Latest revision: August 1, 2022
This pancocojams post presents information about The Simpsons television cartoon series.
This post also showcases some YouTube video examples and text (word only) examples of all of the hand clap rhymes that I've come across that refer to The Simpsons.
My text analysis of those rhymes is also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the creators of The Simpsons cartoon series and thanks to all those who are shown in these featured videos, and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Also, thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
-snip-
The title for this post was revised on November 24, 2020 to reflect that there are more than one handclap rhymes that include the name of "The Simpsons" fictitious characters.
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INFORMATION ABOUT "THE SIMPSONS" SHOW
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons
"The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield and parodies American culture, society, television, and many aspects of the human condition.
The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a solicitation for a series of animated shorts with the producer James L. Brooks. Groening created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family, substituting Bart for his own name. The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and was an early hit for Fox, becoming the network's first series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–1990).
Since its debut on December 17, 1989, the show has broadcast 530 episodes and the twenty-fourth season ended on May 19, 2013. The Simpsons is the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and in 2009 it surpassed Gunsmoke as the longest-running American primetime, scripted television series. The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length film, was released in theaters worldwide on July 26 and July 27, 2007, and grossed over $527 million.
The Simpsons is widely considered to be one of the greatest television series of all time."...
-snip-
To my knowledge, "The Simpsons" rhymes that are included in this post weren't created by anyone associated with "The Simpsons" productions (television series and movie).
Although it might have been any episode or any number of episodes that inspired the anonymous creation of "The Simpsons" rhyme, I wonder if the episode in which Bart sells his soul was the inspiration for the rhyme which indicates that Bart is in double trouble (in a lot of trouble).
I happened upon information about that episode in the Wikipedia page about the children's rhyme "Miss Susie"[had a steamboat] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Susie. Here's a quote from that page:
"In The Simpsons episode Bart Sells His Soul, Sherri and Terri chant, "Bart sold his soul, and that's just swell / Now he's going straight to / Hello operator / give me number nine" in Bart's nightmare. And in "Fat Man and Little Boy," Lisa and her friend Janey recite this rhyme. An eavesdropping Homer gasps whenever he expects profanity and lets out sighs of relief when they turn out to be innocuous."
-end of quote-
Here's more information about the "Bart Sells His Soul" episode:
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart_Sells_His_Soul
"Bart Sells His Soul" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons' seventh season. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network, on October 8, 1995. In the episode, while being punished for playing a prank at church, Bart declares that there is no such thing as a soul and to prove it he sells his to Milhouse for $5 in the form of a piece of paper with "Bart Simpson's soul" written on it. Lisa warns Bart he will regret this decision, and Bart soon witnesses odd changes in his life. Believing he really has lost his soul, he becomes desperate to get it back. Lisa eventually acquires it and returns it to a relieved Bart."
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FEATURED VIDEOS
Example #1: Hand Games
Paisley Horton, Uploaded on Apr 25, 2009
Alecia and Arianna doing hand games..Eliott in the back ground annoyed..lol
-snip-
The girls chant two rhymes.
The first rhyme is a version of the children's hand clap rhyme "There's A Place On Mars".
The second rhyme beginning at .025 is a version of "The Simpsons".
Here's my transcription of that rhyme which I transcribed on September 5, 2010. Corrections & additions are welcome.
THE SIMPSONS (Version #1)
Sin Sin Sin
We do twist (tricks?)
And I do twist (tricks?)
And Maggie Maggie Maggie twist (tricks?)
And Mart is double trouble
Mart is double trouble
Criss cross
The apple sauce
Pump up the volume
Pump up the volume
Pump up the volume
Now freeze 1 time
Pump up the volume
Pump up the volume
Pump up the volume
Now freeze
-Alecia and Arianna; 2009, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ9PPA7MaJk&feature=grec_index
NOTES ABOUT MY TRANSCRIPTION OF THIS RHYME
"?" means I'm not sure about the words that were recited.
"sin sin sin"" - an introductory phrase that is probably a folk etymology version of "shame shame shame". The introductory phrase "shame shame shame" is frequently found in African American orginated children's rhyme. Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br9fAi7HdDk for a video of two African American girls performing a handclap routine while reciting a version of the handclap rhyme "Brickwall Waterfall". That video's title is "Shame Shame Shame" and the rhyme begins with that introductory phrase.
""Mart" is undoubtedly "Bart Simpson".
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OTHER EXAMPLES OF THE SIMPSON'S HAND CLAP RHYME
(Note: I assigned numbers to these examples featured in this post because they have the same titles. The numbers are given in the order of their presentation in this post.
Version #2: The Simpsons hand game
renjs, Uploaded on Aug 27, 2008
Ren, Eric, Alex, Renee doing what Renee wants to do... again
-snip-
Unfortunately, the visuals and sound for this video are very poor quality of this video. I'm including it because, in spite of the poor visual and audio quality of the video, it still gives an example of how "The Simpsons" rhyme is performed as a syncopated group handclap/movement rhyme.)
Here's a description of this video:
A Black man, two young Black boys and a young Black girl form a circle and clap each others hands in the beginning portion of this rhyme. The participants then perform body motions which correspond to the words that are said. For instance, on the words "criss cross", the participants cross their arms on their chest. And on the word "Freeze!", the participants "freeze in place" (make a funny or dramatic pose and remain perfectly still for a very short amount of time.)
The words to this rhyme are difficult to hear, but I believe that the words that the participants recited are the same as or very similar to the words given in Version #3 below.
Here's my partial transcription of this video:
The Simpsons
The Simpsons:
Bart Simpson
Lisa Simpson
Homer and Marge
????
????
????
Criss Cross
Apple sauce
Pump up the volume
Pump up the volume
Pump up the volume
Pump up the volume
Pump up the volume
Freeze!
Pump up the volume
Pump up the volume
Pump up the volume
Pump up the volume
And Freeze!
-renjs, August 27, 2008 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehR2-Sa5qYQ&t=1s
video summary: "Ren, Eric, Alex, Renee doing what Renee wants to do... again"
video description- Black father does four person hand claps with his children.
-snip-
This is my partial transcription of this video. Additions and corrections are welcome.
Version #3
THE SIMPSONS [title]
The Simpsons:
Bart Simpson
Lisa Simpson
Homer and Marge
That’s not all-
Bart’s in double trouble
Bart Simpson
Lisa Simpson
Homer and Marge
That’s not all-
Bart’s in double trouble
Criss Cross
Apple sauce
Pump up the volume
Pump up the volume
Pump up the volume
Pump up the volume
Pump up the volume
Freeze!
Pump up the volume
Pump up the volume
Pump up the volume
Pump up the volume
For the last time
Freeze!
- Tamia; 12 year old African American girl, Maryland) Oct 29. 2005; collected by Marimba for Azizi Powell
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Example #4
THE SIMPSONS
clap
lisa simpson, bart simpson, homer simpson, bart
B-A-R-T B-A-R-T B-A-R-T BART
i said a deep da deep da deep trouble
i said a deep da deep da deep trouble
-Anietie; http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2204285338&topic=2724&post=25803#t; October 7, 2006
-snip-
-snip-
I also found this video entitled "The Simpsons hand game":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jkne6UHrYM.
In that video two young girls perform a handclap routine while reciting a rhyme in what I think is Spanish.
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bart simpson lisa simpson homer and marge
thats not all maggie maggie magie
barts in trouble trouble
criss cross jhonny apple sause
pump up the volume pump up the volume
now freeze!
[This link is no longer active.]
EXPLANATIONS ABOUT CERTAIN SAYINGS IN THESE RHYMES
WHAT "PUMP UP" MEANS IN CHILDREN'S CHEERLEADER CHEERS & AND WHERE THIS PHRASE MIGHT HAVE COME FROM [Revised June 18, 2016]
"Pump up the volume" literally means to "turn up the sound". In the context of its use in cheerleader cheers, "pump up" means "to raise the energy", "to get more excited about what you are doing". The closely related phrase "Pump it up" which is also found in children's (mostly girls) cheerleader cheers means "to give something more air such as when air is pumped into a car tire or a balloon).
During competitive athletic games the exhortations to "pump it up" and "pump up the volume" are directed to the athletic team as well as to its fans. "Pump up the volume" is closely related to the exhortation "pump it up" which is also found in several children's cheerleader cheers.
My guess is that the record that most likely influenced the use of the phrase "pump up the volume" in cheerleader cheers was the 1987 Pop record "Pump Up The Volume" by the British recording act M|A|R|R|S. That record included a number of samples. In the context of the "pump it up"/ "pump up the volume" children's cheerleading cheers, these record samples were probably the most significant (given in chronological order of record release and not in any particular order of influence):
Trouble Funk, "Pump Me Up" in Drop the Bomb, 1982 (LP): Vocal sample ("Pump-pump me up")
Original Concept, "Pump That Bass" in Bite'n My Stylee, 1986 (12"): Vocal sample ("Pump that bass")
Eric B. & Rakim, "I Know You Got Soul (a cappella version)" in I Know You Got Soul, 1987 (12"):
Vocal sample ("Pump up the volume, dance")
Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pump_Up_the_Volume_(song) for more information about the record "Pump Up The Volume".
-snip-
In addition, the use of "Pump up the volume" in cheerleader cheers may have also been influenced by the title of the 1990s American movie "Pump Up The Volume".. Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pump_Up_the_Volume_(film) for information about that comedy/drama.
-snip-
I believe that the song "Pump Me Up" was the main influence for the cheerleader cheer "Pump It Up". That influence is shown in those cheers' repetition of the word "pump" (i.e. "pump pump pump it up") and the tune and tempo that those cheers (that I've directly observed and observed via YouTube videos) use.
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WHAT "DOUBLE TROUBLE" MEANS
"Double trouble" means "a lot of trouble".
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THE TERM "DOUBLE TROUBLE IN THE 1922 BOOK "NEGRO FOLK RHYMES"
As a matter of interest, the rhyming phrase "double trouble" can be found in a song that is included in the 1922 book Negro Folk Rhymes: Wise And Otherwise by Thomas W. Talley.
From the rhyme entitled "Gooseberry Wine" http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27195/27195-h/27195-h.htm, p.41
"Oh walk chalk, Ginger Blue!
Git over double trouble.
You needn' min' de wedder
So's de win' don't blow you double."
-snip-
I believe that "walk chalk" in this rhyme/song means "to be very careful"; "to always be alert and aware about your surroundings and what you are doing" given the dangers and difficult circumstances that you're likely to face (as a Black person).
Here's information that helps explain the phrase "walk chalk"
From https://zippyfacts.com/what-does-the-phrase-to-walk-the-chalk-mean-and-where-did-it-come-from/#:~:text=The%20significance%20is%20alleged%20to,lines%20of%20the%20lane%2C%20he
"What does the phrase “to walk the chalk” mean and Where did it come from?"; July 7, 2020 by Karen Hill
"In present day American use, one who is made “to walk the chalk” must walk a line of rectitude and sobriety, not deviating a hair’s breadth, or he must obey the rules closely.
The significance is alleged to have been of nautical origin,
a straight chalk line drawn along the deck, or a narrow lane between two lines,
to test the sobriety of a sailor; if he could not walk the length of the line
placing each foot directly on it, or if he was unable to keep within the two
lines of the lane, he was adjudged to be too drunk for duty and was clapped
into the brig.".
By the time the expression had become a matter of literary
record, back in 1823, however, the test was military and altogether a friendly
competition among soldiers to discover who was the most sober."...
-end of quote-
Regardless of its nautical origins, I believe that the term "walk chalk" in this rhyme/song has more to do that with the "cakewalk" dance whose earlier name was "the chalk line walk"..
Here's an excerpt from http://www.streetswing.com/histmain/z3cake1.htm
"The Chalk Line Walk as it was originally known in 1850 in the Southern plantations and later became very popular from 1895-1905 as the Cakewalk with a resurgence around 1915. It originated in Florida by the African-American slaves who got the basic idea from the Seminole Indians (couples walking solemnly). Many of the special movements of the cake-walk, the bending back of the body, and the dropping of the hands at the wrists, amongst others, were a distinct feature in certain tribes of the African Kaffir dances. The African Ring Shout has a certain tie to this dance as well (see Ring Shout.)
These "Walkers" as they were called, would walk a straight line and balance buckets of water on their heads. Over time the dance evolved into a exaggerated parody of the white, upper class ballroom dancers who would imitate the mannerisms (namely the promenades and processionals) of the "Big House" (or masters house) that they observed the White's doing. These Slave's would have some fun with such a dignified walking, flirting, prancing, strutting, bowing low, waving canes, doffing hats, done in a high kicking grand promenade. The Master's and their guest found it amusing, while a few plantation owners frowned upon these shenanigans. For their 'Sunday' entertainment, the plantation owners started having contests to prove to the other who had the best slave walker.
---- The idea of the Cakewalk was that of a couple promenading in a dignified manner, high stepping and kicking, mimicking whitey's high society. Some of the better plantation owners would bake a cake on Sundays and invite the neighbors over and have a contest of the slaves, different prizes were given but originally it was a cake and whichever slave won, would get the cake... thus the term "That Takes The Cake!" (Plus others such as 'It's a Cakewalk' = very easy) and the name "Cakewalk" was now set. The dance grew in popularity even after the Civil War (1861-1865), but it would change."...
-snip-
Read this comment that I wrote about the pre-minstrel/minstrel character "Ginger Blue" in this Mudcat online folk music discussion thread: https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=47413#3231649 Lyr Add: Sail on, Chalk Ginger Blue!. This is one of several comments that I wrote in that discussion thread about the name "Ginger Blue". To briefly summarize one of my last comments in that discussion thread:
"Ginger Blue" was a name given to a pre-minstrel (and later minstrel) character "created" by Thomas Dartmouth Rice in the mid 1800s. "Ginger Blue" was a self-assured, boastful Black man, similar to Zip Coon, except that "Ginger Blue" came from the plantation and Zip Coon came from the city. This character was "played" for laughs for White people in pre-minstrel/minstrel shows.
-end of summary-
Notwithstanding that pre-minstrel/minstrel "Ginger Blue" character, my guess is that in that Negro Folk Rhymes song "Ginger Blue" is an informal referent for a Black man (or Black woman). The message of the rhyme is to caution him (or her) to be confident but very cautious in how he (or she) walks through life.
The "Ginger Blue" referent might have originally referred to a Black man (or woman) who is a "redbone" (a light skinned Black people who have a reddish hue to their skin), but I don't think there's any way of discerning that now.
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WHAT "CRISS CROSS APPLESAUCE" MEANS
"criss cross applesauce" is a rhyming phrase that is found in several contemporary American English children's rhymes.
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