More Examples Of Clean Versions of "We Are __Girls/We Wear Our Hair In Curls"

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest update- April 16, 2025

This pancocojams post presents some examples of clean* versions of the children's song "We Are The __ Girls/We Wear Our Hair In Curls" * from various online websites except Mudcat folk music forum. 

This post includes my guesses about the racial demographics of the contributors of these examples, based on online information and (in the case of one discussion thread, my direct knowledge about that Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania neighborhood.) 

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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*By "clean versions" of songs I mean those that don't include any sexually explicit or sexually suggestive content. Examples that include such content are referred to as "dirty" versions. 

WARNING - A lot of examples of "We  Are The __ Girls/We Wear Our Hair In Curls" are categorized as "dirty versions" of that song.
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*(__) = insert your neighborhood name, or the name of your city, school, or camp etc.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/examples-of-ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay.html for the 2017 pancocojams post entitled "Examples Of Children's Parodies Of Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay, Part I (Clean Versions)". That post presents some information about the 19th century song "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Aye" along with some examples of children's parodies of that song. That post also includes a link to Part II of that series. Part II includes excerpts of several online articles about the reasons why children chant anti-social and "rude" rhymes/songs. Part II also showcases selected examples of "sexualized" ("dirty") examples of "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" children's rhymes.

Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/04/examples-of-clean-versions-of-childrens.html for the April 14, 2025 pancocojams post entitled "Examples Of "Clean" Versions Of The Children's Rhyme "We Are The __ Girls/We Wear Our Hair In Curls" (Parodies Of The Song "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Aye")."

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
In previous pancocojams posts about "We Are __Girls/We Wear Our Hair In Curls" I referred to these examples as "rhymes" (girls' recreational rhymes.) However, in this post, I'm referring to these examples as "songs" because rhymes usually have some accompanying physical movement such as skipping rope, ball bouncing, or hand clapping and-it seems from the examples that I've gathered thus far-"We Are __Girls/We Wear Our Hair In Curls" are sung without any accompanying movements.    

These songs are parodies of the vaudeville and music hall song "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Aye" that was first performed in the United States in the 1880s. The earliest example of these children's parodies that I've come across is 1948. ( Example #20 in 
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/04/examples-of-clean-versions-of-childrens.htm  from GUEST (Michigan) "We Are The DeWitt Girls". However, it's likely that there are some examples that pre-date the late 1940s.

My guess is that dirty (nasty, rude) versions of "We Are The __ Girls/We Wear Our Hair In Curls" were composed after the clean versions of this song.

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The commenters who are quoted in this pancocojams post don't provide any information about what tune is used for their examples of "We Are The __ Girls/We Wear Our Hair In Curls". However, it's likely that the tune for these examples is the same tune as "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" since the words and structure of these examples are the same as other online examples of this song (such as those on Mudcat discussion thread which are presented in the pancocojams post whose link is given directly above).

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Children's rhymes, cheers, singing games, and children's songs are an exception to the focus of this pancocojams blog on African American cultures and other Black cultures throughout the world, While some Black children may sing/chant or have sung/chanted these rhymes or songs, one reason why they are showcased on pancocojams is because I like this category of folk culture. Read my longer statement about race and children's rhymes in the April 14, 2025 post on "We Are The __ Girls/We Wear Our Hair In Curls" whose link is given immediately above this section.

My guess is that all of the commenters who are quoted in this pancocojams post [as of April 16, 2025] are White. Read my notes about those comments. 

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EXAMPLES OF 'WE ARE THE __ GIRLS/ WE WEAR OUR HAIR IN CURLS" FROM VARIOUS ONLINE SOURCES (except Mudcat Discussion Forum) 
These examples are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.

Do you know clean version of this song?(clean= versions with no sexually explicit content or and no profanity. Please share that example in the discussion thread of this post. Remember to add demographic information such as where (city, state, country) and when (decade that you first learned that example). Thanks!   

WARNING- Example #1 of these songs includes mild profanity. That word is completely spelled out in that example

1. "Can anybody recognise this song? Lyrics below:

We are St Hilda's girls

We wear our hair in curls

We wear our dungarees

Way up above our knees

We are just larrikins

Who drink from pannikins

We are young savages

Just right for marriages

We are too old for toys

We are just right for boys

We haven't got a man

We just don't give a damn."
-St Hilda's Old Scholars Association,  March 31, 2017, https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=779672902197382
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A video of old White women singing this song is shown on this facebook page.
 
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2. [This entry includes several replies and are only selected comments from that discussion thread for St. Kieran Primary Catholic School in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.*  Other commenters wrote that they didn't know (or didn't remember) that song.]

a) "Does anyone remember the song we'd sing when skating, riding bikes, etc that went "We are St. Kieran's girls, We wear our hair in curls.

We wear our dungarees way up above our knees.

We are too old for toys but we're just right for  boys.   We are St. Kieran's girls, hip, hip hooray!"-Trying to think of where it might have started. 

(I was Kathy Hines back then, sisters Pat and Eileen and late brother Jack)
-Saint Kieran Lawrenceville 10th ward  · [Pittsburgh, PA], Kathy Gailey Rohs, July 13, 2024 https://www.facebook.com/groups/40485649426/posts/10161738073789427/ ·

*No racial demographics is given in this discussion thread. However, my guess is that all of these commenters are White (based on the history and present demographics of Lawrenceville where the population is now about 97%.White. I've lived in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Garfield (actually East Liberty/Garfield) that is adjacent to Lawrenceville for about 55 years.)

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Reply
b) Jack Toomey
"When I went there they didn’t sing the line about toys, instead they sang “We wear our sweaters tight, so boys can see our rights”. 1952"

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Reply
c) Mercedes Seddon
"Jack Toomey that’s how I remember it except it was “so boys can see them right” lol"

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Reply
d) Jack Toomey
"Mercedes Seddon you’re right, my memory must be going."

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Reply
e) Mercedes Seddon
"Uncle Jack you must have taught us cause I remember- we are the Lawrenceville girls we wear our hair in curls we wear our dungarees way up above our knees, we are the Lawrenceville girls… I can’t believe I remember that😂"

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Reply
f) Maureen O'Brien
"I remember it well!!!! My cousin (Carol Boll-6years older taught it to me!!!!!!!!) Love to all the Hines girls!!!!"

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Reply
g) Jack Toomey
"Maureen O'Brien Carol was in my class."

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h) Margie Cush Baker
"I remember the song, but no idea when it originated. SKS class of 1962."
-Kathy Gailey Rohs, July 13, 2024  

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3. [This example & example #4 are part of a longer discussion thread.  A number of the comments were written in reply to a man who said that this song was trivial.] 

"I get completely random songs stuck in my head all the time. Yesterday, my subconscious decided to serenade me –ad nauseum– with this gem from Girls’ Camp:

Mormon Boy [title]

I know a Mormon boy, he is my pride and joy,

He knows most everything from Alma on down (woo!)

Someday I’ll be his wife! We’ll have eternal life!

Oh how I love that Mormon boy!

M – O – R – E – M – E – N

More men! More men! Sing it again!

We are the Mormon girls, we wear our hair in curls,

We love to sing and dance and have lots of fun (woo!)

We are the biggest flirts! We don’t wear mini skirts!"

Oh, how I love my Mormon boy!"

-Laura, November 29, 2021. https://bycommonconsent.com/2021/11/29/mormon-boy/

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4. "Trivial? Never.

 Want another verse? (What’s that? I can’t hear you. I think you said “yes”.

This is how I learned it in YW:

 We are the Mormon girls,

We wear our hair in curls.

We wear our dungarees

Way down below our knees.

And when we want a man,

We don’t want any man.

We want the best we can,

We want a Mormon man!”
-Mortimer, December 1, 2021, 
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from Google AI= "In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the term "YW" stands for Young Women, which is a youth organization for girls aged 12 to 17"...
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"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" is the official name of the denomination that is commonly referred to as "Mormons".  According to https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2009/07/24/a-portrait-of-mormons-in-the-us/
"Nearly nine-in-ten Mormons in the U.S. (86%) are white, compared with 71% of the general population. Just 3% of Mormons are African-American and 7% are Latino."...
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That racial demographics was undoubtedly much higher when these two commenters were younger and sung this song since Mormons didn't allow Black people to be members of until 1978. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_people_and_Mormonism

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