"Great Big House In New Orleans" (Play Party Song) Information, Lyrics, Origins

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Update: July 21,2023

This pancocojams post presents showcases three YouTube videos of the play party song "Great Big House In New Orleans" (also known as "Great Big House"). 

This post also includes general information about play party songs and lyrics & performance directions for "Great Big House In New Orleans".

My comments about the probable African American origin of this play party song are also included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the performers of this song, thanks to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.

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INFORMATION ABOUT PLAY PARTY SONGS
"Play party songs" is a reference for 19th century American group movement songs that took the place of dancing at social events since dancing was prohibited in those communities. Those movement songs had no instrumental music and touching another person while playing those "singing games" was greatly regimented.

Online articles about play party songs routinely refer to the European sources of those songs and routinely omit any acknowledgement that a number of play party songs are of African American origin or have had African American influences. For example, the album notes to "American Play Parties" by Pete Seeger, Mika Seeger, and Rev. Larry Eisenberg FW07604 provides this description of play party songs:
"To evade the religious prohibition against dancing in certain American communities, young people in the 19th century devised an ingenious solution—they adapted children’s games, which were permitted. The result was so-called play parties. Participants sang creative songs to cue movements, and the events were great “mixers.” The only element lacking was instrumental music." http://www.folkways.si.edu/TrackDetails.aspx?itemid=19300 [This website is no longer available.]

The author of that album's notes wrote that "Anglo-American" as the cultural group that is the source of the play party songs which are found on that album.

However, I believe that at least three songs of the fourteen songs that are included on that album are of African American origin: "Shake Them 'Simmons Down", "Goodbye Liza Jane", and "Great Big House in New Orleans". Other songs on that album may also be of African American origin or those versions of the song may have been African American influenced. Yet no one reading those album notes would know that.

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MY STATEMENT ABOUT THE PROBLEM WITH CATEGORIZING PLAY PARTY SONGS AND OTHER FOLK SONGS AS WHITE AMERICAN ORIGIN WHEN THOSE SONGS MIGHT BE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ORIGIN OR OF CROSS RACIAL ORIGINS
For the sake of historical documentation, and for psychological reasons, I strongly believe that it's important to acknowledge that African Americans also contributed to America's play party repertoire Providing the information that some American folk songs are of African American origin helps build and reinforce group esteem in a population that is still being maligned and a population that is still experiencing the effects and consequences of personal racism and of institutional racism.

By folk songs/play party that have cross racial origins" I mean those compositions that may have been influenced by both Black and White (and/or other) cultures perhaps being shared back and forth among those cultures to the extent that it is impossible to determine which racial/ethnic group was their first or the most prominent source. 

People may think that they are being "color-blind" by not mentioning race (when they are teaching children folk songs and at other times). However, by not mentioning race they are actually reinforcing the viewpoint that only White people are responsible for accomplishments. This is because both online and offline "White" is the default race (just as "male" is the default gender). When no race is mentioned for an individual (unless the discussion is about some criminal act or something that is stereotypically considered to be the purview of a particular race/ethnicity), people automatically assume that that person is White (just as people automatically assume that people posting online are male).

Regardless of their race or ethnicity, children shouldn't be led to believe that White people were the only composers of play party songs or other folk songs.
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Added July 21, 2023:
One way that American play party songs and other American folk songs may be mislabeled as being White play party songs and/or White folk songs (only) and not Black or another American race/ethnic group is the inclusion of a topical referent as simple as "pumpkin pie" instead of "chicken pie".

Most online examples of the play party song "Great Big House In New Orleans", the lyrics refer to "every room that I been in/filled with pumpkin pie." 

"Pumpkin pie" is largely a dessert that White Americans are familiar with while Black Americans are much more familiar with the similar looking, but different tasting "sweet potato pie". Click https://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/2022/11/24/pumpkin-vs-sweet-potato-pie-thanksgiving-debate/69626826007/  for the 2022 article entitled "Pumpkin vs. sweet potato pie: The epic battle of the Thanksgiving desserts" by Haadiza Ogwude . Here's one quote from that article:

 "people, predominantly in the Northeast, and sweet potato pie is eaten by Black people, mainly in the South. But that would be an oversimplification of the complex history of two iconic American desserts.

[…]

Black and white southern cooks implemented sweet potatoes into their culinary repertoire because they were easier to grow than pumpkins due to the warmer climate of the region. In turn, cooks from the North preferred to use the more accessible gourds.

Because many enslaved Africans did not have access to pumpkins or the yams they were used to, they improvised with sweet potatoes and were able to create new recipes reminiscent of home. Now this innovation has become a staple of Black American culture."..
-end of quote-.

Here's another article that notes the regional divide and often the racial divide in the United States between pumpkin pie and sweet potato pie".

https://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/2022/1122/What-s-in-a-pie-History-culture-and-a-taste-of-home
What’s in a pie? History, culture, and a taste of home.

By Kendra Nordin Beato, November 22, 2022
"If you grew up in the northern United States, it’s likely you associate pumpkin pie with Thanksgiving. But travel south of the Mason-Dixon Line, and another orange-colored pie reigns supreme on the holiday table – sweet potato pie.

Historically, pumpkins don’t grow well in the Southern heat. But that’s not the only reason for the absence of pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving was originally perceived as a holiday forced on the South by the victorious North after the Civil War. The arrival of pumpkins was just another pie in the face.

There’s more to the story. Sweet potatoes are also central to Black Southern cuisine; they’re tied up in the history of the slave trade, the yam, and plantation cooks. “…
-end of quote- 

A few online examples of "Great Big House In New Orleans" include the line "every room that I been in/filled with chicken pie" instead of that "pumpkin pie" referent.  There are other ante-bellum (before the Civil War) Black American songs that mention "chicken pie" and my sense is that "chicken pie" suggests that those songs have Black American origins and/or Black American influences. 

Read the Addendum to this post about the possible meaning/s of "chicken pie" in pre-Civil war Black American songs.   

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LYRICS AND PERFORMANCE INSTRUCTIONS: "GREAT BIG HOUSE IN NEW ORLEANS"
1. Great big house in New Orleans,
Forty stories high;
Ev'ry room that I been in,
Filled with chicken pie.

2. Went down to the old mill stream,
To fetch a pail of water;
Put one arm around my wife,
The other 'round my daughter.

3. Fare thee well, my darling girl,
Fare thee well, my daughter;
Fare thee well, my darling girl,
With the golden slippers on her.

Movements:
1. First verse: students form a circle, holding hands, walk keeping a steady beat, then stop.
2. Went down to the old mill stream,
(every other student moves to the center, holding hands with arms below waist)
To fetch a pail of water;
(outside circle moves behind inner circle, placing arms over the shoulders of the inner circle and holds hands)
Put one arm around my wife,
(keeping hands held, outside circle raises arms to ceiling, bringing them down behind the back of the inner circle)
The other 'round my daughter.
(keeping hands held, inner circle rises arms to ceiling, bringing them down behind the backs of the outer circle)
3. Third verse: keeping arms around the outer circle, the whole circle walks to a steady beat.

Source: http://musicnotes.net/SONGS/04-GREATB.html

Origin: USA - Louisiana Play Song
-snip-
Other performance instructions are given with the videos below.

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FEATURED EXAMPLES
These examples are presented in chronological order based on their posting dates with the oldest dated examples given first.

Multiple versions of a song are presented to showcase some of the different ways this singing game is sung and played.

Example #1:G3 Great Big House in New Orleans



ESMusicISB, Sep 19, 2012

Watch as Ms. H's class sing and dance to the American folk song "Great Big House in New Orleans."
-snip-
Here's instructions for this singing game written by Anthony Meehl, 2014 from a video that is no longer available:
1st vs [verse]
march to beat around circle

2nd vs
#1's march to middle and join hands (went down to the old mill stream)
#2's march to middle and join hands over the top of #1's. (to fetch a pail of water)
#2's bring hands over the top (put one arm around my wife)
#1's bring hands over the top (the other round my daughter)

3rd vs
keep hands joined and slide feet to the beat around the circle. Hope this helps :)

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Example #2: Great Big House In New Orleans



HelenIn Harmony, Published on Sep 9, 2013

Midwest Play-Party Singing Dance

Filmed November, 2010 - 3rd Grade

Great Big House in New Orleans
Forty stories high
Ev'ry room that I've been in
Filled with pumpkin pie.

Went down to the old mill stream
To fetch a pail of water
Put one arm around my wife
The other round my daughter

Fair thee well, my darling girl
Fair thee well, my daughter
Fair thee well, my darling girl...
With the golden slippers on her

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Example #3: MUSIC TEACHER RESOURCES - Great Big House



Kate Fellin, Published on Oct 18, 2013

TEACHING TIPS: Students stand in a circle alternating between boys and girls. (We used lanyards to differentiate between the groups, which also works). Boys go in four steps and back out; girls go in four steps and back out. Boys go in four and hold hands, then girls go in four steps and hold hands in front of boys. Girls raise arms over the boys' heads and put them behind their backs, then boys raise their arms and put them behind the girls' backs. The interlocked circle moves clockwise (to the left) for eight counts, then they raise their arms and step back to their original positions. For a more advanced version (that we did), the outer circle moves clockwise one window so that they are standing next to a new person for the dance. The words are "Great Big House in New Orleans/Forty stories high/Every room that I've been in/Filled with pumpkin pie./Went down to the old mill stream/To fetch a pail of water./Put one arm around my wife/The other round my daughter./Fare thee well, my darlin' girl/Fare thee well, my daughter/Fare thee well, my darlin' girl/With golden slippers on her."

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RELATED SONGS
The "house in New Orleans/forty stories high/filled with chicken pie" lines in the song "Great Big House In New Orleans" reminds me of the African American old time song "Riding In A Buggy Miss Mary Jane".

Sally got a house in Baltimo',
Baltimo', Baltimo'
Sally got a house in Baltimo'
And it's full of chicken pie.

I got a gal in Baltimo',
Baltimo', Baltimo'
I got a gal in Baltimo',
And she's sixteen stories high.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/12/riding-in-buggy-miss-mary-jane-video.html for a post about that song.

"Great Big House's" verses also could serve as floaters for versions of "Li'l Liza Jane".

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/02/five-examples-of-song-lyrics-for-lil.html for a post about that song.

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ADDENDUM - WHAT "CHICKEN PIE" INSTEAD OF "PUMPKIN PIE" MIGHT SUGGEST IN BLACK AMERICAN ANTE-BELLUM SONGS

Unlike the song "Li'l Liza Jane" ("Little Liza Jane") and many other folk songs, with one interesting exception*, all the lyrics to online versions of "Great Big House In New Orleans" are the same. I'm not sure if this is because each of these websites used the same source or not. I would be very surprised to learn that there weren't any variant forms of this song when it was a naturally occurring part of children's and youth's social play and not as it is taught to students in school as is done nowadays.

*The exception to the lyrics is the substitution of "pumpkin pie" for "chicken pie", giving the lyrics "Ev'ry room that I been in/Filled with chicken pie."

The "chicken pie"* lyric is important because among 19th century African Americans, chicken was considered a luxury. As such, the reference in the song "Great Big House In New Orleans" to the each room of a forty story high house being filled with chicken pie is a grandiose image that reflects more than the singer's desire for comfort and good living. In that song, to fantasize about chicken pie is important because the singer might have experienced a number of days without adequate food. 

Chicken pie would have satisfied the hunger of the enslaved people singing that song much more than a dessert would, particularly a dessert that he or she might not have been that familiar with. The change in the lyrics of this song from "chicken pie to pumpkin pie" might still have cultural implications in the 21st century United States  as it appears from online discussions (and from my experience) that  pumpkin pie isn't a dessert that African Americans are familiar with. My sense is that we African Americans prefer the similar dessert of sweet potato pie - a dessert which many White Americans apparently aren't that familiar with.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-cultural-regional-racial.html for a post about the cultural, regional, and racial associations of sweet potato pie.
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It's also important to note that when chicken was available during slavery in the southern United States, it appears that it was served as a pie and not fried as is stereotypically attributed to Black Americans. Nowadays, "chicken pie" is most commonly known in the United States as "chicken pot pie".

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