Latest Update - January 18, 2024
This post was originally published on pancocojams in December 2011 http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/12/childrens-rhyme-gigalo-examples.html.
A fourth video, and selected comments from two of these videos have been added to that 2011 post.
This pancocojams post provides text, video examples, and comments about the children's playground rhyme "Gigalo" ("Jigalow").
The content of this post is presented for folkloric and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who contributed examples of these rhymes. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to those who are featured in the videos and who published those videos on YouTube.
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES ABOUT "GIGALO" /"JIGALO" CHEERS/RHYMES
"Gigalo" (also spelled "Jigalow") is a children's recreational composition that has different performance activities.
I recall reading a YouTube discussion thread in which a commenter recalled playing "Gigalo" in the 1970s, but unfortunately I can't find that comment now. In the late 1980s I observed my daughter and some of her female friends performing "Gigalo" in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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).
From the number of YouTube video examples and comments, it appears that "Gigalo" is quite widely known in the United States. However, "Gigalo" isn't included in any off-line publications of children's rhymes that I have come across. Before the internet it was rare for most African American children's recreational rhymes, singing games, and cheers to be included in books, records, and other publications of children's rhymes. Instead, those rhymes were passed on by word of mouth.
Most publications of children's rhymes only include the adult approved version of playground rhymes and not the multiple versions of rhymes that children really say. The failure to publish examples of African American playground rhymes is just one aspect of this point, but it is a critical aspect since-in my opinion- many American children's recreational rhymes come from African Americans.
In part because recreational rhymes and cheers traditionally weren't written down, many of those compositions were short lived, lasting only for a short space of time in certain neighborhoods. But, for some reason/s, the "Gigalo" rhyme/cheer has survived sometimes with changes in its words, but not its tune, and sometimes with some changes in its performance styles.
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HOW THE NAME FOR THIS CHEER/RHYME/SONG IS SPELLED
The word "Gigalo" and "Jigalo" is a folk processed form of the words "Jack a low". "High Low Jack A Low" is the American name for the British card game "All Fours".
Here's information about this card game:
From http://www.woodburystrings.com/bands-for-hire/high-low-jack/
"HIGH-LOW-JACK is one of several names for an old-time
card game that originated in the 1600s in England and is still very popular
there. Known as All-Fours in England, it was the most popular gambling game in
America until after the Civil War when Draw Poker began to overshadow it. It
continued to be popular throughout the 19th century, and was most commonly
known as Seven Up or Old Sledge. It is still popular today in various forms
including Pitch or Auction Pitch."
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SOME ADULTS' OPPOSITION TO CHILDREN PERFORMING RHYMES/CHEERS ENTITLED "GIGALO"("JIGALO")
Because the word "gigalo" has a sexualized meaning, some adults who aren't aware of the history of those rhymes, believe the gigalo rhymes refer to that sexualized meaning and are opposed to children performing those rhymes/cheers.
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MY USE OF THE SPELLING "GIGALO" FOR THESE RHYMES/CHEERS
I used the spelling "gigalo" when I published an example of that cheer in 2001 on my no longer active cocojams.com website". That example was the one that I saw my daughter and her friends perform in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the late 1980s.
The cocojams.com cultural website was consistently online from 2001 to much of 2014 when I voluntarily deactivated it. Judging from the number of recreational examples that I received on that website's easy to use email form, a lot of that website's readers were children and pre-teens who had probably never seen those examples written down.
I also used the spelling "gigalo" in the discussion thread about that cheer/rhyme that I started in 2007 on the Internet folk music forum Mudcat http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=100807 [hereafter given as "Mudcat: Gigalo"]. I believe that at least some of the examples of that cheer/rhyme that are found in that discussion thread spelled that word "gigalo" instead of "jigalo" or "jigalow" because they read how I spelled that word and because the word "gigolo" is a relatively English common word.
One problem with documenting children's recreational rhymes and cheers online is the copycat effect that often occurs when people repeat the spelling if not the words themselves of examples that come across online.
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"GIGALO" RECREATIONAL CHEERS/RHYMES PERFORMANCE STYLES
Gigalo can be performed as circle singing game, as foot stomping cheers, or as hand clap games with imitative motions. Here are descriptions for each of these performance styles
Based on examples of YouTube videos and other online example of "Gigalo" that I have come across (as of January 14, 2024), that rhyme appears to most often be performed as an imitative singing game by children standing forming a circle, but not holding hands with one person at a time standing in the center of the circle. At some point of the song, the "middle person" performs actions that conform to the words of the rhyme and the rest of the people forming the circle then chants and joins with the middle person, imitating that dance or other movement that the middle person is doing . Another term for imitative singing games is "show me your motion" singing games. At the end of that iteration of that rhyme, another person's name is called out, the former middle person rejoins the circle formation, and the game immediately begins again from the beginning with the person whose name was called out as the new middle person.
Foot Stomping Cheers
The textual structure (the way the words are structured) of many examples of "Gigalo" that I have seen or come across online fits my definition of "foot stomping cheers" because the words of the cheer are divided into the group and consecutive soloists.
This group/consecutive soloists structure 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. That "soloist portion may be the end of the cheer, or the cheer might end with the group (and, sometimes also the soloist) repeating the soloist's words.
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, "Gigalo"/"Jigalo" cheers/rhymes don't always fit the alternating foot stomping/(individual) hand clapping pattern that is characteristic of other foot stomping cheers that I'm aware of.
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Hand Clap games with imitative motions
Gigalo can be performed as a partner or three, four, or more hand clap routine that combines hand claps with imitative motions. Two people, three, or four people chant this rhyme while facing each other and performing a hand clapping routine and imitative movements that conform with the words of this rhyme.
TEXT EXAMPLES OF "GIGALO" ("JIGALOW" and similar spellings)
(Examples in this post are given in no particular order)
Example #1
All: Gig ah lo-o
Gig gig a lo-o
Gig ah lo-o
Gig gig a lo-o
Group: Hey, Kayla
Kayla: What?
Group: Are you ready to gig?
Kayla: Gig what?
Group: Gigalo
Kayla : My hands up high
My feet down low
And this is the way
I gig a lo
Group: Her hands up high
Her feet down low
And this is the way she gigalos
-Tazi M. Powell.; foot stomping cheer, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, mid to late 1980s, collected by Azizi Powell in the 1980s and transcribed in the 1990s from an audio tape that was made in the 1990s.
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Example #2 & #3
GIGALO
This is a handclap/foot stomping cheer called Gigolo.
Gig-olo-o
Gig-Gig-olo-o
Gig-olo-o
Gig-gig-olo-o
Group: Hey [girls name]
Girl: Yeah!
Group: Hey [girls name]
Girl: Yeah
Group: show us how yuh get down.!
Girl: what.?!
Group: show us how yuh get down.!
Girl: Well, my hands up high, my feet down low and thats the way I gigolo (does dance/motion of her own)
Group: Well, her hands up high, her feet down low and thats the way she gigolos (group repeats the unique dance/motion)
Repeat with a new girl and new dance/motion.)
OOOORRR:
Gig-olo-o
Gig-Gig-olo-o
Gig-olo-o
Gig-gig-olo-o
Group: Hey [girls name]
Girl: Yeah!
Group: Hey [girls name]
Girl: Yeah
Group: show us how yuh get down.!
Girl: what.?!
Group: show us how yuh get down.!
Girl: Well my back aint right my bra too tight my hips keep shakin from left to right and THATS the way I gigolo (does dance/motion of her own)
Group: Well my back aint right my bra too tight my hips keep shakin from left to right and THATS the way she gigolos(group repeats the unique dance/motion)
(Repeat with a new girl and new dance/motion.)
-Guest, 17yr old kid at heart:); http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4300&messages=171 "Children's Street Songs"; July 20, 2010
Editor: Note that the informant indicates that "this is a hand clap/foot stomping cheer." It's possible, and perhaps likely, that she (or he) could have used the phrase "foot stomping cheer" in imitation of my use of that phrase in earlier posts on that discussion thread.
The "show us how you get down" line is found in in mid 1980s foot stomping cheer "Get Down"... The lines "my back is aching/my bra's too tight" are commonly found in the very popular hand clap rhyme "Bang Bang Choo Choo Train".
-snip-
Most examples of "Gigalo" are posted online without any information about their performance activity. Here are two such examples:
Example #4 Gigalo: performance activity unknown
JIGALO
here is the real version ppl.
HEY(Girls name)
Girl:what?
ME: are you ready to jigalo?
girl:yeah!
Both: my hands up high!
My feet down low!
This is the way I jigalo!
jig-a-low
jig-jig-a-looow
jig-a-low
jig-jig-a-looow
(you keep repeating until you get bored. You also do a little dance :) hoped this helped
-Guest, meesha ; "Mudcat: Gigalo" ; May 17, 2010
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Example #5 performance activity unknown
JIGALOW
my friend taught me this.
my hands up high
my knees down low
but this the way i jigalow
the sky is blue
the grass is green
and this the way I do my thing
your daddy cook
your momma bake
but this the way my booty shake
-No name; 2/15/2007 ; Cocojams:FSC
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Example #6:
Refrain (Unison)
Jig-a-low, jig, jig-a-low
Jig-a-low, jig, jig-a-low
Part I
(Call) Jasmine: Hey Stephanie!
(Response) Stephanie: Say what?
Jasmine: In-troduce yourself!
Stephanie: Know what?
Jasmine: In-troduce yourself!
[They exchange roles here.]
Stephanie: My name is Ste-phanie
Jasmine: Yeah!
Stephanie: I got the mucle.
Jasmine: Yeah!
Stephanie: To do the hu-stle
Jasmine: Yeah!
Stephanie: I do my thang
Jasmine: Yeah!
Stephanie: On the video screen
Jasmine: Yeah!
Stephanie: I do the ro, ro, ro, ro, ro-bot (punctuates each syllable with Do Do Brown)
Jasmine: She do the ro, ro, ro, ro, ro-bot (Jasmine imitates Stephanie's version of the dance)
Refrain (Unison)
Jig-a-low, jig, jig-a-low
Jig-a-low, jig, jig-a-low
Part 2
Stephanie: Hey Jasmine!
Jasmine: Hey what?
Stephanie: Are you ready?
Jasmine: To what,?
Stephanie; To jig
Jasmine: Jig-a-low?
(unison): jig what?
[Exchanged roles again]
Jasmine: Well, My hands up high, my feet down low.
and THIS's the way I jig-a-low
[Jasmine creates a stylized move on THIS's]
Stephanie: Well, My hands up high, my feet down low.
and THIS's the way she jig-a-low
[Stephanie mimics Jasmine's stylized move on THIS's.]
-Kyra D. Gaunt' book The Games Black Girls Play: Learning The Ropes From Double -Dutch To Hip-Hop (University Press, New York, 2006, page 82);
-snip-
This example combines the foot stomping cheer "Jigalow" with the foot stomping cheer "Introduce Yourself".
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GIGALO VIDEO EXAMPLES
Example #1: playing gigalo at cheer camp
Uploaded by bby209angl on Aug 3, 2010
-snip-
Selected comments from this video's discussion thread, with numbers added for referencing purposes only:
1. blurrrdesign, 2013
"I can't believe this is an accepted cheer. Do these kids ever know that a Gigolo is a male prostitute? I'm thinking they do since thier moves replicate having sex. Yet it's still allowed."
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REPLY
2. Allie Wilson, 2018
"excuse me hunny that is not accepted here"
-snip-
My response to blurrrdesign's comment is that words that are spelled and/or pronounced the same don't necessarily have the same meaning. The word "jigalo" (with various spellings) in this children's game/dance doesn't mean "male prostitute". Read the information given above for the British and American (USA) origins of the children's game "Gigalo".
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3. Kelli M., 2014
"We used to do this recess lol....many many years ago"
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4. sourjuicesss, 2014
"I used to play this when I was little. I'm only 9 doe. I loved playing little competitions with my friends.
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5. Amelia Morado, 2016
"lol,we did this for one of our dances during football games!!XD"
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6. Lillian P, 2016
"people still doing that game lololol"
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7. Angelo Tyreev, 2017
"i played this game in second grade"
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Video Example #2: Playing jigalo
Regan Leigh Woodruff, Uploaded on Jan 28, 2009
just a bunch of people dancin'
-snip-
Notice how the people playing this game aren't doing any foot stomps while they sing "Gigalo".
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Video Example #3: shows us how you gigolo!
Uploaded by yfcsharmel on Sep 9, 2008
Yfc camp september 5-7 2008.
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Video Example #4: 9 YEAR OLD YOUNG JARVEZ - "JIGGALO"
Deno Terrorteno, Published on Jan 27, 2011
-snip-
This is a Hip Hop song that is performed by Young Jarvez, an African American boy.
Here's a comment from this video's discussion thread:
neekyboo77, 2016
"Man, I remember singing this little ditty with my friends back in the early 80's. This was cool to see. Back then it was one of them "fast girl" songs lol."
-snip-
I'm really surprised that this video doesn't have its comment feature closed. It should, given that it is full of profanity and homophobic comments and the Facebook-like way that some commenters are posting there (presenting personal information online like YouTube discussion threads are a social forum) Example:
EMC187, 2013: "Young javes is my frend he use to go to my school highlands elemantry".
-snip-
Updated: January 13, 2024 - This video's discussion thread is deleted. I don't know when that occurred. However, I consider this video to be historically important particularly because of the way the visuals document how African American children (girls and boys) performed this "cheer"/song. That said, historically my research indicates that "Jigalo"/"Gigalo" was rarely performed by boys.
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