Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents information about the American folk song "Skip To My Lou" and presents several late 19th century and early 20th century text (word only) versions from a Mudcat (folk music) discussion forum.
WARNING: One of the versions of "Skip To My Lou" that is included in this post contains two examples of the "n" word and another racially offensive line.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
Most pancocojams posts focus on Black cultures throughout the world. Pancocojams posts that focus on children's rhymes, cheers, and singing games are exceptions to this statement*.
Some of the children's rhymes, cheers, and singing games that are presented on pancocojams may have originally been composed or later revised by Black people, but other examples may be featured on this blog simply because some versions of these compositions have been (and may still be) chanted or sung by Black people (and particularly by African Americans).
*Military cadences is another exception to this statement.
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLK SONG "SKIP TO MY LOU"
Excerpt #1:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skip_to_My_Lou
..." "Skip to My (The) Lou" is a popular American partner-stealing dance from the 1840s...
"Skip to My Lou" is a simple game of stealing partners (or swapping partners as in square dancing). It begins with any number of couples skipping hand in hand around in a ring. A lone boy in the center of the moving circle of couples sings, "Lost my partner, what'll I do?" as the girls whirl past him. The young man in the center hesitates while he decides which girl to choose, singing, “I'll get another one just like you.” When he grasps the hand of his chosen one, the latter's partner moves to the center of the ring the game. It is an ice-breaker, providing an opportunity for the participants to get acquainted with one another and to get into a good mood.
The "lou" in the title comes from the word "loo", a Scottish word for "love".[2][3][4]"
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EARLY VERSIONS OF "SKIP TO MY LOU"
From https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=9077
(These excerpts are numbered for referencing purposes only.)
Excerpt #1:
Subject: RE: Skip to My Lou
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 03 Feb 07 - 02:09 PM
Many variants, and formerly different methods of playing the game.
According to Randolph, Hofer, 1907, "Popular Folk Games," was the earliest he knew in print with "Skip-to-ma-Lou, My Children Dear."
There are a number of variants in Jour. American Folk-Lore.
This one is from Randolph, coll. 1927.
Lyr. Add: SKIP TO MY LOU
"After choosing partners, all the players join hands and form a large circle, while everybody sings":
Flies in the buttermilk, two by two,
Flies in the buttermilk, shoo fly shoo
Flies in the buttermilk, two by two,
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.
"While this is being sung, one couple steps into the ring and chooses another boy, so that there are two men and one girl in the center, who hold hands and dance about the circle with a peculiar skip and double-shuffle step.
The first boy and girl hold their hands high, and the odd boy steps under the arch thus formed, after which the first couple joins the circle again. The boy left alone in the ring calls in another couple, then he and the girl make an arch and join the circle, leaving the new boy alone in the center. Then he chooses another couple, and so on."
Meanwhile, the song proceeds:
Little red wagon, painted blue, (3x)
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.
Dad's old hat got tore in two, (3x)
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.
Purty as a redbird, purtier too, (3x)
Skip to my Lou my darlin'.
Cain't get a redbird, a bluebird 'll do, (3x)
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.
From Carl Durbin, Pineville, MO, 1927. With tune. No. 515, A, vol. 3.
Other verses from Arkansas and Missouri, also from Randolph:
She is gone, an' I'll go too,...
Git me another'n as purty as you, ...
Hair in the butter, six foot long, ...
Chicken in the breadpan, scratchin' out dough, ...
Rabbit in the briar parch, shooe, shoo, shoo, ...
Hole in the haystack, chicken fell through, ...
Hog in the cornfield, shoo, shoo, shoo, ...
Cain't git a fat gal, skinny gal'll do,...
Come along Maw, an' let's go visitin', ...
Cowboys a-leavin', two by two, ...
Bring in the biscuit, two by two, ...
One old boot an' one old show, ...
Choose your partners, skip to my Lou, ...
Cat's in the cream jar, what'll I do? ...
Right across center, two by two, ...
Stole my gal, that'll never do, ...
Skip, skip, why don't you skip? ...
Chicken in the dough tray, what'll I do?"...
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Excerpt #2:
Subject: RE: Skip to My Lou
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 03 Feb 07 - 03:43 PM
SKIP TO MY LOU
Pretty as a redbird, prettier too, ...
I'll have her back in spite of you, ...
Gone again, skip to my Lou, ...
Sweet as a pop-paw punkin-pie, ...
Pigs in the 'tater-patch, skip to my Lou, ...
She wears shoes number two, ...
Stand like a fool, skip to my Lou, ...
1905, East Tennessee mountain whites.
Perrow,E. C., "Songs and Rhymes from the South," 1913, JAFL vol. 26, p. 136.
Others in Perrow, 1908-1909:
Lost my partner, what will I do? ...
Dad'd old hat and Mam's old shoe, ...
If I can't get a jaybird, a redhead will do, ...
Lead 'em up and lead 'em down, ...
Swing her on the corner, ...
Sweetheart skipped me, ...
Black-eyed pretty one, ..."....
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WARNING: OFFENSIVE REFERENCES AND LANGUAGE
Excerpt #3
Subject: RE: Skip to My Lou
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 03 Feb 07 - 04:45 PM
In Ames, L. D., "The Missouri Play-Party," JAFL 1911, vol. 24, no. 93, pp. 304-305:
Lost your partner, What'll you do? ...
I'll get another one, Better one , too, '''
Can't get a red bird, A blue bird will do, ...
Gone again, Skip-to-my-Lou, ...
Common as corn-bread, Commoner, too, ...
Chicken in the dough-tray, Shoo, shoo, shoo! ...
Piper, E. F., "Some Play-Party Games of the Middle West," 1915, JAFL vol. 28, no. 109, pp. 276-277.
Lyr. Add: SKIP TO MY LOU
Western Nebraska, 1888
1. I lost my partner, what'll I do? ...
Cho. Gone again, skip to my Lou! ...
2. I'll get another one better than you, ...
3. If you can't get a white girl, a black girl'll do, ...
4. If you can't get a red bird, a black bird'll do, ...
5. I'll get her back again, you bet you! ...
6. Pigs in the tater patch, two by two, ...
7. Gone again, and I don't care, ...
8. I'll get another one, sweeter than you, ...
9. My Ma says, I can have you, ...
10. Rats in the bread-pan, chew, chew, chew, ...
11. Some folks say that a ni&&er* won't steal, ...
12. I caught a ni&&er* in my cornfield, ...
13. Rats in the sugar-bowl, two by two, ...
14. My fellow wears a number 'leven shoe, ...
15. Dad's old shoes'll never fit you, ...
16. Chicken on the haystack, shoo, shoo, shoo, ...
17. Little red wagon, painted blue, ...
18. Stands like a fool, what'll I do? ...
Piper says there were some 40 verses in western Nebraska.”…
-snip-
* Numbers #11 & #12 are floating lines from the song "Some Folks Say A N [word] Won't Steal" that is found in Thomas W. Talley's Negro Folk Rhymes: Wise & Otherwise. The lyrics "Chicken in the breadpan, scratchin' out dough," and "Rabbit in the briar parch" that are given in Excerpt #1 are also found in that book which is a collection of songs that African American university professor Thomas Talley and his African American students remembered from their childhood and youth. Some of those songs were probably composed by African Americans and some by White Americans. There was a lot of "cross pollination" of recreational songs in those days (as it is today.)
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