Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post provides my comments about the inclusion of the term "African booty" in "Mailman Mailman" (do your duty) children's rhymes.
I wrote the first comment that is highlighted in this post yesterday (November 14, 2018) and published it in the discussion thread for a 2009 "Mailman Mailman" YouTube video. That comment was written in response to a 2017 comment from an African American blogger who wrote that she considered the "African booty" to be racist.
I wrote the second comment in response to comments that were included in a 2017 online folkloric page about a version of "Mailman Mailman" that includes this "African booty" term. That folkloric page was published by an undergraduate student at University of Southern California - Los Angeles. That page doesn't accept any comments.
Two videos of "Mailman Mailman" that include the term "African booty" are showcased in this post. One video also includuTube video is also included in this post along with another video that is mentioned in my comments.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks to all those who are featured in the embedded video, and thanks to the publisher of those videos on YouTube.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/11/what-african-booty-means-and-examples.html for a previous pancocojams post on this subject that is entitled What "African Booty" Means And Examples of The Use Of The Term "African Booty" In "Mailman Mailman Do Your Duty" Children's Rhymes
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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Mailman, Mailman
Celina Aguiniga, Published on Jun 24, 2009
My little sister and her cousin playing Mailman, Mailman after i taught them an hour earlier.
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COMMENT EXCHANGE FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD FOR THE VIDEO THAT'S GIVEN ABOVE
Here's a comment that I read while surfing YouTube for examples of "mailman mailman [or "policeman/police lady") do your douty" rhymes:
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3G7c6Fj_WM&t=7s [video embedded above]
Iris Lash-Pitterson, 2017
"I'm a public school teacher and I just heard some students on the playground doing this. I asked them if they understood what this is implying. I told them and they did not want to say it any longer (which made me very happy and proud of them). They changed it to "chicken booty". I'm sorry so many people do not see the racist overtones in this rhyme. Being a teacher I know it is important that children practice rhymes like this. It helps with their reading development. But the wording is pretty poor."
-snip-
The photograph that accompanies this comment is of a Black woman.
**
REPLY
Azizi Powell, November 2018
"As an African American female, I find it interesting that non-African American children are reciting "here comes a lady with an African booty".
My definition of "African booty" is a person with a big butt. This descriptor is usually used for females, but it could also be used for males. My sense is that in the United States (and also in some other cultures) female teenagers and women prefer having a big butt to a flat butt and females of Black African descent are said to have big butts. I therefore don't consider "African booty" to be inherently negative when females want to have a big butt, and don't have a problem with people of any race or ethnicity using this term within the context of chanting and performing this rhyme.
That said, I do have a problem with children or others using "African booty" in a taunting manner apart from chanting and performing this rhyme."
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FOLKLORE UNDERGRADUATE ASSIGNMENT: COLLECTION OF "MAILMAN" RHYME, THAT COLLECTOR'S NOTES & COMMENTS
Here's another example of "Mailman Mailman" collected by Helen Kong, April 26, 2017 and published on April 29, 2017
This example is given with Helen Kong's folklore analysis. It appears that this is part of an undergraduate university assignment.
http://folklore.usc.edu/?tag=clapping
"Main piece:
The mail man one, “Mailman mailman do your duty here comes a lady with an african booty she can do the pom pom she can do the twist most of all she can kiss kiss with her red hot lips k i s s i n g”
Background information (Why does the informant know or like this piece? Where or who did they learn it from? What does it mean to them?):
It was one of the rhymes the kids knew. It wasn’t a favorite but it sticks because it’s the most ridiculous one out of them all. Learned it in 1st grade from some female peer in her class. Informant thinks this one is ridiculous and doesn’t know why little kids sing it because it’s a little inappropriate.
Context (When or where would this be performed? Under what circumstance?):
It’s a hand clapping game for little kids to sing together.
Personal Analysis:
The “african booty part” is kind of racist. Even the informant said that it’s a weird song to think about. As a kid, she just went along with what the others were doing. I think it has a lot of strange connotations that kids don’t know about. I don’t think this has anything to do with Africa, but I wonder why American kids sing it. Why is it the mail man’s duty to kiss the lady? It’s actually really uncomfortable to think about. “do the pom pom” isn’t even proper grammar. I wonder who was the first person to start this song."
-snip-
The page cited above included this information:
"Nationality: Korean-American
Primary Language: English
Other language(s): Korean
Age: 18
Occupation: undergraduate student
Residence: LA
Performance Date: 2017-4-26"
-snip-
I don't know if this was Helen Kong's information or information about her informant [The person who chanted that version of "Mailman Mailman" that Helen Kong collected].
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MY RESPONSES TO THIS COLLECTOR'S COMMENTS
1. "African booty" means a person with a big butt. That phrase carries the erroneous and admittedly stereotypical idea that all Black African females (teens/women)-including females of some Black African descent- have big butts. Although, this is a stereotype, my sense -as an African American woman- is that "African booty" is either considered by chanters as something that is neutral or something positive, i.e. having a big butt is thought to be a desired physical trait for teenage girls and for women.
In some YouTube videos of "Mailman Mailman" that I've watched, girls (who appear to be White) shake their butts from side to side when they say "African booty", and, in doing so, emphasizing their butt. Here's one of those videos:
mailman mailman game
KellyJulia12, Published on Jul 11, 2010
Weird, huh?
-snip-
One reason why people might say that that rhyme is weird is because they don't understand where the rhyme came from. [Read #5 below]. Also, they may not understand what "African booty" means. That said, I find it interesting that chanters who don't know what "African booty" means would choose to chant that version of "Mailman" instead of the "standard", older versions that say "American beauty".
But perhaps I've answered my own question since "American beauty" may sound "old fashioned" to those chanters and "African booty" may sound hip and (perhaps also) risque, largely because of the Black slang word "booty". I'm sure most American teens know what the African American slang word "booty" means.
That said, children and pre-teens who chant playground rhymes tend to "group-select" a version of a particular rhyme. That is, they usually chant whatever version of a rhyme that they picked up from their peers or whatever version of a rhyme they were taught by someone else.
[This partly answers your question "Why do American kids sing this song". For more of my thoughts on that question read #2]
2. "African booty" is either a folk processed form of "American beauty", an early (if not the original) referent that was used in those "Mailman" (and "Policeman") rhymes or "African booty" was first used* on purpose as a replacement for the term "American beauty". People who learned the rhyme that way or eventually saw it written that way on the internet (since this version is unlikely to have been written off-line), picked it up and the rest-as they say- is history.
*I wrote "used" instead of "coined" because I believe that the referent "African booty stratcher" pre-dates the use of "African booty" in these children's rhymes. "African booty stratcher" is definitely racist as it equates Black people (and particularly Black Africans) to monkeys or and apes. However, I'm not convinced that "African booty" is an insult when it is chanted in the context of that children's rhyme
It's very likely that African American girls were the first to use the term "African booty" in "Mailman Mailman" rhymes since that population would be most familiar with the African American Vernacular English term "booty" which means "butt"/"behind". The word "African" in the term "African booty" is an adjective.
Also, since the oldest documentation of the phrase "African booty" that I found was in the 1960s, it's possible that that term was first used on purpose as a replacement for "American beauty" because the 1960s (particularly the mid or late 1960) was when a number of Black Americans began embracing our African heritage in a number of ways, including the decision to call ourselves "African Americans". One major reason for this was because a number of African nations achieved their independence from European colonization in the 1960s and African Americans became more aware of the richness of African cultures.
And, as a friendly reminder, it's very inappropriate to write "African" with a lower case "a" just as it would be very inappropriate to write "American" with a lower case "a" or "Korean" with a lower case "k".
3. I agree with the collector that a lot of children "go along with what other are doing" when they chant and perform hand clap rhymes
or other recreational singing and movement rhymes. Sometimes these chanters don't fully understand what is being said, bu try to make sense out of the words that they are chanting. That's one reason why th- which is one reason why folk processed words and phrases occur.
4. American kids (and kids in other nations who've learned it) perform this hand clap/movement rhyme because it's fun. My guess is that the people who chant this rhyme like the somewhat competitive movements* more than they like its words.
*The two chanters playing this hand clap/movement game may try to be the first one to perform a full split without falling down. In the 1950s I jumped rope to the version of "Mailman Mailman Do Your Duty". I'm not sure when the "doing splits" performance activity was first documented while chanting "Mail man Mail man".
5. The versions of "Mailman Mailman" that are chanted nowadays (including the ones with the "African booty" term) are folk processed forms of much older versions. These versions include old lines and newer lines. Here's a version of "Postman Postman" that makes sense in reference to the "do your duty" words:
"Postman, Postman, do your duty.
Send this letter to an American beauty.
Don't you stop and don't delay.
Get it to her right away."
-https://www.buyjumpropes.net/jump-rope-rhymes/postman-postman-do-your-duty/
6. "Do the pom pom" can be considered correct English. A lot of 1990s/2000 R&B/Hip Hop dance trends have the name "Do the ___"- for example "Do the Dougie".
"Do the pom poms" means to shake your hands in front of your chest the way cheerleaders shake pom poms.
7. "I wonder who was the first person to start this song." I take it you mean the version of "Mailman" that includes the term "African booty". I also wonder who was the first person to chant this rhyme that way. We'll never know, but if anyone remembers this version from the 1960s or 1970s or 1980s (or earlier), I'd love to "hear" from you.
Please share any examples of this rhyme that you remember in the comment section below, along with demographics [city/state or nation if outside of the United States and the decade you remember it].
Also, I'm interested in feedback about my comments on this subject. Please share your thoughts on whether the term "African booty" in children's rhymes is racist.
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Thursday, November 15, 2018
"He Can Wiggle He Can Wooble He Can Do The Splits" And Other Similar Words Found In "Mailman Mailman Do Your Duty" & "Apple On A Stick".Rhymes
Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post documents the inclusion of the same or similar lines in certain "Mailman Mailman Do Your Duty" (also known as "Postman Postman" and "Policeman Policeman) and in certain "Apple On A Stick". An example of those same or similar lines is "He can wiggle/He Can Wooble/ He Can Do The Splits/But I betcha five dollars he can't do this".
This post also documents a few different versions of each of these hand clap or jump rope rhymes.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks to all those who are featured in the embedded videos, and thanks to the publishers of those videos on YouTube.
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FEATURED EXAMPLES
These examples are given in relative chronological order based on their publishing date or collection date, with the oldest examples given first in each sub-category. Examples with no publishing date are given last. (Note that these examples may actually be older than other examples in their sub-categories).
The contributor's name, date and the internet link for these examples are given with each example.
The YouTube examples are from the comment section for those cited videos.
Italics are added to highlight the line/s that is/are the focus of this post.
Numbers have been added for referencing purposes only.
Brief explanations are given for references in a few of these examples.
MAILMAN MAILMAN DO YOUR DUTY
1. "Mail man mail man do your duty
Here comes a lady with a
With a big fat booty
she can do the pom pom
she can do the twist
but most of all she can blow you a kiss"
Uggh!
-froggielover737; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80uKGksoFTA&feature=related; 1/22/2007
-snip-
"Twist" in this example and in these other rhyme examples probably means to do "the twist" (1960s R&B dance).
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2. "wrong! i do it ...
mailman,mailman on the duty.Here comes this american beauty. she can do the pom,pom. she can do the twist. but most of all she can kiss,kiss,kiss! K-I-S-S"
-KittyBunnny, 2013; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3G7c6Fj_WM&t=7s
**
3. "this is how i remeber it....
Mailman mailman beauty beauty better watch out for miss american beauty she can do the pom poms she can do the twist best of all she can make a boy kiss K-I-S-S.....and again
-Alyssa Henry, 2014; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3G7c6Fj_WM&t=7s
-snip-
"do the pom poms" = shake your fists in front of your chest like you're pretending to be a cheerleader shaking pom poms.
**
4. "Mailman, mailman, do your duty, here comes miss american beauty.
She can do the can-can, she can do the splits,
but most of all she can kiss-kiss-kiss!
K…I…S…S…(on each letter the child moves his or her feet more and more outward, doing better and better splits. the first one to fall loses)
- http://www.homeschool.co.uk/jump-rope-rhymes/mailman-jump-rope-rhymes/
**
5. "Mailman, mailman, Do your duty Here comes miss American Beauty. She can do the pom-pom (move arms like cheer-leader) she can do the splits, (bend down to touch both toes) but most of all, she can kiss kiss kiss, (clap hands with partner) with her red.. hot.. lips. K.. I .. S.. S (move feet apart further outward with each letter. First person to fall loses.)"
- http://www.homeschool.co.uk/jump-rope-rhymes/mailman-jump-rope-rhymes/
**
6. "Mail man, Mail man
Do your duty
Here comes a lady with an African Booty
She can do the pom pom
She can do the twist
First of all, she can kiss kiss kiss
With her red hot lips K-I-S-S
Lain, 2015; https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080508163109AAg6S8B
-snip-
The chanters spells the word "KISS" that is given in upper case letter and claps [or jumps rope] with each letter that is spelled.
**
7. Mailman mailman do your duty here comes a lady with an african booty she can do the pom pom she can do the twist most of all she can kiss kiss with her red hot lips k i s s i n g”
-http://folklore.usc.edu/?tag=clapping, hand clap rhyme; date collected by the publisher of that page: 4/26/2017
-snip-
The chanters spells the word kissing and claps with each letter that is spelled.
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MILKMAN MILKMAN
"Everyone in my school says: milkman milkman do ur duty I fell in love with an American Beauty she can do the floss she can do the dab but can she do this Then everyone puts there legs apart
Cookie CrunchYT, 2018; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3G7c6Fj_WM&t=7s
-snip-
Here's some information about the terms "floss" and "dab":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floss_(dance): 2010 dance
**
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dab_(dance): 2010s dance movement or gesture
****
1. Policeman, Policeman,
Do your duty.
Here comes [insert the jumper's name or nickname]
an American beauty.
She can wiggle.
She can wobble
She can do the flip [later the word 'twist' replaced the word 'flip']
But I betcha five dollars she can't do this:
Lady on one foot, one foot, one foot,
turn all around. [jump on 1 foot and turn around]
Lady on two foot, two foot, two foot
Touch the ground.[jump on 2 feet and touch the ground]
Lady of three foot, three foot, three foot [jump on 2 feet with one hand on the ground]
Lady on two feet say your prayers. [jump on 2 feet while folding your hands like you are praying]
Lady on four foot, four foot, four foot [jump on 2 feet while placing both hands on the ground]
[Now] Go to bed. [jump out of the rope]
-Azizi Powell, memories of childhood, 1950s, Atlantic City, New Jersey
**
2. "Policeman, Policeman Do your duty, lookin at the lady wit the big fat booty, she can wiggle she can wobble she can do the twist, but I bet you one dollar, that she can’t do this. Lady on one foot, one foot, one foot Lady on two feet, two feet, two feet Lady on three feet, three feet, three feet Lady on four feet, four feet, four feet!
– Feb 08 2006, http://www.homeschool.co.uk/jump-rope-rhymes/policeman-jump-rope-songs/
**
3. Policeman, policeman, do your duty,
Here comes (name of next jumper)
And she’s a cutie;
She can jump, she can twist,
But I bet she can’t do this.
-http://www.homeschool.co.uk/jump-rope-rhymes/policeman-jump-rope-songs/
**
4. "Policeman, Policeman, do your duty.
Here comes Janie, the bathing beauty.
She can do the heel-toe; she can do the splits;
She can do the wiggle-waggle just like this!
-https://makingmusicfun.net/htm/f_mmf_music_library_songbook/policeman-policeman-rhyme.php
-snip-
"Heel-toe" here probably refers to a tap dance movement and not the 2017 Hip Hop dance by that name.
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APPLE ON A STICK
1. Apple on a stick
Makes me sick
Makes my tummy go
Two forty six
Not because it’s dirty
Not because it’s clean
Not because I kissed my momma
Behind the magazines
Girls, girls
Do you wanna fight?
Here come Dickey
With her pants on tight.
She can wiggle
She can woggle
She can do all that
I bet you ten dollars
You can’t do this
Count to ten with your eyes closed
A-baby one
A-baby two
A-baby three, four, five
Baby, I don’t take no little jive
A-baby six
A-baby seven
A-baby eight, nine, ten
You better back it up and do it again
Source: Apples On A Stick by Barbara Michels and Bettye White (New York: Coward / McCann, Inc)
collection of playground rhymes from Black children in Houston Texas, 1983, page 11
**
2. "Candy apple on a stick makes my heart go 246 246 not because I'm dirty not because I'm clean not because I kissed a girl behind a magizine boys wanna have fun here comes lalin with her pants undon she can wibble she can wobble she can do the splits but I bet you 10 bucks can't do this close your eyes count to ten whoever messes up has to be her boyfriend
-Blake Embry, 2013; https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=PDsDnUrY_3M
**
3. "I learned it like this : apples on a stick they make me sick makes my heart beat go 246 not because your dirty not beacuse your clean not beacuse you kissed a boy behind a magizen hey _ you wanna have a fight meet me on a corner on a saturday night i can do the zumba you can do the twist i bet you 5 bucks you cant do this close your eys and count to ten and if you mess up you have to kiss your boyfriend"
Softiie, 2015; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sygUDQzShdM
**
4. "I do it apples on a hot stick make me sick make my heart go two forty six not because I'm pretty not because I'm clean not because I kissed a boy behind a magazine hey girl u want a have some fun I saw make with his pants undone he could wobble he could wobble he could even do the spilts I bet u five bucks he can't do this close ur eyes and count to ten who ever messes up has to marry him *do it with eyes closed *
Oily Cupboard, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aotvJCUfeK8
**
5. "Never knew there were so much different ways to sing it till i scrolled through the comments, lol. Mines
"Apple on a stick, makes me sick. Makes my heart beat 2,40,6. Not because you're dirty not because you're clean. Not because you kissed a boy behind a magazine. Boys, girls, having fun. Here comes a lady with a pickle up her bum. She can do the cartwheel she can do the splits, but i bet ya, i bet ya, she can't do this. Close your eyes and count to 10 if you muck it all up your not my friend."
- Florence S, 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht4h61GAZUc
**
6. "I sing it this way:
Apple on a stick,
it makes me sick,
it makes my heart go 2 4 6!
Not because I'm dirty, not because I'm clean,
not because I kissed a frog behind a magazine!
So come on girls, lets have some fun,
here comes a lady with a big fat bum!
She can do the wiggle waggle, she can do the splits,
But I bet you ten bucks she can't do this!
Close your eyes and count to ten,
If you mess up, start over again!
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 8 9 10!"
-Esther LeClaire, 2018; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht4h61GAZUc
**
7. "I do more hand movements and different lyrics
Apple on a stick gonna make me sick put my heart in 249 249 not because your dirty not because your clean not because I kissed a boy behind a magazine girls and boys just wanna have fun here come Halle with a mini skirt on she can wiggle she can wobble she can do a full split but I bet she can't do this close your eyes and count to ten if you mess up do it again 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10"
-Halle's Place, 2018; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NW1Cl4JzKc
**
8. "My version I do with my friends is
Apple on a stick
Makes me sick
Makes my heart beat 2 46
But not because your dirty
And not because your clean
Not because you kissed a boy behind a magazine
Girls boys having fun
Here come Jonny with a pickle up him bum
He can wiggle
He can wobble
He can even do the splits
But I bet he can’t do this
Close your eyes and count to 10
If you can’t do it your a big fat hen
But if you can you can be my friend
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
And that’s the end of chapter 10
-XxTahliaGamerxX, 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sygUDQzShdM
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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This pancocojams post documents the inclusion of the same or similar lines in certain "Mailman Mailman Do Your Duty" (also known as "Postman Postman" and "Policeman Policeman) and in certain "Apple On A Stick". An example of those same or similar lines is "He can wiggle/He Can Wooble/ He Can Do The Splits/But I betcha five dollars he can't do this".
This post also documents a few different versions of each of these hand clap or jump rope rhymes.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks to all those who are featured in the embedded videos, and thanks to the publishers of those videos on YouTube.
****
FEATURED EXAMPLES
These examples are given in relative chronological order based on their publishing date or collection date, with the oldest examples given first in each sub-category. Examples with no publishing date are given last. (Note that these examples may actually be older than other examples in their sub-categories).
The contributor's name, date and the internet link for these examples are given with each example.
The YouTube examples are from the comment section for those cited videos.
Italics are added to highlight the line/s that is/are the focus of this post.
Numbers have been added for referencing purposes only.
Brief explanations are given for references in a few of these examples.
MAILMAN MAILMAN DO YOUR DUTY
1. "Mail man mail man do your duty
Here comes a lady with a
With a big fat booty
she can do the pom pom
she can do the twist
but most of all she can blow you a kiss"
Uggh!
-froggielover737; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80uKGksoFTA&feature=related; 1/22/2007
-snip-
"Twist" in this example and in these other rhyme examples probably means to do "the twist" (1960s R&B dance).
**
2. "wrong! i do it ...
mailman,mailman on the duty.Here comes this american beauty. she can do the pom,pom. she can do the twist. but most of all she can kiss,kiss,kiss! K-I-S-S"
-KittyBunnny, 2013; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3G7c6Fj_WM&t=7s
**
3. "this is how i remeber it....
Mailman mailman beauty beauty better watch out for miss american beauty she can do the pom poms she can do the twist best of all she can make a boy kiss K-I-S-S.....and again
-Alyssa Henry, 2014; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3G7c6Fj_WM&t=7s
-snip-
"do the pom poms" = shake your fists in front of your chest like you're pretending to be a cheerleader shaking pom poms.
**
4. "Mailman, mailman, do your duty, here comes miss american beauty.
She can do the can-can, she can do the splits,
but most of all she can kiss-kiss-kiss!
K…I…S…S…(on each letter the child moves his or her feet more and more outward, doing better and better splits. the first one to fall loses)
- http://www.homeschool.co.uk/jump-rope-rhymes/mailman-jump-rope-rhymes/
**
5. "Mailman, mailman, Do your duty Here comes miss American Beauty. She can do the pom-pom (move arms like cheer-leader) she can do the splits, (bend down to touch both toes) but most of all, she can kiss kiss kiss, (clap hands with partner) with her red.. hot.. lips. K.. I .. S.. S (move feet apart further outward with each letter. First person to fall loses.)"
- http://www.homeschool.co.uk/jump-rope-rhymes/mailman-jump-rope-rhymes/
**
6. "Mail man, Mail man
Do your duty
Here comes a lady with an African Booty
She can do the pom pom
She can do the twist
First of all, she can kiss kiss kiss
With her red hot lips K-I-S-S
Lain, 2015; https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080508163109AAg6S8B
-snip-
The chanters spells the word "KISS" that is given in upper case letter and claps [or jumps rope] with each letter that is spelled.
**
7. Mailman mailman do your duty here comes a lady with an african booty she can do the pom pom she can do the twist most of all she can kiss kiss with her red hot lips k i s s i n g”
-http://folklore.usc.edu/?tag=clapping, hand clap rhyme; date collected by the publisher of that page: 4/26/2017
-snip-
The chanters spells the word kissing and claps with each letter that is spelled.
****
MILKMAN MILKMAN
"Everyone in my school says: milkman milkman do ur duty I fell in love with an American Beauty she can do the floss she can do the dab but can she do this Then everyone puts there legs apart
Cookie CrunchYT, 2018; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3G7c6Fj_WM&t=7s
-snip-
Here's some information about the terms "floss" and "dab":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floss_(dance): 2010 dance
**
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dab_(dance): 2010s dance movement or gesture
****
1. Policeman, Policeman,
Do your duty.
Here comes [insert the jumper's name or nickname]
an American beauty.
She can wiggle.
She can wobble
She can do the flip [later the word 'twist' replaced the word 'flip']
But I betcha five dollars she can't do this:
Lady on one foot, one foot, one foot,
turn all around. [jump on 1 foot and turn around]
Lady on two foot, two foot, two foot
Touch the ground.[jump on 2 feet and touch the ground]
Lady of three foot, three foot, three foot [jump on 2 feet with one hand on the ground]
Lady on two feet say your prayers. [jump on 2 feet while folding your hands like you are praying]
Lady on four foot, four foot, four foot [jump on 2 feet while placing both hands on the ground]
[Now] Go to bed. [jump out of the rope]
-Azizi Powell, memories of childhood, 1950s, Atlantic City, New Jersey
**
2. "Policeman, Policeman Do your duty, lookin at the lady wit the big fat booty, she can wiggle she can wobble she can do the twist, but I bet you one dollar, that she can’t do this. Lady on one foot, one foot, one foot Lady on two feet, two feet, two feet Lady on three feet, three feet, three feet Lady on four feet, four feet, four feet!
– Feb 08 2006, http://www.homeschool.co.uk/jump-rope-rhymes/policeman-jump-rope-songs/
**
3. Policeman, policeman, do your duty,
Here comes (name of next jumper)
And she’s a cutie;
She can jump, she can twist,
But I bet she can’t do this.
-http://www.homeschool.co.uk/jump-rope-rhymes/policeman-jump-rope-songs/
**
4. "Policeman, Policeman, do your duty.
Here comes Janie, the bathing beauty.
She can do the heel-toe; she can do the splits;
She can do the wiggle-waggle just like this!
-https://makingmusicfun.net/htm/f_mmf_music_library_songbook/policeman-policeman-rhyme.php
-snip-
"Heel-toe" here probably refers to a tap dance movement and not the 2017 Hip Hop dance by that name.
****
APPLE ON A STICK
1. Apple on a stick
Makes me sick
Makes my tummy go
Two forty six
Not because it’s dirty
Not because it’s clean
Not because I kissed my momma
Behind the magazines
Girls, girls
Do you wanna fight?
Here come Dickey
With her pants on tight.
She can wiggle
She can woggle
She can do all that
I bet you ten dollars
You can’t do this
Count to ten with your eyes closed
A-baby one
A-baby two
A-baby three, four, five
Baby, I don’t take no little jive
A-baby six
A-baby seven
A-baby eight, nine, ten
You better back it up and do it again
Source: Apples On A Stick by Barbara Michels and Bettye White (New York: Coward / McCann, Inc)
collection of playground rhymes from Black children in Houston Texas, 1983, page 11
**
2. "Candy apple on a stick makes my heart go 246 246 not because I'm dirty not because I'm clean not because I kissed a girl behind a magizine boys wanna have fun here comes lalin with her pants undon she can wibble she can wobble she can do the splits but I bet you 10 bucks can't do this close your eyes count to ten whoever messes up has to be her boyfriend
-Blake Embry, 2013; https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=PDsDnUrY_3M
**
3. "I learned it like this : apples on a stick they make me sick makes my heart beat go 246 not because your dirty not beacuse your clean not beacuse you kissed a boy behind a magizen hey _ you wanna have a fight meet me on a corner on a saturday night i can do the zumba you can do the twist i bet you 5 bucks you cant do this close your eys and count to ten and if you mess up you have to kiss your boyfriend"
Softiie, 2015; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sygUDQzShdM
**
4. "I do it apples on a hot stick make me sick make my heart go two forty six not because I'm pretty not because I'm clean not because I kissed a boy behind a magazine hey girl u want a have some fun I saw make with his pants undone he could wobble he could wobble he could even do the spilts I bet u five bucks he can't do this close ur eyes and count to ten who ever messes up has to marry him *do it with eyes closed *
Oily Cupboard, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aotvJCUfeK8
**
5. "Never knew there were so much different ways to sing it till i scrolled through the comments, lol. Mines
"Apple on a stick, makes me sick. Makes my heart beat 2,40,6. Not because you're dirty not because you're clean. Not because you kissed a boy behind a magazine. Boys, girls, having fun. Here comes a lady with a pickle up her bum. She can do the cartwheel she can do the splits, but i bet ya, i bet ya, she can't do this. Close your eyes and count to 10 if you muck it all up your not my friend."
- Florence S, 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht4h61GAZUc
**
6. "I sing it this way:
Apple on a stick,
it makes me sick,
it makes my heart go 2 4 6!
Not because I'm dirty, not because I'm clean,
not because I kissed a frog behind a magazine!
So come on girls, lets have some fun,
here comes a lady with a big fat bum!
She can do the wiggle waggle, she can do the splits,
But I bet you ten bucks she can't do this!
Close your eyes and count to ten,
If you mess up, start over again!
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 8 9 10!"
-Esther LeClaire, 2018; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht4h61GAZUc
**
7. "I do more hand movements and different lyrics
Apple on a stick gonna make me sick put my heart in 249 249 not because your dirty not because your clean not because I kissed a boy behind a magazine girls and boys just wanna have fun here come Halle with a mini skirt on she can wiggle she can wobble she can do a full split but I bet she can't do this close your eyes and count to ten if you mess up do it again 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10"
-Halle's Place, 2018; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NW1Cl4JzKc
**
8. "My version I do with my friends is
Apple on a stick
Makes me sick
Makes my heart beat 2 46
But not because your dirty
And not because your clean
Not because you kissed a boy behind a magazine
Girls boys having fun
Here come Jonny with a pickle up him bum
He can wiggle
He can wobble
He can even do the splits
But I bet he can’t do this
Close your eyes and count to 10
If you can’t do it your a big fat hen
But if you can you can be my friend
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
And that’s the end of chapter 10
-XxTahliaGamerxX, 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sygUDQzShdM
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
What "African Booty" Means And Examples of The Use Of The Term "African Booty" In "Mailman Mailman Do Your Duty" Children's Rhymes
Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post provides definitions and commentary about the term "African booty" and the term "African booty scratcher".
This post also presents various text (word only) examples of the term "African booty" that are found in the children's recreational rhymes "Mailman Mailman Do Your Duty" and "Policeman Policeman Do Your Duty". Some video examples of these rhymes are also showcased in this post.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks to all those who are featured in the embedded videos, and thanks to the publishers of those videos on YouTube.
-snip-
The content of this post was originally published on pancocojams in December 2011 with the title "The Meaning Of "African Booty" In Children's Rhymes". That post was last revised on November 15, 2018.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/11/my-comments-about-whether-phrase.html for a continuation of this subject entitled "My Comments About Whether The Phrase "African Booty" In The Children's Rhyme "Mailman Mailman" Is Racist".
****
DEFINITION AND USE OF THE PHRASE "AFRICAN BOOTY"
"African booty", a phrase from African American English that means "a big butt", appears to be limited to its neutral or positive use in certain children's playground rhymes, or its negative, insulting use in the term "African booty stratcher".
While the term "African booty" could be applied to males, it usually is reserved as a descriptor for teenage girls and women. In the phrase "African booty", the word "African" is evidence of the widely held, although erroneous belief that all women of African descent have big butts. As is the case with a lot of African American vernacular, while the phrase "African booty" originated with Black Americans, it has also been used by non-Black Americans.
The phrase "African booty" is found in some examples of contemporary (usually post 1970s*) versions of the American children's playground rhyme family "Mailman Mailman (do your duty)". Those rhymes are also known as "Policeman Policeman (do your duty)" or similar titles. In that sub-set of that family of jump rope or hand clap rhymes, the line "Mailman mailman do your duty" is followed by the line "Here comes a lady with an African booty".
*Note below a comment from Anonymous, July 10, 2018 that she or he recalls children jumping rope "in the 1960s in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood" singing "African booty" in a jump rope song. This is the earliest reference that I've come across of the term "African booty" being found in a children's rhyme.
Examples of "Postman Postman Do Your Duty" rhymes without the "African booty" term are included in now classic 1959 collection of mostly United Kingdom children's rhymes The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren by Iona & Peter Opie. Here's an excerpt about the "Mailman Mailman" rhyme from that book:
"In all of Britain the young have sent our Valentines {Valentine cards are definitely in fashion again}, and they have written anonymous verses, In Aberdeen and elsewhere in Scotland the boy follow the old convention of putting verse on the envelopes, addressed to the post man.
Postman, Postman, do your duty
Take this to my loving beauty.
Postie, Postie, don't delay,
Do the rhumba all the way" (Opie, Lore & Language, p. 236)"
Instead of the phrase "my loving beauty", I believe that the usual pre-1970s American versions of this rhyme included the phrase "an American beauty" or "Miss American beauty".
I've also found two online examples of the use of the term "African beauty" in "Mailman Mailman" rhymes. [Read Example #& and #8 below]. "African beauty" may be a folk etymology substitution for "African booty". However, given the often negative attitudes about Black physical appearance in mainstream United States and other Westernized cultures, it would be significant if "African beauty" were purposely used in these children's rhymes.
From my online research, it appears that some children continue to use the phrase "American beauty" as the rhyming line to "do your duty", while other children use the phrase "African booty". While it's probable that most of those persons who chant "here's come a lady with an African booty" are Black, there's evidence that that line has crossed over to non-Black persons.
Evidence that non-African Americans (or non-Black people) chant "Mailman Mailman Do Your Duty", "Policeman Policeman Do Your Duty", and similar children's rhymes with the term "African booty" substituting for the previous term "American beauty" is found in various YouTube videos. Some bloggers in those videos' discussion threads and in some other online sites also have shared examples of those rhymes with the term "African booty". These bloggers and these children featured on YouTube videos appear to use "African booty" as a matter of course, without any negative connotations. In some videos, the White girls shake their butt while saying "African booty" a movement that I think suggests that having an African booty (i.e. a big butt) is something good.
Apart from its use in the insulting term "African booty scratcher", I haven't seen or heard "African booty" used outside of these above referenced children's rhymes. It's very likely that most contemporary Americans know that the word "booty" means "butt". However, it's far less likely that most non-Black Americans know what the phrase "African booty" means. And, depending on their age, it's also unlikely that a lot of African American children know what that "African booty" phrase means. It's likely that children (usually girls) who chant "Mailman Mailman" ("Policeman Policeman)" rhymes which include the phrase "African booty" do so from rote memory without any thought to the meaning of that phrase.
****
MY MEMORIES OF THE POLICEMAN POLICEMAN RHYME AND MY DAUGHTER'S USE OF THE TERM "AFRICAN BOOTY" IN POLICE LADY" RHYMES
Here's the version of the very similar rhyme "Policeman, Policeman" that I recall from my childhood in the mid 1950s, Atlantic City, New Jersey (African American girls, group jump rope)
Policeman, Policeman,
Do your duty.
Here comes [insert the jumper's name or nickname]
an American beauty.
She can wiggle.
She can wobble
She can do the flip [later the word 'twist' replaced the word 'flip']
But I betcha five dollars she can't do this:
Lady on one foot, one foot, one foot,
turn all around. [jump on 1 foot and turn around]
Lady on two foot, two foot, two foot
Touch the ground.[jump on 2 feet and touch the ground]
Lady of three foot, three foot, three foot [jump on 2 feet with one hand on the ground]
Lady on two feet say your prayers. [jump on 2 feet while folding your hands like you are praying]
Lady on four foot, four foot, four foot [jump on 2 feet while placing both hands on the ground]
[Now] Go to bed. [jump out of the rope]
-snip-
In the mid 1980s Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, my daughter and her girlfriends jumped rope while chanting a version of the "Policeman Policeman" rhyme that is very similar to the one that I recall from my childhood. However, the version that my daughter & her friends chanted reflects two significant societal changes: the inclusion of women in the police force, and the attitude that having an "African booty" was a good thing. Instead of "policeman", the girls chanted "Police lady Police lady do your duty".
In the early 2000s, my daughter - then an elementary school teacher - shared with me an experience she had while taking her first grade class to a nearby public park. All of the students in her class were African American. A White man and his pre-school (White) daughter happened to be visiting that same park. Some of the girls in her classroom who were turning the ends of the jump rope sang the "Police Lady Police Lady" rhyme which included the line "here comes a lady with an African booty". (I'm not sure if the girls in her classroom knew that version before she sang it or not.) The White man asked could his daughter and he join the jump rope game, and before long he and his daughter were singing the "here comes a lady with an African booty" line. That's just one example of how versions of rhymes get passed on from one generation to another, and from one racial population to another.
****
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "AFRICAN BOOTY" AND "AFRICAN BOOTY SCRATCHER"
It should be noted that the phrase "African booty" is not a taunt like the similar phrase "African booty scratcher". "African booty scratcher" is meant to be a very serious insult as it implies that the person who that phrase is directed to is a monkey. Often the person being taunted by that phrase is an immigrant from Africa, and often the person doing the taunting is an African American. However, in the "Mailman Mailman family of rhymes, "African booty" is by no means an insult. Saying that a female has an "African booty" might even be considered a compliment since teenage females and adult females regardless of race/ethnicity like to have big butts. That said, having an "African booty" wasn't always considered a compliment, and it's probably wisest to refrain from using that phrase as a description of any female, particularly any Black female.
****
THE HISTORY OF NEGATIVELY DESCRIBING FEMALES AS HAVING A BIG BUTT
The stereotype of Black women having big butts was heavily influenced by, if not originated from the gross, racist mistreatment in the early 19th century of the South African woman Sarah Baartman and another South African woman. In 1810, Sarah Baartman and the other African woman were taken from South Africa and exhibited in Great Britain and elsewhere in Europe as a freak of nature because of their "big butts". These women were labeled "the Hottentot Venus”. Upon her death until 2003, a replication of Baartman's body which emphasized her large protruding butt was featured in a French museum. Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Baartman for information about Sarah Baartman.
Americans have had ambivalent opinions about big butt females for quite some time. Jimmy Castor 1975 "Bertha Butt Boogie" Rhythm & Blues songs document the humor Americans' have for big ("heavy set") women with big butts. Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LQJYgs1sxc "Bertha Butt Boogie" for an example of those songs. Also, click http://artists.letssingit.com/jimmy-castor-lyrics-the-bertha-butt-boogie-8tbtw43 for the words to that song.
Among African Americans, a female with a "Bertha Butt" means a female (usually a Black female) with a large, protruding butt. I believe that phrase was used prior to the Jimmy Castor songs. My theory is that the origin of "Bertha Butt" was the 1947 American prison Blues song "O Berta". That song has a line "I call Berta, but she didn't answer me". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/06/o-berta-prison-blues.html for a pancocojams blog post about that song.
In contrast to song's that ridicule big butt women, the 1988 R&B song "Da Butt" by the Washington, D. C. group E. U. [European Union] praises those women, reflecting the positive societal value given to women who have a big butt. Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FShE0VifCYs for a video of that song. Click http://lyrics.filestube.com/song/a433f344b5c91eca03e9,Da-Butt-From-School-Daze.html for the lyrics to that song.
****
PERFORMANCE ACTIVITIES FOR THE RHYME "MAILMAN MAILMAN"
As mentioned above, the "Mailman Mailman" (do your duty) rhymes used to be chanted while jumping rope. However, as is the case with most jump rope rhymes, by at least the 1960s, in the United States at least, partner or three or four person handclapping was the preferred performance activity for those rhymes.
As documented by several YouTube videos and their viewer comment threads, the phrase "African booty" continues to be chanted by girls -regardless of race- as either a handclap rhyme, or a movement rhyme without accompanying handclap activities. With either of those performance activities, the girls use mimicking motions on cue- they shake their balled up fists in front of them when saying pom poms (in imitation of cheerleaders holding pom poms); they shake their hips from side to side as was done to the once popular "twist" dance; and with each rendition of the rhyme, they move their feet farther and farther apart either to do a split, or to see which girl falls down first. In the later case, the last girl who remains standing is the winner.
To date, I've not seen any off-line or online evidence on YouTube or elsewher that the "Mailman Mailman" ("Policeman Policeman") rhymes with or without the "African booty" phrase are still being used as a jump rope chant. This isn't surprising since chanting while jumping rope appears to be rarely done in the United States since at least the 1990s.
****
FEATURED RHYMES
[These examples of "Mailman Mailman" ("Policeman Policeman") rhymes which include the phrase "African booty scratcher" are presented in no particular order.]
Example #1
mailman mailman
do your duty
here comes a lady with an
african booty
she can do the pom pom
she can do the twist
most of all she likes to kiss
-Guest, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4300 Children's Street Songs; 12/2/2004
**
Example #2
mail man mail man
do ur duty hear comes a lady with an African booty
she can do the pom pom she can do the splits but best of all she can kiss kiss kiss with her read hott lips
-socalgal89 at June 16, 2005 http://blog.oftheoctopuses.com/000518.php [This blog is no longer viable]
**
Example #3
Mailman mailman do your duty
here comes a lady with an African booty
she can do the pom poms
she can do the twist
but most of all
she can kiss kiss kiss
-celinababe29; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3G7c6Fj_WM; 6/24/2009
[This video is embedded below.]
**
Example #4
Mailman mailman do your duty
here comes a lady with an African booty
she can do the pom poms
she can do the twist
but most of all
she can kiss kiss kiss
With her big
red
lips
k.i.ss.i.n.g
-KellyJulia12 ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgr8ApS4LWI&feature=related; 7/11/2010
[This video is embedded below.]
****
Example #5
Mailman mailman do your duty
here comes a lady with an African booty
she can do the pom poms
she can do the twist
but I betcha five dollars
she can’t do this
k-i-s-s-i-n-g
-loserweirdo311; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9Gs7-MQyrE; 8/15/2009
**
Example #6
Mailman, mailman do your duty.
Here comes a lady with an African booty.
She can do the pom-poms, she can do the splits, I bet you $5 she can't do this:
(Take your feet, and go back and forth, pointing your toes out, then your heels out, then toes, then heels....
As you're doing it, your feet are moving out, so you're getting closer to the ground.) [Thanks to Ciara A.]; http://www.beachnet.com/~jeanettem/chants.html#MAILMAN; retrieved 12/28/2011
-snip-
Here are two examples from different YouTube viewer comment threads which gives the phrase as "African beauty" instead of "African booty":
Example #7
the way i do it is ive got an african beauty she can do the pom poms she can do the splits but most of all she can kiss kisss kiss k.i.s.s
-123leta ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3G7c6Fj_WM&feature=related; 6/2011
**
Example #8
I learned it like 'Mail man mail man do your duty. I got a date with an African beauty. She can do the pom-pom, she can do the splits, most of all she can kiss kiss kiss. K-I-S-S ( for each letter you go like if your doing the splits )
-livetolove97; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgr8ApS4LWI&feature=related; October 2011
****
Here are two examples of "Mailman Mailman" rhymes that include the term "big fat booty" which I think is an equivalent term for "African booty":
Example #9 (fragment)
Mailman, mailman do your duty here comes the lady w/the big fat booty...
-Classy_Diva5 (African American female, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc sorority, Bay Area, California); http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=4123; 12/28/2000
**
Example #10
Mail man mail man do your duty
Here comes a lady with a
With a big fat booty
she can do the pom pom
she can do the twist
but most of all she can blow you a kiss
Uggh!
-froggielover737; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80uKGksoFTA&feature=related; 1/22/2007
****
FEATURED VIDEOS
Example #1: Mailman, Mailman
Uploaded by celinababe29 on Jun 24, 2009
My little sister and her cousin playing Mailman, Mailman after i taught them an hour earlier.
-snip-
These girls are chanting "with an African booty".
**
Example #2: mailman mailman game
Uploaded by KellyJulia12 on Jul 11, 2010
Weird, huh?
-snip-
These White girls are chanting "with an African booty". The fact that they are smiling and shaking their own hips implies to me that "African booty" isn't an insult.
**
Example #3: Mailman mailman do your duty
glancei, Published on Sep 26, 2015
Hand game- mailman mailman do your duty
-snip-
This video replaces one that is no longer available.
Notice that these two Black girls (presumably from the United States) chant "American beauty", which documents that not all African American girls chanted "African booty" when they performed this jump rope game.
****
Example #4: Mail man do your duty
delcia50, Published on Apr 19, 2013
Este video se subi� de un tel�fono Android.
-snip-
The girl in this video says "African booty". Note that she doesn't appear to be African American, suggesting that non-African Americans also chant the term "African booty" as a part of this rhyme.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This pancocojams post provides definitions and commentary about the term "African booty" and the term "African booty scratcher".
This post also presents various text (word only) examples of the term "African booty" that are found in the children's recreational rhymes "Mailman Mailman Do Your Duty" and "Policeman Policeman Do Your Duty". Some video examples of these rhymes are also showcased in this post.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks to all those who are featured in the embedded videos, and thanks to the publishers of those videos on YouTube.
-snip-
The content of this post was originally published on pancocojams in December 2011 with the title "The Meaning Of "African Booty" In Children's Rhymes". That post was last revised on November 15, 2018.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/11/my-comments-about-whether-phrase.html for a continuation of this subject entitled "My Comments About Whether The Phrase "African Booty" In The Children's Rhyme "Mailman Mailman" Is Racist".
****
DEFINITION AND USE OF THE PHRASE "AFRICAN BOOTY"
"African booty", a phrase from African American English that means "a big butt", appears to be limited to its neutral or positive use in certain children's playground rhymes, or its negative, insulting use in the term "African booty stratcher".
While the term "African booty" could be applied to males, it usually is reserved as a descriptor for teenage girls and women. In the phrase "African booty", the word "African" is evidence of the widely held, although erroneous belief that all women of African descent have big butts. As is the case with a lot of African American vernacular, while the phrase "African booty" originated with Black Americans, it has also been used by non-Black Americans.
The phrase "African booty" is found in some examples of contemporary (usually post 1970s*) versions of the American children's playground rhyme family "Mailman Mailman (do your duty)". Those rhymes are also known as "Policeman Policeman (do your duty)" or similar titles. In that sub-set of that family of jump rope or hand clap rhymes, the line "Mailman mailman do your duty" is followed by the line "Here comes a lady with an African booty".
*Note below a comment from Anonymous, July 10, 2018 that she or he recalls children jumping rope "in the 1960s in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood" singing "African booty" in a jump rope song. This is the earliest reference that I've come across of the term "African booty" being found in a children's rhyme.
Examples of "Postman Postman Do Your Duty" rhymes without the "African booty" term are included in now classic 1959 collection of mostly United Kingdom children's rhymes The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren by Iona & Peter Opie. Here's an excerpt about the "Mailman Mailman" rhyme from that book:
"In all of Britain the young have sent our Valentines {Valentine cards are definitely in fashion again}, and they have written anonymous verses, In Aberdeen and elsewhere in Scotland the boy follow the old convention of putting verse on the envelopes, addressed to the post man.
Postman, Postman, do your duty
Take this to my loving beauty.
Postie, Postie, don't delay,
Do the rhumba all the way" (Opie, Lore & Language, p. 236)"
Instead of the phrase "my loving beauty", I believe that the usual pre-1970s American versions of this rhyme included the phrase "an American beauty" or "Miss American beauty".
I've also found two online examples of the use of the term "African beauty" in "Mailman Mailman" rhymes. [Read Example #& and #8 below]. "African beauty" may be a folk etymology substitution for "African booty". However, given the often negative attitudes about Black physical appearance in mainstream United States and other Westernized cultures, it would be significant if "African beauty" were purposely used in these children's rhymes.
From my online research, it appears that some children continue to use the phrase "American beauty" as the rhyming line to "do your duty", while other children use the phrase "African booty". While it's probable that most of those persons who chant "here's come a lady with an African booty" are Black, there's evidence that that line has crossed over to non-Black persons.
Evidence that non-African Americans (or non-Black people) chant "Mailman Mailman Do Your Duty", "Policeman Policeman Do Your Duty", and similar children's rhymes with the term "African booty" substituting for the previous term "American beauty" is found in various YouTube videos. Some bloggers in those videos' discussion threads and in some other online sites also have shared examples of those rhymes with the term "African booty". These bloggers and these children featured on YouTube videos appear to use "African booty" as a matter of course, without any negative connotations. In some videos, the White girls shake their butt while saying "African booty" a movement that I think suggests that having an African booty (i.e. a big butt) is something good.
Apart from its use in the insulting term "African booty scratcher", I haven't seen or heard "African booty" used outside of these above referenced children's rhymes. It's very likely that most contemporary Americans know that the word "booty" means "butt". However, it's far less likely that most non-Black Americans know what the phrase "African booty" means. And, depending on their age, it's also unlikely that a lot of African American children know what that "African booty" phrase means. It's likely that children (usually girls) who chant "Mailman Mailman" ("Policeman Policeman)" rhymes which include the phrase "African booty" do so from rote memory without any thought to the meaning of that phrase.
****
MY MEMORIES OF THE POLICEMAN POLICEMAN RHYME AND MY DAUGHTER'S USE OF THE TERM "AFRICAN BOOTY" IN POLICE LADY" RHYMES
Here's the version of the very similar rhyme "Policeman, Policeman" that I recall from my childhood in the mid 1950s, Atlantic City, New Jersey (African American girls, group jump rope)
Policeman, Policeman,
Do your duty.
Here comes [insert the jumper's name or nickname]
an American beauty.
She can wiggle.
She can wobble
She can do the flip [later the word 'twist' replaced the word 'flip']
But I betcha five dollars she can't do this:
Lady on one foot, one foot, one foot,
turn all around. [jump on 1 foot and turn around]
Lady on two foot, two foot, two foot
Touch the ground.[jump on 2 feet and touch the ground]
Lady of three foot, three foot, three foot [jump on 2 feet with one hand on the ground]
Lady on two feet say your prayers. [jump on 2 feet while folding your hands like you are praying]
Lady on four foot, four foot, four foot [jump on 2 feet while placing both hands on the ground]
[Now] Go to bed. [jump out of the rope]
-snip-
In the mid 1980s Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, my daughter and her girlfriends jumped rope while chanting a version of the "Policeman Policeman" rhyme that is very similar to the one that I recall from my childhood. However, the version that my daughter & her friends chanted reflects two significant societal changes: the inclusion of women in the police force, and the attitude that having an "African booty" was a good thing. Instead of "policeman", the girls chanted "Police lady Police lady do your duty".
In the early 2000s, my daughter - then an elementary school teacher - shared with me an experience she had while taking her first grade class to a nearby public park. All of the students in her class were African American. A White man and his pre-school (White) daughter happened to be visiting that same park. Some of the girls in her classroom who were turning the ends of the jump rope sang the "Police Lady Police Lady" rhyme which included the line "here comes a lady with an African booty". (I'm not sure if the girls in her classroom knew that version before she sang it or not.) The White man asked could his daughter and he join the jump rope game, and before long he and his daughter were singing the "here comes a lady with an African booty" line. That's just one example of how versions of rhymes get passed on from one generation to another, and from one racial population to another.
****
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "AFRICAN BOOTY" AND "AFRICAN BOOTY SCRATCHER"
It should be noted that the phrase "African booty" is not a taunt like the similar phrase "African booty scratcher". "African booty scratcher" is meant to be a very serious insult as it implies that the person who that phrase is directed to is a monkey. Often the person being taunted by that phrase is an immigrant from Africa, and often the person doing the taunting is an African American. However, in the "Mailman Mailman family of rhymes, "African booty" is by no means an insult. Saying that a female has an "African booty" might even be considered a compliment since teenage females and adult females regardless of race/ethnicity like to have big butts. That said, having an "African booty" wasn't always considered a compliment, and it's probably wisest to refrain from using that phrase as a description of any female, particularly any Black female.
****
THE HISTORY OF NEGATIVELY DESCRIBING FEMALES AS HAVING A BIG BUTT
The stereotype of Black women having big butts was heavily influenced by, if not originated from the gross, racist mistreatment in the early 19th century of the South African woman Sarah Baartman and another South African woman. In 1810, Sarah Baartman and the other African woman were taken from South Africa and exhibited in Great Britain and elsewhere in Europe as a freak of nature because of their "big butts". These women were labeled "the Hottentot Venus”. Upon her death until 2003, a replication of Baartman's body which emphasized her large protruding butt was featured in a French museum. Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Baartman for information about Sarah Baartman.
Americans have had ambivalent opinions about big butt females for quite some time. Jimmy Castor 1975 "Bertha Butt Boogie" Rhythm & Blues songs document the humor Americans' have for big ("heavy set") women with big butts. Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LQJYgs1sxc "Bertha Butt Boogie" for an example of those songs. Also, click http://artists.letssingit.com/jimmy-castor-lyrics-the-bertha-butt-boogie-8tbtw43 for the words to that song.
Among African Americans, a female with a "Bertha Butt" means a female (usually a Black female) with a large, protruding butt. I believe that phrase was used prior to the Jimmy Castor songs. My theory is that the origin of "Bertha Butt" was the 1947 American prison Blues song "O Berta". That song has a line "I call Berta, but she didn't answer me". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/06/o-berta-prison-blues.html for a pancocojams blog post about that song.
In contrast to song's that ridicule big butt women, the 1988 R&B song "Da Butt" by the Washington, D. C. group E. U. [European Union] praises those women, reflecting the positive societal value given to women who have a big butt. Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FShE0VifCYs for a video of that song. Click http://lyrics.filestube.com/song/a433f344b5c91eca03e9,Da-Butt-From-School-Daze.html for the lyrics to that song.
****
PERFORMANCE ACTIVITIES FOR THE RHYME "MAILMAN MAILMAN"
As mentioned above, the "Mailman Mailman" (do your duty) rhymes used to be chanted while jumping rope. However, as is the case with most jump rope rhymes, by at least the 1960s, in the United States at least, partner or three or four person handclapping was the preferred performance activity for those rhymes.
As documented by several YouTube videos and their viewer comment threads, the phrase "African booty" continues to be chanted by girls -regardless of race- as either a handclap rhyme, or a movement rhyme without accompanying handclap activities. With either of those performance activities, the girls use mimicking motions on cue- they shake their balled up fists in front of them when saying pom poms (in imitation of cheerleaders holding pom poms); they shake their hips from side to side as was done to the once popular "twist" dance; and with each rendition of the rhyme, they move their feet farther and farther apart either to do a split, or to see which girl falls down first. In the later case, the last girl who remains standing is the winner.
To date, I've not seen any off-line or online evidence on YouTube or elsewher that the "Mailman Mailman" ("Policeman Policeman") rhymes with or without the "African booty" phrase are still being used as a jump rope chant. This isn't surprising since chanting while jumping rope appears to be rarely done in the United States since at least the 1990s.
****
FEATURED RHYMES
[These examples of "Mailman Mailman" ("Policeman Policeman") rhymes which include the phrase "African booty scratcher" are presented in no particular order.]
Example #1
mailman mailman
do your duty
here comes a lady with an
african booty
she can do the pom pom
she can do the twist
most of all she likes to kiss
-Guest, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4300 Children's Street Songs; 12/2/2004
**
Example #2
mail man mail man
do ur duty hear comes a lady with an African booty
she can do the pom pom she can do the splits but best of all she can kiss kiss kiss with her read hott lips
-socalgal89 at June 16, 2005 http://blog.oftheoctopuses.com/000518.php [This blog is no longer viable]
**
Example #3
Mailman mailman do your duty
here comes a lady with an African booty
she can do the pom poms
she can do the twist
but most of all
she can kiss kiss kiss
-celinababe29; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3G7c6Fj_WM; 6/24/2009
[This video is embedded below.]
**
Example #4
Mailman mailman do your duty
here comes a lady with an African booty
she can do the pom poms
she can do the twist
but most of all
she can kiss kiss kiss
With her big
red
lips
k.i.ss.i.n.g
-KellyJulia12 ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgr8ApS4LWI&feature=related; 7/11/2010
[This video is embedded below.]
****
Example #5
Mailman mailman do your duty
here comes a lady with an African booty
she can do the pom poms
she can do the twist
but I betcha five dollars
she can’t do this
k-i-s-s-i-n-g
-loserweirdo311; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9Gs7-MQyrE; 8/15/2009
**
Example #6
Mailman, mailman do your duty.
Here comes a lady with an African booty.
She can do the pom-poms, she can do the splits, I bet you $5 she can't do this:
(Take your feet, and go back and forth, pointing your toes out, then your heels out, then toes, then heels....
As you're doing it, your feet are moving out, so you're getting closer to the ground.) [Thanks to Ciara A.]; http://www.beachnet.com/~jeanettem/chants.html#MAILMAN; retrieved 12/28/2011
-snip-
Here are two examples from different YouTube viewer comment threads which gives the phrase as "African beauty" instead of "African booty":
Example #7
the way i do it is ive got an african beauty she can do the pom poms she can do the splits but most of all she can kiss kisss kiss k.i.s.s
-123leta ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3G7c6Fj_WM&feature=related; 6/2011
**
Example #8
I learned it like 'Mail man mail man do your duty. I got a date with an African beauty. She can do the pom-pom, she can do the splits, most of all she can kiss kiss kiss. K-I-S-S ( for each letter you go like if your doing the splits )
-livetolove97; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgr8ApS4LWI&feature=related; October 2011
****
Here are two examples of "Mailman Mailman" rhymes that include the term "big fat booty" which I think is an equivalent term for "African booty":
Example #9 (fragment)
Mailman, mailman do your duty here comes the lady w/the big fat booty...
-Classy_Diva5 (African American female, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc sorority, Bay Area, California); http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=4123; 12/28/2000
**
Example #10
Mail man mail man do your duty
Here comes a lady with a
With a big fat booty
she can do the pom pom
she can do the twist
but most of all she can blow you a kiss
Uggh!
-froggielover737; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80uKGksoFTA&feature=related; 1/22/2007
****
FEATURED VIDEOS
Example #1: Mailman, Mailman
Uploaded by celinababe29 on Jun 24, 2009
My little sister and her cousin playing Mailman, Mailman after i taught them an hour earlier.
-snip-
These girls are chanting "with an African booty".
**
Example #2: mailman mailman game
Uploaded by KellyJulia12 on Jul 11, 2010
Weird, huh?
-snip-
These White girls are chanting "with an African booty". The fact that they are smiling and shaking their own hips implies to me that "African booty" isn't an insult.
**
Example #3: Mailman mailman do your duty
glancei, Published on Sep 26, 2015
Hand game- mailman mailman do your duty
-snip-
This video replaces one that is no longer available.
Notice that these two Black girls (presumably from the United States) chant "American beauty", which documents that not all African American girls chanted "African booty" when they performed this jump rope game.
****
Example #4: Mail man do your duty
delcia50, Published on Apr 19, 2013
Este video se subi� de un tel�fono Android.
-snip-
The girl in this video says "African booty". Note that she doesn't appear to be African American, suggesting that non-African Americans also chant the term "African booty" as a part of this rhyme.
****
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Wednesday, November 14, 2018
YouTube Comments About "Apple On A Stick" Rhymes That Demonstrate How Children Respond To Differences In Hand Clap Rhymes Words And/Or Performances
Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post is part of my ongoing documentation and analysis of the children's rhyme entitled "Apple On A Stick" (or similar titles such as "Candy Apple On A Stick").
This post documents selected comments that demonstrate the ways that children respond to differences in how a hand clap rhyme is chanted and/or performed. All of these comments are from one YouTube video of "Apple On A Stick" children's rhyme. [video embedded below https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=sygUDQzShdM]
Click the "Apple On A Stick children's rhyme" tag for other pancocojams posts in this series.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to Louise and Reese who are featured in the video that is embedded in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
****
PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S COMMENT
Thinking back on my childhood, I assumed that every one knew the same playground rhymes and children's singing games that I did, and also said them and played them the same way that I and my sisters and friends did. Way back then if someone had told me that she or he played a singing game a different way than I did, or recited a jump rope rhyme or a hand clap rhyme differently, I would have said that the words to those rhymes and the way those singing games were played were wrong unless they were done EXACTLY the same as the way I learned them.
I now understand that there are countless ways of performing a particular children's singing game. I also now know that there are multiple versions of a specific game song and a specific jump rope/hand clap rhyme. Also, I've learned that there aren't any right or wrong ways of saying a particular rhyme- as long as those examples adhere to the textual structure (including rhyming end words) and cadence that is "standard" for that particular rhyme.
I probably would have learned that lesson much earlier if the internet had existed when I was a kid or a teen -or a young adult or a middle age adult :o)
Some commenters are still writing "It's wrong", "That's not how it goes" and other such comments that indicate that they believe the video's version isn't right because it's not the version those commenters learned. However, other commenters express an openness to the concept that their way of chanted or playing this rhyme doesn't have to be the only way this rhyme is supposed to be chanted or played.
This leads me to the positions that:
Reading YouTube comment threads for videos of specific hand clap rhymes and other children's singing/chanting games can teach and reinforce the point that differences may not make any difference. There doesn't always have to be a right way or wrong way of doing something.
Reading these comments can also help children, teens, and others develop and reinforce an appreciation for different ways of thinking about or doing things which can be expanded to other areas of their life.
Reading these comment can also inform children and others that other people throughout the world play and chant games and rhymes that are the same or similar to the ones that they play and chant. That information can help children develop a connection with people in other parts of the world who may not look the same as them, or speak the same language etc.
****
SHOWCASE VIDEO: Apple on a Stick " Hand clapping game
!!-Three-Crazy-Kids-!!, Published on Nov 2, 2012
Louise and Reese playing " Apple on a Stick " Hand clapping game. For lyrics go to www.gamesandactivitiesforkids.com [This link no longer viable]
-snip-
As of November 14, 2018 at 10:10 AM ET this video had a total of 322,611 views and a total of 294 comments. That number of views and comments are relatively high for videos of children's hand clap rhymes or children's singing games.
****
SELECTED COMMENTS
These comments are given in relative chronological order based on their publishing date with the oldest comments given first (except for replies). I've assigned numbers to these comments for referencing purposes only.
1. !!-Three-Crazy-Kids-!!, 2013
"This is the words:
Apple on a stick makes me sick makes my heart beat 2 46, not because your dirty
not because your clean, not because you kissed a boy behind a magazine
girls, boys having fun, here comes the girl with the blueberry bum
she can wibble she can wobble she can do the splits
but I bet ya I bet ya she can't do this
count to ten with your eyes shut
if you mess up start again
1234 5678 910, You didn't mess up now she is your girl friend
That's the end of Chapter 10 Bam"
Thanks!
**
2. Olivia Preston, 2013
"Wrong"
**
3. !!-Three-Crazy-Kids-!!, 2013
"Whys it wrong?
**
4. !!-Three-Crazy-Kids-!!, 2013
"If you have a different version post it in the comments!"
**
5. Awesome Cakez, 2013
"My version:apple stuck gonna make me sick gonna make my heart go 246,246 not because im dirty not because im clean not because i kissed a boy behind a magizine,hey girls! You wanna have fun here comes Johnny with his pants undone he can wibble he can woble he can do the twist but i bet you 5 dollars you can't do this close your eyes count to ten if you mess up you gotta kiss your boyfriends 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10"
**
6. Leah Mclaughlin, 2013
"My version is . Apple on a stick make me sick makes my heart beat 246 not because im dirty not because im clean not because i kissed a boy behind a magazine boys girls having lots of fun here comes johnny with an apple up his bum he can do the wiggle-waggle he can do the splits but i bet u 5 bucks he cant do this close ur eyes and count to ten if u mess u then start again 12345678910 u didnt mess up so thats the end !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
**
7. F.G.Swizzle, 2013
"It's- apples on a stick they make we sick they make my heart got 2,40,6 2,40,6 not because I'm dirty not because clean not because I kissed a boy behind a magazine so come on girls let's have some fun here comes ______ with his pants undone he can wibble he can wobble he can do the twist but I bet you 5 bucks he can't do thin close your eyes and count to 10 whoever messes up has to marry him 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10"
**
8. _Haley_, 2013
"I do it so much different, even the hands are different."
**
9. Nicole Gaskin, 2013
"Mine is: Apple sticks they make me sick they make my tummy go 2,4,6. not because your dirty not because ur clean, not because a hot boy kissed a magazine. Hey boys, how bout a fight, i know a girl who can drink alot of sprite. she can burp she can fart she can even do the splits but i bet you 50 bucks that she cant do this. close here eyes and count to ten, if she messes up she will have to kiss her boyfriend. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10"
**
10. abcdef ghijk, 2013
"I heard people t school call it apple sticky instead of apple on a stick"
**
11. Lily Bills, 2013
"Its wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
**
12. ChocolateCandy2112, 2013
"Me and my friends say:
Candy on a stick makes me feel sick make my heart go 2 4 6
Not because im dirty, not because im clean, not because i kissed a boy behind a magazine
So come on girls lets have a blast, here comes the lady with a big fat a**
She could do the pom pom she could do the splits but most of all she cant do this "
-snip-
This is the way this example was written.
**
13. Scott Maloney, 2013
"Awesome! but I say: apple on a stick makes me sick makes my heart beat 2 46 not because you dirty not because your clean not because you kissed a boy behind a magazine girls boys having fun here comes a lady with a big fat bum she can wibble she can wobble she can do the splits but I bet you ten bucks she can't do this. Close your eyes and count to ten if you muck it up your a big fat hen.. And if you do not muck it up you say you didn't muck it up so your my best friend"
-snip-
Notice that boys also chant and perform this rhyme.
**
14. Max Guevara, 2013
""Apples on a stick just make me sick. They make my heart go 2/46...2/46. Not because they're yellow not because they're green. Not because I kissed a boy behind a magazine, singing 'hey girl. You wanna have some fun? Here comes (insert a name) with his pants undone. He can wibble, he can wabble, he can do the splits, but I bet you five bucks he can't do this. Close your eyes and count to ten. Whoever messes up is a big fat hen!' " That is how they usually do it in Arkansas."
**
15. Adrienne, 2013
"thats the one i did!"
**
16. Holly Almond, 2013
"its not wrong just i use a different version aswell there is more than one version"
**
17. Angelique Morgan, 2013
"i thought it was: candy apple kn a stick makes my tummy go 2/46 not because im dirty not because im clean not because i kissed a boy behind a magizean hey boy how bout a fight mee me that the culb this saturday night if you say o you otta the game so lets get ready for the chu chu train and keep on counting till someone says o.. (thats how i learded it)"
**
18. Aly Wong, 2013
"But the mom messed up! They didn't start over"
**
19. Diamond, 2013
"the one i know goes like:candy apple on a stick make my tummy go 2 46 not because im dirty not because im clean just because i kissed a boy behind a magazine hey girls wanna have some fun here come (a name) with her pants undone she can wibble she can wobble she could do the spits but most of all she could kiss kiss kiss with her red hot lips"
**
20. Naomi conroy, 2013
"the one i no is : apples on a stick they make me sick they make my heart go 246 not because there dirty not because there anything in beetween come on girls lets have some fun here comes jill dancing in the sun she can do the wiggle workm she can do the twist but i bet u 5 bucks she cant do this (then u do it with ur eyes closed ) but the clapping is diffrent so yea"
**
21. kevin ryan, 2013
"Not cool this isn't the way i do it"
**
REPLY
22. !!-Three-Crazy-Kids-!!, 2013
"@kevin ryan Just Because its not the way you do it doesnt mean its not cool :\"
**
23. KSquared, 2014
"in my school it goes like this:apples on a stick they make me sick they make my heart go 246 246 not because i'm dirty not because im clean not because i kissed a boy behind a magazine hey girls lets have some fun her comes johnny with his pants undone he can wibble he can wobble he can do a back flip but i bet you 5 bucks that he cant do this close your eyes and count to ten who ever says 9 is a big fat hen 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10"
**
24. Ishmal Afridi, 2014
"I love it!! But I do it in a different way with my friends.I do it really fast with my friends. :)"
**
25. Olivia Mew, 2014
"Here's the version that I was taught:
Apple on a stick, makes me sick. Makes my heart beat 246. Not because you're dirty, not because you're clean. Not because you kissed a boy behind a magazine. Boys, boys, having fun, here comes the girl with the blue jeans on. She can wibble, she can wobble she can do the splits, but I bet you, i bet you, she can't do this. Count to ten with her eyes shut, if she mucks it up she's got to start again. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. She didn't muck it up so now she's our friend and that's the end of chapter 10!"
**
26. Maddy Jury, 2014
"Everything is the same except we say girls boys having fun here comes a lady with a pickle up her bum :#)"
**
REPLY
27. !!-Three-Crazy-Kids-!!, 2015
"@Maddy Jury "Pickle up her bum" lol hahahah!"
**
REPLY
28. The Happiest Death, 2017
"Maddy Jury LOL HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH A HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHABAHABAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH"
**
REPLY
29. Kitty Lover, 2018
"same"
**
30. 35. leslie j., 2015
"i thought it was candy apples make me sick"
**
31. Mat Smith, 2015
"we say here comes johnny with the blue jeans on"
**
32. Joseph Schembre, 2015
"My my version Is Apple On a stick make me sick make my heart go 246 not because I'm beautiful not because I kissed my mommy behind the magazine hey girls wanna have fun there are boys in their they will disappear if we cut do that start again 12345678910 we didn't mess up so we don't start again bam"
**
REPLY
33. The Happiest Death, 2017
"Joseph Schembre LAME LAME LAME LITTLE BOY HAHAHAHA LOL"
**
REPLY
34. Asha Corner, 2018
"oi you do know that this vid is for like 7 and 6 year olds!"
-snip-
I think this comment is for The Happiest Death, chastising him or her for laughing at Joseph Schembre’s version
**
35. leslie j., 2014
"i thought it was candy apples make me sick"
**
36. sgtmom6, 2014
"I was taught
Apples on a stick
Make me sick
They make my heart beat 24-6
Not beause I'm dirty
Not because I'm clean
Not because I kissed
a boy on a magazine
Hey,Johnny you wanna
have a fight meet me
at the club on a Saturday
night if you say a 2 your
out of the game,so let's
Get stated on the choo
choo train"
**
37. Hdjdbsh Shiwje, 2015
"We do..... Apple on a stick, makes me sick, makes my heart beat 246, not because your dirty not because your clean hunt because you kissed a bit behind a magazine. Boys, boys having all the fun here comes Jonny with his tie undone, he can do the catwalk he can do the splits but I bet u 5 bucks he cannie do this, close your eyes and count to 10 and if u muck it up ur a big fat hen 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, 10 you didn't muck it up so were all best friends/you mucked up so your a big fat hen."
**
38. Platinum Railgun, 2015
"its actually like,,, apple on a stick they make my heartbeat 2.4.6 not because im dirty not because clean not because i kissed a boy behind a magazine girls girls having fun here comes the lady with the big fat bum she can wiggle she can wobble she can do a split but i bet she cant do this close you're eyes and count to 10 if you say the number 9 you're not my friend 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10 u didn't say the number 9 so you're still my friend and that's the end of chapter 10"
**
39. Shayla Peterson, 2015
"Here is how er do it: apples on a stick just make me sick make my tummy go 246 not because im dirty not because im clean just because i kissed the boy behind the magazine hey girls you wanna have fun here comes ________ with his pants undone he can wibble he can wobble he can do the splits i bet you 50 dollars that he cant do this close your eyes and count to ten whoever says 7 has to marry him 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 10"
**
REPLY
40. Shayla Peterson, 2015
"We* not er"
-snip-
Note dollar amount is increased from the usual "five dollars" to "fifty dollars".
**
41. Fartun Abdikadir, 2015
"that is not how I do it but it what great"
**
42. Marcy Thompson, 2016
"it doesn't work like that"
**
43. The Colour English, 2016
"At my school it go's
Apple on a stick
Makes me sick
Makes my heart beat 2,4,6
Not because it's dirty not because it's clean
Not because I kissed a boy behind a magazine
Girls, boys have a lot of fun
Here comes Johnny with a pickle up his bum
He can wibble he can wobble he can even do the splits
But I bet you 10 bucks he can't do this
Close you eyes and count to 10
If you muck it up your a big fat hen
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
You didn't muck it up so your my best friend"
**
44. Haruna I, 2016
"none of these are the REAL apple on a stick..."
**
45. Haruna I, 2016
"I do
apple on a stick makes me sick makes my heart go 246.
not because I'm dirty not beacuse I'm clean not because I kissed a boy bihind a magazine
so come on girls lets have some fun. Here comes the lady with the big fat bum.
She can do the wibble wobble she can do the splits. She can do anything but bet she can't di this.
So close your eyes and count to 10. If you mess up, your not my best friend.
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10.
Lets do it once more now count from 10 and end on 1 with open eyes.
10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1.
You didn't mess it up so your still my friend and thats the end of chapter 10."
**
46. Cordelia Whitehead, 2017
"The way I learnt was
Apple on a stick it makes me sick it makes my heart beat 246 not because youre dirty not because you're clean just because you kissed the boy behind the magazine, girls boys having fun here comes the lady with the big fat bum, she can do the pom pom she can do the splits but I bet you 5 bucks she can't do this close your eyes and count to ten if you muck it up you're not my friend, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10, you didn't muck it up so you're still my friend next one to move is a bumblebee bet you 5 bucks it won't be me"
**
47. K M, 2017
"I do it like this:
Apple on a stick
Makes me sick
Makes my heart beat 2 46
Not because I’m dirty
Not because I’m clean
Not because I kissed a boy behind a magazine
Boys boys, have a lot of fun
Here comes Johnny with an apple up his bum
He can do the Can Can
He can do the splits
But I betcha five bucks he can’t do this
Close your eyes and count to ten
If you muck it up you gotta start again
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
We didn’t muck it up so we’re best friends!"
**
48. Habrinaxox MSP, 2017
"I got taught:
Apple sticky
Makes my icky
Makes my heart go two four sixty
Not because I'm dirty
Not because I'm clean
My mum saw me in a magazine
Hey girl/boy
You wanna fight
Here comes (name) with something I kinda forgot xDD"
**
49. Amy Lowndes, 2017
"i was taught.
apple on a stick, makes me sick, makes my heart beat 2 40 6. Not because im dirty, not because im clean, not because i kissed a boy behind the magazine. Girls, Boys, having fun. Here comes a lady with an apple up her bum, she czn do the pom poms, she can do the spilts, but i bet you 5 bucks she cant do this. close your eyes and count to 10. if you muck it up you have to start again.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5. once i caught a fish alive. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. You didnt muck it up so your my best friend.
not hatting!
-snip-
I think “Not hatting” [hating] here means that sharing this version doesn’t mean that the person is expressing dislike for the version given in the video or other versions.
**
50. Jaida Tylor, 2017
"I learnt mine like
apples on a stick they make me sick they make my heart go 246, not because I'm dirty not because I'm clean not because I kissed a boy behind a magazine, so come on girls let's have some fun here comes the lady with the big fat bum, she can do the wibble wobble she can do the splits but I bet you five bucks she can't do this ( then you do it with your eyes closed and say the alphabet)"
**
51. Lyssicorn_Unicorn Roblox and More, 2017
"That's not the real one"
**
52. maliyah carter, 2017
"y'all don't know how to do"
**
53. Brandon GamingYT, 2018
"I learn't like this..apples on the stick they make me sick they make my heart go 2 4 6,not because i'm dirty, not because i'm clean, not because I kissed a boy behind a magazine, hey girls let's have some fun, cuz here come ..name..with a big fat bum she can do the wiggle wobble she can do the spits she can do anything , but I bet she can't do this a b c d e f g gummy bears are chacsing me 1 is red 1 is blue 1 is peeing on my shoe , now i'm running for my life because the red one has a knife."
**
54. TheOliveFactory, 2018
"The way we did it was different and really messed up
Apples on a stick gonna make me sick gonna make my heart go 246,246 awwww man not because im dirty not because im clean not because i kissed a boy on a magazine awww girls wanna have some fun here comes Johnny with his pants undone"
**
55. Prism Fiona, 2018
"I was taught
Apple on an stick
Gonna make me sick
Gonna make my heart go 2 4 6
Not because I'm dirty
Not because I'm clean
Not because I kissed a boy behind the magazine
Come girls let's have some fun, here comes Sally dancing in the sun
She can do the wiggle wobble, she can do the splits
But I bet you five bucks she can't do this
Close your eyes and count to ten
Whoever messes up is an big fat head"
**
56. Nevaeh Stukes, 2018
"THATS NOT HOW IT GOSE"
**
57. Chickens & & Objects, 2018
"What I learnt:
Apple on a stick,
Makes me sick,
Makes my heart beat two-forty-six,
Not because you're dirty,
Not because you're clean,
Not because you kissed a boy behind the magazine,
Girls, boys, having fun,
Here comes a lady with a big fat bum,
She can wibble she can wobble,
She can even ddo the split,
But I bet ya, I bet ya,
She can't do this, close your eyes and count to ten,
If you muck it up than you're not my friend,
Closes eyes
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Opens eyes
You didn't muck it up so you're still my friend,
That's the end of chapter ten,
Amen.
If you get the closing eyes and counting part wrong than here is the alternative:
You did muck it up so you're not my friend
FOR EVERYONE READING THIS
This is just the way I learnt it, if you don't like this way have a look at the other ones and maybe you will be able to get an idea from those. This is just a game so please don't take it seriously. Thank you😊"
-snip-
The bold font was originally written in this comment.
**
58. excusemin, 2018
"I learned it like this
Apple on a stick it makes me sick it makes my heart beat 246 246 not because its dirty not because its clean not because i kissed a boy behind a magazine so hey boys how bout a fight i saw a girl with her pants untied she can wibble she can wobble she can even do the splits beta bench ya 50 dollars that she cant do this close your eyes and count to ten if you mess up start all over again 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 if you didnt mess up that is great now you gotta shout HOORAY, HOORAY!
Here is candy on a stick
Candy in a stick that makes me sick that makes my tummy go 246 not because its dirty not because its clean not because i kissed a boy behind a magazine so hey boys how bout a fight I saw a girl with her pants untied and she can wibble she can wobble she can even do the splits beta bench you 5 dollars that she can’t do this Close your eyes and count to 10 if you mess up you gotta start all over again 12345678 9 if you didn’t mess up that is the end!"
-snip-
This comment may serve to demonstrate how a person may know more than one example of a particular rhyme.
**
59. Davis Colley, 2018
"in minnesota we say
candy on a stick that makes me sick that makes my tummy go 2 4 6 not because its dirty not because its clean just because i kissed a boy behind a magazine hey boys how bout a fight i know i girl with her pants on tight she can wibble she can wobble she can even do the splits i bet you 5 bucks you cant do this close your eyes and count to 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 and start again. first one to mess up loses and you have to close your eyes
**
60. Alina Wright, 2018
"Wasnt it like this
Apple crumble makes me rubble makes my heart go 2468 not because lm dirty not because lm clean not because l kiss a boy behind a magazine hey boy wanna start a fight here comes sasha with her nikkas up all tight she can talk she can walk but l bet she cant do it when her eyes are all shut tight"
**
61. Remi Hodgkins, 2018
"Wrong words"
**
62. Deez Nutz, 2018
"Did anyone else learn it as “popsicle sticks”? No? Just a Savannah thing? Okay."
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This pancocojams post is part of my ongoing documentation and analysis of the children's rhyme entitled "Apple On A Stick" (or similar titles such as "Candy Apple On A Stick").
This post documents selected comments that demonstrate the ways that children respond to differences in how a hand clap rhyme is chanted and/or performed. All of these comments are from one YouTube video of "Apple On A Stick" children's rhyme. [video embedded below https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=sygUDQzShdM]
Click the "Apple On A Stick children's rhyme" tag for other pancocojams posts in this series.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to Louise and Reese who are featured in the video that is embedded in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
****
PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S COMMENT
Thinking back on my childhood, I assumed that every one knew the same playground rhymes and children's singing games that I did, and also said them and played them the same way that I and my sisters and friends did. Way back then if someone had told me that she or he played a singing game a different way than I did, or recited a jump rope rhyme or a hand clap rhyme differently, I would have said that the words to those rhymes and the way those singing games were played were wrong unless they were done EXACTLY the same as the way I learned them.
I now understand that there are countless ways of performing a particular children's singing game. I also now know that there are multiple versions of a specific game song and a specific jump rope/hand clap rhyme. Also, I've learned that there aren't any right or wrong ways of saying a particular rhyme- as long as those examples adhere to the textual structure (including rhyming end words) and cadence that is "standard" for that particular rhyme.
I probably would have learned that lesson much earlier if the internet had existed when I was a kid or a teen -or a young adult or a middle age adult :o)
Some commenters are still writing "It's wrong", "That's not how it goes" and other such comments that indicate that they believe the video's version isn't right because it's not the version those commenters learned. However, other commenters express an openness to the concept that their way of chanted or playing this rhyme doesn't have to be the only way this rhyme is supposed to be chanted or played.
This leads me to the positions that:
Reading YouTube comment threads for videos of specific hand clap rhymes and other children's singing/chanting games can teach and reinforce the point that differences may not make any difference. There doesn't always have to be a right way or wrong way of doing something.
Reading these comments can also help children, teens, and others develop and reinforce an appreciation for different ways of thinking about or doing things which can be expanded to other areas of their life.
Reading these comment can also inform children and others that other people throughout the world play and chant games and rhymes that are the same or similar to the ones that they play and chant. That information can help children develop a connection with people in other parts of the world who may not look the same as them, or speak the same language etc.
****
SHOWCASE VIDEO: Apple on a Stick " Hand clapping game
!!-Three-Crazy-Kids-!!, Published on Nov 2, 2012
Louise and Reese playing " Apple on a Stick " Hand clapping game. For lyrics go to www.gamesandactivitiesforkids.com [This link no longer viable]
-snip-
As of November 14, 2018 at 10:10 AM ET this video had a total of 322,611 views and a total of 294 comments. That number of views and comments are relatively high for videos of children's hand clap rhymes or children's singing games.
****
SELECTED COMMENTS
These comments are given in relative chronological order based on their publishing date with the oldest comments given first (except for replies). I've assigned numbers to these comments for referencing purposes only.
1. !!-Three-Crazy-Kids-!!, 2013
"This is the words:
Apple on a stick makes me sick makes my heart beat 2 46, not because your dirty
not because your clean, not because you kissed a boy behind a magazine
girls, boys having fun, here comes the girl with the blueberry bum
she can wibble she can wobble she can do the splits
but I bet ya I bet ya she can't do this
count to ten with your eyes shut
if you mess up start again
1234 5678 910, You didn't mess up now she is your girl friend
That's the end of Chapter 10 Bam"
Thanks!
**
2. Olivia Preston, 2013
"Wrong"
**
3. !!-Three-Crazy-Kids-!!, 2013
"Whys it wrong?
**
4. !!-Three-Crazy-Kids-!!, 2013
"If you have a different version post it in the comments!"
**
5. Awesome Cakez, 2013
"My version:apple stuck gonna make me sick gonna make my heart go 246,246 not because im dirty not because im clean not because i kissed a boy behind a magizine,hey girls! You wanna have fun here comes Johnny with his pants undone he can wibble he can woble he can do the twist but i bet you 5 dollars you can't do this close your eyes count to ten if you mess up you gotta kiss your boyfriends 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10"
**
6. Leah Mclaughlin, 2013
"My version is . Apple on a stick make me sick makes my heart beat 246 not because im dirty not because im clean not because i kissed a boy behind a magazine boys girls having lots of fun here comes johnny with an apple up his bum he can do the wiggle-waggle he can do the splits but i bet u 5 bucks he cant do this close ur eyes and count to ten if u mess u then start again 12345678910 u didnt mess up so thats the end !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
**
7. F.G.Swizzle, 2013
"It's- apples on a stick they make we sick they make my heart got 2,40,6 2,40,6 not because I'm dirty not because clean not because I kissed a boy behind a magazine so come on girls let's have some fun here comes ______ with his pants undone he can wibble he can wobble he can do the twist but I bet you 5 bucks he can't do thin close your eyes and count to 10 whoever messes up has to marry him 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10"
**
8. _Haley_, 2013
"I do it so much different, even the hands are different."
**
9. Nicole Gaskin, 2013
"Mine is: Apple sticks they make me sick they make my tummy go 2,4,6. not because your dirty not because ur clean, not because a hot boy kissed a magazine. Hey boys, how bout a fight, i know a girl who can drink alot of sprite. she can burp she can fart she can even do the splits but i bet you 50 bucks that she cant do this. close here eyes and count to ten, if she messes up she will have to kiss her boyfriend. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10"
**
10. abcdef ghijk, 2013
"I heard people t school call it apple sticky instead of apple on a stick"
**
11. Lily Bills, 2013
"Its wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
**
12. ChocolateCandy2112, 2013
"Me and my friends say:
Candy on a stick makes me feel sick make my heart go 2 4 6
Not because im dirty, not because im clean, not because i kissed a boy behind a magazine
So come on girls lets have a blast, here comes the lady with a big fat a**
She could do the pom pom she could do the splits but most of all she cant do this "
-snip-
This is the way this example was written.
**
13. Scott Maloney, 2013
"Awesome! but I say: apple on a stick makes me sick makes my heart beat 2 46 not because you dirty not because your clean not because you kissed a boy behind a magazine girls boys having fun here comes a lady with a big fat bum she can wibble she can wobble she can do the splits but I bet you ten bucks she can't do this. Close your eyes and count to ten if you muck it up your a big fat hen.. And if you do not muck it up you say you didn't muck it up so your my best friend"
-snip-
Notice that boys also chant and perform this rhyme.
**
14. Max Guevara, 2013
""Apples on a stick just make me sick. They make my heart go 2/46...2/46. Not because they're yellow not because they're green. Not because I kissed a boy behind a magazine, singing 'hey girl. You wanna have some fun? Here comes (insert a name) with his pants undone. He can wibble, he can wabble, he can do the splits, but I bet you five bucks he can't do this. Close your eyes and count to ten. Whoever messes up is a big fat hen!' " That is how they usually do it in Arkansas."
**
15. Adrienne, 2013
"thats the one i did!"
**
16. Holly Almond, 2013
"its not wrong just i use a different version aswell there is more than one version"
**
17. Angelique Morgan, 2013
"i thought it was: candy apple kn a stick makes my tummy go 2/46 not because im dirty not because im clean not because i kissed a boy behind a magizean hey boy how bout a fight mee me that the culb this saturday night if you say o you otta the game so lets get ready for the chu chu train and keep on counting till someone says o.. (thats how i learded it)"
**
18. Aly Wong, 2013
"But the mom messed up! They didn't start over"
**
19. Diamond, 2013
"the one i know goes like:candy apple on a stick make my tummy go 2 46 not because im dirty not because im clean just because i kissed a boy behind a magazine hey girls wanna have some fun here come (a name) with her pants undone she can wibble she can wobble she could do the spits but most of all she could kiss kiss kiss with her red hot lips"
**
20. Naomi conroy, 2013
"the one i no is : apples on a stick they make me sick they make my heart go 246 not because there dirty not because there anything in beetween come on girls lets have some fun here comes jill dancing in the sun she can do the wiggle workm she can do the twist but i bet u 5 bucks she cant do this (then u do it with ur eyes closed ) but the clapping is diffrent so yea"
**
21. kevin ryan, 2013
"Not cool this isn't the way i do it"
**
REPLY
22. !!-Three-Crazy-Kids-!!, 2013
"@kevin ryan Just Because its not the way you do it doesnt mean its not cool :\"
**
23. KSquared, 2014
"in my school it goes like this:apples on a stick they make me sick they make my heart go 246 246 not because i'm dirty not because im clean not because i kissed a boy behind a magazine hey girls lets have some fun her comes johnny with his pants undone he can wibble he can wobble he can do a back flip but i bet you 5 bucks that he cant do this close your eyes and count to ten who ever says 9 is a big fat hen 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10"
**
24. Ishmal Afridi, 2014
"I love it!! But I do it in a different way with my friends.I do it really fast with my friends. :)"
**
25. Olivia Mew, 2014
"Here's the version that I was taught:
Apple on a stick, makes me sick. Makes my heart beat 246. Not because you're dirty, not because you're clean. Not because you kissed a boy behind a magazine. Boys, boys, having fun, here comes the girl with the blue jeans on. She can wibble, she can wobble she can do the splits, but I bet you, i bet you, she can't do this. Count to ten with her eyes shut, if she mucks it up she's got to start again. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. She didn't muck it up so now she's our friend and that's the end of chapter 10!"
**
26. Maddy Jury, 2014
"Everything is the same except we say girls boys having fun here comes a lady with a pickle up her bum :#)"
**
REPLY
27. !!-Three-Crazy-Kids-!!, 2015
"@Maddy Jury "Pickle up her bum" lol hahahah!"
**
REPLY
28. The Happiest Death, 2017
"Maddy Jury LOL HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH A HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHABAHABAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH"
**
REPLY
29. Kitty Lover, 2018
"same"
**
30. 35. leslie j., 2015
"i thought it was candy apples make me sick"
**
31. Mat Smith, 2015
"we say here comes johnny with the blue jeans on"
**
32. Joseph Schembre, 2015
"My my version Is Apple On a stick make me sick make my heart go 246 not because I'm beautiful not because I kissed my mommy behind the magazine hey girls wanna have fun there are boys in their they will disappear if we cut do that start again 12345678910 we didn't mess up so we don't start again bam"
**
REPLY
33. The Happiest Death, 2017
"Joseph Schembre LAME LAME LAME LITTLE BOY HAHAHAHA LOL"
**
REPLY
34. Asha Corner, 2018
"oi you do know that this vid is for like 7 and 6 year olds!"
-snip-
I think this comment is for The Happiest Death, chastising him or her for laughing at Joseph Schembre’s version
**
35. leslie j., 2014
"i thought it was candy apples make me sick"
**
36. sgtmom6, 2014
"I was taught
Apples on a stick
Make me sick
They make my heart beat 24-6
Not beause I'm dirty
Not because I'm clean
Not because I kissed
a boy on a magazine
Hey,Johnny you wanna
have a fight meet me
at the club on a Saturday
night if you say a 2 your
out of the game,so let's
Get stated on the choo
choo train"
**
37. Hdjdbsh Shiwje, 2015
"We do..... Apple on a stick, makes me sick, makes my heart beat 246, not because your dirty not because your clean hunt because you kissed a bit behind a magazine. Boys, boys having all the fun here comes Jonny with his tie undone, he can do the catwalk he can do the splits but I bet u 5 bucks he cannie do this, close your eyes and count to 10 and if u muck it up ur a big fat hen 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, 10 you didn't muck it up so were all best friends/you mucked up so your a big fat hen."
**
38. Platinum Railgun, 2015
"its actually like,,, apple on a stick they make my heartbeat 2.4.6 not because im dirty not because clean not because i kissed a boy behind a magazine girls girls having fun here comes the lady with the big fat bum she can wiggle she can wobble she can do a split but i bet she cant do this close you're eyes and count to 10 if you say the number 9 you're not my friend 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10 u didn't say the number 9 so you're still my friend and that's the end of chapter 10"
**
39. Shayla Peterson, 2015
"Here is how er do it: apples on a stick just make me sick make my tummy go 246 not because im dirty not because im clean just because i kissed the boy behind the magazine hey girls you wanna have fun here comes ________ with his pants undone he can wibble he can wobble he can do the splits i bet you 50 dollars that he cant do this close your eyes and count to ten whoever says 7 has to marry him 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 10"
**
REPLY
40. Shayla Peterson, 2015
"We* not er"
-snip-
Note dollar amount is increased from the usual "five dollars" to "fifty dollars".
**
41. Fartun Abdikadir, 2015
"that is not how I do it but it what great"
**
42. Marcy Thompson, 2016
"it doesn't work like that"
**
43. The Colour English, 2016
"At my school it go's
Apple on a stick
Makes me sick
Makes my heart beat 2,4,6
Not because it's dirty not because it's clean
Not because I kissed a boy behind a magazine
Girls, boys have a lot of fun
Here comes Johnny with a pickle up his bum
He can wibble he can wobble he can even do the splits
But I bet you 10 bucks he can't do this
Close you eyes and count to 10
If you muck it up your a big fat hen
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
You didn't muck it up so your my best friend"
**
44. Haruna I, 2016
"none of these are the REAL apple on a stick..."
**
45. Haruna I, 2016
"I do
apple on a stick makes me sick makes my heart go 246.
not because I'm dirty not beacuse I'm clean not because I kissed a boy bihind a magazine
so come on girls lets have some fun. Here comes the lady with the big fat bum.
She can do the wibble wobble she can do the splits. She can do anything but bet she can't di this.
So close your eyes and count to 10. If you mess up, your not my best friend.
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10.
Lets do it once more now count from 10 and end on 1 with open eyes.
10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1.
You didn't mess it up so your still my friend and thats the end of chapter 10."
**
46. Cordelia Whitehead, 2017
"The way I learnt was
Apple on a stick it makes me sick it makes my heart beat 246 not because youre dirty not because you're clean just because you kissed the boy behind the magazine, girls boys having fun here comes the lady with the big fat bum, she can do the pom pom she can do the splits but I bet you 5 bucks she can't do this close your eyes and count to ten if you muck it up you're not my friend, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10, you didn't muck it up so you're still my friend next one to move is a bumblebee bet you 5 bucks it won't be me"
**
47. K M, 2017
"I do it like this:
Apple on a stick
Makes me sick
Makes my heart beat 2 46
Not because I’m dirty
Not because I’m clean
Not because I kissed a boy behind a magazine
Boys boys, have a lot of fun
Here comes Johnny with an apple up his bum
He can do the Can Can
He can do the splits
But I betcha five bucks he can’t do this
Close your eyes and count to ten
If you muck it up you gotta start again
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
We didn’t muck it up so we’re best friends!"
**
48. Habrinaxox MSP, 2017
"I got taught:
Apple sticky
Makes my icky
Makes my heart go two four sixty
Not because I'm dirty
Not because I'm clean
My mum saw me in a magazine
Hey girl/boy
You wanna fight
Here comes (name) with something I kinda forgot xDD"
**
49. Amy Lowndes, 2017
"i was taught.
apple on a stick, makes me sick, makes my heart beat 2 40 6. Not because im dirty, not because im clean, not because i kissed a boy behind the magazine. Girls, Boys, having fun. Here comes a lady with an apple up her bum, she czn do the pom poms, she can do the spilts, but i bet you 5 bucks she cant do this. close your eyes and count to 10. if you muck it up you have to start again.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5. once i caught a fish alive. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. You didnt muck it up so your my best friend.
not hatting!
-snip-
I think “Not hatting” [hating] here means that sharing this version doesn’t mean that the person is expressing dislike for the version given in the video or other versions.
**
50. Jaida Tylor, 2017
"I learnt mine like
apples on a stick they make me sick they make my heart go 246, not because I'm dirty not because I'm clean not because I kissed a boy behind a magazine, so come on girls let's have some fun here comes the lady with the big fat bum, she can do the wibble wobble she can do the splits but I bet you five bucks she can't do this ( then you do it with your eyes closed and say the alphabet)"
**
51. Lyssicorn_Unicorn Roblox and More, 2017
"That's not the real one"
**
52. maliyah carter, 2017
"y'all don't know how to do"
**
53. Brandon GamingYT, 2018
"I learn't like this..apples on the stick they make me sick they make my heart go 2 4 6,not because i'm dirty, not because i'm clean, not because I kissed a boy behind a magazine, hey girls let's have some fun, cuz here come ..name..with a big fat bum she can do the wiggle wobble she can do the spits she can do anything , but I bet she can't do this a b c d e f g gummy bears are chacsing me 1 is red 1 is blue 1 is peeing on my shoe , now i'm running for my life because the red one has a knife."
**
54. TheOliveFactory, 2018
"The way we did it was different and really messed up
Apples on a stick gonna make me sick gonna make my heart go 246,246 awwww man not because im dirty not because im clean not because i kissed a boy on a magazine awww girls wanna have some fun here comes Johnny with his pants undone"
**
55. Prism Fiona, 2018
"I was taught
Apple on an stick
Gonna make me sick
Gonna make my heart go 2 4 6
Not because I'm dirty
Not because I'm clean
Not because I kissed a boy behind the magazine
Come girls let's have some fun, here comes Sally dancing in the sun
She can do the wiggle wobble, she can do the splits
But I bet you five bucks she can't do this
Close your eyes and count to ten
Whoever messes up is an big fat head"
**
56. Nevaeh Stukes, 2018
"THATS NOT HOW IT GOSE"
**
57. Chickens & & Objects, 2018
"What I learnt:
Apple on a stick,
Makes me sick,
Makes my heart beat two-forty-six,
Not because you're dirty,
Not because you're clean,
Not because you kissed a boy behind the magazine,
Girls, boys, having fun,
Here comes a lady with a big fat bum,
She can wibble she can wobble,
She can even ddo the split,
But I bet ya, I bet ya,
She can't do this, close your eyes and count to ten,
If you muck it up than you're not my friend,
Closes eyes
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Opens eyes
You didn't muck it up so you're still my friend,
That's the end of chapter ten,
Amen.
If you get the closing eyes and counting part wrong than here is the alternative:
You did muck it up so you're not my friend
FOR EVERYONE READING THIS
This is just the way I learnt it, if you don't like this way have a look at the other ones and maybe you will be able to get an idea from those. This is just a game so please don't take it seriously. Thank you😊"
-snip-
The bold font was originally written in this comment.
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58. excusemin, 2018
"I learned it like this
Apple on a stick it makes me sick it makes my heart beat 246 246 not because its dirty not because its clean not because i kissed a boy behind a magazine so hey boys how bout a fight i saw a girl with her pants untied she can wibble she can wobble she can even do the splits beta bench ya 50 dollars that she cant do this close your eyes and count to ten if you mess up start all over again 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 if you didnt mess up that is great now you gotta shout HOORAY, HOORAY!
Here is candy on a stick
Candy in a stick that makes me sick that makes my tummy go 246 not because its dirty not because its clean not because i kissed a boy behind a magazine so hey boys how bout a fight I saw a girl with her pants untied and she can wibble she can wobble she can even do the splits beta bench you 5 dollars that she can’t do this Close your eyes and count to 10 if you mess up you gotta start all over again 12345678 9 if you didn’t mess up that is the end!"
-snip-
This comment may serve to demonstrate how a person may know more than one example of a particular rhyme.
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59. Davis Colley, 2018
"in minnesota we say
candy on a stick that makes me sick that makes my tummy go 2 4 6 not because its dirty not because its clean just because i kissed a boy behind a magazine hey boys how bout a fight i know i girl with her pants on tight she can wibble she can wobble she can even do the splits i bet you 5 bucks you cant do this close your eyes and count to 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 and start again. first one to mess up loses and you have to close your eyes
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60. Alina Wright, 2018
"Wasnt it like this
Apple crumble makes me rubble makes my heart go 2468 not because lm dirty not because lm clean not because l kiss a boy behind a magazine hey boy wanna start a fight here comes sasha with her nikkas up all tight she can talk she can walk but l bet she cant do it when her eyes are all shut tight"
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61. Remi Hodgkins, 2018
"Wrong words"
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62. Deez Nutz, 2018
"Did anyone else learn it as “popsicle sticks”? No? Just a Savannah thing? Okay."
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