Conga Music & Dance In Cuba & How The Conga Line Became Part Of Some Celebratory Or Fun Events In The United States

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases some videos and presents some information about the history of Conga music and dance in Cuba.

This post also showcases some videos and presents information about how the Conga line became part of some United States wedding receptions and part of some other celebratory events in the United States.  

The content of this post is presented for historical, socio-cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the Cuban people for their creation of Conga music and dance. Thanks to Cuban-American actor/entertainer Desi Arnez for sparking the Conga line dance craze in the United States. Thanks for all those who are quoted in this post and who are featured in these showcase videos. Thanks also to all the publishers of these videos on YouTube.  

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THE HISTORY OF THE CONGA LINE IN CUBA & ITS ADOPTION IN THE USA FOR CELEBRATORY EVENTS SUCH AS WEDDING RECEPTIONS
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conga_line
"The conga line is a novelty line dance that was derived from the Cuban carnival dance of the same name and became popular in the US and UK during the first half of the 20th century. In order to perform the dance, dancers form a long, processing line, which would usually turn into a circle. It has three shuffle steps on the beat, followed by a kick that is slightly ahead of the fourth beat. The conga, a term sometimes mistakenly believed to be derived from the African region of Congo, is both a lyrical and danceable genre, rooted in the music of carnival troupes or comparsas.[1]

Origin

The conga dance was believed to have been brought over from Africa by enslaved people in the West Indies,[2] and became a popular street dance in Cuba. The style was appropriated by politicians during the early years of republic in an attempt to appeal to the masses before election. During Gerardo Machado's dictatorship in Cuba, Havana citizens were forbidden to dance the conga since rival groups would work themselves to high excitement and start street fights. This was not the case when Fulgencio Batista became president in the 1940s - he permitted people to dance congas during elections, but a police permit was required.[3]

Description

The conga dance style is more of a march, which is characterized by its distinctive conga drum rhythm. It differs from the Cuban rumba, which uses movements considered "hip" and shows the sensually aggressive attitude of each dancer. Conga music is played with a staccato beat as its base, which gives rhythm to the movements of the dancers. Conga dancers lift their legs in time with the rhythm of the music, marking each beat with the strong motion of their body.

The basic dance steps start from left leg 1-2-3 kick then repeat, opposite. Originally, a band member wearing a drum would venture onto the dance floor and begin zig-zagging around while drumming out the rhythm. Dancers would start joining up behind the drummer, forming a line that moves like a snake in an open circle. The line (or the circular chain) would grow longer and the drumming more intense until it finally stopped. The dance has two styles, which is a single line form and partners. The single line is more popular in Cuba.[2]

Western popularity

Beginning in the late 1930s, the dance became popular in the United States; however, in the 1940s, it became very popular due to Hollywood's "Latin" musicals. RKO Pictures' offerings were particularly influential, notably Too Many Girls (1940), in which Desi Arnaz appeared as a conga-playing Argentine student. Spanish-Catalan bandleader Xavier Cugat, who gave Arnaz his musical start, helped to popularize the dance, but the biggest impact belonged to Arnaz himself.[1] It is prominently featured in the 1941 Deanna Durbin film, It Started With Eve, in which Durbin and Charles Laughton dance the dance together in a nightclub.

With its simple march step, the interlinking of dancers circling about in single file, and one-two-three-bump rhythm with the fourth beat strongly marked, the dance was not only attractive but also readily accessible to US and other foreign audiences. The dance started to gain a foothold in the US around 1929, when the original La Conga nightclub opened its doors in Manhattan. It is believed that the La Conga was at Broadway and 51st Street.[2] By 1937, the conga was well known in New York.

The widespread popularity of the dance resulted in many cultural references in contemporary media. For example, the conga line was a recurring theme in Warner Bros. animated cartoons of the 1940s.

This music and dance form has become totally assimilated into Cuba's musical heritage and has been used in many film soundtracks in the US and Mexico.[3] One of the earliest and most successful of 20th-century Cuban musical exports, the conga lacked the polyrhythmic sophistication of the son, mambo, or salsa but served to nurture the future receptivity of an international public to the wider gamut of Cuban musical styles.”…
-snip-
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byaNuxwjCs8 to watch the 2023 YouTube video "Dancing the 1940s Conga" and read the transcript of that video about the evolution of the Conga line dance in the United States and Europe during that decade.

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THREE YOUTUBE VIDEOS OF THE CONGA  IN CUBA

Notice that there are so many people in the streets for Cuban conga festivals that people don't dance Conga in any processional (follow the leader, single line) formations during those festival parades. Instead, the people following a Conga band sometimes perform the conga dance steps.

SHOWCASE  VIDEO #1 - Conga Los Hoyos Invasiòn!

cineVillon - l'immagine errante, Aug 27, 2021  SANTIAGO DI CUBA

Invasiòn de la Conga Los Hoyos por las calles de Santiago de Cuba

[from Spanish to English: Invasion of the Conga (band) of Los Hoyos through the streets of  Santiago, Cuba.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HqtwL0urZA

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-Invasión, recorrido de la victoria. 2022 diciembre-CONGA LOS HOYOS

CONGA LOS HOYOS Official Channel, Jan 31, 2023

☆「Lazaro and the Shark」The movie official website

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1-sFB7hwlA

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #3 - La Conga Santiaguera bailada por estudiantes de secundaria a Santiago de Cuba 2025 (From Spanish to English- The Conga Santiaguera danced by high school students from Santiago de Cuba 2025) 

Carmine Salituro, Premiered Apr 22, 2025  SANTIAGO DI CUBA

Si te gusta el ritmo de la música cubana tienes que ver el video hasta el final
-snip-
Google translation from Spanish to English:
"If you like the rhythm of Cuban music, you have to watch the video to the end." 

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HOW DESI ARNEZ STARTED THE CONGA LINE DANCE CRAZE IN THE UNITED STATES

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SHOWCASE VIDEO - Desi Arnaz Conga

 

kelime,Aug 28, 2012

From the RKO movie "Too Many Girls"
-snip-
Here are a few comments from this video's discussion thread (with numbers added for referencing purposes only.)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5QrGD0oUgY

1. @perpetual61, 2018
"The 1940 Movie " Too Many Girls " starring Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz is where they met."

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2. @jasonhuegan7007, 2019
"Did Arnez invent the conga line?"

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Reply
3. @PrincessWarsop, 2022
"He just made it popular."

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Reply
4. @JamesAinsworth-AA, 2022
"He himself said on an interview on Johnny Carson that the conga line was something Cubans created in their Carnival celebrations. He said most of the country would go to Santiago for the celebrations and the best conga lines - the implied or veiled suggestion is that the conga line was an Afro-Cuban creation because Santiago was predominantly Black Cubans."

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5. @holyspacemonkey, 2020
"This is from the 1940 film “Too Many Girls.” Lucy & Desi met on the set, but her co-star and love interest was Richard Carlson, not Desi. Desi played a supporting role. You can see Lucy & Richard at 3:30."

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6. @Tusc9969, 2022
"I like Desi - he knew relatively little about the music he was hybridizing, compared to real, respected band leaders like Cugat, Machito, Miguelito Valdes etc

But he had looks, charm, chutzpah and the great advantage over most important Latin musicians of being both upper-class and white complexion.

To be quite honest, Desi was not the best of singers, and he was not the best conguero, obviously, but he gets credit for introducing Afro-Cuban music to the masses on television, which in the 40s was unheard of, if you lived outside NYC or Miami at the time."

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7. @stephaniebarkemeyer5247, 2023
"I’m reading Desi’s autobiography right now, and his life story is truly incredible, especially all he went through. He called the conga his “dance of desperation” because he needed to think quickly to avoid getting fired and drown out his horrible sounding bad Xavier Cugat sent him to play. One dance started a craze and influenced our culture. 🎉❤"

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8. @JohnMinehan-lx9ts, 2025
"In 1976 when he and his son hosted SNL (and Arnez was about 60) he and  his son lead the cast and audience to do this with the same (or possibly greater) energy. 

THAT was an entertainer."

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9.@RaulAlvarez-z6u, 2026
"The "conga" was a very popular rythm in the forties.  You can see  how they danced the conga in a sequence of Woody Allen's film "Radio Days". People in a line which kept incorporating persons danced the conga and had a chance of meeting strangers, who aferwards perhaps became friends. The conga was a success in the whole world. Desi Arnaz recorded the song "La conga en Nueva York". The lyrics said: "Dice todo el mundo que ya en Nueva York se baila la rumba y la conga mejor".
-snip-
Google translation from Spanish to English:
"Everyone says that the rumba and the conga are already danced better in New York."

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS OF THE CONGA LINE IN THE USA
Numbers are added for referencing purposes only. 

SHOWCASE VIDEO #1- Kids in Tune Conga Flash Mob

Doctor Rick, Aug 10, 2016

kidsintune.org

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=govVs3fCeYI

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2- 100 Person Conga Line | Mountain Meadows Golf Course #wedding #dj #losangeles

My Event Pros, Oct 5, 2021

My Event Pros – Premier Wedding & Event DJs in Southern California

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQVjt7hcURk

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Visitor comments are welcome.

"All Around The Kitchen Cock A Doodle Doodle Doo" Children's Movement Song Is From African American Culture

 

All around the kitchen

Melinda Butler, Sep 13, 2015

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases the children's movement song "All Around The Kitchen". This song is also known as "All Around The Kitchen Cock A Doodle Doodle Doo".

The general lyrics for this song are included in this post. However, this song's verses are improvisation-children come up with the motions that they want to do after the line "Now you stop right still" and its refrain "Cock a doodle doodle doo".

This post also includes information about the ways that children perform this song.

In addition, this pancocojams post includes selected comments from a Mudcat folk music discussion thread about this song.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the unknown composers of this song. Thanks to all those who are featured in this showcased video and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of this video on YouTube.  

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 LYRICS - ALL AROUND THE KITCHEN
(as sung by Pete Seegar in his 1953 record American Folk Songs For Children


 All around the kitchen! cocka-doodle-doodle doo

All around the kitchen! cocka-doodle-doodle doo

 

Now stop right still cocka-doodle-doodle doo

And put your hands on your hips cocka-doodle-doodle doo

 

And let your right foot slip cocka-doodle-doodle doo (repeat chorus)

Now stop right still cocka-doodle-doodle doo

And put your hand on your head cocka-doodle-doodle doo

 

And nd put your other on e on your toe cocka-doodle-doodle doo (repeat chorus)

Now stop right still cocka-doodle-doodle doo

And put your hand on your knee cocka-doodle-doodle doo

 

And wave your other hand high cocka-doodle-doodle doo (repeat chorus)

Now stop right still cocka-doodle-doodle doo

And put your hands on your belly cocka-doodle-doodle doo

 

And jump up and down cocka-doodle-doodle doo (repeat chorus)

Now stop right still cocka-doodle-doodle doo

And put your hands over your eyes cocka-doodle-doodle doo

 

And turn all around cocka-doodle-doodle doo (repeat chorus)

Now stop right still cocka-doodle-doodle doo

And put your hands on your shoulders cocka-doodle-doodle doo

And put your foot up in the air cocka-doodle-doodle doo (repeat chorus)


Source- https://genius.com/Pete-seeger-all-around-the-kitchen-lyrics

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THREE WAYS 'ALL AROUND THE KITCHEN" CAN BE PERFORMED
(given in no particular order)

Note: It appears from the YouTube videos of this song that I've come across that groups pf children in the 21st century who perform this song usually are silent while they move to the accompaniment of a record of this song. As a result, the instructions about what movements the group perform after each iteration of the  words" stop right still cock a doodle doodle do " come from the record itself.

Here are the three ways that groups perform "All Around The Kitchen Cocka A Doodle Doodle Doo" 

1. The group forms a single file behind a person who has been designated as the leader. Without holding hands or touching each other, the group follows the leader in a zig zag, circular manner.

The leader and the rest of the group hold their hands beneath their armpits and begin flapping them (moving them up and down) pretending that they are roosters' wings or chickens wings.

The group immediately stops in place for each iteration of the words "now you stop right still (cock a doodle doodle do) ". After they do the motion that is given in the record (or the motion the leader or one other person in the group comes up with), the leader immediately starts moving again and the group continues to follow her or him around the room while they "flap their wings" as they did before. 

2. Children hold hands and walk in a circle holding hands. The group drops hands while they perform the stop right still movements.  (Follow the rest of the description for #1 except that there is no designated leader and after they perform that motion , the group holds hands again and moves in a circle).  

**
3. Children move in a random pattern around the area where they are located. (Follow the rest of the direction for #1 except that there is no designated leader and after they perform that motion, the group begins "flapping their wings" again and moving around the room in a random fashion.
-snip-
For what it's worth, I used the performance style #1 with the two children's game song groups that I founded and led in the early 2000s in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and in a nearby Pittsburgh community.   

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM A MUDCAT DISCUSSION THREAD ABOUT THIS SONG

(Numbers added for referencing purposes only)

1. Subject: RE: Folklore: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle
From: Azizi
Date: 13 Aug 07 - 09:09 AM

..."Given its call & response, improvisational, and open-ended format, I think its of African American origin.

The use of that "let your right foot slip" verse also leads me to believe that All Around the Kitchen is of African American origin-or we took adopted it from elsewhere and made it our own."

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2. Subject: RE: Folklore: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle
From: GUEST,Bob Coltman
Date: 14 Aug 07 - 08:54 AM

"Hi all ... here's a little background for the song as far as I know it.

"All Around In the Kitchen" was its title when this ring game song was recorded in 1940 by John A. and Ruby T. Lomax in the countryside near York, Alabama. I believe that is its first appearance, I don't know of any earlier version.

Ruth Crawford Seeger published it in American Folk Songs for Children in 1948, and it got into a lot of school music curriculums because that book was widely circulated among educators. She dropped the word "In" from the title for whatever reason.

Pete Seeger recorded it in the early 1950s on a Folkways album for children, also as "All Around the Kitchen." This gave it even more circulation. That's where I learned it. Hooray for LP records. :)"

Bob"

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3. Subject: RE: Folklore: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle
From: GUEST,Bob Coltman
Date: 14 Aug 07 - 08:58 AM

"And Azizi, I should add that the song was sung by a group of African-American children, which confirms your opinion. Bob"

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4. Subject: RE: Folklore: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Aug 07 - 09:28 AM

"Bob Coltman wrote:

"Ruth Crawford Seeger published it in American Folk Songs for Children in 1948, and it got into a lot of school music curriculums because that book was widely circulated among educators."

Mike & Peggy Seeger have recorded an album (now a 2XCD set) of the songs in this book, including "All Around The Kitchen".

This is certainly one of my favourite albums - it got us through so many long-distance car journeys with our son, who now has his own band. I wonder how many of these songs will eventually crop up in punky-ska versions?

Norman"

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5. Subject: RE: Folklore: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle
From: Azizi
Date: 14 Aug 07 - 10:23 AM

"Thanks for that info, Bob!

...Here's that second verse that I sing with children, teens, and adults:

 

Put your hands on your hips

Cock a doodle doodle do

And let your right foot slip

Cock a doodle doodle do
-snip-
I know that I've seen that "right foot slip" line in other 19th or early 20th century African American dance songs {jazz dance songs?}, but I can't find any now.

Fwiw, that movement didn't appear to be known to children, teens, adults that I who were participants in the programs I facilitated. Prior to singing while moving in a processional line, zig zaging all around a large room-and NOT a kitchen, I demonstrate how to do the "let your right foot slip" line.

 And also fwiw, while the mostly African American female and male children/teens who participated in the game song sessions I facilitated in Pittsburgh Pa {1997-2006} knew the word "switch" and its movement [which I define as females walking in a sexually seductive, butt swaying manner],they didn't know the word and the movement for "strut"* [which wordnet.princeton.edu/ defines as a "proud stiff pompous gait"]. And even after I demonstrated the strutting movement, most of the girls & boys initially had a difficult time doing it. I think what they were having difficulty with was walking with a "stiff gait" instead of moving their hips and/or other parts of their bodies to the beat {and the off-beat}. Such movements seems to me to be at the core of African American dance music today-and perhaps to a large degree-way back then "back in the olden days".

*Btw, these children/youth didn't know the African American children's rhyme "Strut Miss Lucy" or anything about the cakewalk either. But neither did I when I was growing up in Southern New Jersey in the 1950s"

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6. Subject: RE: Folklore: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle
From: GUEST,Fluxusfrequency
Date: 28 Nov 11 - 08:26 PM

"Azizi, Little Sally Water has "let your backbone slip".

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Visitor comments are welcome.

 

Three Military Cadences About "Jody": "Ain’t No Sense In Goin Home", "Jody Boy", & "Jody's Got Your Cadillac" (Complete Reprint)

Jody - Military Running Cadence [Ain’t No Sense In Goin Home]

Armed Fitness USA, Published on Oct 18, 2013

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases versions of these three military cadences about "Jody".

Background information and comments about the character "Jody" in military cadences are also included in this post along with my transcriptions of the lyrics to these versions of these cadences and a few selected comments from one of these sound files' discussion threads.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the composers of these military cadences and thanks to the members of the United States armed services who are featured in these videos. Thanks to all those who served/serve honorably in the United States armed services and thanks to the publishers of these song files on YouTube.
-snip-
This post is part of pancocojams' ongoing series on African American songs and military cadences that include the male name "Jody".

This is a complete repost with small formatting changes of this 2018 pancocojams post with the same title : https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/02/versions-of-three-military-cadences.html 

This 2026 reprint also includes additional comments from Showcase sound file #1's discussion thread.

That updated post is still found on this pancocojams blog.

Click the "jodies" tag that is found below for other posts in this series.

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BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND COMMENTS ABOUT THE CHARACTER "JODY" IN MILITARY CADENCES
Here's a comment that was posted on the military cadences page of my no longer active cocojams.com cultural website: 

David Whiteis, May 14, 2012
"Greetings --

I came across your website by accident -- it's wonderful, and when I have a LOT of time, I'll be exploring it much more deeply!

One or two thoughts on "Jody"/"Joe the Grinder" -- "Jody," of course, has come up in a lot of blues and soul-blues songs since Johnnie Taylor's hit (there's even a "Ms. Jody" performing on the Southern circuit these days). Johnnie Taylor himself confirmed that he got the idea for his song from the military cadence, "Ain't no use in going home / Jody's got your girl and gone." He also said he recorded it knowing that Afrcan-American soldiers during the Vietnam era would be familiar with it, and would immediately identify with it. I've heard it suggested that "Jody," in this case, may actually have been a kind of shortand for "Job Deferment" -- Jody, in other words, was that lucky guy who didn't get drafted because his job was considered essential to national defense or the economy . . . or simply because he had a "bossman" who could pull strings and keep him out of the army. The reference to "Joe the Grinder" might have been implied, but it might not have been the literal translation of the name.

No doubt the "Jody" cadence was used primarily by African-American drill sergeants for Black soldiers in the days of the segregated miitary. But If author Richard Yates is to be believed, the "Jody" cadence was known to some white soldiers as well. Yates' short story "Jody Rolled the Bones," set in the '50s during the Korean War era, is about a redneck drill sergeant who led his [white] troops in boot camp with various versions of that same "Jody" cadence.

Probably the best-known blues song after Johnnie Taylor's to invoke "Jody" is the late Marvin Sease's "I'm Mr. Jody" from 2006. But I also know of at least one song by a white singer where "Joe the Grinder" comes up-- it's Merle Haggard's "The Old Man From the Mountain" -- he admonishes his woman to "get rid of Joe the Grinder, you'd better be there alone / The old man from the mountain's comin' home" . . .

Again, I really like the website . . .

David Whiteis

Chicago
May 14, 2012"
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor's note:
David Whiteis is the author of Chicago Blues: Portraits and Stories and Southern Soul-Blues, both published by University of Illinois Press. (Southern Soul-Blues, by the way, has a full-length chapter profile of the singer Ms. Jody.)

**
Here's my response to David Whiteis' email (written in May 2012 and added to that cocojams website) :
"Greetings, David!

... I appreciate learning about Richard Yates's short story "Jody Rolled the Bones" that included a reference to White soldiers chanting Jody cadences.

I've read on other websites such as the Mudcat Folk & Blues forum that "Jodies" were known to some White soldiers as well as Black soldiers. One commenter on this particular Mudcat thread http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=2915#467279 whose name happened to be Jody gave an example of a "Jody got your girl and gone" cadence and wrote that it was "the only one I remember that had my name in it was from basic training at Lackland AFB, San Antonio, Tex in the winter of 1947-48"...

I was a very active blogger on that forum & I know that blogger is White as are the other bloggers who are members of that forum who shared their remembrances of Jodies.

Then again that blogger didn't say that he chanted that cadence. He said that he remembered that cadence and he also shared another example of a cadence that he remembered hearing Black soldiers chant. But ther bloggers on that discussion thread and on other Mudcat discussion threads also shared examples of various Jodies that they either heard or chanted. It would be interesting to know if Jodies are still being chanted in todays integrated armed services.

Thanks also David for the information about Jody in Merle Haggard's "The Old Man From the Mountain".

With regard to the idea that Jody might have stood for "Job Deferment", the earliest examples of stories that feature that character, the name "Joe The Grinder" was given as "Joe De Grinder", with "de" being a way of pronouncing and spelling "the". However, I agree that over time there may have been a characterization of Jody as "that lucky guy who didn't get drafted because his job was considered essential to national defense or the economy . . . or simply because he had a "bossman" who could pull strings and keep him out of the army." Therefore the meaning "Job Deferment" could have been grafted onto the name "Jody".

Thanks again David, for your comments and your compliment about my cocojams website."
-snip-
I also added this comment exchange to this 2013 pancocojams post about "Jodies" http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/03/jodys-got-your-girl-and-gone-why.html Jody's Got Your Girl And Gone - Why Military Cadences Are Known As Jodies

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THE DISCUSION THREAD FOR SHOWCASE SOUND FILE #1

(Numbers are given for referencing purposes only)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3A8Lxidkow

1.Corey Kid, 2013
"Badass just like all cadences"

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2. Eto Hige Gamer Culture, 2013
"but there marching"

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Reply
3.Nter Hediger, 2015
"all they have to do is speed it down some for a marching cadence, which is what they did. tons of jodies and cadences can do that"

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4.edmund mcmahon, 2016
"Need more JODIE CALLS!, ! Guess all those women who make Ranger's schoolwill have to be one of the Guy's. Salute Tammy Duckworth"
-snip-
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tammy_Duckworth
"Ladda Tammy Duckworth (born March 12, 1968) is an American politician and retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, serving as the junior United States Senator for Illinois since 2017

[...]

Duckworth was the first Asian American woman elected to Congress in Illinois, the first disabled woman to be elected to Congress, and the first member of Congress born in Thailand. Her father, an American, and her Thai mother were working and living there at the time. Duckworth is the second Asian-American woman serving in the U.S. Senate after Mazie Hirono and next to Kamala Harris."...
-snip-
Tammy Duckworth may not be related to Willie Duckworth who is credited with composing the military cadence "Sound Off" (also known as "The Duckworth chant". Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_cadence#The_Duckworth_Chant_(or_Sound_Off!) the Duckworth chant.

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5. @callen0915, 2020
"My dad taught my sister and I cadences when we were little (like lullabyes) 🤣 To this day- I look at anybody named Jody twice..😉🤣"

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Reply
6. @SilentG22, 2021
"Jody in the house. If you hear the back door shut it wasn't me I promise. Lol. It's a awful name but seems to definitely affect a person's personality. All the Jody's I meet were laid back and had a lot of the same traits. Plus Jody's your buddy you don't want your old lady being looked after by a stranger at least you know she's gonna be treated right lol Take care Peace

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7. @frankdulaney151, 2020
"we sang this in  basic  in 63   but the words sometimes  were  not good  words   lol"

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8.@cadamsm11, 2021

"Nice to hear this was an Air Force cadence. Of course, all branches had similar, just a few word changes.  Almost made marching fun..."

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9. @nyotauhura7412, 2023

"When I was a kid the only people named Jody were girls. I was hella confused."

**

10. @geneb5482, 2024
"Lol this is not the words we used. This is the g rated version. I think if they used what we sang, people who complain"

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Reply
11. @Cello69, 2025
"It’s been so long I can’t remember the actual words

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12. @РасЕр-б3я, 2025
"Ain’t no use in calling home

Jody’s got your girl and gone

 

Ain’t no use in feeling blue

Jody’s got your sister too

 

Took away my faded jeans

Now I’m wearing Army greens

 

They took away my gin and rum

Now I’m up before the sun

 

Mama Mama can’t you see

What this Army’s done for me

 

Mama Mama can’t you see

This Army life is killing me

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LYRICS - JODY: (AIN'T NO SENSE IN GOIN HOME" * [This is another version of this military cadence.) 

[The troops repeat every line after the leader chants it, except for the "Sound Off" portion.]

Ain’t no sense in goin home
Jody’s got your girl and gone
Ain’t no sense in feelin blue
Jody’s got your sista too

Sound off
(1, 2)
Sound off
(3, 4)
Break it on down
(1, 2, 3,4
1, 2
3, 4!)

Hey-eh Sergeant Hardy
If everybody party like you party*
???
Make us clean it up again

Sound off [leader]
(1, 2) [troops]
Sound off [leader]
(3, 4) [troops]
Break it on down [leader]
(1, 2, 3, 4 [troops]
1, 2
3, 4!)

I don’t know but it’s been said
Navy wings are made of lead
I don’t know but I’ve been told
Airforce wings are made of gold

Sound off
(1, 2)
Sound off
(3, 4)
Break it on down
(1, 2, 3, 4
1, 2
3, 4!)
-snip-
*I'm not sure if this transcription is correct, and I can't understand the next line.

Additions and corrections are welcome.

This military cadence is also given as "Ain't no use in going home."
The line "I don't know but I've been told/Airforce wings are made of gold" is an adaptation of these lyrics from an African American Spiritual: "I don't know but I've been told/streets of Heaven are paved with gold."

****

ADDITIONAL SHOWCASE SOUND FILES
(given in no particular order)

Example #2: Jody Boy



U.S. Army Airborne - Topic, Published on Sep 12, 2015

Provided to YouTube by The Orchard Enterprises

Jody Boy · The U.S. Army Airborne

**
LYRICS: (for this sound file's version of that cadence)

[The troops repeat each line after the leader chants it.]

Oh-oh Jodie Boy,
Rough, Tough Jodie Boy.

Jodie Boy’s a real cool cat,
Wears a camo* hat

Oh-oh Jodie boy,
Rough, Tough Jodie boy.

If ole Jodie’s 5′ 4,
I’ll be grabbin a 2-by-4.
Oh-oh Jodie Boy
Rough, Tough Jodie Boy.

If ole Jodie’s 6′ 4,
I’ll be packing my .44

If ole Jody’s 7’4
I won’t be messin with him at all

Your left, your left
Your left , righta left
Your military left
Your left, your right
now pick up the step
Your left your right your le--eh -eft
-snip-
* "Camo" probably means "camouflage". However, I'm not sure if this transcription is correct. Corrections are welcome.

A Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Lillian Taylor camp song entitled "All You Knuckleheads" uses an adapted form of the last verse of this military cadence. The version of those lines in that call & response camp song that I learned around 1996 from my daughter is:
Your left, your left
Your left, right, left
Your left, your right
Go pick up the sticks
Your left your right, your left.
-snip-
The Baltimore Club song "Hey You Knuckle Heads" was performed by Big Ria in 1996. That song begins with call and response but then the "leader" and others recite the names of multiple Baltimore (Maryland) streets.

It's possible that the Pittsburgh camp song was an adaptation of that Baltimore Club song.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/02/baltimore-club-song-hey-you.html for the pancocojams post entitled "Baltimore Club Song - "Hey You Knuckleheads" And Pittsburgh Camp Song "All You Knuckleheads""
-snip-
Lyrics for another version of "Jody Boy" can be found at http://musc291projectfewelld.web.unc.edu/2015/11/27/19/
Here's a quote from that page:
"For further context, within the military, individuals consider any guy whom purposely flirts with the significant other of a Marine/Sailor?soldier who is deployed, a Jodie. This is the name given to any guy whom fits the role. The female version of this type of person is referred to as “Felicia”.
-snip-
Note: I’ve never heard that the female version of “Jody” is “Felicia”. If this is true, it predates the “Bye Felicia” meme that has its source in the 1995 African American comedy/drama movie Friday.
-snip-
Here's an except that I quoted in my 2025 post about the Queen of Southern Soul music "Ms Jody" whose real name is Vertie Joanne Delapaz. Ms Jody's 2013 song "Let Me Ride" has been revived as a popular African American (soul) line (horizontal formation) dance and a (single file formation) trailride line dance.
"As her first single proclaimed, she was the female version of Marvin Sease's "Mr. Jody". She was Mizzus Jody. She could cheat, lie, party, dance, cajole, prevaricate, pontificate, and oh---by the way---f-ck* like an angel, and do any of it without a whiff of self-consciousness.

And Ms. Jody's still doing it after all these years. If she hadn't filled the "Jody" vacuum and braved its minefields of cliches, someone else would have had to. But who? Who could have done it with her common-sensical demeanor and oft-times brilliance?"....

- https://www.southernsoulrnb.com/artistguide.cfm?aid=699 "Just Let Me Ride": Ms. Jody: The New Generation Southern Soul, March 23, 2025: Originally published in Daddy B. Nice's Album Reviews re-quoted in https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/08/information-about-queen-of-southern.html "Information About The Queen Of Southern Soul Music, Ms. Jody (With A Focus On Her 2013 Dance Song "Just Let Me Ride")

*This word is fully spelled out in this essay.

****

Example #3: Jody's Got Your Cadillac



The U.S. Marine Corps – Topic, Published on Sep 4, 2015

Provided to YouTube by The Orchard Enterprises

Jody's Got Your Cadillac · The U.S. Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance

Workout to the Running Cadences U.S. Recon Marines

℗ 1998 Documentary Recordings

Released on: 2002-02-05

**
LYRICS: (for this sound file's version of that cadence)

[The troops repeat every line after the leader chants it

Lo right lay o
lefty right lay o

Ain’t no sense in lookin down
Ain’t no six pack on the ground
Ain’t no sense in lookin back
Jody’s got your Cadillac.

lo right lay o
lefty right lay o
Lo right lo right layo
Rolly rolly rolly shake my booty

Lo right lay o
lefty right lay o
Lo right lo right layo
Rolly rolly rolly shake my booty
-snip-
I think that "lo right lay o" means "left right left".

"Cadillac" is a brand of American cars. "Cadillacs" used to be considered expensive cars, and therefore were status symbols.

A form of the line "Rolly rolly rolly shake my booty" from this military cadence is found as the hook of the 1988 Hip Hop song "Rollin With Kid N Play".
https://genius.com/Kid-n-play-rollin-with-kid-n-play-lyrics

[Hook]
"Ho-la, ho-la, hey
Ho-la, ho-la, hey
Rolling rolling roll
With Kid 'n Play now
Rolling rolling roll
With Kid 'n Play now

Ho-la, ho-la, hey
Ho-la, ho-la, hey
Rolling rolling roll
With Kid 'n Play now
Rolling rolling roll"
-snip-
I'm not sure whether the "rolly rolly rolly shake my booty" line in the military cadence is the source of the Kid N Play lyrics or vice versa.

The historically Black Greek letter fraternity Omega Psi Phi, Inc. uses the line "Rollin rollin rollin with Que Psi Phi" in one of their chants. I've no doubt that that line came from the Kid N Play song.

****
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Visitor comments are welcome.

Hyperlinks to Pancocojams Posts About Chicago Stepping & Similar African American Originated Partner Social Dances

Edited by Azizi Powell 

This post presents hyperlinks, titles for. and publishing dates of pancocojams posts about the Philly Bop, Chicago Stepping, Detroit Ballroom, and other types of African American originated social partner dances.

These posts are given in chronological order with the latest published post given first.

Additional links will be added to this compilation  when subsequent posts are published. 
-snip-
This post is a complete reprint with updated information of a November 2023 pancocojams post. That 2023 will no longer be updated.

****
HYPERLINKS TO PANCOCOJAMS POSTS ON THIS SUBJECT

https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/08/chicago-stepping-performed-by-two-male.html 

Chicago Stepping Performed By Two Male Partners (videos & comments)

published August 21, 2026

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https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/08/boppin-hand-dancing-other-names-for.html

"Boppin", "Hand Dancing", & Other Names For Partner Dancing That Is The Same As Or Similar To "Chicago Style Stepping"

published August 20, 2026

****
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/11/chicago-steppin-2004-2012-videos-of.html

"Chicago Steppin: 2004 & 2012 Videos Of Chicago Steppin Royalty Ty Skippy & Celeste (with YouTube comments)"

published November 2, 2023

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https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/11/old-school-chicago-bop-philly-bop-and.html

"Old School Chicago Bop, Philly Bop, And Some Other African American Originated Partner Dances (Online Information & Comments)"

published November 2, 2023

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https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/07/chicago-stepping-detroit-ballroom.html "Chicago Stepping, Detroit Ballroom, The Philly Bop, & Washington, D. C. Hand Dancing (Videos & Comments)"

published July 1, 2022

**

https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/06/book-article-excerpts-about-philly-bop.html

"Book & Article Excerpts About The Philly Bop & Other (Old) Bop Dances"

published June 19, 2019

**
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/05/old-school-boppin-couples-dancing.html "Old School Boppin (Couples Dancing) - information, comments, & videos"

published May 20, 2015

**
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/04/chicago-stepping-information-videos.html

"Chicago Stepping Dances (Information & Dance Videos)"

published April 24, 2013

****
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/04/chicago-stepping-songs-sound-files.html 

"Chicago Steppin' Songs (Sound Files & Videos)"

published April 24, 2013

**** 
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Visitor comments are welcome.