Edited by Azizi Powell
[This is a complete reprint of a post that was originally published in 2016. The latest revision of that post was in 2023. That revision was an example of a cheer that began with Numbers-C that I had just found online, and not a newly composed cheer.]
This is Part I (Numbers- C) of a five part series that provides an alphabetized list of text (word only) examples of foot stomping cheers.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/09/foot-stomping-cheers-alphabetical-list_40.html for Part II (D - G).
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/09/foot-stomping-cheers-alphabetical-list_6.html for Part III (H-J).
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/09/foot-stomping-cheers-alphabetical-list_53.html for Part IV - K-O
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/09/foot-stomping-cheers-alphabetical-list_22.html for Part V: P-Z
This is a work in progress. I'm not numbering these pages as additional examples will be added when I come across those examples and when examples are posted on this blog's comment thread.
Click the foot stomping cheer tag below for additional pancocojams posts about this subject.
Click for this related pancocojams post http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/09/when-i-started-collecting-examples-of.html When I Started Collecting Examples Of African American Foot Stomping Cheers
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES
I coined the term "foot stomping cheers" in 2000 for this sub-set of children's cheerleader cheers that have distinctive textual structures and distinctive performance styles. The term "foot stomping cheers" distinguishes examples of that category from other cheerleader cheers. However, these compositions appear to usually be referred to as "rhymes", "cheers". "chants", steps", "stomps", or "ciphers".
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES
I coined the term "foot stomping cheers" in 2000 for this sub-set of children's cheerleader cheers that have distinctive textual structures and distinctive performance styles. The term "foot stomping cheers" distinguishes examples of that category from other cheerleader cheers. However, these compositions appear to usually be referred to as "rhymes", "cheers". "chants", steps", "stomps", or "ciphers".
All the examples of foot stomping cheers that I have observed (in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area between 1980s through 2009*) were performed by Black girls between the ages of 5-12 years as informal (although rehearsed) recreational activities.
*I stopped my direct (face to face) collection of foot stomping cheers in 2009.
*I stopped my direct (face to face) collection of foot stomping cheers in 2009.
I haven't found any examples of foot stomping cheers in any country except the United States.
I differentiate foot stomping cheers that follow the signature textual pattern of group voice and consecutive soloists with "stomp cheers". "Stomp cheers" are adapted versions of these sub-set of cheers which usually don't follow that group voice/consecutive soloist pattern and/or don't follow the stomp/clap percussive movements that were associated with "real" foot stomping cheers of the late 1970s, the 1980s, and the 1990s.
The cheer "Shaboya Roll Call" from the 2006 Bring It On All Or Nothing movie is probably the most widely known example of foot stomping cheers. In that movie, the "Shabooya Roll Call" cheer (that is performed by two Black girls and one Latina girl who are chanting while they dance on a school cafeteria table) follows that textual structure which is described below. However, I believe that their movements are an exaggeration of the syncopated stomp stomp clap percussive routines that are [or were] actually done while chanting foot stomping cheers.Those percussive routines are very similar if not the same as some performances of historically Black Greek leter sorority and fraternity "stepping".
Furthermore, the "Roll Call/Shabooya Roll Call" that is also included in that Bring It On All Or Nothing movie only partially follows the textual pattern of actual foot stomping cheers, and doesn't even attempt to follow the stomp/clap movements of those cheers.
I use past tense for performances of foot stomping cheers as I believe that these forms of cheers are rarely if ever performed since around 2010. If girls are no longer composing and performing foot stomping cheers, it may be because of the increased opportunities for African American girls to join actual cheerleading squads, including stomp and shake cheerleading squads. These squads as well as "traditional cheerleading squads" provide girls with opportunities to actually be cheerleaders rather than pretending to be cheerleaders when they perform stomp and shake cheers. Because the performance structure of foot stomping cheers dictates that each member of the group had to have one equal length turn as the soloist for every cheer that was performed, these cheers aren't compatible with the time limitations that real cheerleaders face.
In addition, I believe that the formation of children and youth "step teams" (based on historically Black Greek letter stepping) and the formation of hip hop majorette dance teams (such as the ones featured on the Bring It! television series) have also replaced the informal recreation activity that I refer to as doing "foot stomping cheers".
In addition, I believe that the formation of children and youth "step teams" (based on historically Black Greek letter stepping) and the formation of hip hop majorette dance teams (such as the ones featured on the Bring It! television series) have also replaced the informal recreation activity that I refer to as doing "foot stomping cheers".
Specific Information About Foot Stomping Cheer Textual Composition And How These Cheers Are (or Were) Performed
1. Foot stomping cheers are composed using a variant form of call & response that I've termed "group/consecutive soloists". Usually the group voice (often without the first soloist) is heard first. The soloist then responds to the group. This pattern continues, and usually the soloist then has a short solo portion. The group may or may not chant again before the cheer begins again from the beginning with a new soloist. This pattern continues until every member of the group has had one equal (same amount of time) turn as the soloist. My experience is that the order of soloist is determined before the cheer begins, often with girls trying to be the first to call out "first", "second", "third" etc.
2. These cheers are performed by girls who form a circle (sometimes with a soloist taking turns inside the center of the circle or the soloist remaining where she stands to chant and/or do some motion. To accomodate actual audiences, the formations for these cheers eventually changed in some geographic locations (such as in my adopted city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) to semi-circles or lines (usually horizontal lines facing the audience).
3. Foot stomping cheers are chanted while their performers execute choreographed, syncopated, percussive movement routines that are very similar to African American originated Greek lettered fraternity & sorority stepping (steppin). Most foot stomping cheers use this beat pattern: "stomp clap/ stomp stomp/ clap". Another beat pattern is "stomp stomp clap/ stomp stomp clap." Those two standard beat patterns appear to be used for all foot stomping cheers. Moderate tempo 4/4 beats created by those foot stomps alternate with the chanters'(individual) hand claps, body pats (especially thigh pats), and less frequently, finger snaps. Because these 4/4 beats are omnipresent in R&B, Hip-Hop, Rock, Gospel, and other forms of music, foot stomping cheer routines aren't that difficult for many African Americans (and others) to learn.
The well known 1977 record "We Will Rock You" by Queen is an excellent example of a Rock song that has a 4/4 beat and therefore could serve as a backdrop for a foot stomping routine (recognizing, of course, that foot stomping chants aren't meant to be performed to recorded music).
Foot stomping cheers rarely refer to race. One exception in a comment in which the soloist refers to herself as "light skinned" (an African American referent for Black people whose skin color is light brown to white.) However, almost all of the online comments that accompany the foot stomping cheers that I have come across that mention race or ethnicity (with "ethnicity" in the United States meaning "latina/o") have been from African Americans. These types of comments either directly mention race, or are from blogs/forums whose commenters mostly or totally consist/ed of African Americans (such as the greekchat forum whose commenters consisted of members of historically Black Greek letter sororities; comments from blackhair.com, and commeters from lipstickalley.com. Most of the commenters who mention race/ethniciity are African American women who are reminising about the rhymes, cheers, and games they played when they were growing up in the 1980s and 1990s.
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Examples in this collection that have the citation "cocojams.com" were sent to my now no longer active cultural website cocojams.com. That website was online from January 2001-November 2014 and had an easy to use online form for visitors to submit rhyme & cheer examples and comments. As a result, many of the examples came from children, preteens, and teens.
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EXAMPLES: NUMBERS - C
These examples are presented in alphabetical order based on the first number or the first letter of the first letter of the first word. The source (i.e. book, direct collection, or website) is given below the example along with demographic information and/or comments.
[title] 1-2-3-4-5
All: 1-2-3-4-5
Soloist #1 My name is Alana
and I say “Hi!”
All: 6-7-8-9-10,
Soloist #1: I’m gonna step aside
and meet my friend
Soloist #2 My name is Jasmine
and I want to say “Hi!
All: 6-7-8-9-10,
Soloist #2: I’m gonna step aside
to meet my friend
Soloist #3 My name is Talia
and I’m here to say “Hi!”
All: 6-7-8-9-10,
Soloist #3: I’m gonna back it up
to meet my friend.
This cheer repeats from the beginning with each member of the squad or group having one turn as the soloist. When everyone has had a turn, the entire group chants the following lines in unison:
All: 1-2-3-4-5
We are Alafia and we say “Hi”
6-7-8-9-10
We’re gonna step together
cause that’s the end.
-African American girls (age 5-12 years) and African American boys (age 5-7) years; Alafia Children’s Ensemble, Braddock, Pennsylvania, 1997
-snip-
"Alafia" was the name of a children's game song group that I founded and co-led with my daughter in Braddock, Pennsylvania and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
This is an adaptation of a very popular cheer (in Braddock and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) that I learned from a member of this group. When that cheer was chanted outside of our group, at the end of the cheer, instead of the name "Alafia", the children chanted their school's name or the word for their school's mascot (for example, "We are the Gators and we say "Hi".).
-snip-
A portion of this cheer was performed in the 2006 movie Bring It On: All Or Nothing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWG4AX09mqQ. "Introduce Yourself" (prom scene). The performance movements of this cheer have been significantly modified.). Also, in performing cheers every girl is supposed to have the same amount of soloist time, and isn’t supposed to be ignored as was done at the end of that movie clip with the girl “Sierra”.
-snip-
All: 1-2-3-4-5
Soloist #1 My name is Alana
and I say “Hi!”
All: 6-7-8-9-10,
Soloist #1: I’m gonna step aside
and meet my friend
Soloist #2 My name is Jasmine
and I want to say “Hi!
All: 6-7-8-9-10,
Soloist #2: I’m gonna step aside
to meet my friend
Soloist #3 My name is Talia
and I’m here to say “Hi!”
All: 6-7-8-9-10,
Soloist #3: I’m gonna back it up
to meet my friend.
This cheer repeats from the beginning with each member of the squad or group having one turn as the soloist. When everyone has had a turn, the entire group chants the following lines in unison:
All: 1-2-3-4-5
We are Alafia and we say “Hi”
6-7-8-9-10
We’re gonna step together
cause that’s the end.
-African American girls (age 5-12 years) and African American boys (age 5-7) years; Alafia Children’s Ensemble, Braddock, Pennsylvania, 1997
-snip-
"Alafia" was the name of a children's game song group that I founded and co-led with my daughter in Braddock, Pennsylvania and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
This is an adaptation of a very popular cheer (in Braddock and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) that I learned from a member of this group. When that cheer was chanted outside of our group, at the end of the cheer, instead of the name "Alafia", the children chanted their school's name or the word for their school's mascot (for example, "We are the Gators and we say "Hi".).
-snip-
A portion of this cheer was performed in the 2006 movie Bring It On: All Or Nothing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWG4AX09mqQ. "Introduce Yourself" (prom scene). The performance movements of this cheer have been significantly modified.). Also, in performing cheers every girl is supposed to have the same amount of soloist time, and isn’t supposed to be ignored as was done at the end of that movie clip with the girl “Sierra”.
-snip-
How Alafia Children's Ensemble performed this cheer:
. In this cheer, each child was in a vertical line. When the first stepper said some version of "I'm gonna step aside to meet my friend", she or he moved to form a vertical line to the right of that initial line. At the end of the second stepper's solo portion, she or he formed a vertical line to the left of that initial line. All subsequent steppers alternately stepped to the front of either the right or the left vertical line. When all of the steppers chanted "We're going to step together because that's the end", the two lines reformed in the middle as one vertical lines.
Up to and including the age of seven years, boys had no problem performing this cheer along with girls. The age differences noted above weren't requirements. My experience was that boys older than seven years old considered foot stomping cheers to be "girl stuff" that boys didn't do.
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7th HEAVEN [added November 28, 2018] fragment
Anyone play 7th heaven or telephone?
All the way to heaven 7th heaven all the way to heaven
*purr* on a mission..
My name is purr and I like to perform
I don't need these *shoes* on to work my body baby work my body baby pass it on
-PurrPoZe, Aug 10 2012, http://forum.blackhairmedia.com/i-went-downtown-to-get-a-stick-of-butter_topic345408_page8.html [This link is no longer active.]
-snip-
The blogger also wrote " & so grown...but we was just takin about dancing"
After the phrase "pass it on", this cheer probably started from the beginning with the next soloist. It's likely that when she gave her name or nickname, each soloist substituted another word for "shoes" or also possibly for the word "perform".
. In this cheer, each child was in a vertical line. When the first stepper said some version of "I'm gonna step aside to meet my friend", she or he moved to form a vertical line to the right of that initial line. At the end of the second stepper's solo portion, she or he formed a vertical line to the left of that initial line. All subsequent steppers alternately stepped to the front of either the right or the left vertical line. When all of the steppers chanted "We're going to step together because that's the end", the two lines reformed in the middle as one vertical lines.
Up to and including the age of seven years, boys had no problem performing this cheer along with girls. The age differences noted above weren't requirements. My experience was that boys older than seven years old considered foot stomping cheers to be "girl stuff" that boys didn't do.
****
7th HEAVEN [added November 28, 2018] fragment
Anyone play 7th heaven or telephone?
All the way to heaven 7th heaven all the way to heaven
*purr* on a mission..
My name is purr and I like to perform
I don't need these *shoes* on to work my body baby work my body baby pass it on
-PurrPoZe, Aug 10 2012, http://forum.blackhairmedia.com/i-went-downtown-to-get-a-stick-of-butter_topic345408_page8.html [This link is no longer active.]
-snip-
The blogger also wrote " & so grown...but we was just takin about dancing"
After the phrase "pass it on", this cheer probably started from the beginning with the next soloist. It's likely that when she gave her name or nickname, each soloist substituted another word for "shoes" or also possibly for the word "perform".
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A BULLDOG (Version #1)
Group: Ah bull dog.
Ah bull dog.
Ah bull dog.
Ah bull dog.
Soloist #1: My name is Kayla.
Group: Ah bulldog.
Soloist #1: And I’m gonna show you how to work that bulldog.
Group: Ah bulldog.
Soloist #1: First you roll it.
Control it.
Then you bounce it.
Announce it.
Then you pop it.
Don’t stop it.
Then you creep it.
Don’t sleep it. (or “Don’t weep it”.)
Then you stop,
Think,
A ring a ding ding.
Repeat the exact same cheer with the next soloist. Continue with this pattern until every member of the group has had one turn as soloist.
- Jasmine, Indonesia, Brittany, Kayla, Felicia, & Tiara (African American females ages 9-12 years), Alafia Children’s Ensemble, Braddock, Pennsylvania, Collected by Azizi Powell 10/2000
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[Example #2 of A Bulldog]
A PANTHER
A panther
yeah yeah
a panther
ay what my name is Olivia
and they call me Ollie
yeah
and Im going to show you what this panther can do
first you shake it
dont break it
then you roll it
control it
then you pop it
dont stop it
sit down sit down
say what
sit down
-olivia; 9/16/2006; cocojams.com
****
A BULL DOG (Example #3)
A Bull Dog
A Bull Dog
A Bull Dog
My Name is Mellie (Yeah)
I came to show you Show you
How I rock a Bull dog A Bull Dog
And first you shake it (Don't break it)
And the[n] you roll it (Control it)
Then you pop it (Just Stop it)
And then you disco (Like Sisqo)
And then you dog it (Don't hog it)
Then you shoot it (Don't miss it!)
-Mellie York, Jun 24, 2017, https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/black-girl-rhymes-what-was-yours-growing-up.1196979/page-2
-snip-
This blogger noted that she was from Brooklyn [New York]
-snip-
This cheer was written in capital letters. The words in parenthesis were probably chanted by the group except for the soloist. It's likely that the repeated words "Show you" and "a bull dog) were also chanted by the group except for the soloist.
The exact same cheer was posted in capital letters by dijah.love (Location: New York); Apr 25 2008; http://forum.blackhairmedia.com/lil-girls-hand-games_topic128043_page5.html [This link is no longer active.]
The name "Sisqo" helps establish a date for this version of this cheer because, according to his Wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisq%C3%B3 , the African American R&B and Hip- Hop singer whose stage name is "Sisqó" wasn't active until 1995. Therefore a cheer with his name in it couldn't have been composed until 1995.
WARNING: Some of the examples in the lipstickalley.com and the blackhairmedia.com discussion threads contain profanity, sexually explicit content, and/or the "n word".
Ah bull dog.
Ah bull dog.
Ah bull dog.
Soloist #1: My name is Kayla.
Group: Ah bulldog.
Soloist #1: And I’m gonna show you how to work that bulldog.
Group: Ah bulldog.
Soloist #1: First you roll it.
Control it.
Then you bounce it.
Announce it.
Then you pop it.
Don’t stop it.
Then you creep it.
Don’t sleep it. (or “Don’t weep it”.)
Then you stop,
Think,
A ring a ding ding.
Repeat the exact same cheer with the next soloist. Continue with this pattern until every member of the group has had one turn as soloist.
- Jasmine, Indonesia, Brittany, Kayla, Felicia, & Tiara (African American females ages 9-12 years), Alafia Children’s Ensemble, Braddock, Pennsylvania, Collected by Azizi Powell 10/2000
****
[Example #2 of A Bulldog]
A PANTHER
A panther
yeah yeah
a panther
ay what my name is Olivia
and they call me Ollie
yeah
and Im going to show you what this panther can do
first you shake it
dont break it
then you roll it
control it
then you pop it
dont stop it
sit down sit down
say what
sit down
-olivia; 9/16/2006; cocojams.com
****
A BULL DOG (Example #3)
A Bull Dog
A Bull Dog
A Bull Dog
My Name is Mellie (Yeah)
I came to show you Show you
How I rock a Bull dog A Bull Dog
And first you shake it (Don't break it)
And the[n] you roll it (Control it)
Then you pop it (Just Stop it)
And then you disco (Like Sisqo)
And then you dog it (Don't hog it)
Then you shoot it (Don't miss it!)
-Mellie York, Jun 24, 2017, https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/black-girl-rhymes-what-was-yours-growing-up.1196979/page-2
-snip-
This blogger noted that she was from Brooklyn [New York]
-snip-
This cheer was written in capital letters. The words in parenthesis were probably chanted by the group except for the soloist. It's likely that the repeated words "Show you" and "a bull dog) were also chanted by the group except for the soloist.
The exact same cheer was posted in capital letters by dijah.love (Location: New York); Apr 25 2008; http://forum.blackhairmedia.com/lil-girls-hand-games_topic128043_page5.html [This link is no longer active.]
The name "Sisqo" helps establish a date for this version of this cheer because, according to his Wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisq%C3%B3 , the African American R&B and Hip- Hop singer whose stage name is "Sisqó" wasn't active until 1995. Therefore a cheer with his name in it couldn't have been composed until 1995.
WARNING: Some of the examples in the lipstickalley.com and the blackhairmedia.com discussion threads contain profanity, sexually explicit content, and/or the "n word".
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AH BOOM TICK TOCK (fragment)
Ah boom tick tock
Boom chica wally wally
Boom tick toc
Boom chica wally wally
STOP!
ah one more time
Ah boom tick tock
Boom chica wally wally
Boom tick toc
Boom chica wally wally
STOP!
ah one more time
-Tazi M Powell, memories of mid 1980s Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
-snip-
Tazi remembers this as being part of another cheer, but can't remember which other cheer it went with.
Ah boom tick tock
Boom chica wally wally
Boom tick toc
Boom chica wally wally
STOP!
ah one more time
Ah boom tick tock
Boom chica wally wally
Boom tick toc
Boom chica wally wally
STOP!
ah one more time
-Tazi M Powell, memories of mid 1980s Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
-snip-
Tazi remembers this as being part of another cheer, but can't remember which other cheer it went with.
****
A BOOM BOOM TICK (Example #2 of "Ah Boom Tick Tock" )
A BOOM BOOM TICK (Example #2 of "Ah Boom Tick Tock" )
Hey Posse, Yeah break it down with the carwarsh
Yeah I said, A Boom Boom Tick, Tick A Boom Tick (x2) (while doing the carwash dance)
Hey Posse, Yeah break it down with the Unabomber
yeah I said, A Boom Boom Tick, Tick A Boom Tick (x2)
I actually think this one was strictly a DC thing.
-ConcreteRose, Aug 09 2012, http://forum.blackhairmedia.com/i-went-downtown-to-get-a-stick-of-butter_topic345408_page4.html [This link is no longer active.]
-snip-
The "A Boom Boom Tick etc portion of this cheer was written in capital letters.
"The carwash" and the Unabomber" were names of social dances which were performed in the Washington D.C. area.
Another commenter (Wynter) wrote on that same date "we use to sing this in elementary school and Im from NYC"
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** "__ all that" -a slang phrase meaning "very good"; "in possession of qualities that other people admire".
****
ANGELS GO SWINGING
Group: Angels go swinging
angels go swinging!
angels go swinging,
Angels go Swinging!
Solo: My name is Katy
I'm number 1
my reputation has just begun
so if you see me just step aside
'cause me and my man
don't take no jive
Group: Uh, you thank (think) you bad
Solo: Bad enough to make you mad
Group, Uh, you thank you cool
Solo: Cool enough to go to high school
Group: Uh, you thank you fine *
Solo: Fine enough to MO, **
fine enough to Macho (not really sure what this line means or if we were even saying it right)***
fine enough to hula hoop,
fine enough to kick yo' duke
Everyone: say what, say what
say what say what say what
-Joi;( Birmingham, Alabama; 1990s), cocojams.com
-snip-
This is a form of the cheer "Hollywood [Goes] Swingin"
The contributor shared that "Angels" is the name of their sports teams at this predominately African American Catholic school.
*The word "thank" may not be a typo. Instead, it might be a purposefully spelled (present tense) intensifier of the word "think" which means “Really think”.
**I'm not sure what "Mo" means.
***According to https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/macho, "macho" means "Masculine in an overly assertive or aggressive way."
‘the big macho tough guy’
-snip-
This Spanish word may be most widely known in the USA by the referent "macho man". In the context of this foot stomping cheer, fine enough to "macho" may mean "physically attractive (or sexy) enough to attract macho men.
****
BAD GIRLS
Bad girl(2x)well my name is (say a name) and i'm a bad girl I'm gonna show you
how to beat(say another name)(turn around while saying beeeaat -say the name
that you said was going to be beat)
-LaTailya (African American female; Fort Pitt ALA; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania); 3/21/2006 ; cocojams [cheerleader cheer]
****
BANG BANG CHOO CHOO TRAIN (Version #1)
Group: Bang, Bang Choo Choo Train.
Watch Indonesia do her thang.
Soloist #1: I can’t.
Group: Why not?
Soloist #1: I can’t.
Group: Why not?
Soloist #1: Because my back is achin.
My bra’s too tight.
My hips keep movin’ from the left to the right.
Group: Her back is achin.
Her bra’s too tight.
Her hips keep movin from the left to the right.
(Repeat chant with the next soloist who gives her name or nickname. The cheer continues with this pattern until everyone has had one chance as soloist.)
-African American girls ages 7-12 years; (Alafia Children's Ensemble, Braddock, Pennsylvania), 10/1997; collected by Azizi Powell. 10/97; also collected by Azizi Powell from African American girls 7-12 years; Pittsburgh, PA (11/2001 & additional dates through 2005 as a hand clap rhyme)
-snip-
Note: "Bang Bang Choo Choo Train" was often combined with the children's rhyme "Brick Wall Waterfall". These were by far the most popular recreational rhymes or cheers that were submitted to my cocojams.com website. That website was online from 2001 to Oct. 2014. A lot of children and preteens added examples of rhymes and cheers to that website by writing those examples on an easy to use page that didn't requite an email address. To protect underaged contributors, people who shared examples were asked to use either their first names only or their first name and the initial of their last name.
However, I've observed that "Bang Bang Choo Choo Train" was (is?) usually performed since around 2005 as a hand clap rhyme and not as a foot stomping cheer. And, to my knowledge, "Brick Wall Waterfall" has never been performed as a foot stomping cheer.
****
BANG BANG CHU CHU TRAIN (Version #2)
bang bang chu chu train it really goes like this in new York
(1 person) bang bang chuchu train
let me see u do ur thing
(2 person) i cant
(1 person) why not
(2 person) my back aches my belts to tight
and my booty is shakin from left to right left right left, left right left
-m&m; 10/7/2006, cocojams.com
-snip-
I'm not sure if this is performed as a cheer or as a hand clap rhyme.
****
BANG BANG CHOO CHOO TRAIN (Version #3)
This was a song that we did at camp a lot, and the first part was sang by everyone in the group but the counselor usually picked the first Person B. Then as the verses continued whoever was Person B last would yell the name of the new Person B.
Person A: Peanut butter Reese's cup sing a song to cheer you up
Bang bang choo-chop train come on (person B) do your thang!
Person B: I can't!
Person A: Why not?
Person B: I just can't!
Person A: Why not?
Person B: My back's aching, my belt's too tight, my booty shaking from the left to the right
Everyone: to the left! to the right! to the left to the right to the left to the right! to the sky, to the ground, my booty's shaking all around that's right we're tight so rick-tick-tick-tick! hold on wait a minute put a booty in it! Jump! Shake your booty! Jump jump! Shake your booty!
(Repeat the song)
-
Claire Jelagin, 2016; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55TnrD5re5g Do You Remember 90s Rhymes
****
BEE BODY PLANET ROCK
Bee body planet rock
We don't stop
Bee body planet rock
We don't stop
My name is _______
My color is_________
I __________
Like My Name is lusive.
My color is green.
I got picked up in a stretch limousine.
-mollflanders, http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php/43158-Hood-Cheers/page2?s=c36b81842e44a5cd4a49678538954ac4, 8/18/2006
-snip-
This blogger also added the following comment "And Hollywood not swingin. It was only fun if you could make up your own ending. The older we got, the nastier they got lol."
-snip-
The words "planet rock" may have been used because of familiarity with the Hip Hop song "Planet Rock". "Planet Rock" is a song by the American hip hop artists Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force (1982)" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_Rock_(song)
BOOM TICK TOCK (Example #3 of "Ah Boom Tick Tock")
Boom tick tock
Look at that girl.
Boom tick tock
Look at that girl.
In the mini skirt.
Yoiu mess with her
You get your feelings hurt.
She knows karate
From the front to the back.
Jump ____*/ [Someone randomly calls out an action word; insert a girl's name] She's all that.
-Naijah S.; (African American female, 9 years old; Hazelwood section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; January 14, 2011; Collected by Azizi Powell
-snip-
I collected this & several other rhymes and cheers from Naijah, a nine year old African American girl. Naijah, her mother, and her baby sister arrived early at the Hazelwood branch of Carnegie Library for an African storytelling program that was sponsored by her mother's sorority, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. That program would feature me sharing examples of West African folk tales and leading an interactive demonstration of certain African musical instruments.
Naijah went to a table at that library and started working on her notebook size laptop. (This was the first notebook laptop that I had ever seen and the first time I had seen a girl her age with any laptop). After receiving permission to talk with her from her mother, I introduced myself to Naijah and asked her if she would share with me any hand clap rhymes or jump rope rhymes that she knew for a project I was doing on the internet. Naijah very enthusiastically agreed to share some examples with me. She said she learned rhymes from her friends and older cousins, and she teaches them to her younger cousins.
Naijah didn’t categorize "Boom Tick Tock" as a cheer and I didn’t ask her how she categorized it (meaning, how she performed it). I’m categorizing it as a cheer because its format is the same as children's compositions that I refer to as "foot stomping cheers", i.e. when the entire chant is over, it immediately repeats with the next soloist. Also, some of the lines in "Boom Tick Tock" are found in other cheers.
Boom tick tock
Look at that girl.
Boom tick tock
Look at that girl.
In the mini skirt.
Yoiu mess with her
You get your feelings hurt.
She knows karate
From the front to the back.
Jump ____*/ [Someone randomly calls out an action word; insert a girl's name] She's all that.
-Naijah S.; (African American female, 9 years old; Hazelwood section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; January 14, 2011; Collected by Azizi Powell
-snip-
I collected this & several other rhymes and cheers from Naijah, a nine year old African American girl. Naijah, her mother, and her baby sister arrived early at the Hazelwood branch of Carnegie Library for an African storytelling program that was sponsored by her mother's sorority, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. That program would feature me sharing examples of West African folk tales and leading an interactive demonstration of certain African musical instruments.
Naijah went to a table at that library and started working on her notebook size laptop. (This was the first notebook laptop that I had ever seen and the first time I had seen a girl her age with any laptop). After receiving permission to talk with her from her mother, I introduced myself to Naijah and asked her if she would share with me any hand clap rhymes or jump rope rhymes that she knew for a project I was doing on the internet. Naijah very enthusiastically agreed to share some examples with me. She said she learned rhymes from her friends and older cousins, and she teaches them to her younger cousins.
Naijah didn’t categorize "Boom Tick Tock" as a cheer and I didn’t ask her how she categorized it (meaning, how she performed it). I’m categorizing it as a cheer because its format is the same as children's compositions that I refer to as "foot stomping cheers", i.e. when the entire chant is over, it immediately repeats with the next soloist. Also, some of the lines in "Boom Tick Tock" are found in other cheers.
Directions: Naijah said that someone calls out a random word and a girl's name. I gathered that Naijah meant that the rhyme is immediately repeated, and each time a new action word and the name or the nickname of another girl (the girl who is jumping in the middle at that time?). Unfortunately, I've not been able to contact Naijah to confirm this. Naijah gave the following suggestions of words that are said instead of the word “jump”: "criss cross"; "turn"; "bounce"; "spin".
****
AH RAH RAH AH BOOM TANG
Group: Ah Rah Rah Ah Boom Tang
Ah Rah Rah Ah Boom Tang
Ah Rah Rah Ah Boom Tang, baby
Ah Rah Rah Ah Boom Tang
Ah Rah Rah Ah Boom Tang
Soloist #1:My name is Tazi
Group: Ah Boom Tang
Soloist # 1:They call me Taz
Group: Ah Boom Tang
Soloist #1: And when they see me
Group: Ah Boom Tang
Soloist #1: They say “Ah Rah Rah
You look good, baby.”
Soloist #2:My name is Jennifer
Group: Ah Boom Tang
Soloist # 2:They call me Jenay
Group: Ah Boom Tang
Soloist #2: And when they see me
Group: Ah Boom Tang
Soloist #2: They say “Ah Rah Rah
Twist it, baby.”
(Repeat entire cheer with new soloist until everyone has had a turn).
-T.M.P. (African American female, from her memories of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the mid 1980s)
ANGELS GO SWINGING
Group: Angels go swinging
angels go swinging!
angels go swinging,
Angels go Swinging!
Solo: My name is Katy
I'm number 1
my reputation has just begun
so if you see me just step aside
'cause me and my man
don't take no jive
Group: Uh, you thank (think) you bad
Solo: Bad enough to make you mad
Group, Uh, you thank you cool
Solo: Cool enough to go to high school
Group: Uh, you thank you fine *
Solo: Fine enough to MO, **
fine enough to Macho (not really sure what this line means or if we were even saying it right)***
fine enough to hula hoop,
fine enough to kick yo' duke
Everyone: say what, say what
say what say what say what
-Joi;( Birmingham, Alabama; 1990s), cocojams.com
-snip-
This is a form of the cheer "Hollywood [Goes] Swingin"
The contributor shared that "Angels" is the name of their sports teams at this predominately African American Catholic school.
*The word "thank" may not be a typo. Instead, it might be a purposefully spelled (present tense) intensifier of the word "think" which means “Really think”.
**I'm not sure what "Mo" means.
***According to https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/macho, "macho" means "Masculine in an overly assertive or aggressive way."
‘the big macho tough guy’
-snip-
This Spanish word may be most widely known in the USA by the referent "macho man". In the context of this foot stomping cheer, fine enough to "macho" may mean "physically attractive (or sexy) enough to attract macho men.
****
BAD GIRLS
Bad girl(2x)well my name is (say a name) and i'm a bad girl I'm gonna show you
how to beat(say another name)(turn around while saying beeeaat -say the name
that you said was going to be beat)
-LaTailya (African American female; Fort Pitt ALA; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania); 3/21/2006 ; cocojams [cheerleader cheer]
****
BANG BANG CHOO CHOO TRAIN (Version #1)
Group: Bang, Bang Choo Choo Train.
Watch Indonesia do her thang.
Soloist #1: I can’t.
Group: Why not?
Soloist #1: I can’t.
Group: Why not?
Soloist #1: Because my back is achin.
My bra’s too tight.
My hips keep movin’ from the left to the right.
Group: Her back is achin.
Her bra’s too tight.
Her hips keep movin from the left to the right.
(Repeat chant with the next soloist who gives her name or nickname. The cheer continues with this pattern until everyone has had one chance as soloist.)
-African American girls ages 7-12 years; (Alafia Children's Ensemble, Braddock, Pennsylvania), 10/1997; collected by Azizi Powell. 10/97; also collected by Azizi Powell from African American girls 7-12 years; Pittsburgh, PA (11/2001 & additional dates through 2005 as a hand clap rhyme)
-snip-
Note: "Bang Bang Choo Choo Train" was often combined with the children's rhyme "Brick Wall Waterfall". These were by far the most popular recreational rhymes or cheers that were submitted to my cocojams.com website. That website was online from 2001 to Oct. 2014. A lot of children and preteens added examples of rhymes and cheers to that website by writing those examples on an easy to use page that didn't requite an email address. To protect underaged contributors, people who shared examples were asked to use either their first names only or their first name and the initial of their last name.
However, I've observed that "Bang Bang Choo Choo Train" was (is?) usually performed since around 2005 as a hand clap rhyme and not as a foot stomping cheer. And, to my knowledge, "Brick Wall Waterfall" has never been performed as a foot stomping cheer.
****
BANG BANG CHU CHU TRAIN (Version #2)
bang bang chu chu train it really goes like this in new York
(1 person) bang bang chuchu train
let me see u do ur thing
(2 person) i cant
(1 person) why not
(2 person) my back aches my belts to tight
and my booty is shakin from left to right left right left, left right left
-m&m; 10/7/2006, cocojams.com
-snip-
I'm not sure if this is performed as a cheer or as a hand clap rhyme.
****
BANG BANG CHOO CHOO TRAIN (Version #3)
This was a song that we did at camp a lot, and the first part was sang by everyone in the group but the counselor usually picked the first Person B. Then as the verses continued whoever was Person B last would yell the name of the new Person B.
Person A: Peanut butter Reese's cup sing a song to cheer you up
Bang bang choo-chop train come on (person B) do your thang!
Person B: I can't!
Person A: Why not?
Person B: I just can't!
Person A: Why not?
Person B: My back's aching, my belt's too tight, my booty shaking from the left to the right
Everyone: to the left! to the right! to the left to the right to the left to the right! to the sky, to the ground, my booty's shaking all around that's right we're tight so rick-tick-tick-tick! hold on wait a minute put a booty in it! Jump! Shake your booty! Jump jump! Shake your booty!
(Repeat the song)
-
Claire Jelagin, 2016; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55TnrD5re5g Do You Remember 90s Rhymes
****
BEE BODY PLANET ROCK
Bee body planet rock
We don't stop
Bee body planet rock
We don't stop
My name is _______
My color is_________
I __________
Like My Name is lusive.
My color is green.
I got picked up in a stretch limousine.
-mollflanders, http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php/43158-Hood-Cheers/page2?s=c36b81842e44a5cd4a49678538954ac4, 8/18/2006
-snip-
This blogger also added the following comment "And Hollywood not swingin. It was only fun if you could make up your own ending. The older we got, the nastier they got lol."
-snip-
The words "planet rock" may have been used because of familiarity with the Hip Hop song "Planet Rock". "Planet Rock" is a song by the American hip hop artists Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force (1982)" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_Rock_(song)
-snip-
My conjecture from reading the second soloist part that is given in this cheer, my guess is that the line “I ___” in the first part means that that soloist has to share some thing about herself, something she did, or something she dreams of doing.
My conjecture from reading the second soloist part that is given in this cheer, my guess is that the line “I ___” in the first part means that that soloist has to share some thing about herself, something she did, or something she dreams of doing.
****
BRICK WALL WATERFALL (combined with) DISCO
90s baby here
Here's my verison:
brick wall, waterfall
girl you think you know it all
you don't, I do
so POOF with the attitude
elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist
shut your mouth and kiss this!
D-I-S-C-O
that's the way we disco
D-I-S-C-O
that's the way we disco
Hey ____
Hey what
hey_____
Hey what?
Show us how you disco
Show us how you disco
I step aside
Roll my eyes
Stomp my feet
And do the funky beat
-Tulipop, Jun 25, 2018, https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/black-girl-rhymes-what-was-yours-growing-up.1196979/page-3
-snip-
WARNING: Some rhyme examples on lipstickalley.com contain profanity, sexually explicit content, and the n word.
****
CALL REPUTATION
this is a saying call reputation
my name is yonnqa
i'm number one
my reputation has just begun
so if you see me step a side
cause i don't take no jive
oh think she cool
correction baby i no i'm cool
i no karate
i no kunfu
you miss with me
i co it on you
rasasol o dazzo o ox2
-yaya ; 2/23/2007, cocojams.com
-snip-
This is a form of the "Hula Hula" cheer.
****
CANDY GIRL (Version #1)
All: Candy Girl.
All my world.
Look so sweet.
Special treat.
Soloist #1: This is the way we do the Bounce.
Candy Girl.
Group: Do the Bounce. Do the Bounce.
Soloist #1: All my world.
Group: Do the Bounce. Do the Bounce.
Soloist #1: Look so sweet.
Group: Do the Bounce. Do the Bounce.
Soloist #1: Special treat
Group: Do the Bounce. Do the Bounce.
All: Candy Girl.
All my world.
Look so sweet.
Special treat.
Soloist #2: This is the way we do the Snake.
Candy Girl.
Group: Do the Snake Do the Snake.
Soloist #2: All my world.
Group: Do the Snake. Do the Snake.
Soloist #2: Look so sweet.
Group: Do the Snake. Do the Snake.
--T.M.P.(African American female); memories of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the mid 1980s (audio recorded in 1992); In 2000 I observed members of Braddock, Pennsylvania's chapter of Alafia Children’s Ensemble perform this cheer with the exact same beat, and tune, and the same words except for then popular R&B/Hip Hop dances)
****
CANDY GIRL (Version #2)
does anybody know candy girl? little girls i know still play it!
candy girl, oh my world
look so sweet, special treat
this is the way you do the "wop"(or the "snake", or whatever dance is cute that u know the name of)
candy girl, say wop,wop
oh my world, say wop, wop
look so sweet, say wop,wop
special treat, say wop,wop(and then move on to the next dance)
- bitsy196 (African American female; Los Angeles, California); http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=4123&page=4; “remember when?”; 6-25-2003
****
CANDY GIRL (Version #3)
Candy girl,
all my world,
looks so sweet,
candy treat
This is the way
we do the (insert a dance)
Candy girl
Do the (dance) the (dance)
All my world
Do the (dance) the (dance)
Looks so sweet
Do the (dance) the (dance)
Candy treat
Do the (dance) the (dance)
(Repeat)
Directions:
This one involves the whole participation of the group at once. You repeat it for as many dances as you have until you can’t think of anymore.
- Jennifer (Korean), undergraduate female college student University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ; remembrances of rhymes she performed when she was 8-12 years ; (she indicates that she learned this from African American girls); collected in 2005 via email to Azizi Powell.
****
CAN YOU DIG IT?
All: So can you dig it?
Yeah.
So can you dig it?
Soloist #1: My name is Maria.
And I’m a flick flick.
And I’mma punch you in your lip.
So can you dig it?
Group: What?
Soloist #1: So can you dig it?
Group: What?
Soloist #1: I was sittin by the fire
Watchin it get higher
With my man,
You understand.
Cause I’m a special kind of lady
With a special kind of man.
I get to see my baby
WHENEVER I can.
So can you dig it?
So can you dig it?
(Repeat entire cheer with the next soloist, who says her name or nickname, and the same words. Continue with this pattern until every member of the group as had one turn as soloist).
- African American girls ages 6-12 (Lillian Taylor Summer Camp (Kingsley Association; Pittsburgh, PA between 1989-1992)
****
CHARLIE BROWN (fragment)
Charlaaaay a Charlie Brown, what you say now?
Charlaaaay a Charlie Brown.
Hey Shoewhore!
That's me. Foxxxy as I wanna be. Gon' slide to the side, gon turn that sh&t* around, gon break it on down with Charlie Brown!
Cuz you know that I can get down!
A--woooooooosh!
-Shoewhore, http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php/43158-Hood-Cheers/page5, 08-19-2006
-snip-
*The full word was spelled out in this example.
****
CHECK ME OUT
Check me out
check check me out
My name is Tamia
(Check)
And I'm a cheerleader
(check)
You mess with me (check)
I'll break you jaw
(check)
[Then they say]
Ol', she thinks she bad
[The I say]
Honey, child I know I'm bad.
[They say]
Ol' she think she fine
[I say]
Fine, fine Blow your mind
Take your boyfriend any time
Bring him home. Bring him back
And make him have a heart attack.
-Tamia, (12 year old African American girl), Maryland, Oct 29. 2005; collected by Marimba Johnson for Azizi Powell
CHEERING IS MY GAME
Dn Dn Dn Dn Dn (Twice)
CALL: Barbara. Barbara is my name.
RESPONSE: Dn Dn Dn Dn Dn (similarly)
Cheering is my game.
Freddy. Freddy was my man.
But Ken is my main man.
Dn Dn Dn Dn Dn (Twice)
Cheer continues until each girl announces her name and her boyfriend’s name.
-"Old Mother Hippletoe, Rural and Urban Children's Songs"; http://www.newworldrecords.org/linernotes/80291.pdf; Barbara Borum and other Washington, D.C., schoolgirls, vocals.
Recorded 1976 in Washington, D.C., by Kate Rinzler, included in 1978 vinyl record.
-snip-
I happened upon a copy of the Old Mother Hippletoe vinyl record set at a library used book sale sometime in the late 1990s. I bought that record for its record notes even though I didn't have a record player at that time. Band 3 "Cheerleading" of that record features four* examples of what the author of the record notes calls "cheers". Two of these examples* (Cheering Is My Game and Hollywood Keeps Swingin/Dynomite) have the textual structure that I consider a signature characteristic of "foot stomping cheers". I've collected multiple examples of both of those cheers among African American in various parts of the United States.
Here's an excerpt from those record notes:
"In 1973-75, fieldwork for the Festival of American Folklife revealed cheerleading girls taking turns doing a dance step or a simple gymnastic trick. In 1976, perhaps because of the popularity on television of the Olympic Games, there was a sudden citywide interest in gymnastic pyrotechnics: complete frontward and sideward splits, forward and backward flips, and cartwheels ending in jumped splits."...
-snip-
Those record notes indicates that the types of cheers that I now call "foot stomping cheers" were first documented in 1973-1975. The 1976 date that I've been using for these cheers is the first published documentation of "cheerleading girls taking turns doing a dance step or a simple gymnastic trick". That said, I haven't ever come across any examples of these types of cheers being performed with gymnastic movements.
90s baby here
Here's my verison:
brick wall, waterfall
girl you think you know it all
you don't, I do
so POOF with the attitude
elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist
shut your mouth and kiss this!
D-I-S-C-O
that's the way we disco
D-I-S-C-O
that's the way we disco
Hey ____
Hey what
hey_____
Hey what?
Show us how you disco
Show us how you disco
I step aside
Roll my eyes
Stomp my feet
And do the funky beat
-Tulipop, Jun 25, 2018, https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/black-girl-rhymes-what-was-yours-growing-up.1196979/page-3
-snip-
WARNING: Some rhyme examples on lipstickalley.com contain profanity, sexually explicit content, and the n word.
****
CALL REPUTATION
this is a saying call reputation
my name is yonnqa
i'm number one
my reputation has just begun
so if you see me step a side
cause i don't take no jive
oh think she cool
correction baby i no i'm cool
i no karate
i no kunfu
you miss with me
i co it on you
rasasol o dazzo o ox2
-yaya ; 2/23/2007, cocojams.com
-snip-
This is a form of the "Hula Hula" cheer.
****
CANDY GIRL (Version #1)
All: Candy Girl.
All my world.
Look so sweet.
Special treat.
Soloist #1: This is the way we do the Bounce.
Candy Girl.
Group: Do the Bounce. Do the Bounce.
Soloist #1: All my world.
Group: Do the Bounce. Do the Bounce.
Soloist #1: Look so sweet.
Group: Do the Bounce. Do the Bounce.
Soloist #1: Special treat
Group: Do the Bounce. Do the Bounce.
All: Candy Girl.
All my world.
Look so sweet.
Special treat.
Soloist #2: This is the way we do the Snake.
Candy Girl.
Group: Do the Snake Do the Snake.
Soloist #2: All my world.
Group: Do the Snake. Do the Snake.
Soloist #2: Look so sweet.
Group: Do the Snake. Do the Snake.
--T.M.P.(African American female); memories of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the mid 1980s (audio recorded in 1992); In 2000 I observed members of Braddock, Pennsylvania's chapter of Alafia Children’s Ensemble perform this cheer with the exact same beat, and tune, and the same words except for then popular R&B/Hip Hop dances)
****
CANDY GIRL (Version #2)
does anybody know candy girl? little girls i know still play it!
candy girl, oh my world
look so sweet, special treat
this is the way you do the "wop"(or the "snake", or whatever dance is cute that u know the name of)
candy girl, say wop,wop
oh my world, say wop, wop
look so sweet, say wop,wop
special treat, say wop,wop(and then move on to the next dance)
- bitsy196 (African American female; Los Angeles, California); http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=4123&page=4; “remember when?”; 6-25-2003
****
CANDY GIRL (Version #3)
Candy girl,
all my world,
looks so sweet,
candy treat
This is the way
we do the (insert a dance)
Candy girl
Do the (dance) the (dance)
All my world
Do the (dance) the (dance)
Looks so sweet
Do the (dance) the (dance)
Candy treat
Do the (dance) the (dance)
(Repeat)
Directions:
This one involves the whole participation of the group at once. You repeat it for as many dances as you have until you can’t think of anymore.
- Jennifer (Korean), undergraduate female college student University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ; remembrances of rhymes she performed when she was 8-12 years ; (she indicates that she learned this from African American girls); collected in 2005 via email to Azizi Powell.
****
CAN YOU DIG IT?
All: So can you dig it?
Yeah.
So can you dig it?
Soloist #1: My name is Maria.
And I’m a flick flick.
And I’mma punch you in your lip.
So can you dig it?
Group: What?
Soloist #1: So can you dig it?
Group: What?
Soloist #1: I was sittin by the fire
Watchin it get higher
With my man,
You understand.
Cause I’m a special kind of lady
With a special kind of man.
I get to see my baby
WHENEVER I can.
So can you dig it?
So can you dig it?
(Repeat entire cheer with the next soloist, who says her name or nickname, and the same words. Continue with this pattern until every member of the group as had one turn as soloist).
- African American girls ages 6-12 (Lillian Taylor Summer Camp (Kingsley Association; Pittsburgh, PA between 1989-1992)
****
CHARLIE BROWN (fragment)
Charlaaaay a Charlie Brown, what you say now?
Charlaaaay a Charlie Brown.
Hey Shoewhore!
That's me. Foxxxy as I wanna be. Gon' slide to the side, gon turn that sh&t* around, gon break it on down with Charlie Brown!
Cuz you know that I can get down!
A--woooooooosh!
-Shoewhore, http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php/43158-Hood-Cheers/page5, 08-19-2006
-snip-
*The full word was spelled out in this example.
****
CHECK ME OUT
Check me out
check check me out
My name is Tamia
(Check)
And I'm a cheerleader
(check)
You mess with me (check)
I'll break you jaw
(check)
[Then they say]
Ol', she thinks she bad
[The I say]
Honey, child I know I'm bad.
[They say]
Ol' she think she fine
[I say]
Fine, fine Blow your mind
Take your boyfriend any time
Bring him home. Bring him back
And make him have a heart attack.
-Tamia, (12 year old African American girl), Maryland, Oct 29. 2005; collected by Marimba Johnson for Azizi Powell
CHEERING IS MY GAME
Dn Dn Dn Dn Dn (Twice)
CALL: Barbara. Barbara is my name.
RESPONSE: Dn Dn Dn Dn Dn (similarly)
Cheering is my game.
Freddy. Freddy was my man.
But Ken is my main man.
Dn Dn Dn Dn Dn (Twice)
Cheer continues until each girl announces her name and her boyfriend’s name.
-"Old Mother Hippletoe, Rural and Urban Children's Songs"; http://www.newworldrecords.org/linernotes/80291.pdf; Barbara Borum and other Washington, D.C., schoolgirls, vocals.
Recorded 1976 in Washington, D.C., by Kate Rinzler, included in 1978 vinyl record.
-snip-
I happened upon a copy of the Old Mother Hippletoe vinyl record set at a library used book sale sometime in the late 1990s. I bought that record for its record notes even though I didn't have a record player at that time. Band 3 "Cheerleading" of that record features four* examples of what the author of the record notes calls "cheers". Two of these examples* (Cheering Is My Game and Hollywood Keeps Swingin/Dynomite) have the textual structure that I consider a signature characteristic of "foot stomping cheers". I've collected multiple examples of both of those cheers among African American in various parts of the United States.
Here's an excerpt from those record notes:
"In 1973-75, fieldwork for the Festival of American Folklife revealed cheerleading girls taking turns doing a dance step or a simple gymnastic trick. In 1976, perhaps because of the popularity on television of the Olympic Games, there was a sudden citywide interest in gymnastic pyrotechnics: complete frontward and sideward splits, forward and backward flips, and cartwheels ending in jumped splits."...
-snip-
Those record notes indicates that the types of cheers that I now call "foot stomping cheers" were first documented in 1973-1975. The 1976 date that I've been using for these cheers is the first published documentation of "cheerleading girls taking turns doing a dance step or a simple gymnastic trick". That said, I haven't ever come across any examples of these types of cheers being performed with gymnastic movements.
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CHEERLEADER (Version #2)
All: Cheerleader.
Roll Call.
Soloist #1: Yolanda,
They call me Lannie.
Group: Hey! Hey!
Soloist #2: Renee,
They call me NayNay.
Group: Hey! Hey!
Soloist #3: Ebony,
They call me Ebony.
Group: Hey! Hey!
Soloist #4: Melissa,
They call me Missy.
Group: Hey! Hey!
The cheer continues this way until everyone says their name and nickname. If the soloist doesn't have a nickname, she repeats her first name.
-T.M.P.(African American female; memories of Garfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, early to mid 1980s).
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CHEERLEADER (Version #3)
All: Cheerleader.
Roll call!
Soloist #1: My name is Keisha.
They call me Key Key.
And when they call me,
They go.
All: Boom, Boom.
Ah Boom, Boom!
All: Cheerleader.
Roll Call!
Soloist #2: My name's Jozita.
They call me Cocoa.
And when they call me,
They go
All:
Boom, Boom.
Ah Boom, Boom!
The cheer continues this way until everyone says their name and nickname. If the girl doesn't have a nickname, the first name is repeated.
-T.M.P.(African American female; memories of Garfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, early to mid 1980s).
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CHEERLEADER (Version #4)
All: Cheer.
Leader.
Roll.
Call.
Are you ready?
Soloist #1: Shayla.
They call me Rosa.
Soloist #2: Shana.
They call me Poo.
Soloist #3: Shana.
They call me Shay.
Soloist #4: Jamie.
They call me Jay Jay.
Soloist #5: Jackie.
They call me HaJack (HighJack?).
All: Cheer.
Leader.
Zodiac signs.
Soloist #1: Aquarius.
That’s a dog.
Soloist #2: Cancer.
That’s a crab.
Soloist #3: Leo.
That’s a lion.
Soloist #4:Scorpio.
That’s a spider.*
Soloist #5: Scorpio.
That’s a spider.
All: Cheer.
Leader.
Phone.
Numbers.
Are you ready?
Soloist #1: 348-5110.**
Group: Always busy.
Soloist #2: 348-4554.
Group: Always busy.
Soloist #3: 348-3322
Group: Always busy.
Soloist #4: 348-5679
Group: Always busy.
Soloist #5: 348-4285
Group: Always busy.
- Shayla, Shana, Shana, Jamie, and Jackie (African American females about 10 years-12 years old, Talbot Towers Housing after-school program, Braddock, PA; 1985); collected by Azizi Powell, 1985
*Notice that the symbol for Scorpio is wrong. Actually, Scorpio's symbol is a scorpion and not a spider.
** I changed the phone numbers the girls chanted to protect their privacy. Note that these phone numbers are without the area code that was later installed in Pittsburgh (in the 1990s?).
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CHECK
Soloist: My name is Shelly
Others: Check
Soloist: They call me Shell
Others: Check
My horoscope is Aquarius
Others: Aquarius
Soloist: If you don't like
Others: Check
Soloist: Without a dial*
Others: Check
Soloist: Just call my number
and check me out.
Others: Check her out
Soloist: Cause I am fine.**
My number is 222-888**
Others: Check
Soloist: That fellow is mine **
Cause I know how to skate
Others: Well alright
Well alright
-Shelly H. (African American female, Cleveland, Ohio, mid 1980s), transcribed by Azizi Powell, May 2007
Repeat cheer from the beginning with the next soloist. That soloist says her name & nickname, and gives her astrological sun sign ("horoscope") and her phone number. In the " I like to ___" line, that soloist indicates what she is good at doing ("sing", "dance", "draw"). This pattern continues with the next soloist until everyone has had one turn as the soloist.
"Check" here means something like "Ok" or "That's Right".
* "If you don't like without a dial" probably means "If you don't like it without a doubt"
** "Mine" and "fine" were elongated and sung-"my -i-i-n" ;"fi-i-i-n"
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CHILI CHILI BANG BANG
We used to do a chant where we all made a circle and somebody stood in the middle. The words in parenthesis are what the person in the middle would say:
Chili chili bang bang
Let me see you do yo' thang,
(I cant!), Why not?,
(I just can't), Why not?,
(My back hurt, my bra too tight,
my hips shake to the left, to the right,
to the left and to the right! Hey!)
And the girl in the middle had to move her hips as she sang. It was sooooo funny then because we all thought we were FINE anyway! ROTFL!!
-MsAnn (African American female; Louisiana) http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=4123&page=3 Childhood chants and games......; December 30, 2000
-snip-
Versions of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" are also performed as a hand clap rhyme.
CHOCOLATE CITY
All: Chock-let City.
Chock chock-let City.
Chock-let City.
Chock Chock-let City.
Soloist #1: My name is Linda
And I'm walkin.
Group: She's walkin.
Soloist #1: I'm talkin.
Group: She's talkin.
Soloist #1: I'M TALKIN TO [girls stop using first step beat]
All the boys in Chock-let City [begin new faster step beat]
Get down to the nitty gritty.
Long time no see.
Sexy as I wanna be.
Some hittin me high.
Some hittin me low.
Some hittin me on my-
Don't ask what.
Group: What?
Soloist #1: My b-u-tt butt
That's what.
Repeat from the beginning with the next soloist who says her name or nickname. Continue this pattern until every girl in the group has had one chance as the soloist with this cheer.
Repeat from the beginning with the next soloist who says her name or nickname. Continue this pattern until every girl in the group has had one chance as the soloist with this cheer.
- T.M.P, recorded in 1990.(at Lillian Taylor Camp) and transcribed by Azizi Powell in 1996.(TMP is Azizi Powell's daughter. She worked as a counselor at Lillian Taylor Camp and facilitated several sessions on foot stomping cheers for girls who chose those sessions instead of another possible camp activity.
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This concludes Part I of this series.
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Visitor comments and additional versions of these cheers and/or examples of other cheers are welcome.
This 1980s New York Times article on sidewalk cheers ("foot stomping cheers") mentions the following cheers: "Hollywood Goes Angels", "Hollywood Goes Swinging", "Fly Girl", "Luchichu", and "Betty Boop".
ReplyDeleteI've directly collected examples of "Hollywood Goes Swinging" and "Fly Girl" from Pittsburgh (1980s, 1990s, 2000s). And I've found online examples of these same cheers with those names (or, in the case of "Hollywood Goes Swinging", also cheers with similar names) from various African American communities of those two cheers. I've also found two online examples of "One by one, I'm having fun" although they weren't called "Betty Boop". Those examples are quite risque. Here's one example from
http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=31403&page=5
4-01-2003, 02:10 PM
Kisha
What about ...
1 and 1 we were having some fun in the bedroom,
all day and all of the night
2 and 2 he pulled off my shoe in the bedroom
all day and .....
3 by 3 he undressed me in the bedroom
all day and....
4 by 4 he shut the door in the bedroom
all day and....
etc.
-snip-
Comment:
4-01-2003
candygirl
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Oh my goodness. This is really taking me back. I swear I didn't know what I was talking about. Well I knew I was talking about sex but it was so innocent.
-snip-
Another example of that cheer is found in that 2003 discussion whose participants were members of historically Black Greek letter sororities. Given some their comments, I think that most their rhyme memories were from the 1980s.
-snip-
Notice the screen name "Candy Girl". That article also mentions the New Edition's song "Candy Girl". I collected an example of a foot stomping cheer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that was based on that song and had that title. That version of "Candy Girl" includes lyrics from that R&B/Hip Hop record-
Group:"Candy Girl, All My World/ Looks so sweet/Special treat"... The soloist then says- This is the way I do the [says dance name]
The cheer then returns to the group part in the beginning and the next soloist says "This is the way I do [says a different dance].
This continues until every girl has a turn as the soloist.
-snip-
The lines "I'm going down...I'm coming up... to mess you up" that are mentioned in the article are found in a number of foot stomping rhymes.
The only cheer that I'm not familiar with which was mentioned in this article is the one the girls' made up and titled "Lachichu". By the way, the writer of this article indicated that "The cheer celebrates the girls themselves: "We're light and lovely! Crabby or ugly!" I think that that line might have been meant to be "We're light and lovely! Not crabby and ugly."