Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part I of a three part pancocojams series on examples of contemporary (1970s qnd later) of "I Like Coffee I Like Tea" ("I Love Coffee I Love Tea") children's recreational rhymes that include racial referents. These children's recreational rhymes are also known as "Down Down Baby".
This pancocojams compilation presents all of the examples a versions of these rhymes that I have come across which include the contributors' information about the geographic location (the city, state in the USA) that they remember chanting or hearing a version of that rhyme and the contributors' documentation of when (year or decade) tha they first remembering chanting hearing that rhyme.t
All of the examples in Part I of this pancocojams series include the words "I like a colored boy and he likes me" or "I like a color boy and he likes me" along with the racial referent "White".
Click --Part II of this pancocojams series. That post presents a compilation of all of the examples of "I Like Coffee, I Like Tea" ("I Love Coffee I Love Tea") rhymes that I have come across which include the words "I like a Black boy and he likes me"..
Click -- for a compilation of all of the examples of "I Like Coffee, I Like Tea" ("I Love Coffee I Love Tea") rhymes that I have come across which include the words "I like a White boy and he likes me" (orr other racial/national referents except "Colored" or "Black").
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, socio-cultural, and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who contributed examples of rhymes to this compilation.
****
DISCLAIMER
This compilation doesn’t mean to imply that these examples are the only versions of this rhyme that were known in those geographic locations during the dates that are given. Instead, these are the only examples of this particular sub-set of this rhyme that I’ve come across. Almost all of these examples are from online sources.
Please add to the folkloric record by sharing any examples in the discussion thread below of any confrontational racialized “I Like Coffee I Like Tea” rhymes that you know. Remember to include demographic information (where- the city/state or country if outside of the United States where you lived when you first chanted or became aware of these rhymes), when (the year or decade when you first chanted or became aware of these rhymes) and who (your gender/race or ethnicity and/or the genders, race and/or ethnicity of those who chanted that example.
I’m also interested in how those rhymes where performed (such as single jump rope, Double Dutch jump rope, partner hand clap rhymes etc. Thanks in advance!
****
GENERAL OVERVIEW OF RACIALIZED EXAMPLES OF "I LIKE COFFEE I LIKE TEA" (I LIKE A COLORED BOY") RHYMES
"I Like Coffee I Like Tea" (also given as "I Love Coffee I Love Tea" are confrontational racialized recreational rhymes that have similar words that fit a standard structural pattern.
"Racialized rhymes" is my term for rhymes that include one or more referents for race or ethnicity in contrast to most early examples of these rhymes that don't include any racial/ethnic referents.
Racial confrontation is a key feature of the late 20th century and 21st century) examples that are compiled in these pancocojams post includes a person of one race (or ethnicity/nationality) threatening to get a person of their race/ethnicity to fight (beat the butt of) a person of another race (or ethnicity/nationality).
****
THE EARLIEST DATE THAT I HAVE FOUND FOR A CONFRONTATIONAL RACIALIZED EXAMPLE OF "I LIKE COFFEE I LIKE TEA"?
The earliest documented date for a confrontational racial example of "I Like Coffee I Like Tea" ("I Love Coffee I Love Tea"; "Down Down Baby" rhymes that I have come across is from "the early to mid 1970s".
****
WHAT THE RACIAL REFERENT "COLORED" MEANT IN THE UNITED STATES
"Colored" was a racial referent in the United States that was used until around 1960s for the population that is now (in the 2020s) referred to as "Black", "Black American" or "African American"* .In the United States the racial referent "Colored" was often colloquially given as "Colored people".
* "African American" is a subset (a smaller population) of "Black American" as some Black people in the United States have other lineages than African Americans.
"Colored people" didn't/doesn't have the same meaning as "people of Color". Since at least the late 20th century in the United States "People of Color" is an umbrella term that replaces the terms non-White or "minorities" and means "all races and ethnicities who aren't White."
Some examples of the "I Like Coffee I Like tea" use the word "color" instead "colored" i.e. "I like a color boy and he likes me".
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/03/the-history-and-uses-of-referent.html for information about "The History And Uses Of The Referent "Colored" In The United States In The 19th Century - 21th Century)"
****
LIST OF CONFRONTATIONAL RACIALIZED EXAMPLES OF "I LIKE COFFEE I LIKE TEA"
("I LOVE COFFEE I LOVE TEA", "DOWN DOWN BABY") THAT INCLUDE THE WORDS
"I LIKE ("LOVE") A COLORED BOY ("A COLOR BOY")
(with demographic information and some contributor's notes and/or some Pancocojams Editor's notes)
These examples are presented under the first letter of the state where the contributor lived when they first chanted or heard this rhyme.
These examples don't represent all of the versions of this rhyme that I've come across that include the racial referent "colored" (or the mistaken-folk processed- term "color" as I've come across other examples of these confrontational racialized rhymes (mostly online) that don't include any demographic information.
A. B.
****
C. D.
California
"I was born in the very early 80's in the San Gabriel Valley and yes a lot of
Black people lived there when I was growing up. From me reading the examples I
always thoughts theses were separate rhymes because for each section different
movements were made.
For me the "I like coffee, I like tee" went like this
I like coffee, I like tea.
I like a Colored boy and he likes me.
So white, white boy, you don't shine.
Turn around the corner and I’ll beat your behind.
Then after that rhyme we did maybe this
I’m cool, I’m cool all day from number 9
Give it to me another time.
Mhmm oh/or all my babby.
Mhmm oh/or all my babby.
Mhmm Mhmm Mhmm.
Also, Mama mama, let's get the rhythm, down down baby were
all separate and we did separate movements. I just wanted to add my version of
I like coffee and I'm cool(i can't find a reference for that).
Down, down baby down down the roller coaster
sweet sweet baby I’ll never let u go
shimmy shimmy cocoa puff
shimmy shimmy pow
shimmy shimmy cocoa puff
shimmy shimmy wow"
-Anonymous, October 25, 2018 at 6:49 PM, https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/racialized-versions-of-i-like-coffee-i.html
****
G. H.
I. J.
****
K. L
Louisiana
"I'm young but in New Orleans 1990s-2000s I always heard:
Oh gosh he's crazy, oh gosh he's crazy
Take a piece take a plum take a piece of bubblegum
No piece no plum, no piece of bubblegum
I like coffee, I like tea
I like the colored and he likes me.
So smack that white boy, he don't shine.
(it could be step back white boy, I think I heard both)
I'll throw him round the corner and i'll beat his behind
Last night and the night before.
I met my boyfriend at the candy store.
He bought me ice cream he bought me cake.
He brought me home with a stomach ache.
I said Mama, mama, I feel sick
Call the doctor, quick, quick, quick
Doctor, doctor, if I die
I'll close my eyes and count to five
I said 1-2-3-4-5
I'm Alive!
See that house on top of that hill
That's where me and my boyfriend live.
Cook that chicken
Burn that rice
Come on baby let's shoot some DICE!
~T, August 25, 2013 at 2:46 PM https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/racialized-versions-of-i-like-coffee-i.html
**
"I like coffee
I like tea
I like the colored boy
And he likes me.
So stop that white boy
Me don't shine
I'm going to give that boy
A kick in the behind.
Last night, the night before
I met my boyfriend at the candy store.
He brought me ice cream
He bought me tea
He brought me home [Hesitates, looks at me through lowered
eyes.]
And he try my gate.
I said "Mama Mama I feel sick.
Call the doctor quick quick quick/
Doctor Doctor, will I die?
Close your eyes and count to five.
1-2-3-4-5.
See that house on top of the hill?
That's where me and my boyfriend live.
Cook that chicken. Eat that rice.
Come on baby, let's shoot some ...
Let's shoot...wait. Let's shoot some dice."
--fifth & six grade African American girls at John Dibert
Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana, collected by Jeanne Pitre Soileau
& included in her book Yo' Mama, Mary Mack, and Boudreaux and Thibodeaux:
Louisiana Children's Folklore and Play (October 2018)
-snip-
I believe that the words in brackets refers to the action of a girl or the girls who shared this version with the author. The girl/girls hesitated and lowered her/their head because this part of the rhyme was risque.
The author (who is White) wrote that her mother remembered chanting this much
shorter version of that rhyme in the 1920s (New Orleans, Louisiana)
"I love coffee
I love tea.
I love the boys
And they love me."
-snip-
Soileau also wrote that in the early 1950s she and her White
friends jumped rope and chanted that same version her mother chanted.
****
M. N.
Michigan
"Hello! I was singing this song and I wanted to learn where exactly it came from and I didn't know that it had so much history! I grew up in Detroit and was born in the year 2000 and the version I grew up with seem to have some mixtures of the examples you provided. The version I grew up with:
I like coffee, I like tea
I like the colored boy and he likes me.
So step back white boy you don't shine,
Cause I'll get the colored boy to beat yo behind.
Last night, and the night before
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.
I said "Mama, Mama I feel sick
Call the doctor quick,quick,quick".
Doctor Doctor shall I die?
Just close your eyes and count to 5.
I said a 1-2-3-4-5, I'm alive.
See that house n top of that hill?
That's where me and my baby gonna live.
Scoop the ice cream cut the cake,
Come on baby let's celebrate!
And sometimes, there'll be a weird ending at the end (which
to me doesn't seem to match the flow of the rhyme) that goes:
That's not all, that's not all
My baby drinking alcohol.
Overall, this was a very interesting post, got to learn
something new today. :)
-Anonymous, January 26, 2019 at 5:36 PM ,https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/racialized-versions-of-i-like-coffee-i.html,
****
New York
"Down, down baby
Down, down the roller coaster
Sweet, sweet baby
I'll never let you go
Chimey chimey cocoa pop
Chimey, chimey pow
Chimey, chimey cocoa pop
Chimey, chimey pop
I like coffee, I like tea
I like a colored boy and he likes me
So lets here the rhythm of the hands, (clap, clap) 2x
Let hear the rhythm of the feet (stomp, stomp) 2x
Let's hear the rhythm of the head (ding dong) 2x
Let's hear the rhythm of the hot dog
Let's hear the rhythm of the hot dog
Put em all together and what do you get
(Clap clap, stomp stomp), ding dong, hot Dog!"
-Yasmin Hernadez; 2004; memories of New York City {Latino/
African American neighborhood in the 1980s; www.cocojams.com [This was the name of my multi-page cultural website that was online from 2001-2014.]
****
O. P.
****
Q. R.
****
S. T
****
U. V.
Virginia
"Thank you so much for posting this!!! I went to an all black elementary school in Norfolk, VA in the early to mid 70's and we used the variation you described (shown below).
The confrontational action in these verses follows a consistent pattern. First, these rhymes are almost always given from a female perspective {which makes sense since the person or persons reciting these rhymes are usually girls}. Secondly, in the rhyme, a Black {or "Colored"} girl rejects the advances of a White boy. Thirdly, the girl tells the White boy that she "likes a Black boy and he likes me". And fourthly {if there is such a word}, the girl threatens to get a Black {or "Colored"} boy to "beat his {the White boy's} behind".
I have also found or received an example of this rhyme
in which a {presumably} Black girl tells another girl "Step back white
girl you don't shine/I'll get a black girl to beat your behind". However,
I have never found or received any version of this rhyme in which a White girl
or White boy initiate this confrontational encounter."
-GUEST, 09 Oct 10, Down Down Baby-Race in Children's Rhymes
**
"I learned Version of Down Down Baby in virginia in the 90's
Down down baby, down by the rollercoaster
Sweet sweet baby, mama never let you go
Shimmy shimmy coca pop, shimmy shimmy pow!
I like coffee, I like tea,
I like a color boy and he likes me
So step back white boy, you don't shine
I'll get the color boy to beat yo' behind
Let get the rhythm of the hands (clap, clap)
We've got the rhythm of the hands (clap, clap)
Let's get the rhythm of the feet (stomp,stomp)
We've got the rhythm of the feet (stomp, stomp
Lets get the rhythm of the head DING-DONG
(move head side to side)
We've got the rhythm of the head DING-DONG (move head side
to side)
(move body around)
We've got the of the HOT-DOG
(move body around)
Put all together and and what do you get....
clap, clap, stomp, stomp, ding-dong, hot-dog
Say them all backwards and what do you get....
hot-dog, ding-dong, stomp, stomp, clap, clap!"
-GUEST,Down
Down baby, 30
May 07, Folklore: Do kids still do clapping rhymes?https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=63097&threadid=63097
****
W. X
Washington (state)
"Down down baby / colored boy version was sang on the school yard at my elementary school in 1977 during double dutch at recess. I never understood the colored reference (iknew what it meant but not how it came to be, bc no one had ever used that term), I was only in 3rd grade, but it seems that it was taught to the younger generation. Oaklake elementary, Seattle"
-
**
".I learned a version of Down down baby that went like this:
own down baby, down by the roller coasters
Sweet sweet baby, I'll never let you go
Shimmy shimmy coco pop
Shimmy shimmy rye
Shimmy shimmy coco pop
Don't make me cry
I like coffee, I like tea
I like the ??? boys, and they like me.
Now as I sang this to my daughter, I could not for the life of me remember what the adjective on "boys" was. Having read a bit about the rhyme on your site and on Mudcat, I am now pretty sure that the missing word was "colored". Now, I am white and the little girls who taught me the rhyme were mostly white, and this being the late 80s, in liberal Seattle, I don't think we had any idea what "colored" meant. My guess is that when I grew up and learned about the term and our country's history of racism, I mentally blocked out the "racist" term from my memory of the rhyme. Interesting.
-Emma M; (Greenlake Elementary School; Seattle Washington, late 1980s) ; May 10, 2010; Cocojams.com handclap rhymes[cocojams.com was the name of my multipage cultural website. That website was online from 2001-2014.]
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor Note:
I exchanged several emails with Emma M. She confirmed that the version of this rhyme she remembers stopped after the last line given above. As part of my response to Emma's email, I wrote that the referent "Colored boy" isn't inherently racist. I also wrote that since "Colored" hasn't been used since the 1960s as a referent for African Americans, if any young African American (or if anyone else) used that phrase now, it's very likely that they don't know what it means. That goes double for the phrase "I like a color boy". Children who chant those lines may have been doing so from rote memory, vocalizing the rhythmic utterances without thinking about what the words they are saying really mean.
Emma responded to that email by writing "I agree with you that the term "colored" isn't inherently racist, but as soon as I learned about it, I certainly I would have perceived its use in the modern era by a bunch of little white girls as, at the very least, very embarrassing, if not outright racist."
-snip-
Emma also shared with me that she had talked with another (White) female friend of hers who went to another Seattle school at the same time as she did, and who also remembered saying the line "I like a colored boy" with the "Down Down Baby" rhyme. Emma also wrote that "the 1980s there was bussing and [Seattle] schools were fairly well integrated."
Y. Z
This concludes Part I of this three part pancocojams series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
