Similarities Between The 1970s Sesame Street Clip "Girls Clap About The Letter "K" & The 1980s Foot Stomping Cheer "L.O.V.E "

LittleJerryFan92, Jul 11, 2007
-snip-
My transcription of the lyrics for this song is given below in this pancocojams post.

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Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision - May 1, 2026

This is Part II of a two part pancocojams series on a Jazz song with the title "L.O.V.E" and a foot stomping cheer with that same title.

This post showcases a 1970s clip that was aired on the Sesame Street children's television series That clip has the same tune, textual  (word) pattern, and very similar performance style as the foot stomping cheer "L.O.V.E".

Unfortunately, I haven't come across any video of that foot stomping cheer. However, this post presents text (word only) examples of that cheer, including the earliest example of that foot stomping cheer that I've come across is from the 1980s in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

Directions about how the L.O.V.E" foot stomping cheer was performed in Pittsburgh are included in this post.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/04/nat-king-cole-love-1964-jazz-song.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. That post showcases a YouTube sound file and the lyrics for the 1964 Jazz song "L.O.V.E" that was recorded by African American singer Nat 'King' Cole.

Information about Nat 'King' Cole is also included in this post.
 
The content of this post is presented for historical, recreational, socio-cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post Thanks also to the publishers of the YouTube examples that are embedded in this pancocojams post or whose link is given in this post.
-snip-
A lot of this post was previously featured in a 2023 and 2025 pancocojams post with a similar title. I have deleted those post and substituted them with this one. The only comments that were found in the comment sections of those posts were ones that I wrote. One of those comments is reprinted in the comment thread for this 2026 post. The other comments were about the similarities between the textual (word) structure of the "L.O.V.E" foot stomping cheers and the "Tetherball" foot stomping cheer. I plan to publish a pancocojams post on those cheers and will include the link to that post here..
 
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES
The only similarity between the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s foot stomping cheer "L.O.V.E." and the 2964 Nat King Cole's Jazz song "L.O.V.E" is  the titles of these two compositions. That may have been a coincidence as it seems unlikely that the composer/s of that foot stomping cheer would have been familiar with that Jazz song.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SESAME STREET CLIP "GIRLS CLAP ABOUT THE LETTER K"
This showcased clip from the Sesame Street children's television series was created to showcase some words that begin with the letter "k". According to AI Overview (results as of April 30, 2026) this clip first aired on Sesame Street "in the early 1970s".

According to Google Results (2023), "The Sesame Street episode "Celebrating 'K' and 'DOG'" aired in 1995, and featured a clip of girls dancing and chanting about the letter "K". This episode was part of season 26 of Sesame Street".

I'm showcasing this clip in this pancocojams post because the tune for the "kah kah kah k" chorus of this song is exactly the same tune that my daughter remembers (and I remember)  for the "L-O-V-E" foot stomping cheer that she and her friends performed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the mid 1980s.

The self-boasting spirit of the "L.O.V.E" foot stomping cheer is different from the educational, having fun spirit of that Sesame Street chant. 

However, the word structure for the "kah kah kah k" portion of that chant, and the tempo of that Sesame Street chant are the same as the "L.O.V.E." cheer. (Obviously, most of the words for the K chant are different from "L.O.V.E".)

Also, the hand clapping and stepping routine that are shown in this Sesame Street video clip is different from the movements that I observed in the mid 1980s (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) for the L.O.V.E. foot stomping cheer.

Unfortunately, I haven't found any YouTube videos of "L.O.V. E" foot stomping cheers (or YouTube videos of hardly any other foot stomping cheers).

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LYRICS FOR THE SESAME STREET CLIP " GIRLS CLAP ABOUT THE LETTER K" 

All girls chant in unison:

Kah kah kah k (clap)

Kah kah kah k (clap)

Kah kah kah kah kah kah

Kah kah kah k (clap)

The soloist chants:

Well, my name is Keanna

And my letter is K

K like a kite

And you blow me away.

K turns the key

K's a kick on me

All girls chant in unison:

Kah kah kah k (clap)

Kah kah kah k (clap)

Kah kah kah kah kah kah

Kah kah kah k (clap)

All the girls except Keanna chant:

Well, her name is Keanna

Her letter is K.

Another girl chants alone:

K like a kangaroo

Hopping all day.

All the girls chant in unison:

K like a king, a kiss

K is like this -

[The girls point to an upper case letter "K" that is shown in the middle of where they are standing. The video ends with all the girls shouting "K".

The video ends with all the girls shouting "K"!].
-snip-
This is my unofficial transcription from this sound file of that Sesame Street Television series clip)

Additions and corrections for this transcription are very welcome.

I don't know if that line "K's a kick on me" is correct.

Here are some differences between the performance of that Sesame Street chant and the foot stomping cheer "L.O.V.E." that I observed in the mid. 1980s (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) :
In performances of  this foot stomping cheer. 

-The girls stood in one line or in a semi-circle facing toward their (often imaginary) audience. The soloist would step forward (about two steps) from her place in that line or in that semi-circle. She didn't stand in front of the center of that line or that semi-circle.) When her soloist part ended, she stepped back (while still facing forward (to her place in that line in that semi-circle.  

An essential element of real (and not modified) foot stomping cheers is that each girl in that group had an equal turn as the soloist for that particular cheer. The fact that this consecutive soloist pattern takes a long time to perform is one of the main reason why foot stomping cheers are modified in the rare occasions that they are performed by real cheerleaders before a competitive game or during half time of an actual competitive athletic school basketball game.    

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EXAMPLES OF THE FOOT STOMPING CHEER "L.O.V.E"

These are the only examples of this L.O.V.E cheer that I've come across either directly or by collecting examples online(as of April 30, 2026)

If  you know this cheer, and/or other foot stomping cheers from the 1980s, 1990s, and on, please share that example or examples in the comment section below. Thanks!

Numbers for these examples have been assigned for referencing purposes only.

L.O.V.E. (Version #1)

All: L-O-V-E. [clap]

L-O-V-E. [clap

L-O-V.

L-O-V.

L-O-V-E.[clap]
Soloist #1: Well, Kayla’s my name. [clap]

And love is my game.[clap]

I got this boy on my mind [clap].

And Lord knows he’s fine. [clap]

He calls me his girl. [clap]

His number 1 girl.[clap]

I don’t know his sign, [clap]

But Taurus is mine. [clap]
All: L-O-V-E. [clap]

L-O-V-E. [clap]

L-O-V.

L-O-V.

L-O-V-E. [clap]
Soloist #2: Tamika's my name. [clap]

And love is my game. [clap]

I got this boy on my mind. [clap]

And Lord knows he’s fine. [clap]

I got his name on my shirt. [clap]

And don't call it dirt.[clap]

Don’t you worry bout my lover. [clap]

Cause there is no other. [clap]

(Return to beginning and repeat with a new soloist. That soloist repeats the same verses or similar verses. This pattern continues until everyone in the group has had one turn as the soloist with this cheer.)
-Tazi M. Powell.(African American female; remembrance of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the mid 1980s; performed by African American girls ages around 8-12 years old; Collected by Azizi Powell, 2/1996 although I had observed performances of this cheer in the 1980s.
-snip-
The beat for the "L.O.V.E" foot stomping rhyme routine that I observed in Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania (in the East Liberty/Garfield neighborhood) used what I believe was the main beat pattern for foot stomping cheers: "stomp clapclap stomp". That beat pattern continues like a metronome throughout the entire foot stomping cheer, with each soloist without any interruption for every iteration of the cheer. Note: All foot stomping routines begin with the right foot.

However, the movement routine for "L.O.V.E" differs from the other foot stomping cheers that my daughter Tazi M. (Powell) Hughes and her friends performed in that it included a quick crisscross jumping motion for the last stomp in its "stomp clapclap stomp" routine.

The "criss cross" jumping motion is part of the lyrics & dance movement for DJ Casper's   African American originated 2000 hit line dance "Cha Cha Slide". 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZv62ShoStY Mr C The Slide Man - Cha-Cha Slide (Official Video)  published by MrCTheSlideManVEVO, Jun 16, 2009

**
Here's a 2021 YouTube video short of a demonstration of  the criss cross jump. 

Criss Cross Jump

@byndphysical, April 29, 2021
-snip-
This quick jump movement replaces the toe tapping motions that the girls in the Sesame Street clip "Girls Clap About The Letter K".

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Here are the performance instructions for the L.O.V.E. cheer that my daughter wrote on October 28, 2018 after she reminded me how she and her friends did that cheer:

[Girls stood in a half circle facing their (usually pretend) audience. While chanting, the girls would move this way. ]

"1. Right leg stomp forward - for the letter "L"

2. Jump open with both legs - "O"

3. Jump close with both legs -"V"

4. Right leg stomp forward" - "E"

Then clap your hands one time.

Continue this pattern for the entire cheer."

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L-O-V-E (Version #2)
"I am a 25 year old African American woman from Eastern North Carolina.

The section on the chant L-O-V-E caught my attention we used to do this

when I was younger. We would stand in a circle and we would clap our hands and stomp our feet sort of tapping out the words L- O-V-E.

 Group: L-O-V-E, L-O-V-E, L-O-V, L-O-V, L-O-V-E

First Person: Erica's my name love is my game I got this boy on my mind

he's looking real fine he calls me his girl his number one pearl

 Then you move on to the next person and they repeat the same thing

only with their name in place.
-name and posting date not known (I accidentally deleted this information when I retrieved this example from my no longer available cocojams.com website.)
-snip-
Notice the commenter's reference to "tapping out the words L-O-V-E". It's interesting to note that the girls in that Sesame Street "Letter K chant" tapped their feet when they sung the chorus to that chant.

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L. O.V.E (Version #3)
"on da playground-

L.O.V.E. L.O.V.E. L.O.V L.O.V. L.O.V.E

Well Terrie's my name

and Love is my game

I got da boys on my mind

Most of da time

Capricorn's My Sign

Say Wha?

Capricorn's My Sign

Say Wha?

Capricorn, Capricorn

Capricorn's My sign!"
- Geechie Gurl, August 26, 2009; http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=118895016491
“When I be a gal in da Ya'd! Memba Dese..Just a few of em”’ 

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L.O.V.E. (fragment) Version #4
"Love these!! Anybody remember one that goes "L-O-V-E love L-O-V-E love, ...is my name, ...is my game, something something! Lmao, I can't remember the rest man, it used to be some footwork with it though!
-KaLa Roberts,2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zEcsIfe6lU&t=387s&ab_channel=Geneas 90s Hand Games [comment] This video is no longer available.

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This concludes Part II of this pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Nat King Cole -" L.O.V.E" (1964 Jazz Song: information, song file, and lyrics)

L-O-V-E

Nat King Cole, Feb 19, 2017

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series on a Jazz song with the title "L.O.V.E" and a foot stomping cheer with that same title.

This post showcases a YouTube sound file and the lyrics for the 1964 Jazz song "L.O.V.E" that was recorded by African American singer Nat 'King' Cole.

Information about Nat 'King' Cole is also included in this post.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/04/similarities-between-1970s-sesame.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. That post showcases a 1970s Sesame Street clip that has the same tune, textual  (word) pattern, and very similar performance style as the foot stomping cheer "L.O.V.E".  That post presents text (word only) examples of that cheer, including the earliest example of that foot stomping cheer that I've come across is from the 1980s in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Note: The only similarity between this foot stomping cheer and Nat King Cole's Jazz song "L.O.V.E" is  the titles of these two compositions. That may have been a coincidence as it seems unlikely that the composer/s of that foot stomping cheer would have been familiar with that Jazz song.

 The content of this post is presented for historical, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Nat King Cole for his musical legacy. Thanks also to the publisher of this sound file on YouTube and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

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INFORMATION ABOUT NAT KING COLE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_King_Cole
"Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965),[1] known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and pop vocalist started in the late 1930s and spanned almost three decades where he found success and recorded over 100 songs that became hits on the pop charts.

Cole began his career as a jazz pianist in the late 1930s, when he formed the King Cole Trio, which became the top-selling group (and the only black act) on Capitol Records in the 1940s. Cole's trio was the model for small jazz ensembles that followed. Starting in 1950, he transitioned to become a solo singer billed as Nat King Cole. Despite achieving mainstream success, Cole faced intense racial discrimination during his career. While not a major vocal public figure in the civil rights movement, Cole was a member of his local NAACP branch and participated in the 1963 March on Washington. He regularly performed for civil rights organizations. From 1956 to 1957, Cole hosted the NBC variety series The Nat King Cole Show, which became the first nationally broadcast television show hosted by a Black American.

Some of Cole's most notable singles include "Unforgettable", "Smile", "A Blossom Fell", "Nature Boy", "When I Fall in Love", "Let There Be Love", "Mona Lisa", "Autumn Leaves", "Stardust", "Straighten Up and Fly Right", "The Very Thought of You", "For Sentimental Reasons", "Embraceable You" and "Almost Like Being in Love". His 1960 Christmas album The Magic of Christmas (also known as The Christmas Song), was the best-selling Christmas album released in the 1960s; and was ranked as one of the 40 essential Christmas albums (2019) by Rolling Stone.[2] In 2022, Cole's recording of "The Christmas Song", broke the record for the longest journey to the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100, when it peaked at number nine, 62 years after it debuted on the chart; and was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry.[3][4]

Cole received numerous accolades including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1960) and a Special Achievement Golden Globe Award.[5] Posthumously, Cole has received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1990), along with the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award (1992) and has been inducted into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame (1997), Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2000), and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame (2020). NPR named him one of the 50 Great Voices. Cole was the father of singer Natalie Cole (1950–2015), who covered her father's songs in the 1991 album Unforgettable... with Love"

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LYRICS - L.O.V.E

(written by Milt Gabler, composed by Bert Kaempfert )

[Verse 1]

L is for the way you look at me

O is for the only one I see

V is very, very extraordinary

E is even more than anyone that you adore can

 

[Chorus]

Love is all that I can give to you

Love is more than just a game for two

Two in love can make it, take my heart and please don't break it

Love was made for me and you

 

[Verse 2]

L is for the way you look at me

O is for the only one I see

V is very, very extraordinary

E is even more than anyone that you adore can

 

[Refrain]

Love is all that I can give to you

Love is more than just a game for two

Two in love can make it, take my heart and please don't break it

Love was made for me and you

 

[Outro]

Love a-was made for me and you

Love a-was made for me and you"

 -snip-

About

“L-O-V-E” is a jazz/swing song written by Milt Gabler, composed by Bert Kaempfert, and sung by Nat King Cole. It was originally released on his 1964 album L-O-V-E. The song has been covered multiple times, including by Diana Krall and Michael Bublé.

 online source - https://genius.com/Nat-king-cole-l-o-v-e-lyrics

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This concludes Part I of this pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome. 

The Jubalaires -"God Almighty's Gonna Cut You Down" (1947 Black American Gospel recording)

 upgrayeeed, May 21, 2010

1947(?)

Left to right: Orville Brooks, Ted Brooks, Caleb Ginyard and George McFadden.

[picture from vocalgroupharmony.com]

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Edited by Azizi Powell
 
This pancocojams post showcases The Jubalaires' recording of the Black American Gospel song "-"God Almighty's Gonna Cut You Down". This Gospel song is also known as "Run On For A Long Time".

This post presents information about The Jubalaires as well as the lyrics for that song and an explanation about what the title of that song means.

The content of this post is presented for historical, religious, socio-cultural, and aesthetic purposes. 

All copyrights remain with the owners.

Thanks to the Jubalaires and thanks to the composer/s of this Gospel song. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this sound file on YouTube.
-snip-

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/the-jubailaires-noah-1940s-gospel-rap.html for the pancocojams entitled "The Jubailaire's Noah - 1940s Gospel Rap (video, information, and lyrics)" and was published on pancocojams in 2012..

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/03/early-rap-recordings-and-lyrics-for.html for the pancocojams post entitled "Rap Sounding Recordings Before The Rap Genre Started For "The Preacher And The Bear" By The Golden Gate Quartet & The Jubaliares"

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE JUBALAIRES
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jubalaires
"The Jubalaires were an American gospel group active between 1935 and 1962. Originally known as the Royal Harmony Singers,[1] the band was known for song verses delivered in a rhythmic, rhyming style that has been described as an early version of rapping.[3][4]

History

The band's name was derived from Jubal, a biblical figure in Genesis who is sometimes regarded as "the father of all harpists and organists."[5]

The band reached no. 10 on the R&B charts on November 14, 1942, with "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" a song adapted from the speech of a naval chaplain in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor the previous year.[6] Other releases included "Before This Time Another Year" / "Ezekiel (Saw the Wheel A Rollin')" (released under the Decca Records label), "God Almighty's Gonna Cut You Down" / "Go Down Moses" (King Records), and "My God Called Me This Morning" / "Ring That Golden Bell" (King Records).[7]

[…]

In 1946, the Jubalaires secured a spot on Arthur Godfrey's CBS radio show.[9] Willie Johnson left the Golden Gate Quartet to take the lead of the group in 1948, and in 1950 the band appeared in the musical comedy film Duchess of Idaho.[2][10]

[…]

Most of the music by the Jubalaires was released by Queen Records, a King Records subsidiary specializing in African-American music. However, later reissues of their music appeared under King Records.[13]

[…]

Background information

Origin  Florida, United States

Genres American folk, gospel, spirituals, proto-rap

Years active     1935–1962

Labels  Capitol, Decca, King”…
“Proto-rap” means "... black individuals engaging in some type of spoken word activity before rap became a recognizable genre in the 70s."
-https://www.reddit.com/r/LetsTalkMusic/comments/15ky841/what_counts_as_protorap/

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INFORMATION ABOUT THIS SONG
From AI Overview
"The earliest recorded version of the traditional folk song "Run On For A Long Time" (often known as "God's Gonna Cut You Down" or "God Almighty's Gonna Cut You Down") is generally credited to the Golden Gate Quartet, who recorded it on June 5, 1946.

Here are the key early recordings of this traditional song:

1946: The Golden Gate Quartet.

1947: The Jubalaires (first issued/released version).

1949: Bill Landford & The Landfordaires (released "Run On For A Long Time").

Key Details:

Nature of the Song: It is a traditional American folk/gospel hymn that has been recorded in various genres.

Other Early/Notable Versions: Odetta recorded a version in 1956. Elvis Presley recorded a version titled "Run On" in 1967.

Moby's Sample: The 1999 song "Run On" by Moby, which popularized the song for many, is a remix that heavily samples the 1949 recording by Bill Landford & The Landfordaires.

Johnny Cash: His well-known version was recorded in 2003 and released posthumously on American V: A Hundred Highways (2006

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LYRICS - GOD ALMIGHTY'S GONNA CUT  YOU DOWN'*
(as recorded by The Golden Gate Quartet

"You may run home for a long time

Run home for a long time

Run home for a long time

Let me tell you, God Almighty gonna cut you down

You may run home for a long time

You may run home for a long time

Run home for a long time

Let me tell you, God Almighty′s gonna cut you down

Go tell that long tongued liar (well, well)

Go tell that midnight rider (well, well)

Tell the gambler, the rambler, backbiter

Tell 'em God Almighty′s gonna cut 'em down

 

Stop, God Almighty, let me tell you the news

My head been wet with the midnight dews

Now I been down on my bended knees

Talkin' to the Man from Galilee

My God spoken, he spokes so sweet

I thought I heard the shuffle of angels′ feet

He put one hand upon my head

Great God Almighty, let me tell you what He said

Go tell that long tongued liar (well, well)

Go tell that midnight rider (well, well)

Tell the gambler, the rambler, backbiter

Tell ′em God Almighty gonna cut 'em down

You may run home for a long time

You may run home for a long time

Run home for a long time

Let me tell you, God Almighty′s gonna cut you down

You may throw your rocks and hide your hand

Working in the dark against your fellow man

But you sure as God made the day and the night

What you do in the dark will be brought to the light

You can run and hide, slip and slide

You talk about the mote in your neighbor's eyes

But you sure as God made rich and the poor

You going to reap just what you sow

You can run home for a long time

Run home for a long time

Run home for a long time

Let me tell you, God Almighty′s gonna cut you down

Go tell that long tongued liar

Go tell that midnight rider

Tell the gambler, the rambler, backbiter

Tell 'em God Almighty gonna cut ′em down

Some brother go to church just to signify

You try to make a date with the neighbor's wife

But brother let me tell you just as sure as you're born

You better leave that woman alone

Because one of these days you mark my word

You′ll think brother has gone to work

You′re going to creep up and knock on his door

That's all brother, you′ll knock no more

You can run home for a long time

You may run home for a long time

Run home for a long time

Let me tell you, God Almighty's gonna cut you down

Go tell that long tongued liar (well, well)

Go tell that midnight rider

Tell the gambler, the rambler, backbiter

Tell ′em God Almighty's gonna cut ′em down"
-snip-
Statement on that page: "Writer(s): Clyde Riddick, Orlandus Wilson, Willie B Johnson, Henry Lee" Owens members of the Golden Gate Quartet]

https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/The-Golden-Gate-Quartet/God-Almighty-s-Gonna-Cut-You-Down
-snip-
The words "Run on for a long time/God Almighty gonna cut you down" means "people may do evil for a long time, but they will eventually have to face God's punishment."

The lyrics "Run home for a long time" in that musixmatch transcription are always given as "Run on for a long time" in other transcription of this Gospel song . 

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

"The Cannibal King" (The Late 19th Century & Early 20th Century Black American Musicals NOT The Children's Camp Song With The Same Name)

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision -April 30, 2026
 
This pancocojams post presents information about African American composer, pianist, and musical director Will Marion Cook.

This post also presents an excerpt of a 2017 University of Nebraska school of music paper about Will Marion Cook's late 19th century/early 20th century Black American musicals entitled "The Cannibal King". 

Part of that excerpt includes the storyline for many of these "The Cannibal King" musical productions.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Will Marion Cole for his cultural legacy. Thanks to the other people who were associated with "The Cannibal King musical productions that are documented in this university paper.  Thanks also to Peter M. Lefferts, University of Nebraska for his research and writing, thanks to the University of Nebraska for publishing this paper online. 
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/09/the-cannibal-king-also-known-as-zulu.html for a 2022 pancocojams post entitled " "The Cannibal King" (also known as "The Zulu King") Children's Camp Song (videos, information, & lyrics)".*

* Pancocojams Editor's Note: The late 19th century/early 20th century musicals (that were referred to as "Negro operas") with the title The Cannibal King may have inspired the creation of 20th century children's camp songs with that title. However, those musicals had different themes and different lyrics than the 20th century "The Cannibal King" camp songs. Here's part of the lyrics to a versions of "The Cannibal King" children's song:

"Oh the cannibal king with the big nose ring Fell in love with the dusty maid And every night by the pale moonlight This is what he said . Baroom (Make kissing sound 2 x's) Baroom (Make kissing sound 2 x's) Honey won't you marry me Baroom (Make kissing sound 2 x's) Baroom (Make kissing sound 2 x's) Under the bamboo tree?"... -snip-
Those camp songs inspired the 20th century children's rhymes entitleded  "Under The Bam Bush", "Under The Bamboo Tree" or similar tiles.

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INFORMATION ABOUT WILL MARION COOK, THE WRITER OF MANY OF THE LATE 19TH CENTURY/EARLY 20TH CENTURY "tHE CANNIBAL KING" PRODUCTIONS
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Marion_Cook
"William Mercer Cook (January 27, 1869 – July 19, 1944), better known as Will Marion Cook, was an African-American composer, pianist, orchestrator, lyricist, violinist, and choral director.[2] Cook was a student of Antonín Dvořák. In 1919 he took his New York Syncopated Orchestra (Southern Syncopated Orchestra) to England for a command performance for King George V of the United Kingdom, and tour. Cook is probably best known for his popular songs and landmark Broadway musicals, featuring African-American creators, producers, and casts, such as Clorindy, or The Origin of the Cake Walk (1898) and In Dahomey (1903). The latter toured for four years, including in the United Kingdom and United States.

Cook served as musical director of the George Walker-Bert Williams Company, working with the comedy partners on Clorindy, In Dahomey, and several other musical successes."...

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A LIST OF SOME OF THE NOTABLE BLACK AMERICANS WHO ARE MENTIONED IN THIS FEATURED UNIVERSITY PAPER ABOUT "THE CANNIBAL KING" SHOWS

Here's a list of some of the notable Black Americans who are mentioned in this paper.

These names are given in alphabetical order (in most cases) based on their last name) 

Black Patti (Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones) - singer 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sissieretta_Jones

Harry T. Burleigh- composer, arranger, singer, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Burleigh

Will Marion Cook - pianist, orchestrator, lyricist, violinist, and choral director
.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Marion_Cook

Bob Cole (Robert Allen Cole Jr)- composer, actor, and playwright who produced and directed stage shows.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Cole_(composer)

Paul Laurence Dunbar-poet, novelist, short story writer, and composer
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Laurence_Dunbar

James Weldon Johnson - writer, composer, civil rights activist 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Weldon_Johnson

Abbie Mitchell, opera singer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbie_Mitchell

George Walker, part of musical duo Williams & Walker  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_and_Walker_Co.

Bert Williams-part of musical duo Williams & Walker  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_and_Walker_Co.

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EXCERPT FROM A UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA PAPER ABOUT THE BLACK AMERICAN "CANNIBAL KING" MUSICAL PRODUCTIONS 

From https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1067&context=musicfacpub

Faculty Publication school of music

10-17-2017

Chronology and Itinerary of the Career of Will Marion Cook: Materials for a Biography

[by] Peter M. Lefferts, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

..."COOK’S “[THE VISIT OF THE] CANNIBAL KING”

[page] 44

The first glimpse of the long-running Cannibal King project (A). Mattie Wilkes is singing Cook's "Cannibal King" song in late October [1896] in Isham’s production (Washington Bee, October 31 , p. 8), which would presumably have to be during the second part (the variety segment).

She "sings very charmingly the composition of Prof. Will M. Cook, entitled "The Cannibal King"; right now, it is a song, not a show. When Isham's troupe returns to a city, it needs fresh material, especially if returning in the same season (the ads say "Presenting NEW SELECTIONS"). The troupe's newest opener, apparently its third or fourth mini musical skit of the fall, appears in November, at the time of its return engagement in DC at the Academy of Music in  (Monday, November 23-Saturday November 28);

It is Cook's new opus, [The Visit of the] Cannibal King (Washington Post, Sunday, November 22, 1896, p. 19; Washington Bee, November 28, 1896, p. 5); "See the Cannibal King and His Secretary" (DC Morning Times, November 22, 1896, p. 12).

[...]

From Abbie’s memoirs and a song title page, Cook was working on an "opera," The Cannibal King, as early as 1896; further, he had three songs published this year, and Riis says the covers tie them to The Cannibal King (Riis, Dahomey edn., p. xviii, and notes 7 and 8). At least one does: WorldCat reports "Love is the tendrest of themes: From the Negro opera The Cannibal King," words and music by Cook (NYC, 1896). This song is identified with Cook in a list of colored song writers and their songs published in an article, "Colored Song Writers," in Iowa State Bystander, August 13, 1897, p. 4, which also says "One of the most beautiful sentimental songs in this valued collection of negro music is written by William M. Cook of

[page] 46

Washington, D.C., who is an educated musician and a teacher of music.

[...]

NB: Cook consistently called his shows operas, but this is not, technically speaking, their genre.

[...]

NB: Bob Cole was going to do King Eat 'Em All for Black Patti's troupe before he broke with them (Indianapolis Freeman, December 19, 1896, p. 5), and this topic may have been inspired by Cook; possibly the cannibal king thread goes the other way, and back even before, i.e., even before Cook, to the earliest days with Cole at Worth's, as one of the mini musical comedies for that venue. Cole's announced venture was probably intended to be ready for the next season (1897-1898), but it seems to have been set aside because At Jolly Cooney Island was going too well to shelve, and then Cole broke with Black Patti. In any event, it surely was, or would have been, another playlet. Cole rejoins Cook in a Cannibal King project in 1901, after A Trip to Coontown closes for good (see below).

1896 SONGS

"Love is the tendrest of themes: From the Negro opera The Cannibal

King," words and music by Cook (NY: Howley, Haviland,

1896)

[…]

[page] 72

The roots of this project clearly go back in some way to the 1896 Isham show, and also to the James Whitcomb Riley project of 1898; not part of Williams and Walker enterprise. The gestation of this Cannibal King surely began in 1896 with the mini in the Isham show, but exactly what form it was in in 1898 or 1899 projects is unknown; looking down the road, it was reworked into Jes Lak White Folks of 1900 (Cook-Dunbar), then into the Cannibal King(s) of 1901, and then into In Dahomey of 1902 (see below); continuities of later material are discussed in Graziano and Riis, who do not mention this version at all; relationship to King Eat Em All also needs exploring. Finally, note that the two plot line streams or basic scenarios (Dollar Bill and Silver King, and Cannibal King) that play out over the entire period of the Cook/Dunbar collaboration.

[…]

1901, early: THE CANNIBAL KING

The Cannibal King again [Version E], announced with music by

[page] 82

Cook, but now with a book by Dunbar rather than by Riley or Morton; the precise relationship to the earlier 1896 or 1898 or 1899 shows of this name (or to King Eat 'Em All below) is not known;

This version of the show was probably being worked on by Dunbar in late 1900 and early 1901, before the end of the run of Bob Cole and Billy Johnson with A Trip to Coontown, and thus before any idea of making it a vehicle for them (see below). Rather, it might have been thought of as the next vehicle for Williams and Walker, who had up to now been on the pace of a new show each season; they instead decided on pursuing a second year of Sons of Ham, which could have derailed this new project in the late spring or early summer months; Dunbar reportedly was the original librettist and then backed out; perhaps Dunbar was working to expand Jes Lak/Eph; perhaps this is the moment described by J. W. Johnson when Dunbar is irritated by Cook and won't work with him, which is exactly Armstead-Johnson's reading of JWJ autobiography passage (NB: Cook and Dunbar worked a year later on In Dahomey)

NB: Helen Armstead-Johnson quotes from an unpublished 1978 conference paper by Mercer Johnson (.rec.. Mercer Cook??), which itself is reportedly quoting or paraphrasing from Will Marion Cook's unpublished memoirs. "Conceived as an operetta for Williams and Walker, the first half of the libretto for The Cannibal King [Cook's title] was written by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Then Dunbar became involved in writing a novel and lost interest in the operetta. Cook then called in Cole and the Johnson brothers to complete the libretto."

This sounds more or less right (but see below in October 1901).

[...]

Cannibal King began as Cook production, and if under his own management, this may be part of the problem; he was not a good manager; perhaps the show advertised in October (see below) represents fresh, new professional management of Ed H. Lester, who was primarily a show manager, but this did not seem to help.

[page] 86

… SCENARIO:

The plot has essential elements that go back to earliest stages of "Cannibal King" material (but not Harry Smith and/or South Pacific island Eatemall):

"The plot of the comedy hinges upon the ludicrous attempts of a colored headwaiter at a fashionable Florida hotel, who has suddenly become wealthy, to elevate the tone and mend the manners of his race and make them eligible to society" (Indianapolis Freeman, November 9, 1901, p. 5).

The father is still "Pompous Johnson" but now the daughter is Parthenia, and there are additional new characters. Krasner (1997, 64-65) gives a fuller description: it "is essentially the same as that of Jes

[page] 87

Lak White F'lks . . . . two new elements are added . . . . [and] the text was enlarged," by including two schemers who could have been "intended for either Cole and Johnson or Williams and Walker." This insight offers the possibility that the play was being revised before Cole and Johnson split, or before Williams and Walker were out of the picture. …

1901, in October: Not again mentioned in newspapers until advertised as available in late October (NY Dramatic Mirror, October 19, 1901, pp. 19, 20); Cole is no longer an author, and Dunbar’s name gets top billing as author; possibly this is a re-write to feature Cole in a solo star role; in an article entitled DUNBAR’S COMEDY/ “The Cannibal King” Soon to be Produced in New York/ (Lexington (KY) Leader, October 23, 1901, p. 7), the book is said to have been written by Dunbar and J. W. Johnson; “most of the music is founded on purely plantation melodies”; and the cast will be headed by Cole and Abbie Mitchell; the article provides an elaborate scenario that goes beyond the LoC Act I libretto to tell the story of Act II, without the cliffhanger theft of Pompus’ trunk:

 “The plot is as unique as the music is said to be catchy. It tells of Pompus Johnson, who, for a number of years, has held the position of head waiter at a fashionable Florida hotel, and, having accumulated a snug sum of money, wishes to become a factor among the Florida Negro aristocracy. He has sent his daughter, Parthenia, a beautiful quadroon, to Vassar College, where she graduates with honors, having kept her Negro parentage a secret. Pompus has heretofore countenanced the aspirations of Jerry Jenkins, an under waiter at the hotel, to his daughter’s hand, but now he begins to look with disfavor upon his suit. Jerry must gain a higher position in the wor[l]d; he must become a butler in some rich family, or second waiter in a hotel, or at least approach near the

[page] 88

dignity of a head waiter before Pompus will agree for him to marry his daughter.

A couple of dark schemers, hearing of the prosperity of Pompus, concoct a plan to swindle him out of a large sum of money by playing upon his credulity and vanity. Disguised as a conjure man one of them informs Pompus that many years before Capt. Kidd had buried a vast treasure in an old well located on Pompus’ place.  Pompus falls an easy victim to the scheme and readily gives them the amount of money asked for the secret, and to the great chagrin of the schemers digs and really finds an old chest filled with gold and jewels in the very place indicated by the fakirs.

Being now wealthy Pompus seeks a wider field of social action than Florida affords, and moves to New York, where he beings a series of lavish entertainments in his magnificent South Fifth avenue residence.

Jerry Jenkins, being discarded—for Pompus, like his paler brother, now seeks a scion of nobility or royalty to wed his daughter- --enlists in the army as a common soldier and goes to the Philippines.

Pompus enters into negotiations with Eat ‘Em All, the Cannibal King, who has been residing in Paris, to marry his daughter, Parthenia. Eat ‘Em All on his way to America has caused a panic on the ship by breaking into the store room and devouring all the raw provisions, and on his arrival is locked up in jail.

One of the schemers, who is being released from jail just as Eat ‘Em All is being locked up, and, learning from him the reason for his presence in America, impersonates the Cannibal King at the house of Pompus, where elaborate preparations are being made for the approaching marriage. The actions of the fakir disgust Pompus, and everybody else, with royalty; so Jerry, who returns from the Philippines as a Captain and who informs Pompus that he has inherited the wealth of an uncle who made a fortune in trips as a railroad porter, marries Parthenia.

An attempt is made in “The Cannibal King” to keep both play and music true to the nature and characteristics of the Southern Negro. Most of the music is founded on purely plantation melodies.

The company, composed of the best Negro singers to be found in America, has been engaged and will be headed by Bob Cole and Abbie Mitchell.

[...].

Armstead-Johnson (1981, pp. 135-37) gives more details.

1901, in August: This show never got to the stage,

[...]

[page] 96

1903, in April: short profile of Cook (The Theatre Magazine, 3/3, no. 26 (April 1903), p. 96-97), about the time In Dahomey leaves for England: "Mr. Cook is not proud of "In Dahomey," but thinks that his new opera, "The Cannibal King," on which he has been at work for several years, will entitle him to serious critical consideration. The libretto, written by a colored man, is said to be exceedingly clever and the score to contain some fine bits of composition. This opera will be presented early next season with a company composed entirely of colored singers. In the cast will be Miss Abbie Mitchell . . . and Harry T. Burleigh . . . . He is also at work in collaboration with Harry B. Smith on a musical play in which one act is laid in the South." [So he is looking to Fall 1903 for Cannibal King, and the Smith show must refer to A Girl From Dixie.]

NB: Bob Cole writes an article for Colored American Magazine which appears in March 1902, in which he says he is writing the libretto for Cook ("The Negro and the Stage," Colored American Magazine 4/11 (March 1902), pp. 301-306 at p. 306); the Indianapolis Freeman picks up on this, and reports in May that Mr. Cole is writing a libretto for Mr. Cooke's "The Cannibal King" and Dunbar is out of the business (Indianapolis Freeman, May 24, 1902, p. 5); in light of 1901 perhaps this is way late and the article was written and submitted long before it appeared in print. Or else Cole is still involved in 1902, and when Cook says the libretto is written by a colored man he means Cole and not, for example, Dunbar.

My suspicion is that if there is a Cannibal King variant that is still viable after In Dahomey, then it centers on the return of the Vassar Girl theme, i.e., going back to the Clorindy element of an educated black returning to the student's point of origin but feeling out of place. 1903, in May: on the day of the London premiere of In Dahomey, an interview with Cook appeared in the London Daily News, May 16, 1903, p. 6, and in it Cook says that in September 1903 he is "going to produce a little musical melodrama of my own, conducting it myself" (Green, "In Dahomey in London"); it is not known which if any subsequent show is what he had in mind at this time, but it could be Lucille, and from the Christmas 1902 and April 1903 items above, it could have been a variant of Cannibal King."...
-snip-
The paper continues with a chronology of other plays by Will Marion Cook. 

I gather from reading this paper that Will Marion Cook's "The Cannibal King" show was never fully produced, although some songs from "The Cannibal King" were sung in portions of "The Cannibal King" that were produced and/or in other Will Marion Cook shows. 

Please correct me if I am wrong about this by adding a comment in this pancocojams discussion thread below. Thanks!

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