tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post814890696335092294..comments2024-03-28T07:58:41.643-04:00Comments on pancocojams: "Hey Hey Get Out Of My Way" (Examples & Comments)Azizi Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-88076178481520592972024-03-16T14:47:37.041-04:002024-03-16T14:47:37.041-04:00Anonymous, it's been almost a year and I'm...Anonymous, it's been almost a year and I'm just reading your comment. Please forgive me for not thanking you sooner.<br /><br />Thanks for sharing your memories of this chant along with when and where you chanted this along with the fact that your dad remembered it from the 1950s. This is the earliest date that I have come across for this chant. <br /><br />I really appreciate it for the folkloric record.<br /><br />Best wishes!Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-25324419214910370582024-03-16T14:43:11.304-04:002024-03-16T14:43:11.304-04:00Thanks for your comment Bill R. I appreciate your ...Thanks for your comment Bill R. I appreciate your sharing this along with demographic information and how this was chanted. This is the same way that I remember seeing this chanted in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the 1990s.<br /><br />(Reading your comment made me realize that somehow I wasn't aware of the comment that was added to this thead in July 2023. Thanks for that also).<br /><br />Best wishes!Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-62624714729378648542024-03-16T13:08:36.359-04:002024-03-16T13:08:36.359-04:00As anonymous above said, it popped into my head, s...As anonymous above said, it popped into my head, so I googled it and found this thread. On the elementary school playground in Fairbanks, Alaska, just about the time of statehood (1959), 4 or 5 boys would link arms and chant "Hey, hey, get out of our way! We just got back from the USA!", often heading toward other groups of kids and making them move. It was done kind of as a bullying thing, though not anything violent.Bill Rnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-60440527617694108352023-07-15T02:31:10.749-04:002023-07-15T02:31:10.749-04:00This phrase popped into my head just now and I goo...This phrase popped into my head just now and I googled it and found this blog. I heard classmates saying this in first grade. This was in a small town near Windsor, Ontario, circa 1983. My dad heard me repeating the chant at home and said he remembered hearing the chant himself as a kid in the 1950s, in a different small town in the same region. Windsor is across the border from Detroit, so it's very possible that kids saying this had really gotten back from the USA recently. Unfortunately my memory is fuzzy as to whether there was a game associated with it, or if it was just a thing kids would yell. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-79840992804542297842023-05-01T11:41:27.104-04:002023-05-01T11:41:27.104-04:00Frank Hardy, thanks for sharing your memories of t...Frank Hardy, thanks for sharing your memories of the "Hey Hey Get Out Of The Way" rhyme.<br /><br />And thanks for adding demographic information for the folkloric record. I appreciate it!Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-80563208364137616192023-04-30T17:22:56.683-04:002023-04-30T17:22:56.683-04:00As kids in Windsor, Ontario in the 1970s we would ...As kids in Windsor, Ontario in the 1970s we would go down to the riverside and shout it at passing ships. My brother and I also spent a lot of time in Winnipeg as kids so not sure if we would have gotten it from there or the Windsor/Detroit region.Frank Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04674550423272279789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-1043977548471039132023-02-17T23:10:39.736-05:002023-02-17T23:10:39.736-05:00Anonymous. thanks for sharing that information abo...Anonymous. thanks for sharing that information about this chant.<br /><br />I didn't know that it was so well known in Canada.<br /><br />Best wishes!Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-15524889052644312592023-02-17T20:50:24.359-05:002023-02-17T20:50:24.359-05:00Elementary school, Vancouver BC, 1964, we chanted ...Elementary school, Vancouver BC, 1964, we chanted "Hey, Hey, Get out of my way, I just got back from the USA" Everybody knew this then.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-61638936090675581542023-02-10T00:39:27.580-05:002023-02-10T00:39:27.580-05:00Gisby, thanks for sharing the example of "Hey...Gisby, thanks for sharing the example of "Hey Hey Get Out Of The Way" and thanks for remembering to include demographic information for the folkloric record.<br /><br />I hadn't come across that ending line before. That's interesting since you were chanting this in Canada and (I'm assuming) had no connection to the USA. <br /><br />For the folkloric record, do you remember how you may have learned this chant ?Also, I wonder whether adults who heard the words about joining the USA army may have disregarded them as just being something that children chanted and not something that was disloyal to Canada.<br /><br />Best wishes! Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-81515367719043750572023-02-09T18:51:58.135-05:002023-02-09T18:51:58.135-05:00Late to the article, but I remember it from Winnip...Late to the article, but I remember it from Winnipeg in 1961-2. As others have said, we would link arms and march in step, chanting 'Hey! Hey! Get out of our way! We're off to join the army of the U! S! A!'Gisbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17013285001760533224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-78705438702067165392021-06-29T20:29:24.246-04:002021-06-29T20:29:24.246-04:00Anonymous (June 29, 2021), thanks very much for sh...Anonymous (June 29, 2021), thanks very much for sharing your memories of the "Hey Hey Get Out Of The Way" chant, when and how it was performed and who performed it.<br /><br />Your comment is a good example of how the internet can be used to document information about children's rhymes.<br /><br />Best wishes!<br /> Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-2520862768040454402021-06-29T15:36:36.880-04:002021-06-29T15:36:36.880-04:00I remember this chant as a playground game during ...I remember this chant as a playground game during the late 1950's to early 1960's at St. Joseph's Catholic School in Wilmette, Illinois. It involved both boys & girls, linking arms and marching around the playground; it was kind of a mobile version of 'Red Rover' where kids would try to break the chain and, if they were caught, would have to join the chain. As far as I know there was no connection to a military base (the closest base would have been Glenview Naval Air Station which was some distance away); demographically the students were all from Middle Class (both white collar & blue collar) backgrounds and White (predominantly of German heritage at the time).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-89396256700306714732021-05-26T19:43:25.311-04:002021-05-26T19:43:25.311-04:00Re-reading this comment section, I want to clarify...Re-reading this comment section, I want to clarify that the World War I time frame for this rhyme comes from Anonymous May 10, 2018 at 5:35 PM's comment and not something that I read or heard of apart from that comment.Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-137727342911909212021-05-26T19:35:14.240-04:002021-05-26T19:35:14.240-04:00Gisby, thanks for sharing that example of "He...Gisby, thanks for sharing that example of "Hey Hey Get Out Of My Way" and thanks for including demographics.<br /><br />I've never come across that version before. <br /><br />I appreciate it! Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-88418552888440591472021-05-26T13:17:24.916-04:002021-05-26T13:17:24.916-04:00In 1961-2, Winnipeg Canada, (Grade 1-2) We linked ...In 1961-2, Winnipeg Canada, (Grade 1-2) We linked arms and marched with an exaggerated side-swinging goose-step, while chanting:<br /><br />HEY! HEY!<br />Get out of our WAY!<br />We're off to join the army<br />of the U - S - A!Gisbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17013285001760533224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-55355231488253197442021-05-23T12:09:52.397-04:002021-05-23T12:09:52.397-04:00Thanks, Sherri Daines Buxton for your comment.
Do...Thanks, Sherri Daines Buxton for your comment.<br /><br />Does "the bay area" mean San Francisco Bay, California?<br /><br />What decade or year do you remember this from and was this chanted by children while walking forward with arms linked?Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-27497132171000712082021-05-23T08:45:00.766-04:002021-05-23T08:45:00.766-04:00I went to school in the bay area and we also had t...I went to school in the bay area and we also had the, "and If you don't get out I'm gonna kick you out" line. At the end of the verse. Sherri Daines Buxtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10305578297100179362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-57376016470566596702018-10-08T10:23:12.088-04:002018-10-08T10:23:12.088-04:00Thanks Billy Bob Jasper for sharing your memory of...Thanks Billy Bob Jasper for sharing your memory of this rhyme and how your school performed it. <br /><br />I gather from your comments that the DOD elementary school at NAS Yokosuka, Japan was a school that children of US armed services members attended. <br /><br />Best wishes!Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-16418680046180318692018-10-08T08:34:37.076-04:002018-10-08T08:34:37.076-04:00I remember this chant from the schoolyard at the D...I remember this chant from the schoolyard at the DOD elementary school at NAS Yokosuka, Japan in 1971. The second couplet was modified to “‘cause we were born in the USA.” We shouted it while marching with arms interlinked.Billy Bob Jasperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12619510519103835842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-18911357419492766992018-05-10T20:13:27.679-04:002018-05-10T20:13:27.679-04:00Thanks for sharing that information, Anonymous.
...Thanks for sharing that information, Anonymous. <br /><br />I appreciate it. "World War I" is the earliest time frame for this chant that I've come across thus far.Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-63785718208351262342018-05-10T17:35:20.299-04:002018-05-10T17:35:20.299-04:00My 96 year-old neighbor, a black woman from Ponca,...My 96 year-old neighbor, a black woman from Ponca, Oklahoma, uses this chant all the time when she's riding in the car with me. She remembers it from her childhood. Since she was born in 1922 I figured it was something that came back from World War I.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-81873205781317941322017-01-16T14:56:26.761-05:002017-01-16T14:56:26.761-05:00Here's an excerpt from an article that I just ...Here's an excerpt from an article that I just happened upon in which the author shares her recollection of "Hey Hey Get Out Of My Way" and other memories of being a military brat. <br />..."One other curious game was played by us military brats, at least overseas. It really wasn’t much of a game, but more of a declaration. Usually two or more kids would link arms and walk around the playground yelling at the top of their lungs, “Hey, hey, get out of my way. I just got back from the USA!” I suppose in the grand scheme of things, those you just arrived from the “World” would be that important as to demand the tribute of moving out of their way. After all, they were privy to the knowledge of what was cool stateside, and we did want to know what was going on in the States. We desperately wanted to hear about the new TV shows, toys, music, and fashions. I tried it a few times on my return from our visits back to the land of the “Round Doorknobs”, and it was elating to do."...<br />Hey, Hey! Get Out of My Way! I Just Got Back From the USA!<br />Posted: May 30, 2012 | Author: imclellan By Kim Medders<br /><br /><a href="https://weservedtoo.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/hey-hey-get-out-of-my-way-i-just-got-back-from-the-usa/" rel="nofollow">https://weservedtoo.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/hey-hey-get-out-of-my-way-i-just-got-back-from-the-usa/</a><br />-snip-<br />There are five comments to that article to date. All of the commenters write that they also remember chanting "Hey Hey Get Out Of My Way". One of the commenters had no military connection, but still chanted it.Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-78812018130659654572016-10-09T03:45:48.039-04:002016-10-09T03:45:48.039-04:00Greetings, Unknown!
Thanks for sharing your memor...Greetings, Unknown!<br /><br />Thanks for sharing your memory of "Hey Hey Get Out Of The Way" with us. And thanks for remembering :o) to add demographics!Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-42792795170409355492016-10-08T22:17:30.712-04:002016-10-08T22:17:30.712-04:00I am blessed with exceptional memory skills and cl...I am blessed with exceptional memory skills and clearly recall Hey Hey etc....I just came back from the USA when I was in Grade 2 in 1961-62 Alberta, Canada. My schoolyard buddies and I did indeed link arms and paraded around the school playground while we chanted this message. I had never been to the United States at that point in my young life and imagined it to be an exotic destination at the time. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15878854195742107496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-89707537581584995242016-08-03T22:55:38.175-04:002016-08-03T22:55:38.175-04:00I just happened to find this Omega Psi Phi, Inc. s...I just happened to find this Omega Psi Phi, Inc. step show chant that is quite similar to "Hey Hey Get Out Of The Way":<br /><br />"I said move out the way and let the Ques go past.<br />So get back.<br />The Ques are coming. The Ques are coming". <br /><br />[repeat]<br /><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbIpz95ndsM" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbIpz95ndsM</a><br />This chant begins at 2:15 in the video.<br /><br />Omega Psi Phi, Inc (whose members are also known as "Ques") is a university based historically Black Greek letter fraternity. Members of that fraternity who served in the United States military or were serving in the military may have adapted that chant from a military cadences. Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.com