a shower
shower too cold
want a piece of gold
gold too pretty
want to kiss a kitty
kitty too fat
thats the end of that
Hey tomboy hey tomboy
meet me at the end of the 19th street
we can wiggle we can jiggle we can do all that
close your eyes and count to ten if you mess up then start all over again
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Thats how I learned it!!!!
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Example #5
Aly Says:
March 9th, 2008 at 4:37 am
Me and my mates do a different one. There are clapping actions to it. Complicated ones. :)
ABC, My mama takes care of me,
Oo Aa I wanna piece of pie,
Pie too sweet, I wanna piece of meat,
Meat too rough I wanna ride a bus,
Bus too red I wanna go to bed,
Bed not made, I want some lemonade,
Lemonade too sour, I wanna have a shower,
Shower too cool I wanna go to school,
School too dumb I wanna suck my thumb,
Thumb too dirty, I wanna ride a birdie,
Birdie too slow thats all I know.
(Then theres an add on)
Hey tomboy do you wanna fight?
Meet me at the corner on a saturday night,
Do the wibble, The wobble,
The twist and turn,
I betcha 5 bucks that you cant do this.
(then you close your eyes, count to ten and try not to mess up the actions.)
Close your eyes,
And count to ten,
Whoever messes up has to kiss their boyfriend.
1.2.3. and so on…
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Example #6
Cassie Says:
September 29th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
ABC JUST AS EASY AS 123
my MAMA TAKES CARE OF 10 BABIES
ooh, ahh
i wanna piece of pie
pie too sweet
i want a piece of meat
meat to tough
i wanna ride a bus
bus to full
i wanna ride a bull
bull too black
i want my money back
money too green
i want a jelly bean
bean not cooked
i wanna read a book
book not read
i wanna go to bed
bed not made
i want some lemonade
lemonade to sour
i wanna take a shower
shower too cool
i wanna go to school
school too dumb
i wanna suck my thumb
thumb too dirty
i wanna ride a birdie
birdie too slow
and that’s all i know
hey tomboy wanna fight
meet me on the corner on a Saturday night
we can giggle and wiggle and do the twist
but i but u five dollars that u cant do this
close your eyes and count to ten
who ever messes up has to kiss there boyfriend !
1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..10 !
**
amanda and danielle Says:
September 7th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
abc its easy as 123
my momma takes care of me
my daddy watches mtv
ooh aah i wanna piece of pie
pie to sweet
i wanna piece of meat
meat to rough
i wanna ride a bus
bus too full i wanna ride a bull
bull to black
i want my money back
money too green
i want a jellybean
jellybean to red
i wanna go to bed
bed not made
i want some lemonade
lemonade to sour
i wanna take a shower
shower too cold
i want a piece of gold
gold too pretty
i wanna kiss a kitty
kitty too fat
and thats the end of that
hey tomboy
wanna pick a fight
meet me at the park on a saturday night
we can do the pom-pom
we can do the jig
but i bet you five bucks you cant do this
close your eyes and count to ten
and if you mess up start all over again!
(continue hand motions until you get to ten)
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SIMILARITIES BETWEEN "HEY TOMBOY WANNA FIGHT" LINES AND THE FIRST VERSE OF THE JUMP BLUES SONG "BEANS AND CORNBREAD"
The first verse of Louis Jordan's 1949 Jump Blues song "Beans And Cornbread" is
"Beans and Cornbread had a fight
Beans knocked Cornbread out of sight
Cornbread said, "Now that's alright
Meet me on the corner tomorrow night"
-snip-
The first and fourth lines of that verse are quite similar to the "hey tomboy wanna fight/meet me on the corner on a Saturday night" lines in the children's rhymes that are the focus of this post.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/03/louis-jordan-tympany-five-beans-and.html for the 2020 pancocojams post entitled "Sources For And Some Examples Of The Children's Rhyme "Ooh Ah, I Wanna Piece Of Pie"".
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SIMILARITIES BETWEEN "HEY TOMBOY WANNA FIGHT" LINES AND LINES FROM CERTAIN OTHER CHILDREN'S RHYMES
The lines "hey tomboy wanna fight/meet me on the corner on a Saturday night" are very similar to the "hey baby how about a date/meet me on the corner at half past eight" lines (or similar lines) that are found in certain children's rhymes.
Here are three examples of those rhymes with the words "hey baby, how about a date" etc. given in italics to highlight those words:
Example #1:
Hey baby, how about a date?
I'll meet you round the corner
'Bout half-past eight.
Hands up!
Tachie Tachie Tachie
Hands down!
Tachie Tachie Tachie!
Sans BOOTS!
Tachie Tachie Tachie
Hands down!
Tachie Tachie Tachie!
Sans BOOTS!
- Barbara Ray (African American female), memory of her childhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the 1950s; collected in November 1996 by Azizi Powell & in August 2009 (second interview) by Azizi Powell
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Example #2:
Hi, Roy Rogers how about a date
Meet me at the corner at half past eight
I can do the rumba
I can do the splits
I can do the turn arounds
I can do the kicks.
-girl 11 years, Swansea, 1957 for skipping.
from The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren, first published in 1959 [UK] editors: Iona Archibald Opie, Peter Opie, p. 116
-snip-
“skipping” here probably means what people in the USA call “jumping rope”. The rumba and the splits are self explanatory. "Turns arounds" are probably just what the word indicates. Doing high kicks were probably somewhat risque in the 1950s, since girls almost always wore dresses or blouses and skirts.
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Example # 4: Hi-O Silver, I've got a date.
Meet me at the corner At half-past eight.
I can do the rumba, I can do the splits,
I can wear skirts Above ....[excerpt ends there]
- Google Books, Legendary Figures in American Lore, Tristram Potter Coffin, Hennig Cohen.
Anchor Press, 1978 [excerpt] p .484, jump rope rhyme.
-snip-
"Hi-O Silver" is the iconic saying of the fictitious American cowboy "The Lone Ranger" - "Silver" being the name of The Lone Ranger's horse. That Texas Ranger would say "Hi-O Silver" when he was ready to gallop away on his horse.
According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lone_Ranger the ... popular [Lone Ranger] television show ... ran from 1949 to 1957." end of quote
Note that the 1950s is the same decade of the two earliest examples of this rhyme family that I have found [given as example #1 & example #2 above]
-snip-
The last line that is given in this excerpt appears to be the same as a line in the rhyme that I call "We Wear Our Hair In Curls". As such, the words after "above" are probably "my knees” and the next line probably is something like "I can [boogie]* ___ “whenever I please”.
-snip-
*boogie meaning "dance"
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/07/childrens-rhyme-heyhow-about-date.html for a 2014 pancocojams post that showcases a few additional examples of children's hand clap rhymes that include the verse "hey baby, how about a date/ meet me at the corner at half past eight" (or similar words).
Notice that these examples are either stand alone rhymes or are included in other children's rhymes, but not in the "Ooh ah, I wanna piece of pie" family of children's recreational rhymes.
I don't know which version came first - the "hey tomboy, how about a fight" or "hey baby how about a date".
I believe that those rhymes (also) originated among African Americans.
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