Hi Lo Piccolo, High Low Jackalo, & Similarly Spelled Hand Clap Rhymes (Videos & Word Only Examples)

Sandie Heckel, Aug 27, 2012
-snip-
My transcription of this version is given below. Additions and corrections are welcome.

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Edited by Azizi Powell Latest revision - April 7, 2026 This is Part II of a two part pancocojams series on the children's hand clap game "High Low Piccolo" (also know as "Hi Lo Jackalow", "Hi Lo Chickalo" and similar spellings). This post showcases several videos of the hand clap game "High Low Jack-a-lo" and similarly named hand clap games. This post also features some text (word only) examples of the hand clap game "High Low Jack-a-lo" and similarly named hand clap games Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2024/01/how-childrens-hand-clap-game-high-low.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. That post also presents information on how the hand clap game "High Low Jack-a-lo" got its name. The content of this post is presented for folkloric and recreational purposes.  All copyrights remain with their owners. Thanks to all those who are featured in these showcased videos and thanks to the publishers of that video on YouTube. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post. ****
SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 - High Low Jack-a-lo

bml 128, March 27, 2015
 My name is... High low Jack-a-lo Jack-a-lo high low High low Jack-a-lo Jack-a-lo high!
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SHOWCASE VIDEO #3 - High Low Piccolo

Sarah Dorricott, Sep 12, 2014

Ollie and Sarah attempt to entertain themselves in the plane station.

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLE #4-Hi lo chicka lo' with Charlotte Law - Learn the playground song and game 

Sing Up, April 29, 2021
-snip-
Are these movements an adult adapted variation of what used to be a hand clap rhyme or did adults lift it from children to add to their school's music curriculum? Either way, when did this activity first become part of "High Lo Jackalo" (and similarly named) rhymes?

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SOME EXAMPLES OF THESE RHYMES
These examples are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.

Some replies to these comments may be posted below that comment.


HIGH LOW JACKALO (Example #1)
"Very interesting how these rhymes etc. are spread across continents.

 Version of the above, called "Jackalo", as a handclapping song, played by middle-class white British girls in private school, Essex, just outside Greater London, end 20th/beginning 21st century:

My name is [each partner holds hands together, palm to palm, as if "praying", then each pair of hands brushes the other]

Hands now parted. Partners face each other. [Whilst the rest of the song is sung, left hand is held straight out, as if waiting to shake hands. Right hands meet, high and low, to match the rhythm of the song]:

Hi, low, Jackalo, Jackalo, Jackalo,

Hi, low, Jackalo, Jackalo and HIGH !"
-jeanie; http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=100807 [hereafter given as "Mudcat: Gigalo"], 4/15/2007
-snip-
The commenter's words "Version of the above" refers to a version of the African American foot stomping cheer "Gigalo".

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HIGH LOW PECCALOW
my name is high low peccalow,
peccalow,high low high low
peccalow peccalow yo
thats my name don't ware it out..
high low peccalow peccalow Yo
- GUEST,me and my friends love this one, http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=63097 "Folklore: Do kids still do clapping rhymes?", 05, jUNE 07,

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HIGH LOW JIGGA-LOW (Example #3)
"We have a different version of "high low peccalow" here (Herts, England). Instead of peccalow it reads:

My names is ....

High Low Jigga-low

Jigga-low high Low

 

High Low Jigga-low

Jigga-low high

 

You hold onto your friend's right hand with yours and your left hands make contact.

When the song says high, you clap above the joined hands, when the song says low you clap below and when the song says Jigga you clap on the joined hands.

The aim is to run through the song as fast as possible without mucking up the clapping.

We're 17 now, but we still sometimes play it if we've nothing better to.

Usually the most muck ups happen on the second line where it goes low high."
-Guest ,Amon;http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=63097 "Folklore: Do kids still do clapping rhymes?"; 11/25/2007

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HI LO PICALO (Example #4)
"It goes hi lo picalo picalo hi lo hi lo picalo picalo yo

at yo you do gun the one who does it first wins"
- @halynakalynovych6245, 2020, published by Sarah Dorricott, Sep 12, 2014;   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QayL2O-w21k
-snip-
Here are two comments from that discussion thread:

a. @Reirae, 2015
"We ended it with "stretch" and you'd have to do the splits a little more each time :)"

**
b. @cobaltcalico8476, 2021
"we would end it with JOE!!! And youd use the hand to clap to push the other persons shoulder and whoever did it faster won"

**

HIGH LOW CHICKA LOW (Example #5)
"In school we would do the clapping games e.gMy name is high low chicka low chicka chicka high low high low chicka low chicka chicka high low…."
-Random parent, 2018, https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=410642&page=4

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HIGH LOW PICCOLO (Example #6)
"My name is

Hi-Low Piccolo [The women slap their partner's hand up and down in response to the words that they chant]i

Piccolo, high low

Hi-Low Piccolo

Hello! [The two women wave their hands in the standard "hello" greeting.]

Yo! [The two mimic the arm folded way that rappers' supposedly greet people  while saying "Yo!"] 
-snip-
This was my transcription of this hand clap rhyme that is given as Showcase Video #1 in this post.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qP3uCgjFaM "Hi-Low Piccolo", published by Sandie Heckel, August 27, 2012

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HIGH LOW PICCOLO (Example #7)
"I do it like this:

My name is High low piccolo piccolo high low high low piccolo piccolo jump"
-noeleen, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qP3uCgjFaM "Hi-Low Piccolo", published by Sandie Heckel, August 27, 2012

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HIGH LOW PICCOLO (Example #8) 
"try:High Low piccolo piccolo high Low high Low piccolo piccolo yo joe"
-@fuzzyandkitty7751, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qP3uCgjFaM "Hi-Low Piccolo", published by Sandie Heckel, August 27, 2012

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HIGH LOW JIG A LOW (Example #9)
"in New Zealand we do it:

My name is...

high low jig a low

jig a low high low

high low jig a low

jig a low, Kia Ora Bro!"
-@libby4810, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qP3uCgjFaM "Hi-Low Piccolo", published by Sandie Heckel, August 27, 2012

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HIGH LOW CHICKA LOW (Example #10)
"I’m pretty sure it high low chicka low chicka low high low hight low chicka low chicka low yo"
- @mohammedshahidashraf, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qP3uCgjFaM "Hi-Low Piccolo", published by Sandie Heckel, August 27, 2012

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HIGH LOW PICCOLO (Example #11)
"in Canada its "My name is,

high low

piccolo

piccolo

high low

high low

piccolo

piccolo you!"
-@mooseboy7157, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qP3uCgjFaM "Hi-Low Piccolo", published by Sandie Heckel, August 27, 2012
-snip-
Here are some replies to that comment:

a. @seahawksfan4803, 2019
"yeah I'm from Canada too so when I saw one of these I was like hey thats not how it goes"

 **
Reply
b. @RmStreamsYt, 2020
"She is from Canada"
-snip-
"She" refers to Sandie Heckel, the woman who was chanting the rhyme in this video/

**
Reply
c.  @mooseboy7157, 2020
"@RmStreamsYt  ok, Canada is a big country so maybe she's like on the opposite side of the country. Maybe they say it different there"

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HIGH LOW CHICK O LOW (Example #12)
"I live in England and in my school we do

My name is

High low chick o low chick o low high low high low chick o low chick o low high low but we don’t do the thing you did at the end we clap"
-@katybreen2939, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qP3uCgjFaM "Hi-Low Piccolo", published by Sandie Heckel, August 27, 2012
-snip-
Here's a comment from that video uploader:
@sandieheckel3328, 2018
"It's interesting how these games have changed over the years and also in different geographic regions"

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HIGH LOW PICCaLO (Example #13)
"No it's "my name is hi lo picca lo picca lo hi lo hi lo picca lo Go"
-@NoOne-xo6gc, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qP3uCgjFaM "Hi-Low Piccolo", published by Sandie Heckel, August 27, 2012

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HIGH LOW CHICA LOW (Example #14)

"High low chica low

Chica low chica low

High low chica low

chica low high

Step 1: teach song in small chunks ensuring children are using the correct pitches (use

the linked song to help you:https://soundcloud.com/reading_museum/hi-lo-chicalo-3?in=reading_museum/sets/the-music-of-reading-abbey ) *

Step 2: add in body percussion High – touch shoulders for ‘high’, on ‘low’ touch

knees, finally on ‘chica’ touch the tummy

Step 3: put left hand in front (stays still), right hand goes above the left hand on the

‘high’, on ‘low’ the right hand goes below the left hand. Finally, on the ‘chica’ clap

your hands together.

Step 4: shake hands with another person, then stand facing each other to combine

hand actions. Your right hand should clap with your partners on the ‘high’ and the

‘low’.

Step 5: at the end of each rendition teacher says: it’s time to say goodbye to you I’m

off to find somebody new! And children find a new partner.
- https://www.readingmuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/High%20Low%20Chica%20Low%20and%20Cobbler%20Cobbler%20traditional%20playground%20song_0.pdf

Abbey Quarter Reading Museum
 
High Low Chica Low: Traditional playground song/game 
-snip-
The tune is the same as the “High Low Jack-a-lo- hand clap games I have found on YouTube but the tempo is much slower.

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This concludes Part II of this two part pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome. 

The Children's Rhyme "Gigalo" ("Jigalow") - Examples & Probable Sources (Updated Post)

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Update - January 18, 2024

This post was originally published on pancocojams in December 2011 http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/12/childrens-rhyme-gigalo-examples.html.

A fourth video, and selected comments from two of these videos have been added to that 2011 post.

This pancocojams post provides text, video examples, and comments about the children's playground rhyme "Gigalo" ("Jigalow").

The content of this post is presented for folkloric and recreational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who contributed examples of these rhymes. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to those who are featured in the videos and who published those videos on YouTube.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES ABOUT "GIGALO" /"JIGALO" CHEERS/RHYMES
Azizi Powell, Sept 2018

"Gigalo" (also spelled "Jigalow") is a children's recreational composition that has different performance activities.

I recall reading a YouTube discussion thread in which a commenter recalled playing "Gigalo" in the 1970s, but unfortunately I can't find that comment now. In the late 1980s I observed my daughter and some of her female friends performing "Gigalo" in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

Given its textual structure and performance activity, I believe that the Gigalo rhyme is of African American origin. However, it's clear from reading online examples of "Gigalo" that this cheer/rhyme is also known and performed by non-African Americans (mostly girls).

From the number of YouTube video examples and comments, it appears that "Gigalo" is quite widely known in the United States. However, "Gigalo" isn't included in any off-line publications of children's rhymes that I have come across. Before the internet it was rare for most African American children's recreational rhymes, singing games, and cheers to be included in books, records, and other publications of children's rhymes. Instead, those rhymes were passed on by word of mouth.

Most publications of children's rhymes only include the adult approved version of playground rhymes and not the multiple versions of rhymes that children really say. The failure to publish examples of African American playground rhymes is just one aspect of this point, but it is a critical aspect since-in my opinion- many American children's recreational rhymes come from African Americans.

In part because recreational rhymes and cheers traditionally weren't written down, many of those compositions were short lived, lasting only for a short space of time in certain neighborhoods. But, for some reason/s, the "Gigalo" rhyme/cheer has survived sometimes with changes in its words, but not its tune, and sometimes with some changes in its performance styles.

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HOW THE NAME FOR THIS CHEER/RHYME/SONG IS SPELLED
The word "Gigalo" and "Jigalo" is a folk processed form of the words "Jack a low". "High Low Jack A Low" is the American name for the British card game "All Fours".

Here's information about this card game:
From http://www.woodburystrings.com/bands-for-hire/high-low-jack/
"HIGH-LOW-JACK is one of several names for an old-time card game that originated in the 1600s in England and is still very popular there. Known as All-Fours in England, it was the most popular gambling game in America until after the Civil War when Draw Poker began to overshadow it. It continued to be popular throughout the 19th century, and was most commonly known as Seven Up or Old Sledge. It is still popular today in various forms including Pitch or Auction Pitch."

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SOME ADULTS' OPPOSITION TO CHILDREN PERFORMING RHYMES/CHEERS ENTITLED "GIGALO"("JIGALO") 
Because the word "gigalo" has a sexualized meaning, some adults who aren't aware of the history of those rhymes, believe the gigalo rhymes refer to that sexualized meaning and are opposed to children performing those rhymes/cheers.

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MY USE OF THE SPELLING "GIGALO" FOR THESE RHYMES/CHEERS
I used the spelling "gigalo" when I published an example of that cheer in 2001 on my no longer active cocojams.com website". That example was the one that I saw my daughter and her friends perform in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the late 1980s.

The cocojams.com cultural website was consistently online from 2001 to much of 2014 when I voluntarily deactivated it. Judging from the number of recreational examples that I received on that website's easy to use email form, a lot of that website's readers were children and pre-teens who had probably never seen those examples written down. 

I also used the spelling "gigalo" in the discussion thread about that cheer/rhyme that I started in 2007 on the Internet folk music forum Mudcat http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=100807 [hereafter given as "Mudcat: Gigalo"]. I believe that at least some of the examples of that cheer/rhyme that are found in that discussion thread spelled that word "gigalo" instead of "jigalo" or "jigalow" because they read how I spelled that word and because the word "gigolo" is a relatively English common word. 

One problem with documenting children's recreational rhymes and cheers online is the copycat effect that often occurs when people repeat the spelling if not the words themselves of examples that come across online. 

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"GIGALO" RECREATIONAL CHEERS/RHYMES PERFORMANCE STYLES
Gigalo can be performed as circle singing game, as foot stomping cheers, or as hand clap games with imitative motions. Here are descriptions for each of these performance styles 

Circle Singing Games
Based on examples of YouTube videos and other online example of "Gigalo" that I have come across (as of January 14, 2024), that rhyme appears to most often be performed as an imitative singing game by children standing forming a circle, but not holding hands with one person at a time standing in the center of the circle. At some point of the song, the "middle person" performs actions that conform to the words of the rhyme and the rest of the people forming the circle then chants and joins with the middle person, imitating that dance or other movement that the middle person is doing . Another term for imitative singing games is "show me your motion" singing games. At the end of that iteration of that rhyme, another person's name is called out, the former middle person rejoins the circle formation, and the game immediately begins again from the beginning with the person whose name was called out as the new middle person.

Foot Stomping Cheers
The textual structure (the way the words are structured) of many examples of "Gigalo" that I have seen or come across online fits my definition of "foot stomping cheers" because the words of the cheer are divided into the group and consecutive soloists. 

This group/consecutive soloists structure is the signature structure for foot stomping cheers. By "group/consecutive soloist" I mean that the group's voice is heard first, and then a soloist's voice is heard. This pattern of alternating voices continues until a soloist's slightly longer portion occurs. That "soloist portion may be the end of the cheer, or the cheer might end with the group (and, sometimes also the soloist) repeating the soloist's words.

At the end of that rendition of the cheer, the complete cheer immediately starts again from the beginning with a new soloist. The order of soloists is selected before the cheer activity begins. That pattern of consecutive soloists continues until everyone in the group has had one turn as the soloist.

That said, "Gigalo"/"Jigalo" cheers/rhymes don't always fit the alternating foot stomping/(individual) hand clapping pattern that is characteristic of other foot stomping cheers that I'm aware of.

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Hand Clap games with imitative motions 
Gigalo can be performed as a partner or three, four, or more hand clap routine that combines hand claps with imitative motions. Two people, three, or four people chant this rhyme while facing each other and performing a hand clapping routine and imitative movements that conform with the words of this rhyme.

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TEXT EXAMPLES OF "GIGALO" ("JIGALOW" and similar spellings)
(Examples in this post are given in no particular order)

Example #1
All: Gig ah lo-o
Gig gig a lo-o
Gig ah lo-o
Gig gig a lo-o
Group: Hey, Kayla
Kayla: What?
Group: Are you ready to gig?
Kayla: Gig what?
Group: Gigalo
Kayla : My hands up high
My feet down low
And this is the way
I gig a lo
Group: Her hands up high
Her feet down low
And this is the way she gigalos
-Tazi M. Powell.; foot stomping cheer, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, mid to late 1980s, collected by Azizi Powell in the 1980s and transcribed in the 1990s from an audio tape that was made in the 1990s.

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Example #2 & #3
GIGALO
This is a handclap/foot stomping cheer called Gigolo.
Gig-olo-o
Gig-Gig-olo-o
Gig-olo-o
Gig-gig-olo-o
Group: Hey [girls name]
Girl: Yeah!
Group: Hey [girls name]
Girl: Yeah
Group: show us how yuh get down.!
Girl: what.?!
Group: show us how yuh get down.!
Girl: Well, my hands up high, my feet down low and thats the way I gigolo (does dance/motion of her own)
Group: Well, her hands up high, her feet down low and thats the way she gigolos (group repeats the unique dance/motion)
Repeat with a new girl and new dance/motion.)

OOOORRR:

Gig-olo-o
Gig-Gig-olo-o
Gig-olo-o
Gig-gig-olo-o
Group: Hey [girls name]
Girl: Yeah!
Group: Hey [girls name]
Girl: Yeah
Group: show us how yuh get down.!
Girl: what.?!
Group: show us how yuh get down.!
Girl: Well my back aint right my bra too tight my hips keep shakin from left to right and THATS the way I gigolo (does dance/motion of her own)
Group: Well my back aint right my bra too tight my hips keep shakin from left to right and THATS the way she gigolos(group repeats the unique dance/motion)

(Repeat with a new girl and new dance/motion.)
-Guest, 17yr old kid at heart:); http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4300&messages=171 "Children's Street Songs"; July 20, 2010

Editor: Note that the informant indicates that "this is a hand clap/foot stomping cheer." It's possible, and perhaps likely, that she (or he) could have used the phrase "foot stomping cheer" in imitation of my use of that phrase in earlier posts on that discussion thread.

The "show us how you get down" line is found in in mid 1980s foot stomping cheer "Get Down"... The lines "my back is aching/my bra's too tight" are commonly found in the very popular hand clap rhyme "Bang Bang Choo Choo Train".

-snip-
Most examples of "Gigalo" are posted online without any information about their performance activity. Here are two such examples:

Example #4 Gigalo: performance activity unknown

JIGALO
here is the real version ppl.

HEY(Girls name)
Girl:what?
ME: are you ready to jigalo?
girl:yeah!
Both: my hands up high!
My feet down low!
This is the way I jigalo!
jig-a-low
jig-jig-a-looow
jig-a-low
jig-jig-a-looow
(you keep repeating until you get bored. You also do a little dance :) hoped this helped
-Guest, meesha ; "Mudcat: Gigalo" ; May 17, 2010

**
Example #5 performance activity unknown
JIGALOW
my friend taught me this.

my hands up high
my knees down low
but this the way i jigalow
the sky is blue
the grass is green
and this the way I do my thing
your daddy cook
your momma bake
but this the way my booty shake
-No name; 2/15/2007 ; Cocojams:FSC

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Example #6:
Refrain (Unison)
Jig-a-low, jig, jig-a-low
Jig-a-low, jig, jig-a-low

Part I
(Call) Jasmine: Hey Stephanie!
(Response) Stephanie: Say what?
Jasmine: In-troduce yourself!
Stephanie: Know what?
Jasmine: In-troduce yourself!
[They exchange roles here.]
Stephanie: My name is Ste-phanie
Jasmine: Yeah!
Stephanie: I got the mucle.
Jasmine: Yeah!
Stephanie: To do the hu-stle
Jasmine: Yeah!
Stephanie: I do my thang
Jasmine: Yeah!
Stephanie: On the video screen
Jasmine: Yeah!
Stephanie: I do the ro, ro, ro, ro, ro-bot (punctuates each syllable with Do Do Brown)
Jasmine: She do the ro, ro, ro, ro, ro-bot (Jasmine imitates Stephanie's version of the dance)

Refrain (Unison)
Jig-a-low, jig, jig-a-low
Jig-a-low, jig, jig-a-low

Part 2
Stephanie: Hey Jasmine!
Jasmine: Hey what?
Stephanie: Are you ready?
Jasmine: To what,?
Stephanie; To jig
Jasmine: Jig-a-low?
(unison): jig what?

[Exchanged roles again]

Jasmine: Well, My hands up high, my feet down low.
and THIS's the way I jig-a-low
[Jasmine creates a stylized move on THIS's]
Stephanie: Well, My hands up high, my feet down low.
and THIS's the way she jig-a-low
[Stephanie mimics Jasmine's stylized move on THIS's.]
-Kyra D. Gaunt' book The Games Black Girls Play: Learning The Ropes From Double -Dutch To Hip-Hop (University Press, New York, 2006, page 82);
-snip-
This example combines the foot stomping cheer "Jigalow" with the foot stomping cheer "Introduce Yourself".

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GIGALO VIDEO EXAMPLES
Example #1: playing gigalo at cheer camp



Uploaded by bby209angl on Aug 3, 2010
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread, with numbers added for referencing purposes only:
1. blurrrdesign, 2013
"I can't believe this is an accepted cheer. Do these kids ever know that a Gigolo is a male prostitute? I'm thinking they do since thier moves replicate having sex. Yet it's still allowed."

**
REPLY
2. Allie Wilson, 2018
"excuse me hunny that is not accepted here"
-snip-
My response to blurrrdesign's comment is that words that are spelled and/or pronounced the same don't necessarily have the same meaning. The word "jigalo" (with various spellings) in this children's game/dance doesn't mean "male prostitute". Read the information given above for the British and American (USA) origins of the children's game "Gigalo".

**
3. Kelli M., 2014
"We used to do this recess lol....many many years ago"

**
4. sourjuicesss, 2014
"I used to play this when I was little. I'm only 9 doe. I loved playing little competitions with my friends.

**
5. Amelia Morado, 2016
"lol,we did this for one of our dances during football games!!XD"

**
6. Lillian P, 2016
"people still doing that game lololol"

**
7. Angelo Tyreev, 2017
"i played this game in second grade"

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Video Example #2: Playing jigalo



Regan Leigh Woodruff, Uploaded on Jan 28, 2009

just a bunch of people dancin'
-snip-
Notice how the people playing this game aren't doing any foot stomps while they sing "Gigalo".

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Video Example #3: shows us how you gigolo!



Uploaded by yfcsharmel on Sep 9, 2008

Yfc camp september 5-7 2008.

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Video Example #4: 9 YEAR OLD YOUNG JARVEZ - "JIGGALO"



Deno Terrorteno, Published on Jan 27, 2011
-snip-
This is a Hip Hop song that is performed by Young Jarvez, an African American boy. 
Here's a comment from this video's discussion thread:
neekyboo77, 2016
"Man, I remember singing this little ditty with my friends back in the early 80's. This was cool to see. Back then it was one of them "fast girl" songs lol."
-snip-
I'm really surprised that this video doesn't have its comment feature closed. It should, given that it is full of profanity and homophobic comments and the Facebook-like way that some commenters are posting there (presenting personal information online like YouTube discussion threads are a social forum) Example:
EMC187, 2013: "Young javes is my frend he use to go to my school highlands elemantry".
-snip-
Updated: January 13, 2024 - This video's discussion thread is deleted. I don't know when that occurred. However, I consider this video to be historically important particularly because of the way the visuals document how African American children (girls and boys) performed this "cheer"/song. That said, historically my research indicates that "Jigalo"/"Gigalo" was rarely performed by boys. 

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"Pop See Ko" Children's Movement Activity Song & Its Precursor Singing Games "Jigalow" ("Gigalo")

Debora Marines Teach Magically, Apr 27, 2015

Kindergarten having fun moving!
-snip-
This is an example of numerous YouTube videos of children in schools and in summer camps or their teachers/staff performing "Pop See Ko".

Notice that  this video was published on YouTube one month after Koo Koo Kanga Roo published a video of their composition of the singing game "Pop See Ko".

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Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest update- January14, 2024

This pancocojams  post presents information about and lyrics & videos of KooKoo Kanga Roo's children's game/dance song "Pop See Ko" (sometimes given as "Popsicle").

This post also includes lyrics for and videos of the much earlier American children's game "Jigalo" (also given as "Jigalow" and "Gigalo"). "Gigalo"/"Jigalo" cheers/singing games are the precursors for "Pop See Ko".

The content of this post is presented for folkloric and recreational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos and all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

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INFORMATION ABOUT KOO KOO KANGA ROO AND GONOODLE
"Pop See Koo" is a song/dance that is part of the Koo Koo Kanga Roo repertoire. Here's information about Koo Koo Kanga Roo:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koo_Koo_Kanga_Roo
"Koo Koo Kanga Roo is an American comedic dance-pop duo from Minneapolis, Minnesota, consisting of vocalists Bryan (Bryan Atchison) and Neil (Neil Olstad).

Billed as an "interactive dance party duo" and described as "the Beastie Boys meet Sesame Street",[1] Koo Koo Kanga Roo showcase a colorful live show which relies heavily on audience participation, featuring overtly silly sing-along songs which are typically accompanied by their own individual dance move.[2]...

Koo Koo Kanga Roo have defined themselves foremost as a live band, with their performances and audience interaction being the pure core of the group, even more so than their recorded music.[4][5] Bryan and Neil are the only members of Koo Koo Kanga Roo, and thus perform all of their songs against pre-recorded backing tracks played from their iPods over the venue's PA system.[2]...

Appearance on GoNoodle
Koo Koo Kanga Roo partners with GoNoodle, a brain break website for teachers, to produce short and fun videos that encourage kids to get up and dance in the classroom. These videos are available on GoNoodle for free."...
-snip-
I believe that Koo Koo Kango Roo teaming up with GoNoodle greatly contributed to how quickly and how widely their song "Pop See Ko" has been spread in the United States and elsewhere.  

Both Koo Koo Kanga Roo "Pop See Ko" videos that I've found on YouTube are led by the middle aged White American duo known as "Koo Koo Kanga Roo". The informally dressed men are shown outside of a log cabin in the woods. In one of the videos one of the Koo Koo Kanga Roo duo wears a "fanny pack", probably for comedic effect.

These "Pop See Ko" videos often include animation and also often feature other adults (and in one video, also a group of children).

As of May 31, 2016 12:02 AM there were a total of 7,451,947 views for this Pop See Ko video which was published on YouTube on Mar 30, 2015. This is the earliest date for "Pop See Koo" that I've found thus far. [January 14, 2024 - That video has since been deleted. Another Koo Koo Kanga Roo/GoNoodles "Po See Ko" video [embedded below] that was published in July 2020 has 14,534,327 views as of January 14, 2024.

Except for the words "Pop See Ko", the words, tune, and performance activities for "Pop See Ko" are exactly the same as the "Gigalo"/"Jigalo" cheer/rhyme. A commenter wrote that she remembered "Gigalo" from the late 1970s. The earliest performance of "Gigalo" that I saw in real life was in the late 1980s (my daughter and some of her female friends in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.) 

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LYRICS FOR "POP SEE KO"
Hey ______________
Hey what?
Are you ready?
For what?
To pop
Pop what?
Pop See Ko!

My hands are high
My feet are low
And this is how I pop see ko
His hands are high
His feet are low
And this is how I pop see ko
Pop see ko
Pop-pop see ko
Pop see ko
Pop-pop see ko
from Pop See Ko, released May 7, 2015

Source: http://music.kookookangaroo.com/track/pop-see-ko
-snip-
Koo Koo Kanga Roo is credited as the composers of "Pop See Ko".

A number of commenters in "Pop See Ko" video discussion threads*  mistake the words "Pop See Ko" for the English word "Popsicle". "Popsicle" is a registered brand name for a frozen fruit flavored snack. That brand name is widely used (at least in the United States) for similar frozen treats that aren't marketed by the company that owns that brand name.

*As is the case with most discussion threads for YouTube children's videos, since late 2019, discussion threads for Koo Koo Kangaroo's YouTube videos and almost all the other YouTube videos of "Pop See Ko" have been deleted.

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COMPARISON BETWEEN "POP SEE KO" AND "JIGALOW" ("JIGALO", "GIGALO")
With the exception of the words "Pop See Ko" and the word "Pop","Pop See Ko" is an exact replica of the American game song "Jigalow" ("Jigalo", "Gigalo"). "Gigalo" begins

Hey ______________ [person's name]
Hey what?
Are you ready?
For what?
To gig
Gig what?
Gig a lo!
-snip-
The rest of the words that are given for "Pop See Koo" are the same for the remainder of the "Gigalo"/"Jigalow" song. And, just like the participants for "Pop See Koo" dance/game, each "soloist" for the Gigalo/ Jigalow game is encouraged to make up their own movement that the rest of the group then mimics.

Here's an excerpt from an earlier pancocojams post on "Gigalo" - http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/12/childrens-rhyme-gigalo-examples.html*:
"The earliest example of "Gigalo" that I've found is the example that I collected from my daughter & her friends in the mid to late 1980s (see text example #1 above). Of course, earlier examples of that cheer may exist in other persons' memories or in written form.

Given its textual structure and performance activity, I believe that the Gigalo rhyme is of African American origin. However, it's clear from reading online examples of "Gigalo" that this cheer/rhyme is also known and performed by non-African Americans (mostly girls)...

The textual structure of "Gigalo" (the way the words are structured) fits my definition for "foot stomping cheers".

Gigalo has a group/consecutive soloists structure which is the signature structure for foot stomping cheers. By "group/consecutive soloist" I mean that the group's voice is heard first, and then a soloist's voice is heard. This pattern of alternating voices continues until a soloist's slightly longer portion occurs...

At the end of that rendition of the cheer, the complete cheer immediately starts again from the beginning with a new soloist. The order of soloists is selected before the cheer activity begins. That pattern of consecutive soloists continues until everyone in the group has had one turn as the soloist.

That said, the body (including the foot movements) of people chanting "Gigalo" may not be the same as the synchronized, coordinated movements that are performed by "steppers" doing [other] foot stomping cheers."
-end of quote-

In addition to categorizing the textual structure "Gigalo" (and "Pop See Ko") as a foot stomping cheer, the movements of these songs can be considered as part of the "show me your motion" category of children's game songs. Children and other participants playing these types of (usually circle) games are encouraged to perform individualized movements that are different than those which may have preceded them. And the rest of the group is encouraged to try to exactly replicate the movements that each "soloist" does.

*That post includes multiple examples of "Gigalo" rhymes as well as examples of the United Kingdom hand clap rhymes "High Low Jack A Low" which I think may have been the inspiration for "Gigalo"/"Jigalow".

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS OF "POP SEE KO" 

Example #1 -Koo Koo- Pop See Ko

Steve Steve, July 17, 2020
-snip-
This video replaces a Koo Koo Kanga Roo video of "Pop See Ko" that was published on YouTube in 2015.

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Example #2: Pop See Koo 3.0



Carmi Scheller, Published on Apr 28, 2015

4th Grade Version of Pop See Ko

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Example #3: Popsicle Song | The Ciera and Olivia Show



Ciera and Olivia Show Published on Jul 15, 2015

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS OF "JIGALO"/"GIGALO"

Example #1: Travis learned the jigalow!



caitlingilson, Uploaded on Oct 21, 2008

travis and the volleyball team (JV) get down at the camarillo tournament!

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Example #2: playing gigalo at cheer camp



bby209angl, Uploaded on Aug 3, 2010

this was my first time playing it was fun :)

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The Children's Rhyme "Gigalo" ("Jigalow") - Examples & Probable Sources

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Update - October 15, 2025

This pancocojams post provides text, video examples, and comments about the children's playground rhyme "Gigalo" ("Jigalow").

The content of this post is presented for folkloric and recreational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who contributed examples of these rhymes. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to those who are featured in the videos and who published those videos on YouTube.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES ABOUT "GIGALO" /"JIGALO" CHEERS/RHYMES
"Gigalo" (also spelled "Jigalo" and similar spellings) is a children's recreational composition that has different performance activities.

I recall reading a YouTube discussion thread in which a commenter recalled playing "Gigalo" in the 1970s, but unfortunately I can't find that comment now.

In the late 1980s I observed my daughter and some of her female friends performing "Gigalo" in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

Given its textual structure and performance activity, I believe that "Gigalo" rhyme is of African American origin. However, it's clear from reading online examples of "Gigalo" that this cheer/rhyme is also known and performed by non-African Americans (mostly girls).

The rhyme/cheer "Gigalo" ("Jigalo") isn't included in any off-line publications of children's rhymes that I have come across. Before the internet it was rare for most African American children's recreational rhymes, singing games, and cheers to be included in books, records, and other publications of children's rhymes. Instead, those rhymes were passed on by word of mouth.

Most publications of children's rhymes only include one adult approved version of certain recreational rhymes and not the multiple versions of rhymes, cheers, and singing games that children really say. The failure to publish examples of African American recreational compositions  is just one aspect of this point, but it is a critical aspect since it appears from my admittedly informal research that many if not most contemporary (1950 to date) American children's recreational rhymes, cheers, and singing games come from African Americans.

In part because recreational rhymes and cheers traditionally weren't written down, many of those compositions are short lived, lasting only for a short space of time in certain neighborhoods. But, for some reason/s, the "Gigalo" ("Jigalo") rhyme/cheer has survived sometimes with changes in its words, but not its tune, and sometimes with some changes in its performance styles.

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HOW THE NAME FOR THIS CHEER/RHYME/SONG IS SPELLED
The word "Gigalo" and "Jigalo" is a folk processed form of the words "Jack a low". "High Low Jack A Low" is the American name for the British card game "All Fours".

Here's information about this card game: 
From http://www.woodburystrings.com/bands-for-hire/high-low-jack/ 
"HIGH-LOW-JACK is one of several names for an old-time card game that originated in the 1600s in England and is still very popular there. Known as All-Fours in England, it was the most popular gambling game in America until after the Civil War when Draw Poker began to overshadow it. It continued to be popular throughout the 19th century, and was most commonly known as Seven Up or Old Sledge. It is still popular today in various forms including Pitch or Auction Pitch."

There are several YouTube videos of children playing a partner hand clap game called "High Low Jack A Lo" (also called Hi Lo Piccalo", "Hi Lo Chickalo" and other similar spellings).Here's one of those videos:

High Lo Jack-a-lo

bml128, Mar 27, 2015

My name is... High low Jack-a-lo Jack-a-lo high low High low Jack-a-lo Jack-a-lo high! As featured in 'Let's Play Up' - a new play by Rosan Chakir that is part of Bluebird Foundation's PlayNation initiative. Now, go outside and play!

-snip-
I haven't come across any YouTube videos for "High Low Jack-a-lo" (or other similar spellings) from the United States. Most of the YouTube videos of this hand clap game are from Great Britain. However, I've read comments from people from Canada and New Zealand who indicate that they play this hand clap game but use the name "Hi Lo Piccolo", "Hi Lo Chickalo" and similar spellings.

My guess is that the "High Low Jack A Low" hand clap game came before the African American "Gigalo" ("Jig a lo") singing games since I believe the names "gigalo" and "jigalo" are folk processed forms of the words "Jack a low".   

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MY USE OF THE SPELLING "GIGALO" FOR THESE RHYMES/CHEERS
I used the spelling "gigalo" when I published an example of that cheer in 2001 on my no longer active cocojams.com website". That example was the one that I saw my daughter and her friends perform in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the late 1980s.

The cocojams.com cultural website was consistently online from 2001 to much of 2014 when I voluntarily deactivated it. Judging from the number of recreational examples that I received on that website's easy to use email form, a lot of that website's readers were children and pre-teens who had probably never seen those examples written down. 

I also used the spelling "gigalo" in the discussion thread about that cheer/rhyme that I started in 2007 on the Internet folk music forum Mudcat http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=100807 [hereafter given as "Mudcat: Gigalo"]. 

One problem with documenting children's recreational rhymes and cheers online is the copycat effect that often occurs when people repeat the spelling if not the words themselves of examples that come across online

I believe that at least some of the examples of that cheer/rhyme that are found in that discussion thread spelled that word "gigalo" instead of "jigalo" or "jigalow" because they read how I spelled that word on cocojams.com and on mudcat.com coupled with the fact that the word "gigolo" is a relatively English common word. 

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SOME ADULTS' OPPOSITION TO CHILDREN PERFORMING RHYMES/CHEERS ENTITLED "GIGALO"("JIGALO") 
Because the word "gigalo" has a sexualized meaning, some adults who aren't aware of the history of those rhymes, believe the gigalo rhymes refer to that sexualized meaning and are opposed to children performing those rhymes/cheers.

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PERFORMANCE ACTIVITIES FOR "GIGALO" ("JIGALO")
Gigalo can be performed as a singing game, a foot stomping cheer, or as a hand clap rhyme with imitative motions. Here are descriptions for each of these performance styles. 

Singing Game
In many examples of this rhyme in YouTube videos and in some other online example of "Gigalo" that I have come across (as of January 14, 2024), that rhyme often appears to be performed as an imitative singing game by children standing forming a circle with one person in the center of the circle. The children forming the circle don't hold hands.

"Gigalo" ("Jigalo") is performed as a "show me your motion" circle game. According to the words that are chanted, at some point of the song, the "middle person" performs actions that conform to the words of the rhyme and the rest of the people forming the circle then chant and join with the middle person, imitating that dance or other movement that the middle person is doing. At the end of that iteration of that rhyme, another person's name is called out, the former middle person rejoins the circle formation, and the game immediately begins again from the beginning with the person whose name was called out as the new middle person

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Hand Clap Game with imitative motions 
Gigalo can be performed as a partner or three, four, or more hand clap routine that combines hand claps with imitative motions. Two people, three, or four people chant this rhyme while facing each other and performing a hand clapping routine and imitative movements that conform with the words of this rhyme.

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Foot Stomping Cheer
The textual structure of "Gigalo" (the way the words are structured) fits the definition of a "foot stomping cheers".

Gigalo has a group/consecutive soloists structure which is the signature structure for foot stomping cheers. By "group/consecutive soloist" I mean that the group's voice is heard first, and then a soloist's voice is heard. This pattern of alternating voices continues until a soloist's slightly longer portion occurs. That "soloist portion may be the end of the cheer, or the cheer might end with the group (and, sometimes also the soloist) repeating the soloist's words.

At the end of that rendition of the cheer, the complete cheer immediately starts again from the beginning with a new soloist. The order of soloists is selected before the cheer activity begins. That pattern of consecutive soloists continues until everyone in the group has had one turn as the soloist.

That said, Gigalo" doesn't always fit the alternating foot stomping/(individual) hand clapping pattern that is a core characteristic of foot stomping cheers.

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TEXT EXAMPLES OF "GIGALO" ("JIGALOW" and similar spellings)

(Examples in this post are given in no particular order)

Example #1
All: Gig ah lo-o
Gig gig a lo-o
Gig ah lo-o
Gig gig a lo-o
Group: Hey, Kayla
Kayla: What?
Group: Are you ready to gig?
Kayla: Gig what?
Group: Gigalo
Kayla : My hands up high
My feet down low
And this is the way
I gig a lo
Group: Her hands up high
Her feet down low
And this is the way she gigalos
-Tazi M. Powell.; singing game/foot stomping cheer, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, mid to late 1980s, collected by Azizi Powell in the 1980s and transcribed in the 1990s from an audio tape that was made in the 1990s.

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Example #2 & #3
GIGALO
This is a handclap/foot stomping cheer called Gigolo.
Gig-olo-o
Gig-Gig-olo-o
Gig-olo-o
Gig-gig-olo-o
Group: Hey [girls name]
Girl: Yeah!
Group: Hey [girls name]
Girl: Yeah
Group: show us how yuh get down.!
Girl: what.?!
Group: show us how yuh get down.!
Girl: Well, my hands up high, my feet down low and thats the way I gigolo (does dance/motion of her own)
Group: Well, her hands up high, her feet down low and thats the way she gigolos (group repeats the unique dance/motion)
Repeat with a new girl and new dance/motion.)

OOOORRR:

Gig-olo-o
Gig-Gig-olo-o
Gig-olo-o
Gig-gig-olo-o
Group: Hey [girls name]
Girl: Yeah!
Group: Hey [girls name]
Girl: Yeah
Group: show us how yuh get down.!
Girl: what.?!
Group: show us how yuh get down.!
Girl: Well my back aint right my bra too tight my hips keep shakin from left to right and THATS the way I gigolo (does dance/motion of her own)
Group: Well my back aint right my bra too tight my hips keep shakin from left to right and THATS the wa she gigolos(group repeats the unique dance/motion)

(Repeat with a new girl and new dance/motion.)
-Guest, 17yr old kid at heart:); http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4300&messages=171 "Children's Street Songs"; July 20, 2010 (henceforth given as "Mudcat: Gigalo"

Editor: Note that the informant indicates that "this is a hand clap/foot stomping cheer." It's possible, and perhaps likely, that she (or he) could have used the phrase "foot stomping cheer" in imitation of my use of that phrase in earlier posts on that discussion thread.

The "show us how you get down" line is found in in mid 1980s foot stomping cheer "Get Down"... The lines "my back is aching/my bra's too tight" are commonly found in the very popular hand clap rhyme "Bang Bang Choo Choo Train".

-snip-
Most examples of "Gigalo" are posted online without any information about their performance activity. Here are two such examples:

Example #4 Gigalo: performance activity unknown

JIGALO
here is the real version ppl.

HEY(Girls name)
Girl:what?
ME: are you ready to jigalo?
girl:yeah!
Both: my hands up high!
My feet down low!
This is the way I jigalo!
jig-a-low
jig-jig-a-looow
jig-a-low
jig-jig-a-looow
(you keep repeating until you get bored. You also do a little dance :) hoped this helped
-Guest, meesha ; "Mudcat: Gigalo" ; May 17, 2010

**
Example #5 

JIGALOW
my friend taught me this.

my hands up high
my knees down low
but this the way i jigalow
the sky is blue
the grass is green
and this the way I do my thing
your daddy cook
your momma bake
but this the way my booty shake
-No name; 2/15/2007 ; Cocojams
-snip-
This example was posted on the "Cocojams Foot Stomping Cheer" page of my
no longer active cocojams website that was online from January 2001 to November 2014. That website received a lot of its children's rhymes and cheers content from its easy to use  content submission page. 

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Example #6:
Refrain (Unison)
Jig-a-low, jig, jig-a-low
Jig-a-low, jig, jig-a-low

Part I
(Call) Jasmine: Hey Stephanie!
(Response) Stephanie: Say what?
Jasmine: In-troduce yourself!
Stephanie: Know what?
Jasmine: In-troduce yourself!
[They exchange roles here.]
Stephanie: My name is Ste-phanie
Jasmine: Yeah!
Stephanie: I got the mucle.
Jasmine: Yeah!
Stephanie: To do the hu-stle
Jasmine: Yeah!
Stephanie: I do my thang
Jasmine: Yeah!
Stephanie: On the video screen
Jasmine: Yeah!
Stephanie: I do the ro, ro, ro, ro, ro-bot (punctuates each syllable with Do Do Brown)
Jasmine: She do the ro, ro, ro, ro, ro-bot (Jasmine imitates Stephanie's version of the dance)

Refrain (Unison)
Jig-a-low, jig, jig-a-low
Jig-a-low, jig, jig-a-low

Part 2
Stephanie: Hey Jasmine!
Jasmine: Hey what?
Stephanie: Are you ready?
Jasmine: To what,?
Stephanie; To jig
Jasmine: Jig-a-low?
(unison): jig what?

[Exchanged roles again]

Jasmine: Well, My hands up high, my feet down low.
and THIS's the way I jig-a-low
[Jasmine creates a stylized move on THIS's]
Stephanie: Well, My hands up high, my feet down low.
and THIS's the way she jig-a-low
[Stephanie mimics Jasmine's stylized move on THIS's.]
-Kyra D. Gaunt' book The Games Black Girls Play: Learning The Ropes From Double -Dutch To Hip-Hop (University Press, New York, 2006, page 82);
-snip-
This example combines the foot stomping cheer "Jigalow" with the foot stomping cheer "Introduce Yourself".

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GIGALO VIDEO EXAMPLES
Example #1: playing gigalo at cheer camp



Uploaded by bby209angl on Aug 3, 2010

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Video Example #2: Playing jigalo



Regan Leigh Woodruff, Uploaded on Jan 28, 2009

just a bunch of people dancin'
-snip-
Notice how the people playing this game aren't doing any foot stomps while they sing "Gigalo".

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Video Example #3: shows us how you gigolo!



Uploaded by yfcsharmel on Sep 9, 2008

Yfc camp september 5-7 2008.

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