Great Big House in New Orleans | Music Class Lessons
@mrkylesonthetrack, June 5, 2023
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Edited by Azizi Powell
This post also presents the history of "Great Big House In New Orleans" as well as the lyrics & performance directions for this play party song..
Addendum #1 lists some folk songs that I believe are related to "Great Big House In New Orleans"
Addendum #2 to this post presents my thoughts about the significance of the lyrics "chicken pie" instead of "pumpkin pie" in the song "Great Big House In New Orleans".
Click __ for Part II of this pancocojams series. That post presents information about American play party songs, with a focus on African American contributions to play party songs and their performance activities.
The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, socio-cultural, and recreational and purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the performers of this song, thanks to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.
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Some of the content of this pancocojams post was published in this 2014 post: ""Great Big House In New Orleans" (Play Party Song) Information, Lyrics, Origins"
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/02/videos-of-great-big-house-in-new.html. That post has seven comments (including my replies)as of April 18, 2026 and that 2014 post is still available on this pancocojams blog.
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INFORMATION ABOUT "PLAY PARTY SONGS"
AI Overview (result of my April 18, 2026 question: What does "play party songs mean?)
"A play party song is a traditional American folk song used
for social gatherings featuring singing and dancing, popular from the mid-1800s
to 1930. These songs allowed young people to dance and socialize without
instruments, which were often banned by strict religious practices. They
functioned as a combination of music, dance, and choreographed games.
Origins: Originating in the 1830s, particularly in the Southern and Midwestern US, they were a "route around" religious bans on dancing to music.
Performance: No instruments were used; instead, songs were
accompanied by clapping and singing to guide movements.
Content: Many songs derived from British and European folk
games, often taking on the quality of structured children's games or dancing
games.
Modern Context: While the social events faded, they are still used by music educators to teach movement and song in classrooms."
****INFORMATION ABOUT THE PLAY PARTY SONG "GREAT BIG HOUSE IN NEW ORLEANS"
AI Overview #1 [This AI write-up is a result for my April 18, 2026 question "What is the oldest documentation of the play party song "Great Big House In New Orleans?"]
"Great Big House in New Orleans" is a traditional
American play-party song that originated and was commonly sung by settlers
during the 1850s onward. While rooted in 19th-century folk tradition, it was
frequently documented throughout the 20th century in collections of American
folk music, including recordings in the 1960s.
Origin: The song was popular during the 1850s as a play-party song—a form of sung game popular among pioneers.
Context: It is part of the African American folk tradition,
later commonly used in children's music education and, often in Kodály-based
curriculum, to teach musical elements.
Documentation: Variants of the song were recorded and
collected throughout the mid-20th century.
AI Overview #2- [This AI write-up is a result for my April 18, 2026 question "What is the African American influence on the play party song "Great Big House In New Orleans"
" "Great Big House in New Orleans" is a traditional
American folk song and play-party game rooted in African American musical
traditions, often featuring a pentatonic scale and rhythmic, interactive dance.
The song reflects the cultural landscape of 19th-century New Orleans,
frequently used in educational settings to teach folk music and rhythmic play.
Folk Song Context: It is frequently categorized as an
"American Play party" song or a traditional children's folk song.
Performance Structure: The song involves interactive,
call-and-response style performances where children (or performers) personalize
the lyrics—specifically the "filled with..." line—to include various
flavors like pumpkin pie, banana, or chocolate.
Cultural Roots: The song embodies the playful, rhythmic, and
communal music traditions of New Orleans, which were heavily influenced by the
cultural blending of African Americans.
African American Rhythms: It fits within the tradition of
rhythmic, educational music frequently associated with African American musical
contributions to folk culture in Louisiana.
While often sung in classrooms, it is related to the broader
history of African Americans in New Orleans, particularly the musical, festive
culture associated with social gatherings, which flourished in sites such as
Congo Square."
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It's interesting that this AI write up didn't include any mention of "chicken pie" in its sentence that the "filled with..." line—to include various flavors like pumpkin pie, banana, or chocolate."
This is especially note worthy since "chicken pie" is the type of pie that is given in the oldest documented lyrics for this song and "chicken pie" may be equated with African Americans more than the other flavors of pie that were mentiones.
As an aside, most of the contemporary examples of this song have the "pumpkin pie" referent I have also come across "apple pie" but haven't come across any "banana pie or "chocolate" pie. I also haven't come across any examples of sweet potato pie which is probably because those syllables don't fit the beat of this play party song.
However, it should be noted that pumpkin pie and sweet potato pie look very similar but don't taste the same. As an African American, I believe that we strongly prefer "sweet potato pie" to "pumpkin pie and generally consider sweet potato pie to be an African American dessert and pumpkin pie to be a White American dessert.
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LYRICS AND PERFORMANCE INSTRUCTIONS: "GREAT BIG HOUSE IN NEW ORLEANS"
1. Great big house in New Orleans,
Forty stories high;Ev'ry room that I been in,
Filled with chicken pie.
2. Went down to the old mill stream,
To fetch a pail of water;
Put one arm around my wife,
The other 'round my daughter.
3. Fare thee well, my darling girl,
Fare thee well, my daughter;
Fare thee well, my darling girl,
With the golden slippers on her.
Movements:
1. First verse: students form a circle, holding hands, walk keeping a steady beat, then stop.
2. Went down to the old mill stream,
(every other student moves to the center, holding hands with arms below waist)
To fetch a pail of water;
(outside circle moves behind inner circle, placing arms over the shoulders of the inner circle and holds hands)
Put one arm around my wife,
(keeping hands held, outside circle raises arms to ceiling, bringing them down behind the back of the inner circle)
The other 'round my daughter.
(keeping hands held, inner circle rises arms to ceiling, bringing them down behind the backs of the outer circle)
3. Third verse: keeping arms around the outer circle, the whole circle walks to a steady beat.
Source: http://musicnotes.net/SONGS/04-GREATB.html
Origin: USA - Louisiana Play Song
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Other performance instructions are given with the videos below.
SHOWCASE VIDEOS
With the exception of Showcase Video #1, these examples are presented in chronological order based on their posting dates with the oldest dated examples given first.
Multiple versions of a song are presented to showcase some of the different ways this singing game is sung and played.
Showcase Video #2:G3 Great Big House in New Orleans
ESMusicISB, Sep 19, 2012
Watch as Ms. H's class sing and dance to the American folk song "Great Big House in New Orleans."
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Here's instructions for this singing game written by Anthony Meehl, 2014 from a video that is no longer available:
1st vs [verse]
march to beat around circle
2nd vs
#1's march to middle and join hands (went down to the old mill stream)
#2's march to middle and join hands over the top of #1's. (to fetch a pail of water)
#2's bring hands over the top (put one arm around my wife)
#1's bring hands over the top (the other round my daughter)
3rd vs
keep hands joined and slide feet to the beat around the circle. Hope this helps :)
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Showcase Video #3: Great Big House In New Orleans
HelenIn Harmony, Published on Sep 9, 2013
Midwest Play-Party Singing Dance
Filmed November, 2010 - 3rd Grade
Great Big House in New Orleans
Forty stories high
Ev'ry room that I've been in
Filled with pumpkin pie.
Went down to the old mill stream
To fetch a pail of water
Put one arm around my wife
The other round my daughter
Fair thee well, my darling girl
Fair thee well, my daughter
Fair thee well, my darling girl...
With the golden slippers on her
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Showcase Video #4: MUSIC TEACHER RESOURCES - Great Big House
Kate Fellin, Published on Oct 18, 2013
TEACHING TIPS: Students stand in a circle alternating between boys and girls. (We used lanyards to differentiate between the groups, which also works). Boys go in four steps and back out; girls go in four steps and back out. Boys go in four and hold hands, then girls go in four steps and hold hands in front of boys. Girls raise arms over the boys' heads and put them behind their backs, then boys raise their arms and put them behind the girls' backs. The interlocked circle moves clockwise (to the left) for eight counts, then they raise their arms and step back to their original positions. For a more advanced version (that we did), the outer circle moves clockwise one window so that they are standing next to a new person for the dance. The words are "Great Big House in New Orleans/Forty stories high/Every room that I've been in/Filled with pumpkin pie./Went down to the old mill stream/To fetch a pail of water./Put one arm around my wife/The other round my daughter./Fare thee well, my darlin' girl/Fare thee well, my daughter/Fare thee well, my darlin' girl/With golden slippers on her."
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Showcase Video #5 - Tinder Great Big House game
LincolnMusic185, Apr 14, 2016
Showcase Video #6-Great Big House-Younger Group
Kristine Schaeffer, Jun 11, 2019
****Showcase Video #7 - Ms. Amy's singing “Great Big House in New Orleans”
Morgan Co. R-1 School District
Feb 4, 2024
ADDENDUM #1 - SOME RELATED SONGS
The "Great Big House In New Orleans/forty stories high/filled with chicken pie" lines in the song "Great Big House In New Orleans" reminds me of the African American old time song "Riding In A Buggy Miss Mary Jane".
Sally got a house in Baltimo',
Baltimo', Baltimo'
Sally got a house in Baltimo'
And it's full of chicken pie.
I got a gal in Baltimo',
Baltimo', Baltimo'
I got a gal in Baltimo',
And she's sixteen stories high.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/12/riding-in-buggy-miss-mary-jane-video.html for a post about that song.
"Great Big House's" verses also could serve as floaters for versions of "Li'l Liza Jane".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/02/five-examples-of-song-lyrics-for-lil.html for a post about that song.
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ADDENDUM #2 - WHAT "CHICKEN PIE" INSTEAD OF "PUMPKIN PIE" MIGHT SUGGEST IN BLACK AMERICAN ANTE-BELLUM SONGS
*The exception to the lyrics is the substitution of "pumpkin pie" for "chicken pie", giving the lyrics "Ev'ry room that I been in/Filled with chicken pie."
The "chicken pie"* lyric is important because among 19th century African Americans, chicken was considered a luxury. As such, the reference in the song "Great Big House In New Orleans" to the each room of a forty story high house being filled with chicken pie is a grandiose image that reflects more than the singer's desire for comfort and good living. In that song, to fantasize about chicken pie is important because the singer might have experienced a number of days without adequate food.
Chicken pie would have satisfied the hunger of the enslaved people singing that song much more than a dessert would, particularly a dessert that he or she might not have been that familiar with. The change in the lyrics of this song from "chicken pie to pumpkin pie" might still have cultural implications in the 21st century United States as it appears from online discussions (and from my experience) that pumpkin pie isn't a dessert that African Americans are familiar with. My sense is that we African Americans prefer the similar dessert of sweet potato pie - a dessert which many White Americans apparently aren't that familiar with.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-cultural-regional-racial.html for a post about the cultural, regional, and racial associations of sweet potato pie.
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It's also important to note that when chicken was available during slavery in the southern United States, it appears that it was served as a pie and not fried as is stereotypically attributed to Black Americans. Nowadays, "chicken pie" is most commonly known in the United States as "chicken pot pie".
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This concludes Part I of this pancocojams series.
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Visitor comments are welcome.
In most of the YouTube videos before 2020 that I've come across, I've noticed that the children usually hold hands when they walk around the circle, but in most of the videos after 2020 they march around the circle without holding hands.
ReplyDeleteWhy is that? Does it have anything to do with the distance/not holding hands guidelines during the 2020 Covid pandemic and then after the pandemic ended, that way of marching around the circle was retained?
One exception in this compilation is video #5 from 2016 in which the children march around the circle without holding hands.
I'm curious if the custom of the group marching around the circle holding hands or the group not holding hands was up to the group leader's discretion before the Covid pandemic in 2020.Or, if it was more customary to hold hands while marching around the circle and singing "Great Big House In New Orleans" (or other such songs), and that custom changed as a result of the distance rules and the no holding hands guidelines during the pandemic and then afterwards people just kept that no holding hands custom.
???
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