Children's Examples Of "Ah Beep Beep Ungawa Black Power" And Similar Rhymes, Chants, & Cheers

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Revision - July 1, 2023

This pancocojams post documents children's examples of "Ah beep been/Ungawa Black power" and similar examples that are based on those rhymes, chants, and cheers.

This post also includes some information about the word "ungawa" with a focus on my theory about African Americans' use of the word "ungawa" and some early examples of ways that African Americans use that word.   

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and recreational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who contributed examples to this compilation.
-snip-
This 2023 pancocojams post includes a few examples that are included in a  2015 post entitled "The REAL Origin Of The Word "Ungawa" & Various Ways That Word Has Been Used In The USA"  http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-real-origins-of-word-ungawa-various.html

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A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE USE OF THE WORD "UNGAWA"
From https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/wordoriginsorg/umgawa-t8045.html#.VcFKDf3wtv4 Word Origins Archive 15 (07-10/04)  [Numbers added for referencing purposes only]

1. Dr. Techie, Jul 20, 2004
"Originated in Tarzan movies, according to my recollection and this site [no longer active]

The movie-Tarzan's favorite utterance, "Ungawa" (also spelled Umgawa and several other ways), was the invention of MGM screenwriter Cyril Hume (and Weissmuller discoverer). For his books, Burroughs created a complete ape language. Hume, who adapted Tarzan, the Ape Man (1932) for the screen, reduced Tarzan's language abilities considerably by inventing the all-purpose command Ungawa, which could mean up, down, halt or go.

OED3 also has this in the draft enty for "mock word": "2002 Re: Usages of Foreign Words in Linguist List (Electronic Mailing list) 5 Feb., Is the word ngawa or ungawa a proper noun or an adverb or adjective. None of the above. In English it's an exclamation... It seems to be a mock word in origin, rather than a foreign word." This seems to be a quote fron an online FAQ."

** 
2. ozziemaland, Jul 20, 2004
"That draft for OED3, saying "In English it's an exclamation," IMO would be improved by calling it an imperative command as the attribution to Cyril Hume has it -- all purpose, up, down, etc. The Hume attribution is more specific and accords with my recollection of the Tarzan movies. Thanks for the post, Dr T."
-end of quote=

**
The first time that the word "ungawa" was documented as being used by African Americans is in Dizzy Gillespie's 1959 Jazz composition "Ungawa". "Ungawa" is chanted near the beginning and at the end of that Jazz composition. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNZ_oAk6pfA.

**
Black activist Stokely Carmichael (who later changed his name to Kwame Toure) is documented as the first person who used the word "ungawa" iin Black protest chants/rallies (1966). Here's a comment from a discussion about that chant:
"Stokely Carmichael used to end his speeches at colleges by leading the audience (white, black, Asian etc.) in chanting "Beep, beep, bang, bang, umgawa, black power!" I wonder if he took it from a jump-rope rhyme."
-Cool Beans, 17 Dec 09, "Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko-Bop (Little Anthony)"
 https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=6600 

**
Also, click https://twitter.com/KyraAzore/status/982354241850363904 for a video clip of Howard University students in 2018 chanting "Beep beep bang bang ungawa/Black power": 

"Kyra E. Azore

@KyraAzore

Students chant “Beep beep bang bang ungawa black power,” the chant of the demonstrators in 1968 as the celebrate their victory of forcing the administration to hear the voices of students. #StudentPowerHU

4:27 PM · Apr 6, 2018"
-end of quote-
In those chants the word "power" is pronounced "powah" to rhyme with the made up word "ungawa" (oon-GAH-wah). 

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MY SPECULATIONS ABOUT WHY AFRICAN AMERICANS CO-OPTED THE WORD "UNGAWA
Prior to the internet, most Black Americans knew very little about traditional African languages and very few of us had ever met any African people. Besides some American movies such as Tarzan movies and the movie about Shaka Zulu, most Black Americans rarely heard heard anyone speak any traditional African languages and I dare say that the only African languages that most Black Americans knew by name were Swahili, maybe Zulu, and maybe Yoruba. "Arabic" should be added to that list-and may be #1 on that list since forms of Arabic have been spoken in North Africa, West Africa, and East Africa for centuries. Some websites (for instance https://www.jumpspeak.com/blog/most-spoken-language-in-africa indicate that Arabic is the #1 most commonly spoken language in Africa while others say that Swahili is the most commonly spoken language in that continent (for instance https://www.pangea.global/blog/10-most-popular-african-languages/.)

Although we (Black Americans) weren't familiar with African languages, I bet that most Black Americans (and other Americans) knew the words "ooga booga" and "ungawa" and thought that those words represented the ways that Black people in Africa talked. 

Read the information given above about the word "ungawa".

Here's some information about the word "ooga-booga from https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ooga_booga:

"ooga booga

(slang, humorous) Mimicking caveman speech. synonym ▲

Synonym: unga bunga

(slang, offensive) Mimicking African languages.

(slang, offensive) Mimicking Aboriginal Australian languages."

-end of quote-
Although websites such as the one cited above indicate that "ungawa" mimicked African languages, I've never come across any explanations of what elements in that word and/or what pronunciations are the same or similar to elements of African languages.

Here are my speculations about that subject:
1. People who aren't familiar with those languages believe (rightly or wrongly) that most words in traditional African languages begin with a vowel, and particularly with the letter "a" which was/is pronounced "ah".

2. Prior to the internet, African Americans were mostly introduced to African languages through books on traditional African names and Arabic names (Note that Arabic was introduced to North Africa, West Africa, and East Africa hundreds of years ago long before Africans were enslaved in the Americas and the Caribbean.) Many of the traditional African female names,  Arabic female names, and newly created or differently spelled African-ish names that became popular among African Americans end with the letter a. The "a" ending for those names is  pronounced "ah"-just as the word "ungawa" is spelled and pronounced. Examples of those names are "Aaliyah, "Malaika", "Keisha", and "Tamika",   

3. Another way that African Americans in those days were introduced to African languages was through the African American created seven day holiday Kwanzaa. The word "Kwanzaa" is an African American form of the Swahili word "kwanza" (meaning "first"). With the exception of the last day name "Imani", each of the days for Kwanzaa end with the letter "a": "umoja", "kujijagulia", "ujima", "ujamaa", "nia", and "kuumba". Those words reinforced the (incorrect?) belief that most words in traditional African languages end with the letter "a". 

The made up word "ungawa" reminds me of an actual KiSwahili word "uhuru". Both of those words have three syllables and both begin with the letter "u" and end with a vowel. Uhuru Kenyatta was the fourth president of Kenya, East Africa from 2013 to 2022. However, I remember learning the word "uhuru" meaning "freedom" when I was a member of the afrocentric cultural nationalist organization the Committee For Unified Newark (CFUN) in 1967 to 1969. 

Some websites indicate that "ungawa" is a KiSwahili word and give various meanings or no meaning for that word. Google Translate indicates that the Kiswahili meaning for the word "ungawa" is "flour", but I'm certain that that isn't what anyone chanting "Ungawa" then or now thinks that word meant or means. 

The only other Swahili word that I remember chanting when I was a member of that afrocentric group was "Harambee!" (hah-RAHM-bay), meaning "All pull together". (Notice that although that "harambee" doesn't begin with a vowel, it ends with one.) I remember enthusiastically chanting "Harambee!" along with other members of that group while we pretended to pull a rope toward our body as is done during a tug of war game. Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harambee for more information about the word "harambee". word.

The only other Swahili word that I remember chanting when I was a member of that afrocentric group was "Harambee!" (hah-RAHM-bay), meaning "All pull together". (Notice that although that word didn't begin with a vowel, it ended with one.) I remember that group chanting "Harambee!" while mimicking the motion of pulling a rope as is done during a tug of war game. Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harambee for more information about that word.  

****

All of this to say that African Americans "flipped the script" on the history of the word "ungawa" as a word that was associated with the negative fictional movie character Tarzan. Instead of accepting that negative association, we (African American) co-opted the word "ungawa" and use it as an expression of Black unity and power.

***
THE PROBABLE SOURCE OF THE WORDS "AH BEEP BEEP" IN THESE CHILDREN'S RHYMES

The phrase "ah beep beep" that is found in most of the examples of these rhymes, chants, and cheers probably comes from Joe Cuba's very popular 1966 Afro-Latin Boogaloo record "Bang Bang". That song includes the lyrics " beep beep Ah!". 

 https://www.lyricsmania.com/bang_bang_lyrics_joe_cuba_sextet.html

Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MenOmqIBmIM for a sound file of Joe Cuba's record "Bang Bang".

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LATER EXAMPLES OF "AH BEEP BEEP/UNGAWA ___ POWER" IN CHILDREN'S RHYMES AND CHEERS
A number of examples of "Ah Beep Beep/Ungawa ___ Power" children's rhymes, chants, and cheers can be found online from New York City and elsewhere in the United States from the late 1960s on.  Some of the early examples of those examples are from African Americans and many of these early examples express pro-Black and anti-White/anti-establishment sentiments, reflecting their origin in Black power rallies.  (i.e. "White boy/ destroy "; I'm a cool nig-er" from a cool cool town"). Those sentiments could have been real or were merely recitations from rote memory. 

School children in the United States regardless of race/ethnicity later adapted those Black power chants and rhymes  in cheers that expressed pride in their school's athletic teams and expressed their opposition toward their teams' competitors.

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A COMPILATION OF CHILDREN'S EXAMPLES OF "AH BEEP BEEP UNGAWA BLACK POWER" RHYMES, CHANTS, & CHEERS AND SIMILAR EXAMPLES 

These examples aren't  given in chronological order. Numbers are given for referencing purposes only.

WARNING -Some of these examples include the pejorative referent that is sometimes given as "the n word". In those examples I've used the spelling "ni--er".
 

1. "Ah Beep Beep
Walkin down the street
Ugawa. Ugawa
That means Black power.
White boy.
Destroy.
I said it. I meant it
And I'm here to represent it.
Soul sister number 9
Sock it to me one more time.
Uh hun! Uh Hun!"
-Tracey S.,(African American female}; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; childhood remembrance,1968); collected by Azizi Powell, 2000

**
2."I'll be I'll be
Walking down the street,
Ten times a week.
Un-gah-wah, un-gah-wah (baby)
This is my power.
What is the story?
What is the strike?
I said it, I meant it,
I really represent it.
Take a cool, cool Black to knock me down.
Take a cool, cool Black to knock me down.
I'm sweet, I'm kind.
I'm soul sister number nine.
Don't like my apples,
Don't shake my tree.
I'm a Castle Square Black.
Don't miss with me."
-John Langstaff and Carol Langstaff, editors: Shimmy Shimmy Coke -Ca-Pop!: A Collection Of City Children's Street Games And Rhymes (New York, Doubleday & Company, 1973, p. 57)
-snip-
"Take a cool, cool Black" means "a cool Black (person).

My guess is that the term "Castle Square Black" refers to a Black person who lives in a particular neighborhood or a particular housing development named "Castle Square". By "housing development" I mean low income, usually government subsidized housing units that are people throughout the United States who live in those homes* and other people informally have called "the projects". (*I lived in the projects in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the 1950s.) 

Read my comments about the lines "Don't like my apples, don't shake my tree" in the comment section of this post.
-snip-
Notice the very close similarity with the beginning of this rhyme and the rhyme that was featured in the 1988 movie Big:
"Young Josh, Billy: The space goes down, down baby, down, down the roller coaster. Sweet, sweet baby, sweet, sweet, don't let me go. Shimmy, shimmy, cocoa pop. Shimmy, shimmy, rock. Shimmy, shimmy, cocoa pop. Shimmy, shimmy, rock. I met a girlfriend - a triscuit. She said, a triscuit - a biscuit. Ice cream, soda pop, vanilla on the top. Ooh, Shelly's out, walking down the street, ten times a week. I read it. I said it. I stole my momma's credit. I'm cool. I'm hot. Sock me in the stomach three more times." https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094737/characters/nm0608378 Big, 1988

**

3. "The topical nature of street poetry is shown. by how this one has swept the country via the childrents grapevine.

Ungawa black power
what you gonna do
box the boogaloo
what you think is best
hit them in the chest
I said beep bee,bang bang
Ungawa black power.
-Art Berger, "Poet in the Schoolhouse (Evoking Creative Energy in Language),  Speech given at the Annual Convention of the National Council of Teachers, 1970, 
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED051235.pdf

 
**
4. "Down Down Baby,
Down By the Rollercoaster,
Sweet sweet Baby,
I'll never let you go,
Shimmy Shimmy Coco Pop,
Shimmy Shimmy Rock,
I met a girlfriend,
A triscit,
She said a Triscit a Biscit,
Ice Cream,
Soda pop,
Vanilla on the top,
OOOH Johny, 
Walkin down the street,
Ten Times a week,
I met [meant]it I said it
I stole my momma credit,
I'm cool,
I'm Hot,
Sock me in the stomach one more time..."
- Ashley, August 10, 2003, Octoblog Schoolyard Rhymes, [forum no longer active]; reposted by  Azizi, 02 Jan 06, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=6600  "Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko-Bop (Little Anthony)" (hereafter given as "Shimmy Shimmy: Mudcat")
-snip-
Here's part of the comment that I wrote after that example:
"IMO, the "Oooh Johnny" line in the above rhyme is folk etymology for the word "Ungawa" {a word that was used in the 1970s,1980s to approximate African talk}."...

**
5. "Ah beep beep, walking down the street
10 times a week
Ungawa, black power, Puerto Rican power
I said it, I meant it and now I represent it"
-Yasmin Hernandez, East Harlem, New York (private email to Azizi for cocojams.com, 2004)

**
6. "Ungawa

Like the other guy said, it seems to originate in Tarzan movies but it was co-opted by Black teens in Oakland during the 70s (I'm okay about being corrected here - earlier?) as a slang power-grunt.

I'd love to see someone provide additional words to my example. It's been a LONG time...

Foot-stomping chant (by late 70s it was used by cheerleaders and double-dutch):

Ungh, ungawa
Momma's got the powa
I said it, I meant it
I'm here to represent it
My back is achin', My belt's too tight
My hips are shakin' from left to right..."
by Suzy from Oakland June 3, 2008, https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Ungawa

**

7. 
"ahh beep beep walkin down the street
10 times a week...
ungawa, ungawa this is black power
destroy white boy
i said it
i meant it
i really represent it 
i'm a soul soul sista from a soul soul town
aint too many sista gonna keep me down.
if you don't like my apples
don't shake my tree
cuz i'm a soul soul sista named... Ja-nie

LOL"
-Janie, 23 Feb 09, "Shimmy Shimmy: Mudcat"
-snip-
"LOL" is Janie's comment and not a part of that rhyme.

In her first post to that discussion thread on that same date in which she tried to remember that rhyme, Janie wrote "funny thing is ...I'm not black. LOL".

**
8. "Well, the way we used to sing it in the '70s in Queens, NY goes:

Ahh, beep beep, walkin down the street, 10 times a week.
Ungawa,ungawa, black power, black power. I said it, I meant it, I really represent it.
I'm a cool cool ni--er from a cool cool town, it takes 5 white ni--ers to knock me down."
-GUEST,Marvo!!, 30 Apr 09 , "Shimmy Shimmy: Mudcat"

**
9. "Ahh, beep beep, Ahh, beep beep, walkin down the street, 10 times a week. Ungawa, black power destroy white boy
I'm a cool cool ni--er from a cool cool town, it takes 5 white ni--ers to knock me down.
I said it I meant it I really represent it I'm soul brouther number 5 , sock it to me one more time"
-GUEST,guest,  22 Oct 09, "Shimmy Shimmy: Mudcat"
-snip-
GUEST, guest might be the same commenter as GUEST, Marvo.

**
10. "I was remembering this today and did a google search. Had no idea where it came from. When I was a little kid, a little white kid mind you, I didn't have alot of friends but the black kids loved my mom who was a Teacher's Assistant at my elementary school so we looked out for each other. This must have been in the very early 70's. They might have thought it was hilarious seeing me marching around the block saying this stuff but it was all good.

"Ooh! Ungawa! We got the power! To destroy! White boy! I said it! I meant it! I'm here to represent it! 'Cause I'm a cool, cool, ni--er from a cool, cool, town and it takes a cool ni--er to knock me down! So don't you take my apple, don't you touch my teeth, 'cause I can kick your old tail any day of the week!"

At least that's how I remember it from a very, very, long time ago. Some of the lines don't make much sense to me so they might have been how adults changed some lines for the kids or just that my memory's wonky now."
-GUEST, guest, 27,Jan 10,  "Shimmy Shimmy: Mudcat"

**
11."In Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City, NY at PS 33 in 5th grade in the early 70 ties - where the blacks hated the Puerto Ricans and every one hated the whites ...

Ah beep beep
ah beep beep
10 times a week
10 times a week
Ungawa Black Power
Destroy white Boy
I said it, I meant it
I even represent it
I'm soul brother number 9
sock it to me one more time

Than was so many years ago)"
-GUEST, 06 Feb. 10, "Shimmy Shimmy: Mudcat"

**
12. "OMG, found your site by a search for a chant we did at high school games: the "ungawa" one. It made me laugh, because I realize how much more our parents could have been shocked than they were at the first winning football game our school had in a decade.

When I was in high school, our football team had not won for years--against anybody. When I was a junior, it looked pretty god for us to win that season's first game of the season.

BGHS at that time was about half-half hispanic and poor whites. "Racial diversity" was a struggling concept in many places, even in California, back then. It was really having a struggle in Bell Gardens. The Watts Riots was only a few years behind us and was still only about a 9-mile drive from BG. I remember seeing the smoke at night and the glow of the flames on the horizon.

I think our parents, especially, needed a sensitivity training and about two decades to make them more acceptable to racial diversity.

The majority of the folks who attended the football games were white.

An unfortunate cosmic connection occurred when our cheerleading squad attended a cheerleading camp over the summer, and returned to preview their new chants at the football game we were actually, finally, going to win.

To understand how big this game was, the LATimes had a reporter there for a few days before the game, and published, as their dominant story, The Game, with background about BGHS and the community.

On the night of the game, the stands were packed.

Our (white) cheerleaders came out and, the first chant they did was:

"ungawa, ungawa, yeah we got the powah!" but we didn't get into the full verses, but just chanted that over and over. The students in the stands ROCKED that chant! We stood up and SCREAMED it!

They did the "Ah-beep-beep!" chant after that, and the students enthusiastically joined in.

Well, to say that our parents pitched a bloody fit to the principle the next Monday, about sitting in the stands, being surrounded by their children screaming "UNGWA! UNGAWA! YEAH WE GOT THE POWAH!," is an understatement. It represented every one of their fears about the safety of ourselves, them, the country, and what the future held for all of us.

I'm just glad the cheerleaders didn't bring back the full version of Ungawa-Ugawa."
-GUEST,Bell Gardens High School Alumnus, 06 May 11, "Shimmy Shimmy: Mudcat"

**
13. "Here is the version from Brooklyn, New York in the early 70's...the Brownsville version:

 
Ahh, Beep Beep!
Walking down the street
Ten times a week
Ungawa!
Black Power!
Destroy!
White Boy!
I said it, I meant it
I'm here to represent it
I'm cool, I'm calm
I'm Soul Sister Number Nine
Sock it to me one more time!
Uh-Uh! Good God!

Now someone here mixed this up with another soul sister/brother rhyme that goes as follows:

I'm a bad soul sister from a bad soul town
It takes 48 whites just to knock me down
Don't you pick no apples from my apple tree!
I'm a bad soul sister, don't you mess with me!

We had so many rhymes like this. Some were very graphic!"
-GUEST, 12 May 11,  "Shimmy Shimmy: Mudcat"

**
14.   
"in the late 60's and 70's, as a child i remember some of these lyrics from songs sang on the playgrounds, children's shelter and camp. here are the lyrics i remember [though this may be a mixture of several songs] . . .

ungawa black power this is my tower
destroy white boy
i said it, i meant it, i even represent it
i'm a cool cool ni--er from a cool cool town
it takes another cool ni--er to knock me down
shimmy shimmy coco puff
shimmy shimmy pow
shimmy shimmy coco puff
shimmy shimmy pow
grandma moses sick in bed
she called the doctor and the doctor said
grandma moses you ain't sick
all you need is a peppermint stick

:-) "
-GUEST,nyc & queens ny, 11Aug 13, "Shimmy Shimmy: Mudcat"

**
15. "My good friend Cindy used to sing this version all the time around 1972. May she rest in peace, gone too soon. This verse allowed me to never forget her, here's to you Cindy Lee...

Beep Beep,
Walking down the street,
Ten times a week,
Ungawa!
Girl power!
Destroy!
All boys!
I mean it, I said it,
I'm here to represent it!
Im cool, I'm calm,
Im soul sister number 9,
Sock it to me one more time!"
-GUEST,P & C, 02 June 18 ,  "Shimmy Shimmy: Mudcat"

**
16. "Being raised in Brooklyn, in the 60's and 70's, we sang that street song(Cadence) like this..., *Forgive the profanity, we were kids following others...

Ahhh beep-beep, walking down the street. Ten times a week. Ungawa, Black Power, destroy White boy.

I said it, I meant it, I'm here to represent it. I'm a cool-cool 'nicca' from a cool-cool Town. It takes a cool-cool 'nicca' to knock me down. You don't like my apples, don't shake my tree but listen mofo, don't mess with me... I'm cool, I'm calm, I'm soul sister #9, sock it to me, one mo' time. Soul sister #10, I'll say it to you, one mo' 'gin...

There were even more lyrics, we'd add on, depending on who was singing along."
-GUEST, 22 Dec. 20, "Shimmy Shimmy: Mudcat"

**
17. "Shortly after my move to NYC (at the start of '81) I was introduced to a ditty of which I now remember only the beginning:

Ungawa! Black powah!
White boy: destroy!
I said it, I meant it,
I'm here to represent it...

(If only I could remember the rest, I could bask in my lost hipness...)
-language hat, July 21, 2004, https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/wordoriginsorg/umgawa-t8045.html Wordorigins Archive 15 (07-10/04)

**
18. "A variation of lh's rhyme, from 1976:

Unnh, Ungawa! Soul powah!
Whuh choo gonna do?
Cut the boogaloo!
C stands for cut, B stands for boogaloo --
The mighty, mighty Tigers gonna sock it to you!
Cause when you're up, you're up,
An' when you're down, you're down,
But when you're up against the Tigers,
You're UPside DOWN!

 

CocoaHigh"
-aldiboronti, Jul 21, 2004, https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/wordoriginsorg/umgawa-t8045.html Wordorigins Archive 15 (07-10/04)
-snip-
The words "CocoaHigh" were underlined like a hyperlink in that original post. However, that link is no longer active.

**
19. "No comments? That's just weird because This is a great article. Folks chanted it at my high school in '67 and '68 often at basketball games. 'Hut Ungawa Shortridge got the (black) Power!

In Indianapolis."
-Jonathan Hawkins, September 22, 2016, https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-real-origins-of-word-ungawa-various.html [hereafter given as "pancocojams: ungawa origins comment") 

**
20. "This IS a great article and I couldn't stop reading it. I remember "Hut, Ungawa, Shortridge got the Power" at basketball games against Lawrence Central. Thanks for the memory jog."
-Unknown, February 18, 2017, pancocojams: ungawa origins comment

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21. "Recollecting a chant from my southern Louisiana private high school in the early '70s led me to your excellent article:

"Bang, bang! Ungawa! 'Saders got the power!"

I had a black classmate; he may have been the only black student at that time.
-Anonymous, March 21, 2018, pancocojams: ungawa origins comment

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22 ".I was searching for this chant, because I vaguely remember doing at chant at a (mostly white) northern Wisconsin Lutheran Bible camp called Lake Wapogasset in the late 80's early 90's. My head hurts, my back's too tight, my body moves from left to right, Ooh Umgawa, Jesus' got the power. How interesting no one ever really explained Umgawa/Ungawa - if my memory is correct!"
-Anonymous, July 22, 2019, pancocojams: ungawa origins comment

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23. "My father, a sociology professor at an HBCU from the late 60s to the mid 70s, always uses ungawa to mean right on or power to the people. But growing up, I'd never heard anyone else using it. Then one night in high school in the mid-80s, I was watching a documentary film on local tv (in DC, so it was probably Howard's station WHUT) about the Civil Right movement, and they were describing the Miss Howard Pageant when the woman who won had a natural/afro for the first time and not processed hair. One of the voices described that the audience started shouting out, "Ungawa! Black Power!" I sat bolt upright because it was the first time I'd heard anyone besides my father use the term. I have no idea what documentary it was (Maybe it was Parting the Waters? I don't know)."
-toubab, Sept. 23, 2019, pancocojams: ungawa origins comment

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24. "We used to cheer a similar chant at football games in 1972 In Marcus Hook PA

Ah we meet walkin down the street
Ten times a week
Ungawa black power
The story white boy,
I said it, I meant it, I really represent it.
Soul sister 69
Sock it to me one more time. Whoo!
-Unknown, June 28, 2020, pancocojams: ungawa origins comment

25. "A white friend from college wrote that when her power came back on she chanted "ungawa, ungawa, ___'s got the power" saying she remembered this as a high school chant of mine. Actually, it was a street chant we did as kids in the hood in NYC around 1968. Was really interesting to read hear about it, and want to add our verion. We either started with:

ah, beep beep
walkin' down the street
10 times a week
with your funky feet

OR we started with:

my dress too long, my belt's too tight
my booty shakes from left to right

either version ended with:

ungawa, black power
destroy, white boy
i said it, i meant it
i'm here to represent it
i'm soul sister number 9
sock it to me one more time

Someone elsewhere in this thread had said they never heard of these chants associated with double dutch, but in our neighborhood it was indeed often chanted during double dutch - or just marching down the street, snapping our fingers and with hand gestures to demonstrate the long dress then hands up to the 'tight belt' then swaying our bottoms back and forth rhythmically to demonstrate the 'booty shaking from left to right'. Tremendous fun, also a sense of solidarity and new sense of pride to be able to chant in unison "black power" but to those of us who were very young, part of the fun and games and thrill of being included with the group of older kids chanting with us."
-Unknown, August 10, 2020, pancocojams: ungawa origins comment

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26. My middle school name was Bunch Braves and we used to chant it "Hey chief Ungawa Braves have the power"
-Anonymous, Nov. 8, 2022, pancocojams: ungawa origins comment

**
27.  "One Ungawa

Two Ungawa
Give me some of that peace and power .
Uun ungawa
[clap clap]
That peace and power.
Uun ungawa
[clap clap]
That peace and power." 
-CHS Cheer, Aug 5, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNrs_yIKtws "One Ungawa"

**
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

"Male Cheerleaders at WSSU, A Historically Black University (videos and comments)

Artistry Photography, Nov 12, 2013

check out the WSSU's school song and football victory celebration over FSU

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Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest update - December 19, 2024

This pancocojams post showcases ten YouTube videos of Winston Salem State University (WSSU) cheerleaders. These videos focus on the male cheerleaders in those squads and document some of the moves that have been performed or are now performed by those male cheerleaders. 

This post also presents comments about WSSU's male cheerleaders that are included in the discussion threads for four of these showcased videos.

The content of this post is presented for historical and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks, in particular, to all past and present WSSU male cheerleaders. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of these videos on YouTube.
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/02/african-american-male-stomp-shake.html for a closely related 2014 pancocojams post entitled "African American Male Stomp & Shake Cheerleaders (videos)". That post is given without any discussion thread comments.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
The purpose of this post is to provide some documentation of ways that male stomp and shake cheerleaders perform.

I would have liked to have added descriptions in this post of the types of cheer moves these male cheerleaders perform/ed. However, I'm not qualified to do so since I've never been a cheerleader and I have never even seen stomp and shake cheerleading in person.

I also would have liked to have included more comments about whether people think it's appropriate for male cheerleaders to shake their hips. (For instance, it appears that the male cheerleaders don't do the fast double shake that the female cheerleaders do, but it appears to be alright for males to perform pelvic thrusts as part of the cheerleading routine.) If you have any opinions about this subject, please share them in the comment section below.

Thanks!

**** 

DISCLAIMER:

This pancocojams post doesn't purport to document all of the WSSU cheerleader squads that have or have had male cheerleaders and all of the moves that males in those squads perform/ed.

This post also doesn't purport to represent all male stomp and shake cheerleaders who have been a member of or are now a member of stomp and shake cheerleader squads from elementary school through university levels. 

****
SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD FOR SHOWCASE VIDEO #1

Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4xWJgbBWUc

1. @dstgirl9of9,2013
"I LOVE me some WSSU Cheerleaders!!  Graduated from SU in 88.  However I don't like it when the male cheerleaders are doing the SAME moves as the girls!  Although, they didn't do the EXACT same moves, they did however do a little too much shaking! Just a few years ago (when the light skinned guy cheered) he didn't do all of those moves! When did they start moving like that?  Anyway, there are a LOT of guys cheering on this squad, can't wait to see what they do at CIAA!"

**

2. @TheDizfunkshunal1,2013
"I have to agree with dstgirl9of9. Guys man up your routine a little. The stripper walk could have been the lean back for you. Remember you are the muscle. At any rate I enjpyed your performance. BEHOLD THE GREEN AND GOLD!"

**
3. @OneVoice412,2014
"“I guess they started doing it when guys standing there became boring. as a male cheerleader we are always limited to what we can do. although we don't shake, it doesn't mean we can't do other things to look as a squad. I'd never want to see male cheerleaders shake. however I do love that the WSSU guys move just a bit more than what they used to. it's all a form a dance.”

**
4. @crazysexycool180,2014
"“OneVoice412 check out the 2014 WSSU cheerleading videos, the Males did a great job this year."

**
5. @OneVoice412,2014
"“Artistry Photography oh I know they did. I was very please at what they did. from one male cheerleader to another. I am proud that they didn't shake, but they did just enough and kept it masculine at the same time. How it should be done.”

**
6. @Renono139, 2015
"See that's where everyone messes up when they try to critique this squad. What makes SU so different from EVERYONE else is that they stick to THEIR TRADITION. I think the guys add another element to this AWESOME team. I'd rather see them move or shake a little than just stand there while the girls dance, like most squads. Anyway. To each it's own I guess."

**
7. @overlypleasant4209,2019
"I'mma male cheer leader so lemme say this... If I want to do a lil shimmy I'mma do it like damn lemme enjoy what I do and have fun with it. Acting like they up there twerking it down. They got rhythm and they using it GOD BLESS Y'ALL HAVE A BLESSED DAY"

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2:  WSSU Cheerleaders at the 2014 CIAA Cheer Exhibition

IiAmKevinTerrell03, Mar 3, 2014
-snip-
Here are some comments from this video's discussion thread, with numbers added for referencing purposes only

1. @dstgirl9of9,2014
"I can't get enough of this video!!  Big boy (sorry I don't know his name) did his thang in the back!!"

**
2, @tasiaitgirltate4656, 2014
"His name is louis. I love him! i just found out he's a senior, so it's his last exhibition :( Great Job Cheer phi though !! love my HBCU"

**
3. @dstgirl9of9, 2014
"Well his Senior Year ended with a big BANG!!!  Good for him!!! "

**
4. @ejones440, 2014
"dst9of9

WSSU Cheerleaders did a fantastic job.  Yes! Louis did a great job. Keep up to great work! 

****

SHOWCASE VIDEO #3: 2015 WSSU Cheerleaders, Hey Everybody

Artistry Photography, Oct 23, 2015

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #4:  WSSU Cheerleaders CIAA Performance 2016

 

dizznikkak09,Mar 8, 2016

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #5: 2017 WSSU Cheerleaders Homecoming, Get Up

Artistry Photography, Oct 29, 2017
-snip-
Here are some comments from this video's discussion thread, with numbers added for referencing purposes only

1. @blkmaverick03, 2017
"Oh snap! I recognize that guy as the one that was on Harding's team when they were battling POB. Nice to see he made a college team."
-snip-
This comment refers to two high schools in Charlolle, North Carolina: Harding University High School and Phillip O. Berry (POB) High School. There are a number of popular YouTube videos of cheer battles between those two high schools, including some videos from 2023.  

**

Reply
2. @nwahsekdrof8732
"A W I said the Same he is really good"

**
Reply
3. @jasminesmith3017,2017
"A W i seen those facial ecpressions , and said yep thats him !!" 

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #6: WSSU Powerhouse Cheerleaders: 2018 Football Highlights



HBCUGameday, Mar 29, 2019

Highlights from Winston-Salem State University's Power House of Red and White Cheerleaders from the 2018 Football Season.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #7: 2019 WSSU Rams Cheerleaders, Lights Out



Artistry Photography, Sep 18, 2019

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #8: 2021 WSSU Homecoming Cheerleaders, Get Yourself Together

Artistry Photography, Oct 29, 2021

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #9: WSSU Powerhouse victory circle after first win of 2022

HBCUGameday, Oct 16, 2022

Winston-Salem State University cheer squad the Powerhouse of Red and White met at the logo for one of the best traditions in HBCU football.... the Powerhouse victory circle.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #10: 4th Quarter Vlog

WSSU Powerhouse Of Red And White, Premiered May 5, 2023
-snip-
Here's one comment from this video's discussion thread: 

@mrpat7569,2023
"dude has a good cheer voice 2:32"
-sni-
Notice that one female cheerleader and one male cheerleader wear glasses during this cheer performance. Based on the YouTube videos that I've watch, wearing glasses while cheering appears to be very rarely done in any stomp and cheer (or mainstream cheerleading) performance from elementary school level through university level.

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ADDED VIDEO - Winston-Salem State University Powerhouse of Red and White Cheerleaders 

Hbcugrad, Dec 11, 2023

Comments: (numbers added for referencing purposes only.)
1. @nonswirlzone, 2024
"Why those dudes in the video, messing it up?"

**
2. @Sunbloom289, 2024
"This is nothing new.

Male cheerleaders go back many and I mean many  decades."

**
3. Reply
@troystrong8041, 2024
"They were just more “manly” and not shaking as much as the ladies back in the day️"

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

"Down Down Baby" ("Shimmy Shimmy Co Co Pop") Rhymes with chronological information from 1973 to 2023

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision- May 1, 2025

This pancocojams post documents a few examples of "Down Down Baby" (also called "Shimmy Shimmy Co Co Pop" and similar names) that I have come across from 1973 to 2023.  Each of the examples in this particular pancocojams compilation include the lines "Down down baby/ Down by the rollercoaster". 

These examples are given with chronological information about the date that the contributor remembered chanting them, the date that the example was collected by me or by someone else, or the date that that  example was published online or in a book..

The content of this post is presented for folkloric and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those whose examples of this rhyme are featured in this post.

****
This pancocojams post doesn't include examples of "Down Down Baby I Can Do Karate" which is a contemporary spin off of "Down Down Baby" recreational rhymes.  Examples of those rhymes  that are also known as "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and "Shimmy Shimmy China" can be found in the cocojams2 blog and in some other posts on this pancocojams blog.

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INFORMATION ABOUT LITTLE ANTHONY & THE IMPERIALS'S HIT R&B RECORD "SHIMMY SHIMMY KO KOP BOP" [first released 1959]
from https://www.songfacts.com/facts/little-anthony-the-imperials/shimmy-shimmy-ko-ko-bop [retrieved December 10, 2023]
“This seemingly innocuous song became one of the first great earworms, with the chorus of "Shimmy, shimmy, ko-ko-bop, shimmy, shimmy, bop" burrowing into our brains and refusing to let go.

Like many hits of this era aimed at teenagers, it's about a dance: the "ko-ko-bop." The third verse contains specific instructions:

Left foot forward, right one back
Bring them side by side
Syncopate your last two steps
Now you're gonna glide

The song is about a guy who is entranced by a "native" girl who shows him the dance.

This is based on a song called "(Shimmy Shimmy) Ko Ko Wop," which was released by a Pittsburgh group called the El Capris in 1956. That song was written by group members James Scott, James Ward and Leon Gray; it takes place on an island and has a Polynesian rhythm.

The Little Anthony & the Imperials version is a not-so-subtle rewrite, with just a tweak to the title and a change of setting for the verses. This version is credited as written by Bob Smith.

Various "Shimmy" songs followed: in 1960 "(I Do The) Shimmy Shimmy" by Bobby Freeman went to #37 US; "Shimmy Like Kate" by The Olympics made #42 that same year; and in 1962 James Brown hit #61 with "Shout And Shimmy."

This was the first uptempo hit for Little Anthony & the Imperials, who were known for their ballads "Tears On My Pillow" and "So Much."

Little Anthony did not like this song, and would often disparage it on stage before performing it.”…
-snip-
Two meanings for the word "bop" are "a general term for dancing" and "a particular type of dance." The later definition is probably what that word was supposed to mean in Anthony & The Imperials' hit 1960 R&B song "Shimmy Shimmy Ko Ko Bop". However, the "Ko Ko Bop" didn't become a trend anywhere.

The word "wop" in the title "(Shimmy Shimmy) Ko Ko Wop," by the El Capris also means "dance" or a particular type of dance. As was the case with the "Co Co Bop" dance, the "Ko Ko Wop" also didn't become a dance trend anywhere.

The titles "Shimmy Shimmy Co Co Pop", "Shimmy Shimmy Cocoa Puffs" and others for  recreational rhymes that were created after Anthony & The Imperial's hit song "Shimmy Shimmy Ko Ko Bop" were probably the result of folk processing-when people mishear, misremember, or unknowingly replace an unfamiliar word with a familiar word. In this case "bop" (and "wop") replaced the much more familiar words "pop" or "puff".

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/06/a-timeline-of-sorts-with-information.html for the closely related pancocojams post entitled "A Partial Timeline For "Bop" As A Referent For Music (with information & comments)".

Also,click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/05/examples-of-wop-line-dances-and-da-wop.html for a closely related pancocojams post entitled "Time Line Of "Wop" Dances & Examples Of "The Wop" Line Dances."

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
Most of the rhyme examples in this pancocojams post include the words "a biscuit" (with the word "a" pronounced "ah"). "A biscuit" recreational rhymes are documented as being chanted in the 1960s as jump rope rhymes before any examples of "Down Down Baby" ("Shimmy Shimmy Co Co Pop") rhymes that I have come across.

Here's a portion of an editorial note that I wrote in that cocojams2 post about why so many African American children's recreational rhymes include the "a biscuit" refrain (since at least 1967) :

"It occurs to me that most of these "ah biscuit rhymes" are part of "I have a boyfriend" verses, although those verses are combined with other rhymes as occurs with most children's recreational rhymes. In the beginning of those verses, after stating that she "has a boyfriend", the chanter describes him as being "so sweet". As such, "sweetness" ties into the "a biscuit" refrain, since one way of eating biscuits was with jelly or jam on top. Furthermore, I believe that "a biscuit" is a shortened form of "as a biscuit" or "like a biscuit".
-snip-
Click http://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/11/a-biscuit-phrase-in-playground-rhymes.html "A Biscuit" Phrase In Playground Rhymes (Examples & What It Probably Means)"

and

http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/07/ronald-mcdonald-biscuit-other-childrens.html  "Ronald McDonald A Biscuit" & Other Children's Rhymes That Include The Word "Biscuit" (Information, Comments, & Examples)" for more examples of these rhymes. 

Links to some pancocojams posts that include examples of "Down Down Baby" (Shimmy Shimmy Co Co Pop" rhymes are found in this post or can be found by using this blog's internal search engine or by placing the words "down down baby pancocojams" in Google's search engine.

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SOME EXAMPLES OF THE RHYME "DOWN DOWN BABY(also known as "SHIMMY SHIMMY CO CO POP" and similar words)

Numbers are added to these examples for referencing purposes only. No titles are given for these examples. I've added my brief comments after a few examples in this compilation.

Example #1

Lyrics given in a musical sheet]

The Blacks go
Down down baby
Down by the roller coaster
Sweet, sweet baby
I don't want to let you go
Just because I kissed you once
Doesn't mean I love you so

[CHANTED]

Shimmy, shimmy, shimmy, shimmy
Shimmy Shimmy pop!
Shimmy, shimmy, shiimmy, shimmy
Shimmy,shimmy.coke-ca-pop!
-John Langstaff and Carol Langstaff's 1973 book Shimmy Shimmy Coke-Ca-Pop!: A  Collection Of City Children's Street Games And Rhymes (Garden City, New York, Doubleday & Co), page 78
-snip-
"The Blacks" is a (socially incorrect) way of saying "the Black people". Another (even more socially incorrect) way of saying that is "the spades".
  
Here's an editorial note that I've slightly revised from my note in the pancocojams post entitled "The REAL Meanings Of "The Spades Go" & "The Space Go" In Playground Rhymes" http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-real-meaning-of-spades-go-space-go.html
"I  believe that most children who chant rhymes that begin with the phrase "the spades go" didn't in the past and don't currently attribute any meaning whatsoever to those particular words. Instead, children say those words, if not the entire rhyme, by rote memory and focus more on the rhythm and the performance activity.

That said, it's my position that, early on, when a specific meaning was given to the introductory phrase the "spades go", that phrase meant "(This is the way) Black people say and do [perform] this rhyme. Unlike the idiom "calling a spade a spade" I believe that no pejorative connotations were/are inherently attributed to the words "the spades go" in children's rhymes.

Saying "the spades go" was a way of attributing the words of those rhymes or the way the rhymes were performed to Black people (or more specifically, to Black girls). That attribution lent authenticity to those rhymes and/or to their performance activities. That was because Black girls were (and still are) considered to be the arbiters of "the real way" that those songs or those hand clap rhymes were/are supposed to be sung, or chanted and performed.

This was/is partly because Black girls were/are considered to be the sources of many of these rhymes, or were/are considered to be the "coolest" or "hippest" examples of how those rhymes should be performed. This same dynamic can be found in the use of introductory phrases as "the Black people say" or "the Black people sing" in vaudeville songs. And this same dynamic can be found in past and current attitudes that mainstream American (i.e. White America) had/has about Black people being the "go to" population when it comes to learning how to do popular R&B/Hip Hop dances and talking "cool".

I further believe that the phrase "the spades go" predates the phrase "the space goes"., meaning that "the space goes" is a folk processed form of "the spades go". By "folk processed" I mean that "the space goes" was initially made up because "the spades go" was misheard or mis-remembered." However, in some cases such as in the American movie Big, the introductory words "the space go" may have been used instead of "the spades go" because of the history and potential volatility of the word "spades." 
-snip-
Read my similar comments in this post after the example from the movie Big [Example #6].

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Example #2

"Here's a pretty innocuous version. Clapping rhyme, Atlantic City NJ, late 70's:

Down Down Baby, down by the roller coaster
Sweet Sweet Baby, my heart's in love
Ooh, che-chihuahua
Biscuit
I solemnly love her
Biscuit
She is so sweet
Biscuit
Like a cherry treat
Biscuit
Touche Turtle, pull down your girdle
Biscuit
Ruth Archer, April, 10 2007, http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=100653&messages=29 "Down Down Baby-Race in Kid's Rhymes", 
-snip-
Ruth Archer was a member of Mudcat when I was active on that forum. However,  I didn't know her until she posted that example. I contacted her using that forum's internal private messaging system to share with her that I was also from Atlantic City, New Jersey.but I left that city to go to college in 1965. . I don't remember any "Down Down Baby" rhymes from my childhood or teenage years. However, I remember a version of the closely related rhyme "I Love Coffee, I Love Tea".  Verses from that family of rhymes are sometimes found in versions of "Down Down Baby" ("Shimmy Shimmy Co Co Pop").

From our brief email exchanges, I learned that "Ruth Archer" is a White American woman.

Ruth Archer shared that example in that particular Mudcat discussion to contrast it with the  other examples of that rhyme which were being shared that mention race.

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Example #3

Ooh shishy wah wah ta biscuit
I've got a boyfriend ta biscuit
He is the sweetest ta biscuit
Ice cream soda with a cherry on top
Ice ream soda with a cherry on bottom
Down down baby, down by the roller coaster
Sweet sweet baby I will never let you go
Just because I kissed you doesn't mean I love you
Ice cream soda with a cherry on top
Ice cream soda with a cherry on bottom
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_Down_Baby, Southern New Hampshire version (late 70's), quote retrieved November 2, 2014
-snip-
The current Wikipedia page for "Down Down Baby" doesn't include any examples. Another example of that rhyme that I retrieved on that date doesn't include any chronological information.

Another example that includes chronological information is given as Example #19 below.
Here's the link to that Wikipedia page as of June 25, 2023: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_Down_Baby  

****

Example #4

Sesame Street: Handclapping Chants

Sesame Street, March 27, 2009

-snip-
Here's a transcription of this early 1980s Sesame Street clip:

"Down, down baby, down down the roller coaster

Sweet Sweet baby ,I’ll never let you go.

Shimmy shimmy ko-ko pop
Shimmy shimmy pow[or bop!]
Shimmy Shimmy ko-ko pop
Shimmy shimmy pow!

Grandma, grandma sick in bed
Called the doctor and the doctor said

Let’s get the rhythm of the head, ding dong
We got the rhythm of the head, ding dong
Let’s get the rhythm of the hands (clap clap)
We got the rhythm of the hands [clap clap]
Let’s get the rhythm of the feet [stomp stomp]
We got the rhythm of the feet [stomp stomp]
Let’s get the rhythm of the hot-dog [gyration overlaps with “hot dog”]
We got the rhythm of the hot dog [gyration]

You put it all together and what do ya get:
Ding dong [clap clap], [stomp stomp], hot – dog [gyration]
You put it all backwards and what do you get:
Hot -dog [gyration],stomp stomp]. Clap clap],ding dong!
-snip-
These words are presented in sections from "A" to "E "(represented here by the spaces between the verses) by Kyra D. Gaunt in her book The Games Black Girls Play: Learning The Ropes From  Double--Dutch to Hip Hop  (New York, New York University Press, 2006), pages 94, 95

This video shows young African American girls performing a circle hand clap version of "Down Down Baby" ("Shimmy Shimmy Co Co Pa"). As this pancocojams post documents, these aren't the only words to that rhyme and the circle formation isn't the only way (or even the most common way among African Americans) that this rhyme was and is played.

****

Example #5

Down, down baby
Down, down the roller coaster
Sweet, sweet baby
I'll never let you go
Chimey chimey cocoa pop
Chimey, chimey pow
Chimey, chimey cocoa pop
Chimey, chimey pop
I like coffee, I like tea
I like a colored boy and he likes me
So lets here the rhythm of the hands, (clap, clap) 2x
Let hear the rhythm of the feet (stomp, stomp) 2x
Let's hear the rhythm of the head (ding dong) 2x
Let's hear the rhythm of the hot dog
Let's hear the rhythm of the hot dog
Put em all together and what do you get
(Clap clap, stomp stomp), ding dong, hot Dog!
-Yasmin Hernadez; 2004; memories of East Harlem in the 1980s; posted on cocojams.com 
-snip-
"Colored" is a referent for Black Americans which is no longer considered acceptable since at least the 1970s. In the United States the referent "Colored" is considered old fashioned and offensive.

"cocojams.com" is the name of my cultural website that was active from 2001 to 2014. Some content from that multi-page website can be found on pancocojams and on cocojams2.

****
Example #6

Tom Hanks Big rap Shimmy Shimmy Cocoa Pop

inspecda, Feb 3, 2011
-snip-
Here is a transcription of this clip from the 1988 American movie Big: 

"The space goes...

down down baby, down down the roller coaster.
Sweet sweet baby, sweet sweet don't let me go.
shimmy shimmy coco pop, shimmy shimmy rock,
shimmy shimmy coco pop, shimmy shimmy rock
I met a girlfriend- a triscuit,
she said a triscuit-a biscuit,
ice cream soda pop
vanilla on the top
oooo Shalida, walking down the street,
ten times a week
I meant it. I said it.
I stole my mama's credit.
I'm cool. I'm hot.
Sock you in the stomach three more times.
- from http://www.ice-cream-freaks.com/ice-cream-song-big.html [retrieved June 23, 2023]
-snip-
There's been considerable debate about whether the Tom Hanks character in the movie Big says "the space goes" or "the spades go". Examples of both versions can be found online. There's also multiple "transcriptions" of the movie Big's version of that rhyme that given the line "Oh Shelly, walking down the street" instead of "Oooh Shalida walking down the street."

My position is that the movie Big's version of "Shimmy Shimmy Co Co Pa" ("Down Down Baby") is a folk processed form of one or more already existing version/s of that rhyme that the writers of that movie had come across. 

My belief about whether that character says "the space goes" ."the spades go" or "the Space Ghost" in that movie have changed over time (I was in "the spades go " team for a long time. That was largely because of what I thought I heard and also because of my awareness of other American children's recreational rhymes that begin with "the spades go", and particularly my awareness of the 1973 example of "Shimmy Shimmy Co Co Pa" that begins with "The Blacks go". However, recently I finally was won over to "the space goes" team because I re-listened to that movie clip over and over and over again and was finally convinced that that was what was being said. I never was in the Space Ghost" team. 

Read my comment in http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-real-meaning-of-spades-go-space-go.html about the meaning of the spades in American children's recreational rhymes.

****
Example #7

A Version of Down Down Baby in virginia in the 90's

Down down baby, down by the rollercoaster
Sweet sweet baby, mama never let you go
Shimmy shimmy coca pop, shimmy shimmy pow!

I like coffee, I like tea,
I like a color boy and he likes me
So step back white boy, you don't shine
I'll get the color boy to beat yo' behind

Let get the rhythm of the hands (clap, clap)
We've got the rhythm of the hands (clap, clap)

Let's get the rhythm of the feet (stomp,stomp)
We've got the rhythm of the feet (stomp, stomp

Lets get the rhythm of the head DING-DONG

(move head side to side)

We've got the rhythm of the head DING-DONG (move head side to side)

Let's get the rhythm of the HOT-DOG

(move body around)

We've got the of the HOT-DOG

(move body around)

Put all together and and what do you get....
clap, clap, stomp, stomp, ding-dong, hot-dog

Say them all backwards and what do you get....

hot-dog, ding-dong, stomp, stomp, clap, clap!
-GUEST,Down Down baby, 30May 07,  https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=63097 , Folklore: Do kids still do clapping rhymes?

****
Example #8

Down Down Baby
Down by the Roller Coaster
Ah Biscuit
Shimmy Shimmy Coco Pah
Ah Biscuit
Um Shar Shara
Uh she she ahwa
Ah Biscuit
I had ah boyfriend*
Ah Biscuit
He’s so fine
Ah Biscuit
Like a cherry pie
AH Biscuit
Shimmy Shimmy Coco Pah
Um Shar Shara
Uh she she ahwa
I wanna tickle you.
-Diamond, Quala. Ashley, (African American females); Quinton, Javonte (African American males); Duquesne, Pennsylvania, 7/1999; Collected by Azizi Powell
-snip-
I collected this version from children who attended a summer camp in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, a city that is close to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I asked the group at that indoor camp to share some hand clap songs they knew. This is one of the examples that they shared. I guessed at the spelling for some of these words. *The boys chanted the word "girlfriend" while the girls chanted the word "boyfriend". 

These children were shy and didn't show me the hand clap routine that they usually did with this rhyme.  However, based on my direct observations of this rhyme, the usual way that I've seen it performed is with two people standing facing their partner; with three people in a triangle formation, or with four people (i.e. two sets of partners facing each other) in a square formation, or standing in a circle formation with more than four people.

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Example #9

Ronald Mcdonald
A biscuit
Ronald Mcdonald
A biscuit
Ah shimmy shimmy walla walla
Biscuit
I've got a boyfried a biscuit
He is as sweet as a biscuit
Ice cream soda with a cherry on the top
Ice cream soda with a cherry on the top
Down Down baby
Down down the rollercoaster
Sweet Sweet baby, I will never let you go
Shimmy Shimmy coco pop
Shimmy shimmy pow
Shimmy Shimmy coco pop
Shimmy shimmy POW!
-Pistachionut, April 23, 2008, http://www.dance.net/topic/7106059/1/General/Do-you-remember-those-old-rhymes-you-d-sing-as-a-kid.html " re: Do you remember those old rhymes you'd sing as a kid?", 

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Example #10

"I went to elementary school starting in 1980, in Bloomfield, Connecticut (adjacent to Hartford). The girls (including my sister) did clapping games on the bus everyday it seemed, and when they hung out in the street, etc. Demographic note: my family is White; Blacks (including many Jamaicans) are a majority in the town, and were most of our playmates.

The version to this one went:
"I like coffee, I like tea
I like a Black/White boy an' he likes me
So step back White/Black boy, you don't shine
I'll get a Black/White boy to beat your behind."

The girls would switch the race of the boy, depending on who was singing. Sometimes there'd be confusion if a White and a Black girl were playing together, and they'd sort of get jumbled up on that word and try to push their version. Sometimes they would agree on a skin tone based on a previous conversion about who the girl whose "turn" it was actually "likes." The reason why I remember distinctly that they did it both ways was that as a little kid I tried to imagine what "you don't shine" meant. I'd try to reason what skin tone "shined" more! Needless to say, I never figured it out!"
-Guest Gibs, 05 Mar 09,  http://awe.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=115045&messages=154&page=2 ,RE: Not Last Night But The Night Before-rhyme 
-snip-
Here's a portion of my March 5, 2009 response to Guest Gib (posted to that "Not Last Night But The Night Before-rhyme" thread)

..."Here's my take on that "you don't shine" phrase:

In this context, "shine" means to be as radiant as the sun or stars. Saying "you don't shine" to a boy means that you don't think that he is anything special (in looks, and/or in actions, or in his very being) as he or she thinks he is. Perhaps that use of "shine" comes from the outer (or inner glow) that people are said to have because of their auras or their spirit. Theoretically, the aura* of a good or great person shines brighter than that of a person who is evil or ordinary. And a charismatic person would be described as shining brightly."...

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Example #11

Blast From The Past :]

kaitlyn renee, May 3, 2009

I went downtown to see Charlie Brown
He gave me a nickle to buy a pickle
The pickle was sour so he gave me a flower
The flower was dead so this is what he said
Down Down Baby
Down Down The Roller Coaster
Sweet sweet baby sweet sweet I love you so
Shimmy Shimmy coco pop
Shimmy shimmy rah
Shimmy shimmy coco pop
shimmy shimmy rah
I had a boyfriend
a biscuit!
He's so cute...
a triscuit!
Apples on the table,
Peaches on the floor
Step out baby I dont love you anymore!
To the front
To the back
To the side side side
To the front
to the back
to the side side side
Abraham Lincoln sat on a bench
tried to make a dollor out of 50 cents
He missed
He missed
He missed like this !
- kaitlyn renee, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdl8NVSJ_Jo "Blast From The Past :]" , Uploaded on May 3, 2009

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Example #12

Downtown baby, downtown, the roller coaster
Sweet, sweet, baby. Sweet, sweet, don't let me go.
Shimmy, shimmy, coco-pah. Shimmy, shimmy, down.
Shimmy, shimmy coco-pah. Shimmy, shimmy, break it down!
Ohh, swish-sha-wa-wa, a biscuit. I found a lover, a biscuit.
She's so sweet, a biscuit. Like a soda sweet, a biscuit.
Ice cream soda pop, cherry on top, bop!
-  GUEST,Guest: Cherokee, 17 Dec 09 - 02:58 PM, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=6600 "Downtown Baby"
-snip-
Here's the comment that Guest Cherokee wrote before sharing that example:
"I'm only interested in the dowtown baby song. If they learned it at school then I think I know. I learned it at school, too. Mine might be a different verison, though. I learned it in primary school when I lived in South Carolina."
-snip-
After Guest Cherokee shared those words, she (he, they) wrote this:
"It looks a bit silly, but it's actually a really fun hand game. Of course it varies. Instead of "lover", you can say "nother". Like another? It was really fun when I was little and really popular. It doesn't make a lot of sense but... well it's just a game! Anyways, I always liked it, still do.""

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Example #13

"me and my friends do down down baby like this even when we are still 6 years old so it goes like this

down down baby
down down the rollacouster
sweet sweet baby
sweet sweet don't let me go
i have a boyfriend a BISQUIT
he so cute a BIQUIT
apples on the table petch in the frot 
step on baby i don't love you any more
to the front to the back
to the side to the side
to the front to the back
to the side to the side and . . . FREEZE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-TIFFINILE ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTFdsz8llOI, ;July 2010 [comment]
-snip-
This video and its comment thread aren't  available anymore.

"petch in the frot [floor]" = [probably] "peaches on the floor".

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Example #14

"I always heard it as...

Down, down baby down down the rollercoaster
Sweet sweet baby, mama never let you go,
shimmy shimmy cocoa puff
shimmy shimmy pow
shimmy shimmy cocoa puff
shimmy shimmy wow
i like coffee, i like tea,
i like a white boy and he likes me
so stand back black boy you don't shine,
i got a white boy to kick your behind,
kick it rough, kick it tough, kick it till you get enough

I am VERY saddened that we said this in elementary school."
-GUEST,guest, 12 Dec 10, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=100653&threadid=100653, Down Down Baby-Race in Children's Rhymes, 

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Example #15

" I used to do a chant/clap game similar to that with my friends in elementary school when I lived in Indiana, it went something like this:

Down, down baby, down by the rollercoaster

Sweet, sweet baby, too sweet, I'll let you go

Shimmy Shimmy coco pop

Shimmy shimmy down

Shimmy Shimmy coco pop

Break down, break down

Two Chinese, sitting on a bench,

Tryin' to make a dollar outta 15 cents

You miss, you miss, you miss like this

This is how me and my boy friend kiss

Like this

 

Looking back on it now, years later, it seems racist, but I didn't really think about it when I lived in an area that was virtually just Caucasian, even though I, myself, am hispanic.

-Guest ,Alexis, 22 Dec 10,  http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=100653&messages=24 ; Lyr Add: Down Down Baby-Race in Children's Rhymes
-snip-
There shouldn't be any doubt that versions of "Down Down Baby" (with their "sitttng on a bench -or fence- and trying to make a dollar out of __ cents) came from the racist Ching Chong rhymes. However, I believe that simply mentioning a race in a rhyme or elsewhere means that that rhyme has racial content, but that rhyme isn't automatically racist. That said, the "trying to make a dollar out of __ cents, can be interpreted to be mocking those persons' lack of understanding of United States money. Or it might be scornful of those persons' engaging in "hustling" and trying to get more for less.

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Example #16

"In PA we learned it as: down down baby, down by the rollercoaster, sweet sweet baby, i'll never let you go, jimmy jimmy coco puff, jimmy jimmy pow, jimmy jimmy coco puff,  jimmy jimmy coco pow, say it all together, just like a feather.. P. O. W. spells POW! (then we would pretend to hit each other) lol  That brought back memories!"
-Rae Rae, 2012, [comment], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76RQkTGU1cQ "Down Down Baby Hand Clap Australia" published by yummum1978, Jun 7, 2010
-snip-
The words and performance activity of this rhyme is the same as that given in the Sesame Street clip (Example #4)

That discussion thread is no longer available since 2019 when YouTube prohibited discussion threads for most of its children's videos and at the same time deleted most of the discussion threads that were found on YouTube. 

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Example #17

Down down baby
Down by the rollorcoaster
Sweet sweet baby
Mama never lets you go
Shimmy shimmy cocoa puffs
Shimmy shimmy wow
Shimmy shimmy cocoa puffs
Shimmy shimmy break it down
I have a boyfriend
A biscuit
He is as sweet as
a biscuit
Down down baby
Down by the rollorcoaster
Sweet sweet baby
Mama never lets you go
-GUEST, 02 Oct 13,  https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=100653 "Down Down Baby-Race in Children's Rhymes"

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Example #18

Down down baby down by the roller coaster
sweet sweet baby mama never let you go
if you wanna kiss me just say you love me

Shimmy shimmy coco pop shimmy shimmy pow
shimmy shimmy coco pop shimmy shimmy pow

I like a black boy and he likes me
so step back white boy I ain't shy
I bet you 5 dollars i'll beat yo behind

Last night and the night before
I met my boyfriend at the candy store
he brought me ice cream he brought me cake
he brought me home with a belly ache

I said momma momma i'm so sick
call the doctor quick quick quick!
I said doctor doctor shall i die
he said close your eyes and count to 5

I said ah 1 ah 2 ah 3 ah 4 ah 5...
i'm alive on channel 5
scooby dooby doo on channel 2
big fat lady on channel 80
and all the rest on channel 8
-Guest, Meme, 03 July 14, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=100653 "Down Down Baby-Race in Children's Rhymes"

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Example #19

Ronald McDonald, a biscuit (accompanied by thumbs pointing back over the shoulders, first one, then the other)

Ronald McDonald, a biscuit

oh shu shu wa wa a biscuit

ive got a girlfriend a biscuit

shes so sweet a biscuit

sweeter than a cherry treat a biscuit

icecream soda with a cherry on top

icecream soda with a cherry on top

Down, down, baby

Down, down the roller coaster (accompanied by the hand making a horizontal wave motion)

Sweet, sweet, baby (accompanied by both arms crossing the chest)

I'll never let you go

Shimmy, Shimmy cocoa pop

Shimmy, Shimmy POW! (accompanied by punching the air with a fist just below chest-level)

Shimmy, Shimmy cocoa pop

Shimmy, Shimmy POW!
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_Down_Baby (Eastern Massachusetts Version),  retrieved November 2, 2014
-snip-
The current Wikipedia page for "Down Down Baby" doesn't include any examples. Another example of that rhyme that I retrieved on that date doesn't include any chronological information.

Here's the link to that Wikipedia page as of June 25, 2023: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_Down_Baby  

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Example #20

"this is how i learned mine:

down down baby, down by the roller coaster,sweet sweet baby,i dont want to let u go,gimme gimme coconut, gimme gimme round, gimme gimme coconut, gimme gimme round,breakdown,2 little kids sitting on the fence,trying to make a dollar out of 85 cents,she missed, she missed, she missed like this
-Raquel Grier, 2016, [comment], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76RQkTGU1cQ "Down Down Baby Hand Clap Australia" published by yummum1978, Jun 7, 2010

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Example #21

"The lyrics are down down baby down by the roloarcoast shimy shimy baby oh how I love you so shimy shimy cocoa puffs shimy shimy ride I like coffee I like tea I like like another boy he likes me now up and down and side to side p o p spells pop"
-I'm a emotional potato with feelings, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76RQkTGU1cQ "Down Down Baby Hand Clap Australia" published by yummum1978, Jun 7, 2010

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Example #22

.Down down baby
Down by the roller coaster
Sweet sweet baby
Momma never let you go
Shimmy shimmy cocoa pop
Shimmy shimmy wow
Shimmy shimmy cocoa pop
Shimmy shimmy break down
Two Chinese sittin on a fence
Tryin to make a dollar
Out of 45 cents
You miss, you miss You miss like this
This is how me and my boyfriend kiss
-GUEST, Indians Kid, 11 Feb 23, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=100653 "Down Down Baby-Race in Children's Rhymes"

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