"Chicken In The Car And The Car Can't Go", "M Crooked Letter", & Other Similar Rhymes And Lyrics

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents examples of rhymes or lyrics about ways to spell the names of certain cities and/or states in the USA.

Some of the content of this post is from this 2012 pancocojams post: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/chicken-in-car-and-car-cant-go-rhyme.html and from selected comments from the discussion thread for that post.

Some of the content of this post also comes from this 2016 pancocojams post: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/07/m-i-crooked-letter-in-country-music.html "M I Crooked Letter" In Country Music, Jump Rope Rhymes, R&B, & Hip Hop".

The content of this post is presented for folkloric and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/chicken-in-car-and-car-cant-go-rhyme.html for a previous pancocojams post on this subject.

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INFORMATION AND EXAMPLES OF "CHICKEN IN THE CAR" (SPELL CHICAGO) AND SOME OTHER CITY/STATE RHYMES

[Numbers added for referencing purposes only.]

1.
From https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/chicken_in_the_car_and_the_car_wont_go_chicago_spelling_rhyme/ "Chicken in the car and the car won’t go” (Chicago spelling rhyme), August 21, 2016
“Chicken in the car and the car won’t go” (Chicago spelling rhyme)
"A chicken in the car and the car won’t go, that’s the way to spell Chicago” is a popular Chicago rhyme that has been cited in print since at least 1926. The children’s rhyme was used in games and activities, such as jump rope and hopscotch.

“A knife and a fork, a bottle and a cork; that’s the way to spell New York” is a similar rhyme.

Old Fulton NY Post Cards
1 April 1926, Harlem Valley Times (Amenia, NY), pg. 1, col. 6:

F. D. Philip With Chicken
In Car Has Narrow Escape
“A chicken in the car and the car won’t go; that’s the way to spell Chicago,” according to the rhymes which the kids pass out.

Old Fulton NY Post Cards
29 December 1937, New York (NY) Sun, pg. 23, col. 1:
JINGLE BELL INFLUENCE.
Foolish Rimes That Pop Into a Head Occasionally.
What Do You Think Editor—Sir: In addressing a letter to Chicago, recently, there flashed into my mind a saying which I used to hear in my childhood—“A chicken in the car, the car won’t go; that’s the way to spell Chicago.” For New York there was a similar verse: “A knife and a fork, a bottle and a cork; that’s the way to spell New York.” “...

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2.
From the book: Harlem Photographs 1932-1940 edited by Aaron Siskind.

"Chicken in the car
Car wouldn't go
Chicken jump out
The car went slow."
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This rhyme was found in this book of photographs of Harlem (New York, New York) which a reviewer wrote was "perhaps the first time a white photographer documented this black community." http://www.absolutearts.com/artsnews/1999/08/13/25807.html.

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3.
From Anonymous, July 16, 2013; http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/chicken-in-car-and-car-cant-go-rhyme.html
"My grandpa used to sing:
Chicken in the car,
Car won't go,
Chicken fell out
and broke his toe
That's how you spell
Chi-ca-go"

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4.
From Unknown, November 18, 2018; http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/chicken-in-car-and-car-cant-go-rhyme.html
"My dad taught me a similar rhyme in the early 50's in Charleston, SC: Chicken in a car; car can't go, chicken fell out and stomped his toe; that's how you spell Chicago.
I don't know if he made it up."

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5.
From Odis Smokeyrib, March 2, 2016; http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/chicken-in-car-and-car-cant-go-rhyme.html
"Chicken in the corn
Corn won't grow
That's the way you spell
Chicago
Knife and a fork
And a plate of greens
The way you spell
New Orleans
We go together
Hand in hand
Like a bowleg woman and a knock knee man
I've heard that sung as a blues a million times"

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6.
From någon, November 24, 2016; http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/chicken-in-car-and-car-cant-go-rhyme.html
"Washing on the line and the line weighs a ton.
That's how you spell Washington."

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7.
From Unknown, November 18, 2018; http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/chicken-in-car-and-car-cant-go-rhyme.html
"My dad taught me a similar rhyme in the early 50's in Charleston, SC: Chicken in a car; car can't go, chicken fell out and stomped his toe; that's how you spell Chicago.
I don't know if he made it up."

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"M CROOKED LETTER" (SPELL MISSISSIPPI) RHYMES

1950 HITS ARCHIVE: M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I - Red Foley (#1 C&W hit)



MusicProf78, Published on Sep 21, 2013

M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I (Williams-Simmons) by Red Foley with The Dixie Dons (CD audio source)

If the title looks unfamiliar, you may recall the lyrics, which spelled out "M-I-crooked letter-crooked letter-I, etc"). Written by Curley Williams ("Half As Much"), this crossover hit reached #2 on the country music charts and also got some 'pop' action in recordings by Kay Starr, Art Mooney, and Bill Darnel.
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A comment from this sound file's discussion thread posted by Barry I. Grauman (2018) indicates that this song was "Recorded on April 4, 1950.".

Here's a portion of that song's lyrics:
"By The M I crooked letter, crooker letter, I crooked letter, crooked letter I
Hump-back, hump-back I of Mississippi flowing down to New Orleans
It flows right by my Tennessee home where history was make by Steamboat Bill
M-E-M-P-H-I-S, Memphis is the town I mean

Way down yonder in the land of cotton, folks like mine are ne’er forgotten
What a wonderful thrill just to be down in Memphis, Tennessee
By The M I crooked letter, crooker letter, I crooked letter, crooked letter I
Hump-back, hump-back I of Mississippi flowing down to New Orleans"...

Source: http://www.songlyrics.com/red-foley/m-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i-1950-lyrics/
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The letter "s" is the "crooked letter" because of the way that it is written. The letter "p" is called "hump back" (in standard English "hunchback") because that letter is written like a stylized drawing of a person with a hump on his or her back.

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Example of a children's rhyme:
From http://www.buyjumpropes.net/resources/jump-rope-rhymes-songs-buyjumpropesnet/ "The Great List Of Jump Rope Rhymes & Skipping Songs"
"How do you spell Mississippi?
M (cross arms over chest)
I (point to your eye)
Crooked letter (cross legs and jump)
Crooked letter (cross legs and jump)
I (point to eye)
Hunch back
Hunch back
I!
-Ellen Mason, AACS Music Teacher"
-snip-
Although this example includes actions that are done by a person (usually a girl) who is jumping inside a rope that is swung by two people at each end, nowadays "M Crooked Letter" (Spells Mississippi) may not be done with any other body movement but imitative actions.

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NEW WAY OF SPELLING MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
1.
From https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=40621#582183 [record] State Of Tennessee Blues", posted by Jim Dixon 29 Oct 01
..."I got a new way of spelling the dear old state of Tennessee.
I got a new way of spelling the state of Tennessee.
Double-E-double-R-O-double-E-double-N-O-C.

[As recorded by the Memphis Jug Band, 1927, Jennie Clayton and Will Shade, vocalists.]"
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Here's some comments about this spelling in that song:
From https://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=5324.0 "A new way of spelling"

arlotone, January 08, 2009
"In "State of Tennessee Blues" by the Memphis Jug Band (a duet between Will Shade and his wife Jennie Mae Clayton), Shade sings "I got a new way of spelling the state of Tennessee" and then says something like, "double-E-double-R-double-E-double-N-O-C."

EEREENOC? What the heck is that supposed to mean?

I've heard this verse in other songs with slightly different "spellings," but they don't make sense either."

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2.
From https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=31008#1046121 "Good Morning Blues" Leadbelly; source: The Leadbelly Songbook (edited by Moses Ash & Alan Lomax, Oak Publications, 1962"; posted by Joe Offer,
Date: 02 Nov 03.
"I got a new way of spelling, Memphis, Tennessee,
Aw... Memphis, Tennessee,
Double E, double T, Lord, N, X-Y-Z."


Joe Offer wrote that ..."Google Search will show how many versions of this song you can find - Bessie Smith, Ella Fitzgerald, Van Morrison, Louis Jordan, and many others."
-snip-
Leadbelly first released this song in 1941. https://secondhandsongs.com/work/119832/all

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