Debora Marines Teach Magically, Apr 27, 2015
Kindergarten having fun moving!
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This is an example of numerous YouTube videos of children in schools and in summer camps or their teachers/staff performing "Pop See Ko".
Notice that this video was published on YouTube one month after Koo Koo Kanga Roo published a video of their composition of the singing game "Pop See Ko".
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Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest update- January14, 2024
This pancocojams post presents information about and lyrics & videos of KooKoo Kanga Roo's children's game/dance song "Pop See Ko" (sometimes given as "Popsicle").
This post also includes lyrics for and videos of the much earlier American children's game "Jigalo" (also given as "Jigalow" and "Gigalo"). "Gigalo"/"Jigalo" cheers/singing games are the precursors for "Pop See Ko".
The content of this post is presented for folkloric and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos and all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
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INFORMATION ABOUT KOO KOO KANGA ROO AND GONOODLE
"Pop See Koo" is a song/dance that is part of the Koo Koo Kanga Roo repertoire. Here's information about Koo Koo Kanga Roo:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koo_Koo_Kanga_Roo
"Koo Koo Kanga Roo is an American comedic dance-pop duo from Minneapolis, Minnesota, consisting of vocalists Bryan (Bryan Atchison) and Neil (Neil Olstad).
Billed as an "interactive dance party duo" and described as "the Beastie Boys meet Sesame Street",[1] Koo Koo Kanga Roo showcase a colorful live show which relies heavily on audience participation, featuring overtly silly sing-along songs which are typically accompanied by their own individual dance move.[2]...
Koo Koo Kanga Roo have defined themselves foremost as a live band, with their performances and audience interaction being the pure core of the group, even more so than their recorded music.[4][5] Bryan and Neil are the only members of Koo Koo Kanga Roo, and thus perform all of their songs against pre-recorded backing tracks played from their iPods over the venue's PA system.[2]...
Appearance on GoNoodle
Koo Koo Kanga Roo partners with GoNoodle, a brain break website for teachers, to produce short and fun videos that encourage kids to get up and dance in the classroom. These videos are available on GoNoodle for free."...
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I believe that Koo Koo Kango Roo teaming up with GoNoodle greatly contributed to how quickly and how widely their song "Pop See Ko" has been spread in the United States and elsewhere.
Both Koo Koo Kanga Roo "Pop See Ko" videos that I've found on YouTube are led by the middle aged White American duo known as "Koo Koo Kanga Roo". The informally dressed men are shown outside of a log cabin in the woods. In one of the videos one of the Koo Koo Kanga Roo duo wears a "fanny pack", probably for comedic effect.
These "Pop See Ko" videos often include animation and also often feature other adults (and in one video, also a group of children).
As of May 31, 2016 12:02 AM there were a total of 7,451,947 views for this Pop See Ko video which was published on YouTube on Mar 30, 2015. This is the earliest date for "Pop See Koo" that I've found thus far. [January 14, 2024 - That video has since been deleted. Another Koo Koo Kanga Roo/GoNoodles "Po See Ko" video [embedded below] that was published in July 2020 has 14,534,327 views as of January 14, 2024.
Except for the words "Pop See Ko", the words, tune, and performance activities for "Pop See Ko" are exactly the same as the "Gigalo"/"Jigalo" cheer/rhyme. A commenter wrote that she remembered "Gigalo" from the late 1970s. The earliest performance of "Gigalo" that I saw in real life was in the late 1980s (my daughter and some of her female friends in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.)
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LYRICS FOR "POP SEE KO"
Hey ______________
Hey what?
Are you ready?
For what?
To pop
Pop what?
Pop See Ko!
My hands are high
My feet are low
And this is how I pop see ko
His hands are high
His feet are low
And this is how I pop see ko
Pop see ko
Pop-pop see ko
Pop see ko
Pop-pop see ko
from Pop See Ko, released May 7, 2015
Source: http://music.kookookangaroo.com/track/pop-see-ko
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Koo Koo Kanga Roo is credited as the composers of "Pop See Ko".
A number of commenters in "Pop See Ko" video discussion threads* mistake the words "Pop See Ko" for the English word "Popsicle". "Popsicle" is a registered brand name for a frozen fruit flavored snack. That brand name is widely used (at least in the United States) for similar frozen treats that aren't marketed by the company that owns that brand name.
*As is the case with most discussion threads for YouTube children's videos, since late 2019, discussion threads for Koo Koo Kangaroo's YouTube videos and almost all the other YouTube videos of "Pop See Ko" have been deleted.
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COMPARISON BETWEEN "POP SEE KO" AND "JIGALOW" ("JIGALO", "GIGALO")
With the exception of the words "Pop See Ko" and the word "Pop","Pop See Ko" is an exact replica of the American game song "Jigalow" ("Jigalo", "Gigalo"). "Gigalo" begins
Hey ______________ [person's name]
Hey what?
Are you ready?
For what?
To gig
Gig what?
Gig a lo!
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The rest of the words that are given for "Pop See Koo" are the same for the remainder of the "Gigalo"/"Jigalow" song. And, just like the participants for "Pop See Koo" dance/game, each "soloist" for the Gigalo/ Jigalow game is encouraged to make up their own movement that the rest of the group then mimics.
Here's an excerpt from an earlier pancocojams post on "Gigalo" - http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/12/childrens-rhyme-gigalo-examples.html*:
"The earliest example of "Gigalo" that I've found is the example that I collected from my daughter & her friends in the mid to late 1980s (see text example #1 above). Of course, earlier examples of that cheer may exist in other persons' memories or in written form.
Given its textual structure and performance activity, I believe that the Gigalo rhyme is of African American origin. However, it's clear from reading online examples of "Gigalo" that this cheer/rhyme is also known and performed by non-African Americans (mostly girls)...
The textual structure of "Gigalo" (the way the words are structured) fits my definition for "foot stomping cheers".
Gigalo has a group/consecutive soloists structure which is the signature structure for foot stomping cheers. By "group/consecutive soloist" I mean that the group's voice is heard first, and then a soloist's voice is heard. This pattern of alternating voices continues until a soloist's slightly longer portion occurs...
At the end of that rendition of the cheer, the complete cheer immediately starts again from the beginning with a new soloist. The order of soloists is selected before the cheer activity begins. That pattern of consecutive soloists continues until everyone in the group has had one turn as the soloist.
That said, the body (including the foot movements) of people chanting "Gigalo" may not be the same as the synchronized, coordinated movements that are performed by "steppers" doing [other] foot stomping cheers."
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In addition to categorizing the textual structure "Gigalo" (and "Pop See Ko") as a foot stomping cheer, the movements of these songs can be considered as part of the "show me your motion" category of children's game songs. Children and other participants playing these types of (usually circle) games are encouraged to perform individualized movements that are different than those which may have preceded them. And the rest of the group is encouraged to try to exactly replicate the movements that each "soloist" does.
*That post includes multiple examples of "Gigalo" rhymes as well as examples of the United Kingdom hand clap rhymes "High Low Jack A Low" which I think may have been the inspiration for "Gigalo"/"Jigalow".
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SHOWCASE VIDEOS OF "POP SEE KO"
Example #1 -Koo Koo- Pop See Ko
Steve Steve, July 17, 2020
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This video replaces a Koo Koo Kanga Roo video of "Pop See Ko" that was published on YouTube in 2015.
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Example #2: Pop See Koo 3.0
Carmi Scheller, Published on Apr 28, 2015
4th Grade Version of Pop See Ko
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Example #3: Popsicle Song | The Ciera and Olivia Show
Ciera and Olivia Show Published on Jul 15, 2015
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SHOWCASE VIDEOS OF "JIGALO"/"GIGALO"
Example #1: Travis learned the jigalow!
caitlingilson, Uploaded on Oct 21, 2008
travis and the volleyball team (JV) get down at the camarillo tournament!
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Example #2: playing gigalo at cheer camp
bby209angl, Uploaded on Aug 3, 2010
this was my first time playing it was fun :)
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