Latest Revision: March 9, 2021
This pancocojams post documents examples of the children's recreational rhyme "I Am A Little First Grader" which is an adaptation of the rhyme "I'm A Pretty Little Dutch Girl" and points out differences between those rhyme examples and traditional examples of that source rhyme. This post pays particular attention to examples of "I Am A Little First Grader" that have been chanted by African Americans or that appear to have been influenced by African Americans.
"I Am A Little First Grader" may also be called "I Am A Pretty Little First Grader" or "Swing Swing" or other titles. I'm A Pretty Little Dutch Girl" is also titled "I'm A Pretty Little Dutch Girl".
The content of this post is presented for recreational and socio-cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and featured in these videos.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/i-am-pretty-little-first-grader-variant.html for a closely related 2013 pancocojams post "I Am A Pretty Little First Grader (a variant form of "I'm A Pretty Little Dutch Girl").
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES
Here are some thoughts I have about some versions of the rhyme "I Am A Pretty Little First Grader" and how they differ from their basic* source rhyme "I Am A Pretty Little Dutch Girl"
*I'm using the term "basic source" here as an indication that many examples of "I Am A Pretty Little First Grader" have lines/verses from other stand alone rhymes besides "I Am A Pretty Little Dutch Girl".
Rhyme Title
The rhyme "I Am A Pretty Little First Grader" is an adaptation of the rhyme "I'm A Pretty Little Dutch Girl". The referent "first grader" probably replaced "Dutch girl" because
1. the most likely school grade for girls chanting this rhyme was/is the first grade (ages 6 years/7 years)*
2. the girls chanting this rhyme probably weren't/aren't familiar with the referent "Dutch" (meaning someone from the Netherlands).
*Note that in the United States, the usual ages for "first graders" are 6 years and 7 years old.
I've also directly collected or found online examples of "I'm A Little First Grader" in which some chanters say "I'm A Little Second Grader" or "I'm A Little Third Grader" or "I'm A Six Grader" depending on which school grade they are in.
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Introductory lines
It appears that examples of "I'm A Little Dutch Girl" traditionally doesn't have any introductory lines. In contrast, many examples of "I'm A Little First Grader" that I've collected from direct (face to face interactions) or found online begin with an introductory line such as
"Wooble wooble wooble and the deep blue sea"
or
"Zing Zing Zing at the bottom of the sea"
or
"Swing swing swing on a summer's day"
I've found these exact same introductory verses/lines or very similar verses/lines in other (African American originated) children's recreational hand clap rhymes. The hand movements for the introductory line are different from the movements that are done for the rest of the rhyme. I actually I don't consider the rhyme to begin until after that line has been chanted and therefore I don't use that introductory line as the titles for these rhymes.
Here's an example of "I Am A Pretty First Grader" that I collected in 2000 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:
Example #1:
Wooble Wooble Wooble and the deep blue sea
I am a little __ * first grade
as pretty as can __ be be.
And all the boys around my house
go crazy over __ me me.
My boyfriend's name is __ Yellow.
He comes from Ala__bama
with 25 toes
and a pickle on his nose
and this is how the story goes.
One day I was ah __ walkin
I saw my boyfriend __ talking
to a very pretty girl
with strawberry curls.
And this is what she said
"I L-O-V-E __ love you."
"I K-I-S-S __ kiss you."
"I A-D-O-R-E __ adore you"
So S-T-O-P. STOP!
- two African American and one Vietnamese elementary school age girls {6 years old} Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2000
-snip-
*The dash indicates that you pause for a beat before saying the next word or the next syllable.
This rhyme was performed as a group hand slap game like "Stella Ella Ola".
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Cheating boyfriend
I believe that children's recreational rhymes reflect the lives that children see all around them and help children prepare themselves for adulthood. I therefore find it disturbing that the second part of "I'm A Little First Grader" is about a cheating, unfaithful boyfriend.
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The description of the girl the boyfriend was talking to changed from "the prettiest girl" to "the ugliest girl"
In some of the examples of "I Am A Little First Grader" that I've collected, the description of the "other" girl changed from "prettiest girl in the whole wide world" to "the ugliest girl in the whole wide world".
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A name of a popular young Black R&B singer or Hip Hop artist may be used instead of "Jello" or some other nickname for the boyfriend
Example:
imma little six grader
as pretty as can be be
my boyfriend name is bow wow
he lives in ohio
and this is how my story goes
one day I was walking
I saw my boyfriend talking
to the ugliest girl
in the whole wide world
and this is how my story goes
k-i-s-s kiss you
l-o-v-e love you
m-i-s-s miss you
and this is how my story goes
a b c d
so keep yo hands away from me.
- http://www.home-school.com.au/resource/skipping-rope-jump-rope-hopscotch , March 21, 2005
-snip-
*"Bow wow" is the stage name of the young African American rapper Shad Gregory Moss (born March 9, 1987), better known by his stage name Bow Wow (formerly Lil' Bow Wow) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bow_Wow_(rapper)
-snip-
The R&B singer Chris Brown's name is found in another example of this rhyme that is given in the 2013 pancocojams post whose link is found above.
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"Get your black hand off of me" line
I've collected two versions of "I'm A First Grader" rhymes that end with the line "get your black hand off of me".
Here's one example (along with my notes):
I am a pretty __ first grader
As pretty as can___ be be.
My boyfriend's name is__ Chris Brown*
He lives in Ala__bama.
One day when I was___walking
I saw my boyfriend __ talking
To the ugliest girl in the whole wide world.
And this is what he said.
I K-I-S-S
I M-I-S-S miss you.
I L-O-V-E love you.
ABCDEFG
Get your black hands off of me.**
I K-I-S-S Kiss you!
-Naijah S.; (African American female, 9 years old; Hazelwood section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; January 14, 2011; Collected by Azizi Powell 1/14/2011
-snip-
The dash indicates that the chanter pauses one beat before saying the next word or the next syllable.
I met Naijah and her mother and baby sister when they came early for a community African story telling session that I was asked to do in a local Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania library. That session was sponsored by a chapter of a historically Black Greek lettered sorority. While we were waiting for other children to come, Naijah was playing with her computer tablet and I asked her to share with me some rhymes that she knew. Naijah recited this rhyme without my asking for it by name. She said "Girls say the grade they are in when they say this rhyme (like first grade or second grade or fifth grade)." Naijah also said that when she was in the second grade she forgot and said "I am a pretty first grader".
*"Chris Brown" is a currently popular young African American R&B singer and actor. Besides his popularity, I think that Chris Brown's last name "Brown" is one reason why he joins a long line in children's playground rhymes of other people or characters whose last name is "Brown"-for instance "Buster Brown", "Charlie Brown", "James Brown", and probably others.
**Naijah said "The reason why the girl in the rhyme said "Get your black hands off of me" is "because she was mad at him because he was cheating on her".
Another rhyme that Naijah recited for me "ET From Outer Space" also included the "Get your black hand off of me" line. I said to Naijah that I heard that "get your Black hands off of me" line before in other rhymes, and I wondered if if meant that people were ashamed of being Black. Naijah looked shocked and said "I enjoy my heritage".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/10/get-your-black-hands-off-of-me.html for my comments about that "get your black hands off of me" line in certain African American children's recreational rhymes.
The other example that I collected is given in the 2013 pancocojams post whose link is found above.
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VIDEO EXAMPLE & TRANSCRIPTION
Here's a video example of a relatively standard version of "I'm A Little First Grader":
"swing swing" fun hand clapping game
KSquared, Published on Dec 13, 2014
-snip-
Here's my transcription of the words to this version of this rhyme:
Swing Swing Swing
On a summer day
Hey, Hey.
I'm a little
First Grader
As pretty as can
Be Be
And all the boys around my house
They're chasin after
Me Me
My boyfriend's name is
Jello
He came from Ala
Bamo
With a pickle up his nose
And twenty-five toes
And this is how my story goes
One day I was
Walkin
And saw my boyfriend
Talkin
To an itty bitty girl
With strawberry clothes
And this is what he said to her
I K.I.S.S. kiss you
I M.I.S.S. miss you
I L.O.V.E. love you
Kiss
Miss
Love
STOP
-snip-
Transcription from the video by Azizi Powell. The word "clothes" [after the word "strawberry"] is usually given as "curls".
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AUDIO EXAMPLE WITH TRANSCRIPTION:
03-03-2016 Pretty Little Dutch Girl on an old children's record (Cricket Records)
alterman156, Published on Mar 4, 2016
This is "Pretty Little Dutch Girl" on an old children's 45 R.P.M. record (Cricket records). Please pardon the scratchy sound of the record as it was played a lot when I was a child.
-snip-
Here's my transcription of this record:
[female voice]
I am a pretty little Dutch girl
As pretty as pretty can be
And all the boys around my block
are crazy over me.
I have a boyfriend Patty
He comes from Cincinatti
With 48 toes and a pickle on his nose
And this is the way my story goes.
One day when I was walking
I heard my boyfriend talking
To a little girl with the strawberry curls
And this is what he said to her.
[man's voice]
I l.o.v.e. love you
I k.i.s.s. kiss you
I k.i.s.s. kiss you
On your f.a.c.e face face face.
[repeats entire song with children singing along]
-snip-
Here's a comment from that YouTube sound file that points to the date that this record was released:
Scott Van Leeuwen, 2017
"Thank You. I have the original Vinyl on 45rpm in Australia. I am 51 years old and my Mother purchased this for me when I was about 8 years old. I never forgot it. Thanks."
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ADDENDUM: ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF I AM A PRETTY FIRST GRADER
....'The one we used to sing all the time was
I am a little first grader. As pretty as can be be. And all the boys around my block go crazy over me me. My boyfriend name is Jello. He lives in Alabamo. With a big fat nose and 35 toes and this is how my story goes. One day I was walking. I saw my boyfriend talking to the the ugliest girl named (insert ugly girl name) in the world and this is what he said to her. M-I-S-S miss you. K-I-S-S kiss you. L-O-V-E love you and this is what I said to her.
See my pinkie. see my thumb. See my fist you better run.
Recesse's Recesse's Coco Puff mess with my man I'll mess you up."
-Cidnei Gregory, 2019; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfzHL_1PdbY&t=2s&ab_channel=EbonyJanicePeace "Let's Discuss: Black Girl Childhood Hand Games and
Sing Songs"
-snip-
This commenter wrote that this example is from Chicago.
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Visitor comments are welcome.
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