tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post1533893399615235197..comments2024-03-28T07:58:41.643-04:00Comments on pancocojams: Children's Rhyme "Hey...How About A Date Meet Me At The Corner About Half Past EightAzizi Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-91232844401713849932014-07-14T09:31:14.313-04:002014-07-14T09:31:14.313-04:00That's a good possibility, slam2011. I definit...That's a good possibility, slam2011. I definitely think that "sam BOOM" and "san boot" were chanted to emphasize or imitate their bass sound.<br />Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-19128130994127051572014-07-14T09:21:10.129-04:002014-07-14T09:21:10.129-04:00Thanks very much slam 2011.
It's good to hea...Thanks very much slam 2011. <br /><br />It's good to hear from a Briton who remembers both those points- the television show and how that skipping rhyme was performed.<br /><br />Given your comment, I'm now not sure whether this rhyme originated in Britain or in the USA. But maybe it was both if it was created by a child or adult associated with GIs stationed in Britain.<br /><br />And as to how a rhyme from the USA could have shown up in Britain - <br />I forgot about the presence of the families of soldiers stationed "overseas" is one way that rhymes, chants, and songs were transmitted (and still are transmitted). But I think the WWII date is too early, if indeed this rhyme really didn't appear until the 1950s.Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-9301310992696674342014-07-14T09:12:04.525-04:002014-07-14T09:12:04.525-04:00Correction- The Pointer Sisters sang "Sam BOO...Correction- The Pointer Sisters sang "Sam BOOM".Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-32642546321714854282014-07-14T03:43:03.839-04:002014-07-14T03:43:03.839-04:00About 'sans Boots': I don't know which...About 'sans Boots': I don't know which European country or language it comes from but, just as the sound of a trumpet is imitated by a word like 'tantantara', the sound of a drum was conventionally rendered as 'tsing-boum!' I've only read the words, but it's possible they were pronounced something like "zang boom"?slam2011https://www.blogger.com/profile/03112153426493772446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-43015739890436704822014-07-14T03:34:54.282-04:002014-07-14T03:34:54.282-04:00Azizi, I can tell you from memory there was a b+w ...Azizi, I can tell you from memory there was a b+w TV show of 'Roy Rogers' shown in Britain in the 1950s. Also from memory, the star was considered a bit passée compared with the actors playing other screen cowboys, who were younger and more dashing.<br />That entire British skipping rhyme you quoted sounds saucy in a pre-pubertal way. Presumably the girl jumped into the rope at 'Hi' and performed actions to the words, such as a hip-shake at the word 'rumba', a wide scissor-kick on 'splits', a jump to reverse herself and face the other way on 'turn around' and a kick which would throw up her skirt at 'kicks'. I can't believe I ever had the physical skills to do this kind of thing.<br />The vaguely American opening to the rhyme may have roots in the presence of GIs in Britain in WWII.<br />slam2011https://www.blogger.com/profile/03112153426493772446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-45939113487660962692014-07-13T20:24:31.695-04:002014-07-13T20:24:31.695-04:00My idea about the meaning of the phrase "san ...My idea about the meaning of the phrase "san BOOTS' in the "Hey Baby" rhyme that is given as Example #1 in the post above has changed since I wrote about it in that 2009 Mudcat "We Wear Our Hair In Curls" discussion thread. <br /><br />I now think that the word "BOOTS" is a folk etymology form of the word "boom" from the song "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Aye" <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ta-ra-ra_Boom-de-ay" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ta-ra-ra_Boom-de-ay</a> . And I now believe that "sans" is just a folk etymology form of the word "and".<br /><br />In the pancocojams post on the rhyme "Ladies And Gentlemen, Children Too" I included a video of the Pointer Sisters. That Jazz group introduced their performance of "Wang Dang Doodle" with the "Ladies And Gentlemen" children's rhyme . As part of that rhyme those singers chanted "Sans Boom". <br /><br />The tune for "Hey Baby" (as sung by my informant Barbara Ray, and the tune for "Ladies And Gentlemen" (which she also performed for me in 1996, and which the Pointer Sisters chanted) are the same as the 1892 "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Aye" vaudeville song: Also, the tune for the "She Wears Her Hair In Curl" rhyme is the same as the "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Aye" song.<br /><br />An example of the "We Wear Our Hair In Curls" rhyme that I've come across includes the phrase "alla bostia". For those interested in reading it, that example can be found in that Mudcat "We Wear Our Hair In Curls discussion thread, posted by Azizi Date: 28 Aug 09 - 09:26 PM but quoting Guest Tianna in another Mudcat thread: "Folklore: Do kids still do clapping rhymes?", Date: 30 Dec 05 - 11:42 AM.<br /><br />That sexualized version of "We Wear Our Hair In Curls" * begins with the introductory line "Shame Shame Shame" . The phrase "alla bostia" is the second line. <br /><br />I now believe that "alla bostia" is a folk etymology form of "ta ra ra boom de aye". <br />Furthermore, other examples of "We Wear Our Hair In Curls" include the "ta ra ra boom de aye" line or some folk adapted version such as "sha la la bum-shi-ka".<br /><br />*WARNING: Some examples of "We Wear Our Hair In Curls" children's rhyme are quite sexually explicit. <br />Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.com