Revised - December 8, 2018
This pancocojams post provides information about and examples of the lyrics "That's the way I like it" in children's hand clap rhymes.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to K.C. & The Sunshine Band for their musical legacy. Thanks also to the unknown composers of the playground rhymes that include words to that song and thanks to the publishers of these videos.
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INFORMATION OF PLAYGROUND RHYMES THAT INCLUDE THE LINES THAT'S THE WAY I LIKE IT"
"That's the way I like it/un hun un hun" are the beginning lines of K.C. & The Sunshine Band's hit 1975 Disco record of that title and the lyrics's second line. The "un hun un hun" phrases mean "yes yes".
Those lines are often found in versions of the playground rhyme "Brick wall Waterfall". Every example that includes "that's the way I like it/un hun un hun", those lines repeated twice just as they are repeated in that K.C. & The Sunshine Band record. Those lines in hand clap rhymes use the same tune as the lyrics in that record.
In many of those playground rhymes, the lines "that's the way I like it/un hun un hun" are found in the beginning of those rhymes after an introductory phrase such as "ABC Hit It" or "123 Hit It". ("Hit it" is a phrase that is lifted from musical jargon. In music as well as in playground rhymes the phrase "Hit it" has come to mean "Begin".)
Seven examples of playground rhymes that include the words "That's the way I like it/un hun un hun" are found below.
These rhymes are usually chanted while performing specific motions that mimic the words that are said rather than while doing hand clap routines or jumping rope.
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That's_the_Way_(I_Like_It) for information about the song "That's The Way (I Like It)".
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SHOWCASE VIDEO OF THE SONG "THAT'S THE WAY (I LIKE IT)" 1975
Fahmi Marzouk, Sept. 9, 2015
SHOWCASE VIDEOS OF SOME HAND CLAP RHYMES THAT INCLUDE THE LINE "THAT'S THE WAY (I LIKE IT)"
Example #1: ABC Hit it:
uploaded by stariewitch, April 26, 2008
"These are my niece's playing one of their hand games. Arn't they cute. Ignore my son in the background. He was just being silly. I have more funny videos to check out too!"
-snip-
My transcription of this rhyme is given as #3 below.
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Example #2 - Shame Shame Shame (hand game)
.
Elizabeth Brooks, Uploaded on Aug 27, 2011
Alexis and Laysia performing hand game
-snip-
My transcription of and comments about this rhyme are given as Example #7 below.
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TEXT (WORD ONLY) EXAMPLES OF "THAT'S THE WAY I LIKE IT UN HUN UN HUN" IN PLAYGROUND RHYMES
Example #1:
1, 2, 3,
HIT IT!
that's the way
uh huh uh huh
i like it
uh huh uh huh
that's the way
uh huh uh huh
i like it
uh huh uh huh
peace. punch
captain crunch.
brick wall. waterfall.
girl you think you know it all?
you don't! i do!
so poof with the attitude.
loser loser with a twist
elbow elbow wrist wrist.
wipe a tear. blow a kiss.
kiss this.
hunnie u aint got none of this.
-k to the c, http://blog.oftheoctopuses.com/000518.php/, 6/20/2006 [This website is no longer active];
-snip-
The word "poof" approximates the sound that is supposedly made when something suddenly disappears (as in "Poof! It disappeared in a puff of smoke".)
Here's an explanation for the phrase: "elbow elbow wrist wrist" from http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=parade%20wave
"Parade Wave
A slight hand gesture used to wave for prolonged periods of time (like during a parade)or as a casual non-verbal greeting to friends. With the arm bent at the elbow, the waver turns their wrist back and forth exposing the front and then the back of the hand in a single motion."
by Hackermom Nov 2, 2005
-snip-
In the context of these playground rhymes, "elbow elbow wrist wrist" emphasizes the insincere nature of the person's hand wave.
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Example #2:
In the early eighties in Pensacola, FL, we sang a second part to the "Thats the Way" song. After the first part, we continued with:
My first name is (insert name);
My last is (insert last name);
My sign is (insert sign);
I got (insert boy's name) on my mind...
(and then start the first part over)
-Adriana ; 1/13/2007, cocojams.com [This website is no longer available.]
-snip-
Adriana is probably referring to the lyrics "That's the way/un hun un hun" which come from K.C. & The Sunshine Band's hit song.
The "second part" of "That's The Way" that Adriana gave is very similar to the words for the foot stomping cheer "L.O.V.E." which I collected in the mid 1980s in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. .
If my guess is correct about what Adriana meant was the first part of this rhyme, then this would be the only playground example that I've found to date which doesn't include lines from the taunting rhyme "Brick Wall Waterfall". That said, it's more likely that her "first part" included some lines from the "Brick Wall Waterfall" rhyme.
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Example #3
A.B.C.
Hit it!
Thats the way uh huh uh huh
i like it uh huh uh huh
Thats the way uh huh uh huh
i like it uh huh uh huh
peace puch captain crunch
break a wall waterfalls,girl you think you know it all
you dont i do so, poof with the attitude
wait, come back, you need a tic tac
not a tic not a tac but the whole six pack
yo mamma, yo daddy, your bald headed granny
she 99 she thinks shes fine,
she going out with frankenstein
go granny go go, go granny wooooo
-stariewitch; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkgtAELLndA&feature=related ; April 26, 2008.
-snip-
This is my transcription of the rhyme that is recited in the video which is given as Example #1 on this page.
Notice the line "break a wall" instead of the standard phrase "brick wall". The word "yo" in "yo mama" etc. means "your".
This is a different meaning for African American vernacular English word than when it's found in the beginning of the greeting sentence such as "Yo, what's up, man?" ["Hey, what's going on, man?]"
Note: Additional examples of this rhyme are posted on that video's viewer comment thread.
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Example #4:
There are hand motions that go with this rhyme, although I'm not sure I can explain them well, but I'll try, they're at the end}
That's the way uh huh uh huh
I like it uh huh uh huh
That's the way uh huh uh huh
I like it uh huh uh huh
Peace punch, Captain crunch
Brick wall, waterfall,
girl you think you got it all,
you dont. I do.
So poof with the attitude,
As if- Whatever- Good bye- Forever...
-Erin Sarah; 3/22/2008, cocojams
-snip-
For the record, based on the number of examples that were sent to my Cocojams playground rhyme pages and/or are found online, hand motions [mimicking words] are performed rhyme "Brick wall Waterfall". That rhyme and the partner hand clap, or group competitive hand slap rhyme "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" appear to be the most widely known contemporary playground rhymes among African American children in the early 2000s to date [the early 2013].
Note: I voluntary deactivated my cocojams website in 2014. Some of the rhyme content from that website is found on this pancocojams blog and some of the same content (in list formats) is found on https://cocojams2.blogspot.com.
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Example #5
ABC hit it
that's the way uh huh uh huh
I like it uh huh uh huh
that's the way uh huh uh huh
I like it uh huh uh huh.
You got the moves,
I got the grooves
so peace punch cap'n crunch.
Break the wall a water fall
girl you think you got it all,you don't. I do.
So poof with your attitude
your mother,your daddy,your bald headed granny.
She's 99 she's online,
she's going out with Frankenstein.
Go granny,go go go granny woo!
-Hannah; 10/29/2008, cocojams.com [Cocojams was the name of my cultural website that was online from January 2001 to November 2014. A lot of the examples on that website were submitted by children, preteens, and teenagers using that site's easy to submit page that didn't require contributors to give an email address. Some of those examples are included on my pancocojams blog and my cocojams2 blog.]
-snip-
Notice the phrase "she's 99 she's online". This is one of the very few examples of contemporary playground rhymes that I've collected that refer to the internet or to any modern electronic devices such as an ipod or Mp3s. The "standard" version of that line is "she's 99, she thinks she's fine. (with "fine" here meaning "looking attractive".)
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Example #6:
i also no another version of the 123 hit it one………
i like to get hit twice,
thats the way uh hu uh hu
i like it uh hu uh hu
thats the way uh hu uh hu
i like it uh hu uh hu,
brick wall water fall
boy you think you know it all,
you don’t i do
so poof with the attitude,
recess pieces butter cup,
mess with me i’ll mess you up
- Shasta; http://losemyway.wordpress.com/2008/02/06/hand-clapping-games/ [this website is no longer active) No More 3x5's Hand Clapping Games; August 12, 2010
-snip-
Editor:
In Shasta's preface to her example, the word "no" probably means "know.". It may be a typo or it may be an example of shorthand internet/texting spelling.
The phrase "I like to get hit twice" is a folk processed form of the phrases "ABC hit it" and "1, 2, 3, hit it". It is probably a result of not understanding that in music (including playground rhymes)"Hit it" means "to begin").
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Example #7:
Shame, Shame, Shame.
Hit it!
That’s the way, un hun un hun
I like it, un hun un hun.
That’s the way, un hun un hun
I like it, un hun un hun.
Rain fall waterfall
Girl, you think you know it all
you don’t I do.
So POOF with that attitude.
Welcome to McDonalds
May I take your order.
See my pinkie.
See my thumb.
See my fist.
You BETTA run.
-Elizabeth Brooks, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br9fAi7HdDk August 27, 2011 [video embedded above as Example #2],
-snip-
The rhyme that Alexis and Laysia recited is composed of five different parts:
1. Introductory lines: "shame shame shame"* and "Hit It"
2. "That's the way I like it [2x]
3. Brick Wall Waterfall (given here as "rainfall waterfal") lines
4. Welcome to McDonalds lines
5. See My Pinkie rhyme
Most English language playground rhymes combine multiple rhymes like this.
*[Update October 6, 2013]
Since at least the early 2000s, "Shame" is another title for the hand clap rhyme "I Don't Want to Go To Mexico" (or other similar lines like "I Don't Want To Go To Hollywood" or "I Don't Want To Go To School".) That "Shame" title comes from the "Shame shame shame" introductory line that those versions of those rhymes have, as well as the fact that many of those same rhymes end with the word "Shame". However, it's important to note that other children's rhymes begin with "Shame shame shame" and may also end with "Shame" (or alternatively with "Shut the door).
My guess is that the beginning phrase "shame shame shame" came from a question like "Aren't you ashamed [or what you did or of what you are doing]. However, my sense is that this phrase doesn't have any literal meaning to the children who recite it at the beginning of their rhymes. It should also be noted that the movement activity for the "shame shame shame" introductory line is almost always different from the movement routine for the rest of the rhyme. From examples that I have directly observed and from video examples, partners usually hold each other pinky fingers and sway their partner's hands back and forth while chanting that line.
The ending word "Shame" (or alternately, the command "Shut the door") act as signals for some action from the hand clap partners- either both dramatically "freezing" in place, or attempting to be the first one to tap the other on the forehead, or both pushing each other etc.
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RELATED LINK
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/childrens-cheers-or-rhymes-inspired-by.html for examples of five other playground rhymes or cheers that were inspired by popular records.
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