Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part IV of an ongoing pancocojams series about the impact (or, perhaps, what should be the impact) of Covid-19 on children's recreational games- with particular attention to children's singing games, hand clap games, and hand slap games. Read my editor's note below for more information about this pancocojams series.
This pancocojams post showcases the African American children's ring game (circle game) "Little Johnny Brown". This singing game is played without holding hands or clapping another person's hands.
The content of this post is presented for cultural and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the unknown creators of this game. Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to the publishers of this videos on YouTube.
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
During the Covid 19 pandemic, as part of that disease's preventative guidelines, people in many parts of the world have begun to change the ways that they greet and say goodbye to each other (i.e. no more handshakes, hugs, or kisses).
This pancocojams series suggests that people should also consider the ways that Covid-19 impacts (or should impact) children's recreational activities, with particular attention to children's singing games such as "Ring Around The Rosie", children's hand clap games such as "Shame Shame Shame" and children's hand slap games such as "Stella Ella Ola".
The videos featured in Part I and Part II of this series serve as examples of how those recreational activities conflict with the guidelines during Covid-19 of not touching other people's hands and not touching other parts of another person's body. Those recreational activities also conflict with Covid-19 prevention guidelines of maintaining at least six feet of social distance between people to help prevent against getting Covid-19.
Subsequent posts in this series will focus on examples of children's recreational singing games and comments about other children's recreational activities such as foot stomping cheers that don't necessarily conflict with Covid-19 safety rules. These subsequent post will continue the labeling as indicated in this post (i.e. the post after Part IV will be labeled "Part V" etc.) Google search the words "children's recreational games Covid 19 pancocojams for other posts in this series or click the "impact of Covid-19 on children's recreational games" tag for more pancocojams posts in this series.
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INFORMATION/COMMENTS ABOUT THIS POST ABOUT THE SINGING GAME "LITTLE JOHNNY BROWN"
"Little Johnny Brown" appears to have originally come from African Americans in the Georgia Sea Isles*. This game may have first been played sometimes in the 19th century. The video given as example #1 below shows how "Little Johnny Brown" was played in the Georgia Sea Isle in the mid 20th century.
All of the videos after that one are given in chronological order with the video with the oldest publishing date given second etc.
Click for information about the buzzard lope dance.
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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Example #1: Bessie Jones with the Georgia Island Singers - Little Johnny Brown
Monkey D. Sound, Aug 2, 2019
Get in Union: Recordings By Alan Lomax 1959-1966
Little Johnny Brown spread your comfort down
Little Johnny Brown, spread your comfort down
[Tempo speeds up]
Fold one corner Johnny Brown
Fold another other corner Johnny Brown
Fold another corner Johnny Brown
Fold another corner Johnny Brown
Take it to your lover Johnny Brown
Take it to your lover, Johnny Brown
Show him a motion, Johnny Brown
Show him a motion, Johnny Brown
Lope like a buzzard, Johnny Brown
Lope like a buzzard, Johnny Brown
Give It to your partner Johnny Brown
[song starts from the beginning]
Modified lyrics
Fold one corner Johnny Brown
Fold the other corner Johnny Brown
Fold the other corner Johnny Brown
Fold the last corner Johnny Brown
Now do a motion, Johnny Brown
Now do a motion, Johnny Brown
Now join in the motion Johnny Brown
Now take it to a friend, Johnny Brown
Take it to a friend, Johnny Brown.
-snip-
The pronoun changes to “her” if a boy is in the middle, and “he” if a girl is in the middle”. The singing is accompanied by individual hand clapping and foot stomping.
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Example #2: Johnny Brown
carolannf1, Apr 5, 2010
Kids playing a game Called Little Johnny Brown
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Example #3: Little Johnny Brown
Vincent Bates, Jan 22, 2013
Little Johnny Brown, lay your comfort down . . .
Now fold one corner, Johnny Brown, fold the other corner, Johnny Brown . . .
Give it to your lover, Johnny Brown . . .
Make a little motion, Johnny Brown . . .
Lope like a buzzard, Johnny Brown . . .
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Example #4: MUSIC TEACHER RESOURCES - Little Johnny Brown
Kate Fellin, Jul 3, 2015
This is a play party that several of us learned from Ivy Rawlins in Kodaly classes at George Mason University through the Potomac Arts Academy.
Some modifications to save time, make sure all students get turns, etc., are to take out the "lope like a buzzard" lines, to make the 4th repetition of "fold another corner" into "fold the last corner" and to change the last line to "then sit down" so that students can differentiate between who has and has not had a turn.
We started off a little slow with our tempo, and I usually keep a steady tempo through the whole song instead of making the first two phrases slower.
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Example #5: Episode 07 - Bessie Jones and Children from the Downtown Community School
Rainbow Quest•Jun 2, 2017
-snip-
The singing game "Little Johnny Brown" begins at 30:30
-snip-
Notice that the only Black girl in that group is also the only child who claps double time and pats her right foot to the beat while singing "Little Johnny Brown". There also is one Black boy in that group, but neither he nor any of the other children appear to clap and stomp their foot like that Black girl.
That girl's manner of clapping and foot stomping/tapping is the same as the accompaniment that is documented in YouTube video/films of Bessie Jones and the Georgia Sea singers. That girl does that same style of hand clapping and foot stomping throughout the entire Bessie Jones segment of that film*. I don't know if it was ever documented, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that that Black girl was from the same community as Bessie Jones and accompanied her to that filming.
*Here's a comment from 2019 that identifies the times for all of the songs in that film:
Tornado Jones, 2019
1. Rainbow Quest
2. 1:27 Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall
3. 6:45 Be Kind to Your Parents…
4. 7:47 Life Is a Toil…
5. 11:06 He Will Just Do Nothing at All… He Will Just Sit There in the Noonday Sun…
6. 17:20 I’ma Gonna Lay Down Life for My Lord
7. 20:54 Yonder Come Day
8. 23:30 The Devil’s Been to My House
9. 25:48 Thread the Needle/Wind Up/Shake Down/Unwind
10. 30:30 Little Johnny Brown
11. 39:52 Draw A Bucket of Water
12. 41:28 We Wish You a Merry Christmas
13. 42:30 Children, Go Where I Send Thee
14. 46:37 On the First Day of Christmas
15. 50:00 Shalom, Chaverim
16. 50:56 Rainbow Quest song
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This concludes Part IV of this pancocojams series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
As Video examples #3 and #4 in this pancocojams post document, "Little Johnny Brown" is a singing game that is taught (usually in a modified form) in the United States to university music education students. This game is then taught to children in music classes in some elementary schools in the United States.
ReplyDeleteI think it's unlikely that "Little Johnny Brown" and other circle games are self-initiated by children (as is the case with hand clapping games).
Also, in my experience as a special programming presenter who toured a lot of schools in predominately African American neighborhoods in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and as a substitute teacher in Pittsburgh, most of the music education classrooms were much too small to teach circle games. Furthermore, most schools only have one gym and often have limited outdoor space to teach "Little Johnny Brown", and other old African American singing games, and (other) American play party songs were taught in those schools.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/07/throw-me-anywhere-lord-buzzard-lope.html for a 2012 pancocojams post entitled "Throw Me Anywhere, Lord" Song & The Buzzard Lope Dance
ReplyDelete"Throw Me Anywhere, Lord" Song & The Buzzard Lope Dance
for a pancocojams post about the 19th century (or earlier) Buzzard Lope dance.