Six Videos Of "Oh Magnify The Lord" (with information, lyrics, & comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents information about the hymn/Gospel song "Oh, Magnify The Lord".

This post also presents the standard lyrics for this song and showcases six YouTube  renditions of this song.

Some comments from these video's discussion thread are also included in this pancocojams post.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Michael O'Shields, the composer of this song. Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
 
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INFORMATION ABOUT THIS SONG
from AI Overview
"The lyrics and music for "Oh, Magnify the Lord" ("Oh, magnify the Lord, for He is worthy to be praised") were composed by Michael O'Shields, and the song was first published in 1981. [1]

Song Details

Songwriter. Michael O'Shields wrote both the words and music, drawing inspiration from Psalm 34:3 and Psalm 18:3.

First Publication. The song was copyrighted and published in 1981 by MCA Music
Publishing."...
-snip-
The YouTube videos in this pancocojams post document some of the ways that "Oh, Magnify The Lord" is sung by African Americans.

The composer of this song was a White American. Read more about Michael O'Shields in the comment section of this pancocojams post. 

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LYRICS: O MAGNIFY THE LORD

Oh magnify the Lord

For He is worthy to be praised

Oh magnify the Lord

For He is worthy to be praised

Hosanna

Blessed be the rock

Blessed be the rock of my salvation

Hosanna

Blessed be the rock

Blessed be the rock of my salvation

- online source for the standard lyrics for this song:  https://www.topchristianlyrics.com/2009/11/13/oh-magnify-the-lord-lyrics/

SHOWCASE VIDEO #1-"Oh, Magnify The Lord" 



Grebon007, Nov 15, 2009

The New Mission Baptist Church Praise Team in Fayetteville, NC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUNL-BM2HhI
-snip-
Here are some comments from this video's discussion thread (numbers given for referencing purposes only)

1. @Andrad3glov3z, 2013
"Hallelujah Blessed Be The Rock Blessed Be The Rock Blessed Be The Rock Blessed Be The Rock OF My Salvation

OHHHHH MAGNIFY The Lord -- For HE IS WORTHY TO BE PRAISED !!

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2.@bluehaze516,2025
"had this song in my mind and thank you sharing this version!! exactly as i remembered it! :-)" 

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3. @JeffCorryMusic, 2017
"Love love love these songs! This blessed me this morning! They don’t do this kind of praise and worship anymore. Praise the Lord!"

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 - "Oh Magnify the Lord"

Gary Anderson, May 24, 2012
-snip-
Here are some comments from this video's discussion thread (numbers given for referencing purposes only)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8sxqPdw2D8

@JuliaApril, 2016
"Still my favorite version of this song!"

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2. @MissGabbii, 2016
"Hold up. Who is this?????"

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Reply
3. @sastwil, 2016
"Kathy Horry used to be Meyers"

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Reply

@piadenisejohnsonsutton2285, 2020

"this is Kathy Myers Horry  at From the Heart Church Ministy in Temple Hills MD"
-snip-
"MD" = Maryland

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #3 -"Oh Magnify the Lord Medley", Trinity Choir

Alfred Street Baptist Church, Jul 31, 2015

Musical Selection
-snip-
Here are some comments from this video's discussion thread (numbers given for referencing purposes only)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v-wHpOVv5M&t=86s

1. @carvellaustiniii3379, 2027
"The ASL dude is gettin it!! Makes wanna learn to sign"
-snip-
"ASL" = American Sign Language

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2. @kay-etia, 2020
"HOSANNA BLESSED BE THE ROCK OF MY SALVATION🙏🏾💜🥰"

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3. @stacklord9220, 2025
"This takes me back... as a little kid this was the song that the choir at my church started service with most the time mid late 90s".

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #4- David Daughtry - "Oh Magnify The Lord" HD!

Jonathan DesVerney Gospel Channel, Jun 8, 2019

Minister David Daughtry is a gospel artist and Minister of Music of West Angeles COGIC
-snip-
Here are some comments from this video's discussion thread (numbers given for referencing purposes only)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKtJXcCxO5s

1. @michellehunter9762, 2019
"Alright lets lift up the Name of Jesus."

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2. @deborah9603, 2021
"Our GOD is worthy to be praised"

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3. @angie1music75, 2022
"I love this version!"

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4. @junruroland8250, 2022
"Is jason white on keys?"

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Reply
5. @Mr.B34, 2022
"Mike Bereal is. Jason White is singing."

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #5 - “Oh Magnify the Lord”

Calvin Institute of Christian Worship

Jul 14, 2020  #400063

Words and Music: Michael O’Shields © 1981 MCA Music Publishing, admin. Universal Studio. Used by permission. CCLI #400063.

Recorded with permission at Worship Symposium 2018 at Calvin University.
-snip-
Here are two comments from this video's discussion thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyMh-h5_Gbs

1. @sandyadair4118,2023
"I just heard this song on the radio.  I  love song  it touches my heart."

**
2. @timothyj1966, 2025
"Old School Worship! No Synth Pads"

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SHOWCASE VIDEO#6-  🔥 Spirit And Truth Praise Team "Hosanna Blessed Be The Rock" | #7DdaysOfGlory

Y

LC TV, Premiered Jul 18, 2024

Join Pastor Moore & The Saints of Spirit And Truth EVERY Sunday at 8:00am & 10:00am at the South Campus, 10:00am & 12:00pm at the Atlanta Campus, 4:00pm at the Marietta Campus, and every Tuesday at 7pm at the Marietta Campus. 
-snip-
The song "Oh, Magnify The Lord" begins around 3:48 in this video.

The other songs in this medley are "Let God Arise" and "Victory Is Mine".

Here are some comments from this video's discussion thread (with numbers given for referencing purposes only).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__P53QOz2NQ

1. @jjeaston5327, 2024
"Sing Bri!! 🔥"

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2. @tabithacurry4879, 2024
"It’s funny how our church did the same songs in a different order five Sundays ago 😩🤔"

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3. @jonikasmith5575, 2024
"Joy today 💃🏾Happiness today👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🔥💃🏾💃🏾💃🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 Victory today is mine👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾"

**
4. @KameishaJohnson-c1t, 2025
"🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥"

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Sources Of The Movie Big's Rap "Shimmy Shimmy Coco Pop", Part 2 (2026 complete reprint)

Sesame Street: Handclapping Chants

Uploaded by SesameStreet on Mar 27, 2009

[Viewer comment- "this was 1986!]

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This is a complete reprint of a 2011 pancocojams post with the same title. This post remains in this pancocojams blog.

As of the date of this 2026 post, no comments have been published in that post's discussion thread.

That 2011 post begins here: 

This is Part II of a three part of a pancocojams series on playground rhymes sources for the "Shimmy Shimmy Cocoa Pop" "rap" in the 1988 American movie Big.

Parts 2 & 3 include examples of older playground rhymes that are probable sources for movie Big's rap "Shimmy Shimmy Cocoa Pop".

Part I of this post provides my general comments about children's playground rhymes. In that first part of this post, I also provided the words to three examples of the movie Big's "Shimmy Shimmy Coco Pop" rap.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/12/sources-of-movie-bigs-rap-shimmy-shimmy.html for Part 3 of this series.

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POSTING EXAMPLES FROM SELECTED RHYMES
The featured line or phrase is given in capital letters. Underneath that title, information is given as to where that line or phrase is from with regard to the three recitations that Tom Hanks did of the movie Big's "Shimmy Shimmy Coco Pop" rap. Those three examples I'm referring to in this post are two times in the 1988 movie itself, and one time in 2009 during a BBC television show interview. Each of those examples are given in full in Part 1 of this series.

The title of the selected example of the "source rhyme" is given in capital letters followed by the code SR ("source rhyme" or "selected rhyme") and an assigned number. These numbers are used consecutively throughout Parts 2-3 of this post. In each example, the focus line is given in italics to highlight that line.

With those introductory comments, here is Part II of this series:

PART II
SOME COMMENTS & EXAMPLES OF "THE SPADES GO" AND "THE SPACE GO".
"The spades go" is given as line 1 in Example #2 of the movie Big's "Shimmy Shimmy Coco Pop" rap.

"The space goes" is given as line 1 in Example #3 of the movie Big's "Shimmy Shimmy Coco Pop" rap.

I believe that the phrase "the spades go" predates the phrase "the space goes". I also believe that "the space goes" probably first came about as a result of mishearing or misremembering the phrase "the spades go". That misheard or misremembered phrase then was transmitted as the "real" words of that rhyme.

It's my position that "the spade goes" originally meant the same exact thing as "The Black [people] go". That phrase was said to give the mark of authenticity to the words that followed, since Black people - and in this sense Black girls- were seen of the arbiters of "the real way" that handclap rhymes were supposed to be said and performed. For this reason, persons who are interested in the origin of playground rhymes can look at examples of rhymes that begin with "the spades go" or "the space goes", or -much less frequently- "the Blacks go", as an indication that the people reciting those rhymes believed that the words came from Black people - or that Black people (that is to say, Black females) were the role models for the way those rhymes were "supposed to be" performed.

I wrote a rather lengthy reply to a question that was posed to me on another forum about my rather tepid reaction as an African American to the inclusion of the phrase "the spades go" in a British playground rhyme. In summary, I indicated that whereas I have a strongly felt visceral reaction to the pejorative word which is now known as "the n word" regardless of who uses it, I don't have that same hit in the gut reaction to "the spades go". I believe that there are three main reasons for that:

1. Even though I believe that the phrase "the spades" is a referent for "Black people", it's not a referent that is used that often in the United States (at least, in my experiences).

2. Because it's children who are reciting rhymes that include the phrase "the spades go", I give them the benefit of the doubt that they don't know the pejorative meaning of "the spades". That pejorative meaning is sometimes alluded to in the colloquial expression "call a spade a spade". The racial meaning of that expression came about because in a deck of playing cards, the spade category of cards is the color black.

3. In the context of children's playground rhymes, the phrase "the spades" has no literal meaning nowadays, but merely serves as an introduction to the rhyme itself.

To read my full comment in that discussion about the phrase "the spades", on that folk music forum, visit http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=81350#1922124.

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EXAMPLES OF "THE SPADES GO"

Source Rhyme #1
"INY MINY POPSA KINEY"
The spades the spades the spades go iny miny popsa kiney i love bomaragn a hop a scoth a liver roch a peach a plum i have a stick of chewing gum and if u want the other half this is wut you say: amen amen amendiego sandieago bostn bruins rah rah rah boo boo boo criss cross apple sauce do me a favor get lost while ur at it drop dead either that or lose ur head bang on trash cans bang on tin cans i can u can nobody else can sitting on the bench nuthing to do along comes some one..cohey coochey coo! andu tickle the other person

Source: Sally on Friday, May 6, 2005 - 08:07 pm:
http://www.streetplay.com/discus/

[Note that I'm using the phrase after the introductory words "the spades go" as the title for this rhyme. Also, as an aside, note that this rhyme is written in essay form with little punctuation. For various reasons which are beyond this post, this is an increasingly common online way of writing children's playground rhymes.]

**
Source Rhyme #2:
"TWO LIPS"
I remember parts of this song:

The spades go two lips together
tie them together
bring back my love to me.

What is the me-ee-eening
of all these flow-er-er-ers
they tel the sto-or-or-y,
the story of love,
from me to you.

I saw the ship sail away,
it sailed three years and a day,
my love is far far away,
and I love him so, oh yes I do.

My heart goes bump ba de dump bump,
bump ba de dump bump,
over my love for you.

You are my one and only,
I love you passionately,
Source: Guest, susan; http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=81350 I'm Rubber . You're Glue: Children's Rhymes [hereafter given as Mudcat: CR]

Note: The rhyme "Two Lips" will be the subject of an upcoming pancocojams post.

**
"the space goes"

Source Rhyme #3:
"BRING BACK MY LOVE"
The space goes true love together
twilight forever
Bring back my love to me
What is the matter?
When we get married
And have some children
We’ll name them
Sandra and Jane
and Billy and Tom
And Betty and Jimmy now,
Source: Let's Slice The Ice (Eleanor Fulton and Pat Smith; St. Louis, Missouri; Magnamusic-Baton; 1978; p. 30 [This is a collection of African Americans' children rhymes from various states; hereafter given as "Slice The Ice", with the example's page number]

**
Source Rhyme #4:
"APPLES ON A STICK"
The space goes
apple on a stick just makes me sick make my tummy go 2 4 6
not because im hungry
not because im clean
just because i kiss a boy behind the magazine
hey girls lets have some fun
here comes (name) with his pant undone
he can wiggle he can wobble he can do the twist
but most of all he cant do this close your eyes and count ten if you messs up start ova again
1, 2, 3, 4, ...
Source ; Cece; Whee Blog (website no longer viable); 10/9/2005

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Source Rhyme #5:
"CINDERELLA DRESSED IN YELLA"
Cinderella dressed in yella went up stairs to kiss her fella. She stepped on a crack and broke her back. Tried to stand and cut her hand. How many stitches did it take? The space goes boom boom skitty wat and tat and ah ah ah ah boom boom boom skitty witty wa wa, bubishka wa wa bubishka wa wa pow bang boom. I went to a Chinese restaurant to buy a loaf of bread bread bread. She put it in a half brown bag and this is what she said said said, my name is ki yi yippee yi, yippe yi ki yi humble berry, chocolate cherry, walla walla Washington, chop chop chow
- a href="http://www.inthe80s.com/rhymes.shtml assessed 8/13/2009

**
Here's an example of a handclap rhyme with the introductory phrase "the Blacks go":

Source Rhyme #6
"SHIMMY SHIMMY COKE CA POP"
The Blacks go down down baby
Down by the roller coaster
Sweet sweet baby
I don't wanna let you go

Shimmy shimmy shimmy shimmy
shimmy shimmy-pop!
Shimmy shimmy shimmy shimmy
shimmy shimmy coke-ca-pop!

[Source: Shimmy Shimmy Coke-Ca-Pop!, A Collection of City Children's Street Games & Rhymes (John Langstaff, Carol Langstaff: Garden City, New York, Double Day & Co; 1973; p. 78)

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SHIMMY SHIMMY ROCK ; SHIMMY SHIMMY COCOA POP
The lines "shimmy shimmy rock" is probably a folk etymology form of "shimmy shimmy cocoa pop". "Shimmy shimmy rock" is given as line 2 & line 4 of Example #1 of the movie Big's "Shimmy Shimmy Coco Pop" rap, Those words are given as lines 6 and 8 of Examples #2 and #3 of that rap.

The line "shimmy shimmy cocoa pop" is given as lines 1 and 3 of Example #1 of that rap. Those words are also given as lines 5 and 7 of Examples #2 and #3 of that rap.

Refer back to SR #6 for a source example of those lines.

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DOWN DOWN THE ROLLER COASTER
The line "down down the roller coaster" is given as line 2 in Example #2 of the movie Big's "Shimmy Shimmy Coco Pop" rap.

See SR #6 for a source example.

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SWEET SWEET BABY SWEET SWEET DON'T LET ME GO
The lines "Sweet, sweet baby,/ sweet, sweet, don't let me go" are given as lines 3 and 4 of Example #3 of that rap.

Example #1 does not include these lines. "Sweet, sweet baby!/Sweet, sweet delectable!" is given as lines 3 and 4 of Example #2. I believe that "Sweet, sweet delectable" is a folk etymology form of "sweet, sweet, don't let me go".

Refer to SR #6 for a very similar source example of "sweet sweet sweet don't let me go".

Comment: The lines "sweet sweet baby/I'll never let you go" (or similar versions of those lines) are a core verse of "Down Down Baby" handclap rhymes. Here's a very widely known version of that rhyme:

Source Rhyme #7:
"DOWN DOWN BABY"
Down, down baby
Down by the roller coaster
Sweet, sweet baby
I'll never let you go.
Shimmy shimmy coco pa
Shimmy shimmy pow!
Shimmy shimmy coco pa
Shimmy shimmy pow!
Grandma, Grandma sick in bed.
Called the doctor and the doctor said,
Let's get the rhythm of the head.
Ding dong.
Let's get the rhythm of the hands
Clap, clap.
Let's get the rhythm of the feet
Stomp, stomp.
Let's get the rhythm of the
Hot dog.
Put it all together and what do you get?
Ding-dong, clap, clap. Stomp, stomp. Hot dog.
Say it all backwards and what do you get?
Hot dog. Stomp, stomp. Clap, clap. Ding dong!
-multiple printed source; including Mudcat: CR

Editor: A video of this rhyme is included below.

I MET A GIRLFRIEND A TRISCUIT/ SHE SAID A TRISCUIT A BISCUIT

The lines "I met a girlfriend a triscuit!/ She said a triscuit a biscuit!" are given in lines 5 & 6 of Example #1 and lines 9 & 10 of Examples #2 and #3 of that rap.

Here are two selected source examples of those lines:
Source Rhyme #8:
"DOEMENIQUE DOEMENIQUE"
Doeminique Doeminique a biscuit*
Ooh cheechee wah wah
A biscuit.
How do you like your lover
Ah biscuit.
He's so fine.
Oh a biscuit.
Just like cherry wine.
Oh a biscuit.
How do you know it isn't so.
Ice cream (ice cream)
Soda pop (soda pop)
Ginger-ale (ginger-ale)
Seven up (seven up)
Now it's time to do your thing,
Now freeze.
-"Slice The Ice", p. 32

*Also, see other similar phrases in this example.

**
Source Rhyme #9:
"DOWN DOWN BABY"
Down Down Baby, down by the roller coaster
Sweet Sweet Baby, my heart's in love
Ooh, che-chihuahua
Biscuit*
I solemnly love her
Biscuit
She is so sweet
Biscuit
Like a cherry treat
Biscuit
Touche Turtle, pull down your girdle
Biscuit
Ruth Archer; http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=100653 Down Down Baby-Race in Kid's Rhymes (Clapping rhyme, Atlantic City NJ, late 70's); posted on 4/10/2007

Editor: "Ruth Archer" is a White woman I "met" online who happens to be from my hometown (I've never met her in person).

*Also, see other similar phrases in this example.

**
Source Rhyme #10:
"RONALD MCDONALD HAD A BISCUIT"
Ronald McDonald had a biscuit *
Oooh, chee chee wah wah a biscuit
I had a boyfriend a biscuit
he was so fine a biscuit
like a cherry pie a biscuit
now watch me, now watch me, now watch me do my thing
I said a popcorn cherry pie
bang bang choo choo train
chally wally shake my body
tutti frutti shake my booty
uh i'm goin down uh into the ground
uh i'm comin up uh like hot stuff uh
she push me down uh into the ground
uh i'm comin up uh to kick your but
i'm sorry, i'm sorry, i thought you did karate!
-Tierney; http://www.cocojams.com (Handclap Rhymes page); 2/36/2009

*Also, see other similar phrases in this example.
-snip-
Part 3 of this post provides additional examples of probable playground rhyme sources for the remaining lines of the movie Big's "Shimmy Shimmy Cocoa Pop" rap.

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This concludes Part II of this pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

"Blue Bird Blue Bird Through My Window" (with some lyrics and videos that document different ways this children's singing game is performed)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents information about, lyrics for, and videos of the children's singing game "Bluebird Bluebird Through My Window" (and similar titles).

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to all those who are featured in these videos. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
-snip-
"Blue Bird Blue Bird Through My Window" is documented as a children's singing game that has African American origin or early African American adaptations.

Read my comments after Showcase Video #4 in which I recommend NOT using color references when playing this game (such as "Black bird Black bird" or "White bird White bird" instead of the standard words "Blue bird, Blue bird". 

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/11/why-its-important-to-document-share.html to read the 2026 pancocojams post about why I believe it's important to collect racial demographic information and to acknowledge the African American origin and/or the African American adaptations/versions of some children's recreational rhymes/singing games etc.

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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/11/blue-bird-blue-bird-through-my-window.html for a closely related pancocojams post about this singing game. A few video examples from that post are also showcased in this post.  

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This is not the same singing game as "There Stands A Blue Bird". Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/05/two-early-20th-century-examples-of.html for a pancocojams post on "There Stands A Blue Bird".

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INFORMATION ABOUT THIS SINGING GAME

From https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=158590
Subject: RE: Origins: Little Bird, Little Bird
From: Joe Offer
Date: 18 Nov 15 - 06:56 PM

"Here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry for this song:

 Bluebird

DESCRIPTION: "Here comes a [blue]bird through my window, Oh, Johnny, I'm tired! [or "Hey, diddle, hi dum, day"] ... Take a little dancer and hop through the garden ... Take a little partner, and pat him on the shoulder"

AUTHOR: unknown

EARLIEST DATE: 1903 (Newell-GamesAndSongsOfAmericanChildren)

KEYWORDS: playparty bird

FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland) US(Ap,MW,SE) [Applachia, Midwest, Southeast)

[…]

Roud #7700

RECORDINGS:

Lorraine Hammond, "Little Bird, Little Bird " (Fragment: Piotr-Archive #690, recorded 10/01/2023)

Stanley Hicks, "Here Goes a Bluebird" (on OldTrad2, FarMtns2)

NOTES : This seems to have become relatively well-known from a recording by Elizabeth Mitchell on Folkways which begins

Little bird, little bird, fly through my window.

Little bird, little bird, fly through my window.

Little bird, little bird, fly through my window

And find molasses candy.

[…]

The Ballad Index Copyright 2025 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.
-snip-
Read my comment in this pancocojams post's discussion thread about the meaning of the "Round number" index for folk songs.

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LYRICS AND ONE WAY THIS CHILDREN'S SINGING GAME IS PERFORMED
From http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=3382

"Bluebird, Bluebird

Circle Game

Bluebird, bluebird through my window,

Bluebird, bluebird through my window,

Bluebird, bluebird come through my window,

Oh, Johnny, I am tired.

 

Take a little girl,

and tap her on the shoulders,

Take a little girl,

and tap her on the shoulders,

Take a little girl,

and tap her on the shoulders,

Oh, Johnny, I am tired!

 

Bluebird, bluebird through my window,

Bluebird, bluebird through my window,

Bluebird, bluebird come through my window,

Oh, Johnny, I am tired.

 

Take a little boy,

and tap him on the shoulders,

Take a little boy,

and tap him on the shoulders,

Take a little boy,

and tap him on the shoulders,

Oh, Johnny, I am tired!

Game Instructions

Children stand in a circle holding hands high up in arches (to form the "windows" in the song). One kid is the "Blue Bird" who flies in and out of the arches or "windows". During the second verse, the "bird" chooses a partner by patting him/her on the shoulder. The second kid then follows holding the 1st kids shoulders while they pass through the "windows". Then game continues on until all the kids make a chain and there are only 2 children left forming an arch (or "window". They become the first two bluebirds in the next round."

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
These videos are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.

SHOWCASE VIDEO #1 - Bluebird Through My Window Demo

Deborah K Oakes Published on Apr 24, 2013

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 -

Rob Amchin—University of Louisville—"Bluebird" Singing game process 

Robert Amchin Published on Sep 30, 2013

My music education majors are learning singing games and how to incorporate Orff instruments (bordun accompaniment to a steady beat). This short lesson focuses on steady beat, pitch matching, and building community. There are many different versions of this primary age singing game.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXxD04HnKcA
-snip-
Selected comments from that video's discussion thread(Numbers are added for referencing purposes only)

1. @eriksuyoburga6918, 2015
"sorry ..could you write the subtitles of this song ,please?)

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Reply
2. @RobertAmchin, 2015
"ERIK SUYO BURGA Bluebird bluebird through my window (three times). My molasses candy."

**
3. @wolffandom8963, 2017
"Bluebird bluebird in and out my window three times oh Jonny I'm tired"

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Reply
4. @RobertAmchin, 2017
"So many versions of this song!"

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5. Karoline Braten, 2016
"I'm a 1st year music teacher. I'm still learning what activities are good for each grade. What grade would you do this with?

Love your videos. They give me so many ideas while I do my lesson plans."

**
Reply
6. Robert Amchin, 2016
"+Karoline Braten I did this with my Kindergarteners and 1st graders (young 1st graders).  I wouldn't do that for older kids."

**
Reply
7.  Karoline Braten, 2026
"Thank you!"
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor's Note: I retrieved some comments from this discussion thread in 2016. Some of those comments are no longer shown in that discussion thread as of November 13, 2026

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #3- Ring Play: Bluebird! Bluebird!



whitfiddy, Dec 19, 2012

Kids at the Deep Creek Middle School(Eleuthera, Bahamas) afternoon program take time out to play a game.
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"Ring play" is an old Caribbean and Black American term for playing games in a circle (i.e. singing games that are performed by children forming a circle).

The word "plays" is the general referent that Bessie Jones, singer and co-author with Bess Lomax Hawes of the Step It Down book of Gullah Geechee  [Georgia] children's songs and games, used to refer to those recreational compositions and their performances.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #4- Blue Bird



Vincent Bates, March 30, 2011
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These lyrics use the color of birds instead of just singing "blue bird blue bird through my window." for instance singing "Black bird Black bird through my window".

 However, given the racial history and present racial dynamics/sensitivities in the United States and elsewhere in the world, I strongly believe that when playing this singing game, people shouldn't use other color words instead of "blue".

This statement applies even if these color designations are meant to only refer to what a child is wearing (for instance if a White child is wearing a black shirt and the group sings "Black bird, Black bird through my window").

The consequences of chanting "Black bird Black bird") or "Brown bird Brown bird" could be almost as bad as if the only Black child or the only Black child in the group is wearing a black shirt and the group sings "Black bird Black bird through my window."

The same goes for the only Brown child or any Brown child and the group sings "Brown bird, Brown bird through my window."

These statements shouldn't be interpreted to mean that there's anything wrong with being Black or being Brown. Nor do these statements mean that people should always be colorblind when it comes to everyday interactions. However, in the context of performing children's singing games and rhymes, my recommendation is that people should be mindful of the implication of words that could have unexpected negative emotional consequences given past and current racial realities.
 
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SHOWCASE VIDEO #5 - Bluebird Game, Kinder

Amanda Vessels, Mar 6, 2023

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Visitor comments are welcome.

"Blue Bird Blue Bird Through My Window" (history, videos, lyrics, & comments )

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents information about, lyrics for, and videos of the children's singing game "Bluebird Bluebird Through My Window" (and similar titles).

Most of the content of this post is reprinted from a 2016 pancocojams post with a similar title that remains in this blog. That post has no visitor comments as of this 2026 date.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to all those who are featured in these videos. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
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"Blue Bird Blue Bird Through My Window" is documented as a children's singing game that has African American origin or early African American adaptations.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/11/why-its-important-to-document-share.html to read the 2026 pancocojams post about why I believe it's important to collect racial demographic information and to acknowledge the African American origin and/or the African American adaptations/versions of some children's recreational rhymes/singing games etc.

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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/11/blue-bird-blue-bird-through-my-window_081855460.html for additional videos of and comments about this singing game., including my statement about why I strongly believe that when playing this singing game, people should stay away from using any other color referent than "blue". 

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This is not the same singing game as "There Stands A Blue Bird". Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/05/two-early-20th-century-examples-of.html for a pancocojams post on "There Stands A Blue Bird".

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EARLY LYRICS FOR "BLUE BIRD BLUE BIRD" THROUGH MY WINDOW
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=158590
"Subject: Lyr Add: Little Bird, Little Bird
From: Joe Offer
Date: 18 Nov 15 - 06:55 PM

This has been mentioned a couple of times here, but there hadn't been a thread on it. I know it as "Bluebird, Bluebird" or more commonly "Little Bird, Little Bird." Here are the lyrics I came up with for the Rise Again Songbook:

LITTLE BIRD, LITTLE BIRD

Little bird, little bird fly through my window (3x)
And buy molasses candy

Fly thru my window my sugar lump (2x)
And buy molasses candy

insert: chickadee, jaybird, whippoorwill, robin, bluebird, crow,
bobwhite, hummingbird

——trad. (Amer. play party song)*

Players join hands in a circle & raise their joined hands to form windows. One or more birds in the center go in & out the
windows. At "buy molasses candy" bird stops at another player, who then goes to the center.

In American Folk Songs for Children (Ruth Crawford Seeger). On Pete Seeger Birds, Beasts, Bugs, & Little Fishes (as "Fly thru My Window") & Eliz Mitchell You Are My Little Bird.

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Subject: RE: Origins: Little Bird, Little Bird
From: Joe Offer
Date: 18 Nov 15 - 06:56 PM

Here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry for this song:

Bluebird

DESCRIPTION: "Here comes a [blue]bird through my window, Oh, Johnny, I'm tired! [or "Hey, diddle, hi dum, day"] ... Take a little dancer and hop through the garden ... Take a little partner, and pat him on the shoulder"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1903 (Newell)
KEYWORDS: playparty bird
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland) US(MW,SE)
REFERENCES (7 citations):
Wolford, pp. 39-40=WolfordRev, p. 228, "Down in Jay Bird Town" (1 text, 2 tunes)
Lomax-Singing, "Little Bird, Go Through My Window" (1 text, 1 tune)
Opie-Game 97, "Bluebird" (1 text, 1 tune)
Newell, #51. "Blue-birds and Yellow-Birds" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Robert Ford, Children's Rhymes, Children's Games, Children's Songs, Children's Stories (Paisley, 1904 (2nd edition, "Digitized by Google")), p. 78, "The Blue Bird" (1 text)
Emelyn E. Gardner, "Some Play-Party Games in Michigan" in The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. XXXIII, No. 128 (Apr 1920 (available online by JSTOR)), #4 pp. 94-95, "Bluebird" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leah Rachel Clara Yoffie, "Three Generations of Children's Singing Games in St. Louis" in The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. LX, No. 235 (Jan 1947 (available online by JSTOR)), #49 p. 43 ("Here comes a bluebird through my window") (1 text)
Roud #7700
File: OpGa097"
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The "Traditional Ballad Index" entry for this song (in 2016) is http://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/OpGa097.html. This song is listed under the name "Little Bird Through My Window", but the title on the page is "Bluebird".

Here's information about the term "play party":
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_party_(U.S._traditional)
"A play party is a social event in which people gather to sing and dance. Play parties began in the 1830s in the United States as a route around strict religious practices banning dancing and the playing of musical instruments. The areas most influenced by the practice were the Southern and Midwestern parts of the United States. Folk songs, many of European and English origin, were used as means to give the attendants choreographed movements for each phrase. No instruments were played at the events, as they were banned by the religious movements of the area. Singing and clapping were used to convey each song. Because dancing was banned, the movements took on the quality of children's games. Though the performance of play parties dwindled in the 1950s, music educators use them as ways to incorporate music and dance in their classrooms.[1]

Some traditional examples of play-parties are: Skip to My Lou, Buffalo Gals, Bingo, Pop Goes the Weasel, Old Dan Tucker, Coffee Grows on White Oak Trees, Shoot the Buffalo, etc."

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LYRICS & GAME INSTRUCTIONS FOR ONE CONTEMPORARY VERSION OF THIS SONG
From http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=3382

BLUEBIRD BLUEBIRD (Circle Game)

Bluebird, bluebird through my window,
Bluebird, bluebird through my window,
Bluebird, bluebird come through my window,
Oh, Johnny, I am tired.

Take a little girl,
and tap her on the shoulders,
Take a little girl,
and tap her on the shoulders,
Take a little girl,
and tap her on the shoulders,
Oh, Johnny, I am tired!

Bluebird, bluebird through my window,
Bluebird, bluebird through my window,
Bluebird, bluebird come through my window,
Oh, Johnny, I am tired.

Take a little boy,
and tap him on the shoulders,
Take a little boy,
and tap him on the shoulders,
Take a little boy,
and tap him on the shoulders,
Oh, Johnny, I am tired!

....

Game Instructions
Children stand in a circle holding hands high up in arches (to form the "windows" in the song). One kid is the "Blue Bird" who flies in and out of the arches or "windows". During the second verse, the "bird" chooses a partner by patting him/her on the shoulder. The second kid then follows holding the 1st kids shoulders while they pass through the "windows". Then game continues on until all the kids make a chain and there are only 2 children left forming an arch (or "window". They become the first two bluebirds in the next round.

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FEATURED VIDEOS
Example #1: Graduation 2011 - Bluebird Through My Window

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9qhlEpnMMs

Embedding disabled by request

HopSiEuPeAici, Uploaded on Jun 28, 2011
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Lyrics for this version: Bluebird bluebird, through my window (3x)
Oh! I am really tired"

Play instructions: At the beginning of this game, an adult calls out one child’s name and only that child only goes “through the window” (under the arms of other people forming the circle). At the end of the song, that child rejoins the circle (at any position in that circle), and the song begins with the same adult calling out another child’s name. Presumably, this continues until the adult judges that the group is getting tired of playing this game.

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Example #2: Nursery Rhymes - Blue Bird



onmirza's channel Uploaded on Nov 16, 2011

Nursery Rhymes - Blue Bird
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Lyrics for this computer animated short:
Bluebird , bluebird through my window (3x)
Oh Johnny, what a day
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Here are selected comments from this animated short's discussion thread:
Kalvin Cheeseborough, 2012
"what was the name of the tape this was from I remember this from when I was a kid and i want to find it for my two daughters but cant remember the name of the tape i only want this version"

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Reply
Zara Ahmed, 2012
"read with me"

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Antonio Green, 2012
"Can you please tell me were you got this again"

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Reply
Zara Ahmed, 2012
"read with me a disc with games and songs, i still have it but only work on win xp"

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Reply
Cristina Sartin, 2016
"Antonio Green
I bought this dvd set from Costco around 1996 for my daughter. Microsoft bought it out from the company and sold it to the schools to be used in kindergarten. I loaned out my set years ago and wish I could remember the titles of the dvd set."

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Example #3: Bluebird Through My Window Demo



Deborah K Oakes Published on Apr 24, 2013
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The lyrics to this song are the same as or very similar to those given in the mamalisa.com quote above.

Here's how this singing game was played:
The group forms a large circle. Each person forming the circle holds hands with the person on either side and then the group holds up both arms, forming an arch (a window).

The song begins and one designated person (DP) goes through each "window". When the group sings "take a girl and pat her on the shoulder", the DP randomly selects a girl and taps her on the shoulder. That girl then follows the DP under "through each window". When the group sings "take a boy and pat him on the shoulder", the DP randomly selects a boy and taps him on the shoulder. That boy then follows the girl and the DP. When that rendition of the song is over, the DP and the selected girl and boy form a new circle in the center of the first circle.

When the song begins again, the DP and those she or he had selected start the selection process again. This continues until everyone has been selected to follow the DP.

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Example #4: Rob Amchin—University of Louisville—"Bluebird" SInging game process



Robert Amchin, Published on Sep 30, 2013

My music education majors are learning singing games and how to incorporate Orff instruments (bordun accompaniment to a steady beat). This short lesson focuses on steady beat, pitch matching, and building community. There are many different versions of this primary age singing game.
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Here are selected comments from this video's discussion thread (The lyrics are given in the second comment)
ERIK SUYO BURGA, 2015
"hello..please could you write the title of the song ,please?"

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Reply
Robert Amchin, 2015
"+ERIK SUYO BURGA Bluebird bluebird through my window, (3 times) my molasses candy."

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Karoline Braten, 2015
"I'm a 1st year music teacher. I'm still learning what activities are good for each grade. What grade would you do this with?
Love your videos. They give me so many ideas while I do my lesson plans."

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Reply
Robert Amchin, 2015
"+Karoline Braten I did this with my Kindergarteners and 1st graders (young 1st graders). I wouldn't do that for older kids."

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Reply
Karoline Braten, 2016
"Thank you!"

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natanamoon, 2015
"I liked the use of the xylophones. I couldn't see from the video angle whether the students were playing particular intervals? Varying 2-note chords? Could you elaborate on that piece a bit?"

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Reply
Robert Amchin, 2015
"We are playing a bordun (Tonic and dominant notes) to a steady beat."

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Reply
Robert Amchin, 2015
"+natanamoon Sure... they are playing a bordun (C and G--open fifth) and the instrument is in the center of the circle where a student is playing. Eventually I add a few more instruments into the center."

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Example #5: Bluebird Through My Window-Kids song-青い鳥の歌



Mother Goose Published on Sep 12, 2015

[Lyrics for this version of] Bluebird Through My Window

Bluebird, bluebird, through my window,
Oh Johnny I’m tired

Red bird, red bird, through my window
Oh Johnny I’m tired

Yellow bird, yellow bird, through my window
Oh Johnny I’m tired

Purple bird, purple bird, through my window
Oh Johnny I’m tired
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The singer also says “Nite nite” at the end of each rendition.

This version of this song helps children learn their colors.

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