The Toxicity Of Some Children's Recreational Rhymes That Refer To Romantic relationships And/Or Sex (Part III)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part IIII of a three part pancocojams series about the toxicity of the messages that certain English language jump rope and/or hand clap  rhymes (also known as "skipping songs" and "hand games") convey about romantic relationships. 

This post presents two quotes from the 2003 book "Values in Sex Education: From Principles to Practice" by J. Mark Halstead and Michael J. Reissand. This post also presents  my comments about the negative messages that are conveyed by the "dirty" examples of "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" and, by extension, other "dirty" recreational children's rhymes that are featured in this pancocojams series. 

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/04/the-toxicity-of-certain-jump-rope-or.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. That post presents statements about the toxicity of certain recreational rhymes about romantic relationships. This post also presents a few examples of jump rope or hand clap rhymes that I believe include toxic references.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/04/the-toxicity-of-certain-jump-rope-or_26.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. That post presents examples of children's hand clap rhymes that I believe include toxic messages because they include references to paying for sex or because they include references to rape.

Warning- These examples contain some sexually explicit language. However, these rhymes are only mildly explicit compared to some really dirty children's recreational rhymes that aren't featured on this pancocojams blog. 

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The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

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THE TOXICITY OF SOME CHILDREN'S RECREATION RHYMES THAT REFER TO ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS AND SEX 

This write-up is largely a reprint of a 2025 pancocojams post entitled "Risque Recreational Rhymes That Are Part Of Some Girls' Sexual Education"
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/09/recreation-rhymes-as-part-of-girls.html

That portion of that pancocojams post also includes a quote from a Mudcat folk music discussion thread that I started in 2009 about the rhyme "We Wear Our Hair In Curls"
-Azizi, 23 August 09, Subject: We Wear Our Hair In Curls https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=123101

As of the date of this pancocojams post (April 26, 2026) that Mudcat discussion thread is still open for comments.

Here's a portion of my first comment in that discussion thread: 
"We wear our hair in curls" is the second line of a rhyme or song that begins with the line "We are the _____ girls". The name of the city where the people singing the song live is usually inserted into the blank space of that first line. Instead of the city name, the name of the singer's school, camp, or another group that they belong to may be used. I chose the title "We wear our hair in curls" because in this forum the blank space in that first line might make that title confusing.

I believe that "We wear our hair in curls" originated as a children's playground rhyme or song. A version of this rhyme was popularized by drag queens who sung it during the 1969 Stonewall Riots (examples and more information about that significant event will be provided below)."...
NOTE: Some of the examples that will be posted to this thread are sexually explicit."...
-end of quote-

One of my comments in that discussion thread includes a link to the 2003 book "Values in Sex Education: From Principles to Practice" by J. Mark Halstead and Michael J. Reiss

Here's an excerpt from that book that I didn't include in that Mudcat discussion thread:

This excerpt is from a no longer active link that I received as a result of a Google search for information about books or journal articles about sex education for children.

I quoted this same excerpt in the 2025 pancocojams post "Risque Recreational Rhymes That Are Part Of Some Girls' Sexual Education: More Examples Of Sexualized ("Dirty") Versions Of "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Aye" ("We Are The ___ Girls")" https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/09/recreation-rhymes-as-part-of-girls.html

"Another example of the hidden curriculum is found in the playground where the children learn a world of rules and rituals that have little to do with adults. Skipping and clapping songs are a central part of this world and are passed from child to child, from group to group.  These songs were studied as an extension to the research on children developing sexual values (Halstead 2000b), and it was found that many of the songs are charged with sexuality and sexual awareness. Indeed, adults can sometimes be shocked by their rude, violent, scurrilous and surprisingly worldly wise nature. They give expression to children's sometimes limited understanding of sexual matters, and make a significant contribution to children's informal sex education."... 
-end of quote-
Here's another excerpt from that book about a girls' only discussion group that was part of the research that this book reported on:
"The girls in the sample are happy to talk about what they expect their sexual life to be like in the future. They seem very aware of the problems of early pregnancy which they are able to spell out quite clearly. Interestedly, falling in love is never mentioned by these girls as a prelude to sexual experience. However, there is a sense among some of the girls of not being fully in control of their lives, and they are aware of the possibility that their early sexual encounters might occur "accidentally", that is without full intention, as a result of drink or fear of being  'dumped' or rebellion against an over protective father or simply out of curiosity"...
-snip-
With regard to the statement from the book "Values in Sex Education: From Principles to Practice" that "Interestedly, falling in love is never mentioned by these girls as a prelude to sexual experience", I agree with that statement if the word "never" is changed to "seldom" or "rarely".

In my informal research on Black American girls' hand clap rhymes and Black American girls foot stomping cheers occurred from the 1980s to date (with direct collection from the late 1980s to 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and some of its surrounding communities and from around 2000 to date online). 

With regard to hand clap rhymes, I believe that many more examples use the word 'like" than love. However, a number of racialized versions of "Down Down Baby" use the word "love" and the word "like" Here's one example of that rhyme:

Down down baby down by the roller coaster
sweet sweet baby mama never let you go
if you wanna kiss me just say you love me

Shimmy shimmy coco pop shimmy shimmy pow
shimmy shimmy coco pop shimmy shimmy pow

I like a black boy and he likes me
so step back white boy I ain't shy
I bet you 5 dollars i'll beat yo behind

Last night and the night before
I met my boyfriend at the candy store
he brought me ice cream he brought me cake
he brought me home with a belly ache

I said momma momma i'm so sick
call the doctor quick quick quick!

I said doctor doctor shall i die
he said close your eyes and count to 5

I said ah 1 ah 2 ah 3 ah 4 ah 5...
i'm alive on channel 5
scooby dooby doo on channel 2
big fat lady on channel 80
and all the rest on channel 8"
-GUEST,Meme; 03 Jul 14;  https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=100653 "Mudcat: Down Down Baby, Race In Children's Rhymes"
-snip-
I started that Mudcat discussion thread in April 2007. Comments may still be added to that thread.

I added bold font is added to highlight that word.

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And here's an example of a foot stomping cheer that is title L.O.V.E":

All: L-O-V-E. [clap]
L-O-V-E. [clap
L-O-V.
L-O-V.
L-O-V-E.[clap]

Soloist #1: Well, Kayla’s my name. [clap]
And love is my game.[clap]
I got this boy on my mind [clap].
And Lord knows he’s fine. [clap]
He calls me his girl. [clap]
His number 1 girl.[clap]
I don’t know his sign, [clap]
But Taurus is mine. [clap]

All: L-O-V-E. [clap]
L-O-V-E. [clap]
L-O-V. 
L-O-V. 
L-O-V-E. [clap]

Soloist #2: Tamika's my name. [clap]
And love is my game. [clap]
I got this boy on my mind. [clap]
And Lord knows he’s fine. [clap]
I got his name on my shirt. [clap]
And don't call it dirt.[clap]
Don’t you worry bout my lover. [clap]
Cause there is no other. [clap]

(Return to beginning and repeat with a new soloist. That soloist repeats the same verses or similar verses. This pattern continues until everyone in the group has had one turn as the soloist with this cheer.)
-Tazi. M. Powell (African American female; remembrance of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the mid 1980s; performed by African American girls ages around 8-12 years old; Collected by Azizi Powell, 2/1996 although I had observed my daughter and her friends performing this cheer in the 1980s.

Click  https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/02/examples-of-love-foot-stomping-cheers.html for this pancocojams post " "L.O.V.E" (Title Of African American Girls' Foot Stomping Cheers From The 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s)"

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II. SOME OF MY REACTIONS TO THESE "DIRTY" VERSIONS OF "TA RA RA BOOM DE AY" ("WE ARE THE ___ GIRLS")

(Given in no particular order and numbered for referencing purposes only)

1.Some of these examples recount a girl's experience with getting pregnant as a result of rape, others make a point of saying that the girl received money to have sex. While girls should be cautioned about the dangers of rape, agreeing to have sex in return for money should clearly be something girls should know not to do.

2. As a grandmother of a 12 year old girl, I'm surprised that all of these examples include the lines about the girls' mother being surprised to see her daughter's belly rise. Why didn't any of these girls confide to their mother-if not their father or any other adult, after that rape experience, or after learning that they were pregnant?? What kind of relationship did these girls have with their parents and other significant adults in their lives?

3, The line about the father expressing joy because the baby was a boy bothers me since it reflects society's preference for males over females. If his daughter had a girl, how would the father feel and how would he treat his granddaughter?

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This concludes Part III of this three part pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

The Toxicity Of Certain Jump Rope Or Hand Clap Rhymes (Part II-Paying For Sex Or Rape)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part Ii of a three part pancocojams series about the toxicity of the messages that certain English language jump rope and/or hand clap  rhymes (also known as "skipping songs" and "hand games") convey about romantic relationships. 

This post presents examples of children's hand clap rhymes that I believe include toxic messages because they include references to paying for sex or because they include references to rape.

Warning- These examples contain some sexually explicit language. However, these rhymes are only mildly explicit compared to some really dirty children's recreational rhymes that aren't featured on this pancocojams blog. 

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/04/the-toxicity-of-certain-jump-rope-or.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. That post presents statements about the toxicity of certain recreational rhymes about romantic relationships. This post also presents a few examples of jump rope or hand clap rhymes that I believe include toxic references.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/04/the-toxicity-of-some-childrens.html for Part III of this pancocojams series. That post presents two quotes from the 2003 book "Values in Sex Education: From Principles to Practice" by J. Mark Halstead and Michael J. Reissand. This post also presents  my comments about the negative messages that are conveyed by the "dirty" examples of "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" and, by extension, other "dirty" recreational children's rhymes that are featured in this pancocojams series. 

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The content of this post is presented for folkloric and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who contributed examples of these hand clap rhymes that are included in this post.

****
DESCRIPTION OF THE FORMAT FOR THIS SERIES
In this series I list a statement that I believe reflects toxicity in these rhymes. I then usually present one example of a complete jump rope or hand clap  rhyme and/or lines from one or two jump rope or hand clap rhyme/s to demonstrate what I mean by my contention that that example reflects what I consider is toxic.

There are probably other toxic messages that are found in jump rope and/or hand clap rhymes. Also, there are certainly other rhymes that I could have given to serve as examples of these . These are just the ones that I thought of at this point in time.

Please share additional examples of these types of rhymes in the discussion thread for this post along with the toxic message you think they reflect 

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SOME EXAMPLES OF TOXIC MESSAGES IN JUMP ROPE OR HAND CLAP RHYMES
These messages are given in no particular order with citations for the online source.
Numbers are given for referencing purposes only.

1. These rhymes may minimize the experiences and consequences of voluntary pre-marital sex (without an exchange of money)

Examples:

a) "Jack and Jill went up the hill
to have a little fun,
Stupid Jill forgot the pill,
and now they have a son.
Jack and Jill went up the hill
to fetch a pail of water
Jack got horny, Jill got corny
and now they have a daughter.
Jack and Jill went up the hill
to smoke some marijuana
Jack got high, unzipped his fly
and Jill said "Ooh, I wanna."
-https://inthe80s.com/rhymes.shtml

**
b) "James Brown glad to meetchea drop your draws and follow meshea in the
bushes we may goshea lay down and be assochea won't your daddy
be surprised to see your belly rise won't yo momma be disgusted
to see your belly busted 2,4,6,8,10 ............"
-https://inthe80s.com/rhymes.shtml

**
c) "Jack and Jill went up a hill.Jack got horny and Jill got corny and now they have a son. Jake and Jill went up a hill.Jack got corny and Jill got horny and now they have a daughter"
-https://inthe80s.com/rhymes.shtml

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2. These rhymes minimize the wrongful actions and consequences of prostitution. 

a) "Momma's in the kitchen, cookin' rice
Daddy's on the corner, shootin' dice
Brother's in jail, raisin' hell
Sister's on the corner selling fruit cock tail"
-numerous sources including GUEST, Spain, 5/30/2006, http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=81350&messages=221 ,I'm Rubber. You're Glue: Children's Rhymes
-snip-
This is a portion of the hand clap rhyme "Rockin Robin" (also known as "Twee Lee Lee".
GUEST,Spain prefaced her memory of this hand clap rhyme by writing "There was also the street Rockin Robin that I heard/played in the same [Boston summer] camps."..

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b "In Virginia Beach in 1991 we used to sing:

 "Swing swing swing on a summery day

Hey! hey!

Rockin in the tree top all day long
Huffin and a puffin and a singing my song
All the little birdies on jaybird street
Like to hear the Robin go

Tweet tweet tweet!
Rocking Robin
tweet tweet a leet
Rocking Robin
tweet tweet a leet

Mama's in the kitchen cooking fried chicken
Daddy's in bed, half way dead
Brothers in school acting a fool
Sisters down the street singing
Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do"

We also sang the last line as "selling fruit cocktail" but we were all aware of what it meant and did the hand motions, and if our moms heard us we couldn't sing it that way any more!"
-.Anonymous, July 21, 2022 http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/11/documenting-some-examples-of-verse-from.html "The Origin & Examples Of Rockin Robin/ Tweeleelee" Hand Clap Rhyme's "Mama In The Kitchen" Verse [discussion thread comment]

**
c. "I'm from Wichita, KS and we had the SAME  ones - only we would say sister on the corner saying p**sy for sale - or Ima get my n**ga to kick your behind- my cousins would come down from Colorado for summers and teach us new ones. Looking back yes they were CLEARLY inappropriate but in the back of my mind I knew it was part of our culture that we didn't have to share with white people and I was proud of the fact that the white girls at my school couldn't do it. It was like our own thing. And with all the cultural misappropriation now days, I'm glad we call have that commonality as black girls growing up. I'm actually getting my degree in child development and was searching for reminders here on youtube for the hand eye coordination aspect of the rhymes and hand movements. We'll just have to use REVISED versions of them. LOL! Thanks for sharing your story."
-Rebecca Martin, 2018 [comment], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfzHL_1PdbY "Let's Discuss: Black Girl Childhood Hand Games and Sing Songs", published by EbonyJanice Peace, Aug 4, 2014 
-snip-
*These examples are from the widely known four person hand clap rhyme entitled "Rockin Robin". In African American communities these rhymes appear to usually be called "Twee Lee Lee" or similar titles.

The reference to the words "Ima get my n**ga to kick your behind" is probably from racialized versions of "I Like Coffee I Like Tea" hand clap rhymes. Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/racialized-versions-of-i-like-coffee-i.html for some examples of those rhymes.  Note: I'm also concerned about the societal messages that those racialized rhymes convey, but that is off topic for this particular pancocojams series.

I consider many versions of "Twee Lee Lee" rhymes to also be problematic because they include toxic violent references to James Brown or another Black man having glass shoved up his butt.    

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3. These rhymes minimize the wrongful actions and consequences of being raped.

Examples
a. Tah rah rah bom di ay

I can't come out today

It happened yesterday

The boy across the way

He paid me fifty cents

To go behind the fence

He said it wouldn't hurt

And pushed it up my skirt

My mommy was surprised

To see my belly rise

And hear the baby cry

Tah rah rah bom di ay
-@displaysong.cfm?SongID=5648 [This version of "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Aye" rhymes is from Mudcat folk music forum's" DT" (Digital Tradition), a compilation of folk song lyrics.]

**
b.  "This version from Pennsylvania in the mid-1960s: 

Ta ra ra boom de ay
How did she get that way?
It was the boy next door,
He laid her on the floor.
Her mommy was surprised
To see her tummy rise
And hear her baby's cries forevermore."
-Staxman, December 31, 2023, https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/examples-of-ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay_25.html

**
c. "Hi! Wow, this is really awesome, this song popped into my head today, I remember it from school, probably around the year 2000 when I was 12ish, and I'm from the UK! South England! The one I remember goes something like this: We are the (name of your school) girls, we wear our hair in curls, and we wear dungarees to show our sexy knees, I met a boy today, he gave me 50p, to go behind a tree and have it off with me, we went behind a tree, he lifted up my skirt, he counted 1 2 3 and stuck it into me, my mummy was surprised to see my belly rise, my daddy jumped for joy it was a baby boy!

I mightve forgotten parts of it, but that's basically what I can remember! Wow, it's really crazy but so cool that this rhyme is familiar with people all over the world it seems! So interesting seeing all the variations!
-AnonymousAugust 3, 2023
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/examples-of-ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay_25.html

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d. "We are the Beaver Girls,
We wear our hair in curls,
We have our dungarees down to our sexy knees.
You know the boy next door?
He pushed me on the floor,
We did it once or twice,
It wasn't very nice
La la la bum shaka
La la la bum shaka
La la la bum skaka
My mother was surprised
To see my belly rise
My father jumped for joy
It was a baby boy.

I cant believe we were singing this in primary school! I doubt we knew what it meant!"
-j9127, 2008, https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=680317 Playground games/rhymes [United Kingdom]

**
e. Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay

-collected by Joe Bethancourt

Tune: "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay"

"Ta ra ra boom de ay, have you had yours today?
I had mine yesterday, a girl across the way!
I laid her on the couch, and all she said was "Ouch!"
Her mother was surprised to see her belly rise!"
-From Brent B., http://www.kayshapero.net/child3.htm, "Children's Songs,Part Three" [no date given or publishing date for that online page]

-snip-

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/09/recreation-rhymes-as-part-of-girls.html for the pancocojams post "Risque Recreational Rhymes That Are Part Of Some Girls' Sexual Education: More Examples Of Sexualized ("Dirty") Versions Of "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Aye" ("We Are The ___ Girls")". That post includes information about the history of the "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Aye song as well as what is believed to be the earliest lyrics for that American vaudeville song. (For the historical record, it should be noted that "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Aye" was originally sung by an African American woman Mama Lou in a St. Louis, Missouri night club )

In addition to its sexual references, many examples of these hand clap rhymes that have their source in the 19th century "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Aye" song also are toxic because they reflect society's preference for males (in the verse "My father jumped for joy/it was a baby boy")

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This concludes Part II of this pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

The Toxicity Of Certain Jump Rope Or Hand Clap Rhymes (Part I-Romantic Relationships)

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision- April 26, 2026

This is Part I of a three part pancocojams series about the toxicity of the messages that certain English language jump rope and/or hand clap  rhymes (also known as "skipping songs" and "hand games") convey about romantic relationships. 

This post presents statements about the toxicity of certain recreational rhymes about romantic relationships. This post also presents a few examples of jump rope or hand clap rhymes  that I believe include toxic references.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/04/the-toxicity-of-certain-jump-rope-or_26.html  for Part II of this pancocojams series. That post presents examples of children's hand clap rhymes that I believe include toxic messages because they include references to paying for sex or because they include references to rape.

Warning- These examples contain some sexually explicit language. However, they are only mildly explicit compared to some really dirty children's recreational rhymes that aren't featured on this pancocojams blog

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/04/the-toxicity-of-some-childrens.html for Part III of this pancocojams series. That post presents two quotes from the 2003 book "Values in Sex Education: From Principles to Practice" by J. Mark Halstead and Michael J. Reissand. This post also presents  my comments about the negative messages that are conveyed by the "dirty" examples of "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Ay" and, by extension, other "dirty" recreational children's rhymes that are featured in this pancocojams series. 

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The content of this post is presented for folkloric and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who contributed examples of these hand clap rhymes that are included in this post.

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TERMS THAT ARE USED IN THIS SERIES ABOUT THE TOXICITY OF CERTAIN JUMP ROPE/HAND CLAP RHYMES 
TOXICITY - "the quality, state, or relative degree of being poisonous"
-from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toxicity
-snip-
By toxic, I mean harmful to a person's psychological wellbeing, including self esteem and harmful to the creation and ability to sustain a healthy monogamous  heterosexual relationship and friendships with people outside of your heterosexual relationship.

Here are two examples of  jump rope rhymes /hand clap rhymes about romantic relationships that I don't consider to be toxic because they promote a romantic relationship between a girl and a boy who are committed to each other, leading to marriage.

(While I recognize the validity of  LGBTQ relationships, this pancocojams post focuses on heterosexual relationships)

Bluebells Cockle Shells  
Bluebells, cockle shells,
Eevie, ivy, over;
Mother went to market
To buy some meat;
Baby's in the cradle
Fast asleep.
The old clock on the mantel says
One o'clock, two o'clock.
(to twelve o'clock)
Bluebells, cockle shells,
Eevie, ivy, over;
I like coffee, I like tea;
I like the boys, and the boys like me.
Tell your mother to hold her tongue;
She had a fellow when she was young.
Tell your father to do the same;
He had a girl and he changed her name.

- http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101113222223AAw99M5 "What are your favorite jump rope rhymes,

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K. I. SS. I. N. G
(NAME) and (NAME)
Sitting in a tree
K-I-S-S-I-N-G!

First comes love
Then comes marriage
Then comes baby
In a baby carriage!

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ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP - "an emotional, intellectual, and often physical bond between people characterized by love, intimacy, mutual care, and commitment+
-AI Overview

**.
"the commitment of significant time, energy, resources, and emotions into another person, with some kind of physical intimacy involved (sex, cuddling, kissing, sharing a bed etc)"
-Street-Tiger0192, 2021, https://www.reddit.com/r/aromantic/comments/u8e5g8/what_does_it_even_mean_to_be_in_a_romantic

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SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS - "relationships involving intercourse"
-snip-
In the context of jump rope and/or hand clap rhymes, I'm referring to examples that imply or directly refer to having voluntary or involuntary (rape) sexual intercourse and examples that are refer to having sex (i.e. sexually explicit examples)

Also, in the context of jump rope and/or hand clap rhymes, I consider kissing to be separate from having sex, necessarily be a part of be a female and a male kissing to be engaging in sex, although kissing can be a prelude to and part of having sex

In the context of this discussion, "kissing" can be an indication that two people are in a romantic relationship and/or "kissing" can (just) mean that two people are sexually attracted to each other  

**
NORMALIZE  - "to make (something) conform to or reduce (something) to a norm or standard"
-https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/normalize

-to allow or encourage (something considered extreme or taboo) to become viewed as normal
-https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/normalize

**
VALUED - "what is considered important, desirable, preferable, worthy"; what is glorified
-snip-
In this discussion, I refer to something having a "high value" or a "low value"
for instance, in the types of jump rope / hand clap rhymes that are the focus of this series, "girls being able to attract males" is considered a "high value" while commitment to one male (monogamy) is considered a "low value".

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DESCRIPTION OF THE FORMAT FOR THIS SERIES
In this series I list a statement that I believe reflects toxicity in these rhymes. I then usually present one example of a complete jump rope or hand clap  rhyme and/or lines from one or two jump rope or hand clap rhyme/s to demonstrate what I mean by my contention that that example reflects what I consider is toxic.

There are probably other toxic messages that are found in jump rope and/or hand clap rhymes. Also, there are certainly other rhymes that I could have given to serve as examples of these . These are just the ones that I thought of at this point in time.

Please share additional examples of these types of rhymes in the discussion thread for this post along with the toxic message you think they reflect 

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SOME EXAMPLES OF TOXIC MESSAGES IN JUMP ROPE OR HAND CLAP RHYMES
These messages are given in no particular order with citations for the online source.
Numbers are given for referencing purposes only.

1.Rhymes convey that society places a very high value on girls being sexy.

Examples: 

a) "We said

 "I went to a chinese restaurant, to buy a loaf of bread, bread, bread They wrapped it up in a five pound note and this is what they said, said, said. My... name... is... Elvis Presley, girls are sexy, sitting in the back seat drinking Pepsi, the boys go (kiss sound) and the girls go Whoo (jump up and do the air splits)".
-"eyeball-beesting, 2026
https://www.reddit.com/r/Britain/comments/1qjapdu/does_anyone_know_the_rest_of_this_rhyme/

b) "My mother, your mother, lived across the street 1819 Blueberry Street Everytime they had a fight this is what they said: Boys are rotten, made out of cotton Girls are handy, made out of candy Boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider Girls go to Mars to get more candy bars Boys drink whiskey to get more friskey Girls drink Pepsi, to get more sexy"
-https://inthe80s.com/rhymes.shtml

**
c) "This is what I remember from in Windsor, UK in the late 90s.. I went to a Chinese restaurant to buy a loaf of bread bread bread He wrapped it up in a five pound note and this is what he said said said My name is Elvis Presley Girls are sexy Sitting in the back seat Drinking pepsi Had a baby Named it daisy Di di Di di da Brown bread"
-katarpillarkake99,2024, 
https://www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/koqcql/90s_hand_clapping_rhymes/

**
2. Rhymes convey that "girls being sexy" means girls who have big boobs and a big butt i.e.  girls who have a body that is physically attractive to males

Example:

"We used to do it: my name is Dina Gloria I’m a superstar, I’ve got a fabulous body and a flashy car, I’ve got the hips, the lips the fabulous kicks, turn around touch the ground and do the splits."
-Demi_silent, 2026
-https://www.reddit.com/r/Britain/comments/1qjapdu/does_anyone_know_the_rest_of_this_rhyme/

**
3. Rhymes convey that girls (should) place a high value on being physically attractive and (should) expect multiple boys to be attracted to them because they are physically attractive 

Examples:  

a). I am a pretty little Dutch girl
As pretty as I can be
And all the boys
In the neighborhood
Are crazy over me"...
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Little_Dutch_Girl assessed 5/23/2010
-snip-
The phrase "in the neighborhood" is given in some versions of this rhyme as "around my block" or similar phrases. 

**
b) I am a pretty little Dutch girl,
As pretty as I can be, be, be,
And all the boys in the baseball team
Go crazy over me, me, me,
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Little_Dutch_Girl , assessed 4/25/2026
[The example given above from 2010 is no longer included on that page.]

**
c) [Example of "I'm A Little [school grade]  
for swing swing swing our school did this
c,c,c at the bottom of the c
im a little (whatever grade or age) pretty as can be be
and all the boys around my blox are fightin over me me
my boyfriends name is CHRIS BROWN!"...
-Lauren, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zEcsIfe6lU&t=4s [This website is no longer available]; 90's hands games!!! Part 1, published by Geneas, Nov. 4, 2018

**
4. Rhymes convey that it's normal for a girl & a boy to sneak and make out (i.e. kiss and possibly do other things besides kissing)

Example:

Eenie Meanie Justa Leanie
Ooca Acla Trackalacka, I love you.
Take a peach, Take a plum
Take a piece of bubble gum.
Teacher, Teacher, Dummy Dum
Gimme back my bubble gum.
Saw you with your boyfriend last night.
How do you know?
I was peekin' through the keyhold.
NOSY
Wash them dishes
LAZY
Jump out the window
CRAZY
Peaches on the tree, Bananas on the floor
Jump back baby. I Don't Love You No More!
-Donetta A. (African American female, memories of Pittsburgh, Pennslyvania, 1984); collected by Azizi Powell, 1998 
-snip-
Donetta said she learned this rhyme from her cousin from the South (USA) when her cousin visited her in 1984.

****
5.Rhymes convey that it's likely that their boyfriend will cheat on her with another girl. 

(This message can also be worded that "a boy shouldn't be trusted/believed when he says that he'll be faithful to you) 

Another way of saying this is that rhymes convey that boys place a low value on being monogamous (faithful to their girlfriend)

Examples:

a). "Zing Zing Zing
at the bottom of the sea.
I am a little __ second grade
as pretty as can __ be be.
And all the boys around my house
go crazy over __ me me.

My boyfriend's name is __ Yellow.
He comes from Ala__bama
with 25 toes
and a pickle on his nose
and this is how the story goes.
One day I was ah __ walkin
I saw my boyfriend __ talking
to a very pretty girl
with cherry pie curls
And this is what she said
"I L-O-V-E __ love you."
"I K-I-S-S __ kiss you."
"I A-D-O-R-E __ adore you"
So S-T-O-P. STOP!
1-2-3-4
Get your black hands off of me!"
- Diarra, K'azsa, and Michelle (African American girls), Fort Pitt Elementary School, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, September 2004; collected by Azizi Powell, September 2004

The dashes indicate that you pause for a beat before saying the next word or the next syllable.
-snip-
The line "Get your black hands off of me" is an example of racial toxicity that is found in some recreational rhymes.

**
b). "The one we used to sing all the time was

I am a little first grader. As pretty as can be be. And all the boys around my block go crazy over me me. My boyfriend name is Jello. He lives in Alabamo. With a big fat nose and 35 toes and this is how my story goes. One day I was walking. I saw my boyfriend talking to the the ugliest girl named (insert ugly girl name) in the world and this is what he said to her. M-I-S-S miss you. K-I-S-S kiss you. L-O-V-E love you and this is what I said to her.

See my pinkie. see my thumb. See my fist you better run. Recesse's Recesse's Coco Puff mess with my man I'll mess you up."

-Cidnei Gregory, 2019 (Chicago);  "Let's Discuss: Black Girl Childhood Hand Games and Sing Songs"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfzHL_1PdbY&t=2s&ab_channel=EbonyJanicePeace .

**
c) "My boyfriends name is Billy

He comes from picadilli, with crinkled nose and curled up toes and this is how my story goes... one day he gave me peaches, one day he gave me pears,one day he gave me 50 cents and kissed me on the stairs. One day he took me to the pictures to see a western film, but every time I turned my back, he kissed another girl. So I gave him back his peaches, gave him back his pears, I gave him back his 50 cents and kicked him down the stairs ....boot"
-Cathy Johnson, 2023, https://www.facebook.com/groups/2505270952950325/posts/3291541887656557/"Discontinued and Nostalgic Snacks and Blasts from the Past! :

****

6. Rhymes convey that a boy kissing a girl doesn't necessarily mean that he loves her.

Example:

"i Went down town to meet charlie brown
he gave me a nickle that bought me a pickle
the pickle was sour so he bought me a flower
the flower was dead so this is what he said:
down down baby down by the rollercoaster
sweet sweet baby never wana let you go
just because i kissed you doesnt mean i love you"...
-Sarah, Octoblog, Schoolyard games; 7/17/2005, quoted in 
https://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/10/hand-clap-jump-rope-rhymes-examples-i-j.html

****
7. Rhymes convey that it's normal for a girl to engage in sexual activity that stops before sexual intercourse (i.e. "sexual foreplay")

Example:

-"When Suzy was a baby, a baby Suzy was was was. She went, “waaah waah! Waah waah wah!” When Suzy was a teenager, a teenager Suzy was was was. She said, “ooh ahh! I’ve lost my bra! I found my knickers in my boyfriend’s car!”
-Not-Today-Satan, 2020
https://www.reddit.com/r/CasualUK/comments/k0ss6a/what_the_bloody_hell_were_the_school_playground/

****

8. Rhymes convey that it's not uncommon to get pregnant outside of marriage. 

Example:

"Uno, dos, siesta *
I said a-east, a-west
I met my boyfriend at the candy store
He bought me ice cream, he bought me cake
He brought me home with a belly ache
Mama mama, I'm so sick
Call the doctor quick quick quick
Doctor, doctor will I die?
Count to five and you'll be alive
I said, a-one, a-two, a-three, a-four, a-five
I'm alive!"
- Kyle Bryant & Dana Bryant ; (performing hand clap game on Season 1, Episode 22 of The Cosby Show; March 28, 1985; episode title: "The Slumber Party"
;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9nuA6nTqro
-snip-
*Black American commonly call "I Met My Boyfriend At The Candy Store" rhyme "Uno Dos Siesta" or a similar title.

While this rhyme doesn't directly refer to the girl getting pregnant and going through labor, many older girls and many adults think that is what these words refer to.  

**
b) "Here is a song we used to do on the playground in Birmingham, AL back in the 80s:

Last night and the night before I met my boyfriend at the candy store
He brought me ice cream he brought me cake
he brought me home with a stomachache
mama mama i feel sick
call the doctor quick quick quick
doctor doctor will i die
close you eyes and count to five
i said a one, a two, a three, a four, a five
I'm alive

[Optional part] we would do sometimes (a little risque for little girls):

see that house on top of that hill
that's where me and my baby gon' live
we gon' cook some cornbread
cook some meat
come on baby let's go to bed and do the boom boom boom." 
 -Joi, Cocojams, 3/23/2008
-snip-

Notice that there's no mention in this rhyme of this couple being married when they move in together and "go to bed and do the boom boom boom." 

-snip-
"Cocojams.com" was the name of my cultural website that was online from 2001-2014.

****
This concludes Part I of this pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visiting comments are welcome. 

Debunking The Widely Held Belief That Only White People Lived In Or Still Live In The Appalachian Region Of The United States

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series about Black people in the Appalachia region of the United States.

This post presents information about the term "Appalachia" and presents excerpts from several online articles about Black people in Appalachia.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/11/black-people-in-appalachia-part-ii-some.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. That post showcases a YouTube video about Black people in Appalachia and includes selected comments from that video's discussion thread about Black people in Kentucky and in other parts of Appalachia.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Dr, Jacqueline Clark and Dr. Althea Webb for their research and writing on the subject of Black people in Appalachia. Thanks also to all others who are quoted in this post and thanks for the cultural legacies of Black people who lived/live in Appalachia.
-snip-
This post is a complete reprint of the 2022 pancocojams post entitled "Setting The Record Straight About Black People In The Appalachian Region Of The United States (Part I: online excerpts)" https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/11/setting-record-straight-about-black.html?m=1 . The only three comments in the discussion thread for that 2022 post are also added to this 2026 post. (I wrote both of those comments.)

That 2022 post is still available on this blog and its discussion thread is still open.

One of the reasons why it's important to debunk the belief that only White people have lived in and still live in Appalachia, is that that belief assumes that the music and other cultural elements of Appalachia can only be attributed to White people. This statement is absolutely false.]

***
A DEFINITION OF AND INFORMATION ABOUT APPALACHIA

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachia

..."While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, to Cheaha Mountain in Alabama, Appalachia typically refers only to the cultural region of the central and southern portions of the range, from the Catskill Mountains of New York southwest to the Blue Ridge Mountains which run southwest from southern Pennsylvania to northern Georgia, and the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. In 2019, the region was home to an estimated 25.7 million people, of which roughly 81% are white.

[...]

Since Appalachia lacks definite physiographical or topographical boundaries, there has been some disagreement over what exactly the region encompasses. The most commonly used modern definition of Appalachia is the one initially defined by the Appalachian Regional Commission in 1965 and expanded over subsequent decades.[5] The region defined by the Commission currently includes 420 counties and eight independent cities in 13 states, including all 55 counties in West Virginia, 14 counties in New York, 52 in Pennsylvania, 32 in Ohio, 3 in Maryland, 54 in Kentucky, 25 counties and 8 cities in Virginia,[10] 29 in North Carolina, 52 in Tennessee, 6 in South Carolina, 37 in Georgia, 37 in Alabama, and 24 in Mississippi".

[...]

Culture

Ethnic groups

An estimated 90%[73] of Appalachia's earliest European settlers originated from the Anglo-Scottish border country…In America, these people are often grouped under the single name "Scotch-Irish" or "Scots-Irish". While various 20th century writers tried to associate Appalachia with Scottish highlanders, Highland Scots were a relatively insignificant percentage of the region's early European immigrants.[76]

Although Swedes and Finns formed only a tiny portion of the Appalachian settlers it was Swedish and Finnish settlers of New Sweden who brought the northern European woodsman skills such as log cabin construction which formed the basis of backwoods Appalachian material culture.[77]

Germans were a major pioneer group to migrate to Appalachia, settling mainly in western Pennsylvania and southwest Virginia. Smaller numbers of Germans were also among the initial wave of migrants to the southern mountains.[11]: 30–44  In the 19th century, Welsh immigrants were brought into the region for their mining and metallurgical expertise, and by 1900 over 100,000 Welsh immigrants were living in western Pennsylvania alone…

The coal mining and manufacturing boom in the late 19th and early 20th centuries brought large numbers of Italians and Eastern Europeans to Appalachia, although most of these families left the region when the Great Depression shattered the economy in the 1930s. African Americans have been present in the region since the 18th century, and currently make up 8% of the ARC-designated region, mostly concentrated in urban areas and former mining and manufacturing towns;[80] the African-American component of Appalachia is sometimes termed Affrilachia.[81]

Native Americans, the region's original inhabitants, are now only a small percentage of the region's present population, their most notable concentration being the reservation of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina. The Melungeons, a group of mixed African, European, and Native American ancestry, are scattered across northeastern Tennessee, eastern Kentucky, and southwestern Virginia.[82]

According to the American Factfinder's 2013 data, the Southern Appalachia has a white majority, comprising 84% of the population. African Americans are 7% and Hispanics or Latinos are 6% of the population. Asians and Pacific Islanders are 1.5% of the population. Although the counties have great differences among themselves, in terms of racial and ethnic diversity.[83]"...
-snip-
I added italics to highlight those sentences.

****
ONLINE EXCERPTS ABOUT BLACK PEOPLE IN APPALACHIA
These excerpts are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.

EXCERPT #1
From https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2019/02/20/hidden-black-history-in-appalachia/ Hidden Black History in Appalachia by Jacqueline Clark PhD on February 20, 2019

"In February of 1926, Carter G. Woodson helped establish “Negro History Week” to educate teachers, students, and community members about the accomplishments and experiences of Blacks in the United States...

Nearly a century later, Black History is still at risk of erasure, especially in (once) geographically isolated areas, like Appalachia. The standard narrative that Scots-Irish “settled” Appalachia starting in the 18th century hides the fact that there were often violent interactions between European immigrants and indigenous people in the region. Even in the 1960s when authors like Michael Harrington and Harry Caudill reported on Appalachian mountain folk, the people were depicted as Scots-Irish descendants, known for being poor, lazy, and backward, representations that are reinforced in contemporary accounts of the region, such as J. D. Vance’s wildly popular memoir Hillbilly Elegy.

Accounts like these offer stereotypical understandings of poor Appalachian whites, and at the same time, they ignore the presence and experiences of Blacks in the region. Work by social scientists William Turner and Edward Cabell, as well as “Affrilachia” poet Frank X. Walker, and historian Elizabeth Catte attempts to remedy this problem, but the dominant narrative of the region centers still on poor whites and their lives.

[…]

So too are the stories of Blacks living in Appalachia today. Even though the number of African American residents has increased in some parts of  Appalachia, while the white population has decreased, little is formally documented about their lives. That absence has led scholar William Turner, to refer to Blacks in Appalachia as a “racial minority within a cultural minority.” Not only does erasing African Americans from the past and present of Appalachia provide an inaccurate view of the region, but it also minimizes the suffering of poor Blacks, who relative to their white counterparts, are and have been the poorest of an impoverished population.

Woodson established “Negro History Week” to document and share the history of Blacks in the United States, recognizing that, “If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.” The history of African Americans in the Appalachian region is largely absent from the area’s official record, and without making it part of the dominant narrative, we risk losing that history.

***
EXCERPT #2
From https://oxfordaasc.com/page/2527 "Featured Essay - African Americans in Appalachia" by Dr. Althea Webb, Assistant Professor of Education, Berea College
"Contrary to popular perception, Appalachia has always possessed significant and influential populations of color. The region, so named for the mountain range that runs through it from northeast Mississippi to southern New York, historically comprises three subdivisions—Northern, Southern, and Central—each with its own history of settlement and race relations. Indian nations, including the Cherokees, were the first peoples to inhabit the area, but by 1860 African Americans were approximately 10% of the population. There is, however, no one story of African Americans in Appalachia. Black Appalachians—like all Appalachians—have lived in rural settings as well as urban settings, and current residents may have come from families that settled in the mountains hundreds of years ago, while others are first generation migrants into the region.

As the first major mountain range west of the Atlantic coast, the Appalachian Mountains were the first "frontier." By the mid-1600s, explorers were trekking into the mountains and within fifty years, settlements had been permanently established by whites from England, Ireland, and Scotland. Many Appalachian people trace their heritage to the Scots-Irish, immigrants who lived in the border regions of northern Ireland before coming to America early in the 18th century. As whites moved into the mountains so did free and enslaved Africans. After the Revolutionary War, Union officers were given land grants in the largely uninhabited Central Appalachian area, mostly in what is now West Virginia. As white settlers demanded more land, however, the native peoples were forced to move west,a policy well underway by the time of the infamous Indian Removal Act of 1830 enacted by President Andrew Jackson.

In the early years of settlement, whites, Indians, and African Americans lived in close proximity to each other, and later generations included multiracial and multiethnic people; the Melungeons, a group thought to have European, Native American, and African ancestry, were identified in Central Appalachia early in the 19th century. Additionally, the lives of African American and white Appalachians were intertwined socially and culturally. The most obvious representation of this syncretism is the banjo, a central instrument in traditional mountain music that originated in Africa.

Enslavement in Appalachia varied according to regions. Elite Cherokee people held Africans in enslavement in the Southern Appalachia region, but the topography did not lend itself to the large plantation systems found in the lowlands of the Deep South. In the southern region, non-slave holders were in the majority, and the area also contained a large number of landless whites. Indeed, Appalachia was once thought to be an area that abhorred slavery, although recently scholars have documented the complex nature of slavery in the Mountain South. Like the nation as a whole, Appalachia was equally divided by Civil War loyalties. Northern Appalachians joined the Union, Southern Appalachians joined the Confederacy and those in the Central Appalachian area were at a crossroads. Two years after Virginia voted to join the Confederacy,mountaineers in the west and southwest areas of Virginia formed West Virginia as an independent state and joined the Union. There was an active Underground Railroad running through Appalachia from Chattanooga to Pennsylvania .

[…]

No number of age-old stereotypes can erase the fact that, Appalachia, distinctive as it is, has never been a region that is lily white. History reveals that Appalachia has always had a racially and ethnically diverse population that has been significant and influential. Migration and mobility has shifted patterns of diversity within sub-regions and particular counties, but many areas recall traditions of inclusive collaboration unlikely to have taken hold outside the mountains. Indeed, while some areas today are largely white, the collective memory of a county may reveal a vastly different history."
-snip-
No publishing date is given for this article. However, 2004 is the latest date for books in the recommended reading section.

****
COMMENTS FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD OF THAT 2022 PANCOCOJAMS POST 
 Azizi PowellNovember 7, 2022 at 12:03 PM

The Appalachian Region includes 423 counties across 13 states.

Portions of these states are considered Appalachia:
Alabama
Georgia
Kentucky
Maryland
Mississippi
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Tennessee
Virginia

Also, the entire state of West Virginia is considered Appalachia.

ReplyDelete

Replies

1. 
   Azizi PowellNovember 7, 2022 at 12:08 PM

   I think most Americans think of very rural areas as Appalachia such as rural areas of Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
   And I think that most Americans are surprised when they learn that certain of the following cities in this Wikipedia list are in Appalachia:
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachia
   "Cities in Appalachia that have 400,000 or more residents:
   
   "Altoona, Pennsylvania
   Asheville, North Carolina
   Binghamton, New York
   Birmingham, Alabama
   Charleston, West Virginia
   Chattanooga, Tennessee
   Cleveland, Tennessee
   Erie, Pennsylvania
   Greenville, South Carolina
   Hagerstown, Maryland
   Huntington, West Virginia
   Huntsville, Alabama
   Johnson City, Tennessee
   Knoxville, Tennessee
   Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
   Roanoke, Virginia
   Scranton, Pennsylvania
   State College, Pennsylvania
   Winston-Salem, North Carolina”
   

   Delete
2. 
   Azizi PowellNovember 7, 2022 at 12:14 PM

   My adopted hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is in Appalachia, although I very much doubt if most Pittsburghers consider themselves (ourselves) to be Appalachians .
   
   According to the 2022 US Census, Black people comprise around 23.8 of the population of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and around 13.5 % of the population of Allegheny County (where Pittsburgh is located). https://www.populationu.com/cities/pittsburgh-pa-population.
   
   Yet, despite the relatively small numbers of Black people in that area, few people would deny that Black people have greatly contributed to the cultural heritage of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County for a long time.
   
   The same can be said for Black people in many other cities and towns, and rural areas that are categorized as Appalachia.

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