Girl Scout Troop 7579, Nov 7, 2021
DOWN BY THE BANKS
Have the players make a circle and put their right hand on
top of the person to their right’s hand, and their left hand under the hand of
the person to the left. When ready - start singing this song, while one person
claps their right hand to the person on their left, and it is passed around the
circle. When the song ends, whoever receives the final clap is out, or if the
person takes her hand out and the person gets their own hand they are out.
Continue the game until only one person is left.
Song:
Down on the banks, Of the Hanky Panky,
Where the bull frogs jump, from bank to banky
with an: Eep!
Ipe! Oop! Op!
Eases off the lily with a Kerplop!
Optional second verse:
Pepsi cola, ginger ale,
Ginger ale, ginger ale, ginger ale, ginger ale.
Pepsi cola, ginger ale,
Seven up, seven up, seven up, you're out!
Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post focuses on play instructions for the English language recreational rhyme "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" that can be performed as a circle hand slapping game*.
These hand slapping games can be played with all players seated on the ground or with all players standing up.
This post demonstrates how there are a lot of different lyrics for hand clapping & hand slapping rhymes with the same or similar titles. None of these versions is more correct than another.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who shared these examples and play instructions online.
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*I refer to the circle game played while reciting a version of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" as a "hand slapping game". I use that term to differentiate these circle games from its partner hand clapping games in which players stand or sit facing each other. However, as shown below in this post, some people refer to both of these types of games as "hand clapping games".
Read a description of the play instructions for a similar circle hand slapping game "Stella Ella Ola" (also known as "Quack Diddley Oso" and other names) in the discussion thread of this pancocojams post.
-snip-
This is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on the recreational rhyme "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky".
There are LOTS of pancocojams posts about this rhyme.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/03/part-i-of-some-examples-of-down-by_22.html for the pancocojams post entitled "Part I of Some Examples Of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" Rhymes With Geographic Locations (A - J)"
and
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/03/part-ii-of-some-down-by-banks-of-hanky.html "Part II of Some "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" Rhymes" With Geographic Locations (K - Z)"
Also, click the tags below for additional pancocojams posts for history about and additional examples of the HUGE recreational rhyme family of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky".
Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/07/video-examples-of-hand-slapping-rhymes.html for this post that includes video examples of the very similar hand slapping games "Stella Ella Ola" and "Quack Diddley Oso."
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ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES FOR "DOWN BY THE BANKS OF THE HANKY PANKY" (AND SIMILAR TITLES)
These rhyme examples are given in alphabetical order based on the first letter of that rhymes' names. The examples of the same rhyme aren't given in no particular order.
Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.
DOWN BY THE BANKS OF THE HANKY PANKY (and similar titles)
1.This example is given at the top of this post.
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2. Down By The River With The Hanky Panky
Mayacuda, May 22, 2011
Ari & Classmates on the playground @ Baldwin Hills Gifted Magnet (Los Angeles, May 2011 (1st grade)
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3.
hanky panky from ActiveMusic.com
Active Music, Sep 18, 2012
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfsaHfIBxvQ
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4.
Example & Play instructions:
"You stand or sit in a circle with a few people and have your
right hand on top of the person next to you's left hand and the opposite for
the left hand. Then you all sing the song and one at a time clap your hand on
the person to your left's hand. Then they will pass it on to the next and so
on. Then when you get to the vowel part, you continue the same thing until
someone claps the other person on the word OUT. If the person pulls away before
they are clapped, they stay in the game but if the other person is too quick
for them and claps them, they are out of the game. The game continues like
that.
Well the version I know goes:
Down by the banks of the Hanky Panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
With an A, E, I, O, U (you), R (are), out!"
-GUEST, Stephanie, 16 December 08, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034&page=6&desc=yes,
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5.
Example & Play Instructions:
I'm from Alabama. We always said:
Down by the bank of the hanky pank
where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank
singing eeps ops ohps oops
one well in and went ker PLOP.
we also sit around in a circle, left hand under right and
slap each others' hands. On "plop" whoever got hit was out."
-GUEST, 12 October 08,
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6.
Example & Play Instructions:
"One of my 2nd graders taught a hand clapping game in our music class in Abilene, Texas 5-30-08.
Down by the bay, by the bay, the bay,
Where the bullfrogs jump from bay to bay,
Where the eeps, ahps, ohps, ahps
Bowl fulla jelly and a ker-plop.
The children stand in a cirle with hands extended palms up. The right hand is on top of the one to the right and the left in beneath the one to the left. The beat is passed around clockwise as the players slap their neighbor to the left. On 'plop' they must hit the neighbor's hand before it is pulled away. If you hit your own hand, you're out. If you hit the neighbor's hand, he is out. The last two standing lock fingers and "saw" to the beat and tug on plop like tug of war. The one who pulls someone over the line is the winner."
-GUEST,Guest, Walker, 03 Jun 08, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034&page=6&desc=yes,
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7. Down On The Banks Of The Hanky Panky
Steve Browning, Aug 12, 2019
Manitoba Musings--The 2019 Vradenburgh Reunion
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8.
Down By The Banks
Philip Florio, Feb 24, 2015
9. Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky
CJ (DL Tomboy), May 14, 2010
This was right after I lost...(oh darn it, I lost the game... :( :P ) & we were on a break at championships oh & no one really knows who won...either Shanen or Stephanie... & thanks to Kayla for singing for us ;D -CJ
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Here's information about the play instruction for a similar children's hand slapping game known as "Stella Ella Ola" (or "Quack Diddley Oso" and similar names):
ReplyDeleteFrom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stella_Ella_Ola
""Stella Ella Ola" (Stella Stella Ola), also known as "Quack Dilly Oso", is a clapping game where players stand or sit in a circle placing one hand over their neighbour's closer hand and sing the song. On every beat, a person claps their higher hand onto the touching person's palm. The cycle continues until the song ends at which point if the person's hand is slapped, they are considered "out" and must stand or sit in the center of the circle, or leave the circle and watch this from the edges.
Lyrics:
Stella Ella Ola,
Clap, clap, clap
Singing es, chico, chico
Chico, chico, clap, clap
Es chico, chico
Bologna, bologna
Cheese and macaroni
So 1, 2, 3, 4, 5! "...
The play instructions for circle hand slapping versions of "Stella Ella Ola" ("Quack Diddley Oso") is very similar to "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky except that players only clap the hand of the person to their right.
DeleteClick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLeqswNDT_w for a video of that hand slapping game.