Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest Revision- November 19, 2024 - title change
This pancocojams post presents some information and six examples of the children's hand clap rhyme "I Don't Want To Go To Hollywood No More More More" (also given as "I Don't Want To Go To Hollywood") that mention pop star Michael Jackson.
These are the only examples of this rhyme that I have found as of this date.*
Information about the source rhyme "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" is also given in this post and in the comment section below.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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Click the "Michael Jackson in children's rhymes" tag for more pancocojams posts on that subject. This is the last post that I plan to publish in that pancocojams series.
Also, click the "children's rhyme" tag and other tags below for more pancocojams posts about hand clap rhymes and other children's recreational rhymes.
*It's possible that other versions of "I Don't Want To Go To Hollywood No More More More" (with or without mentioning Michael Jackson) were posted to comment threads of YouTube videos that featured children under 13 years of age. However, all of the comments to these videos were deleted in accordance with the February 28, 2019 policy that disallowed comments on those YouTube videos. As a community folklorist, I deeply regret that all of those comments were deleted as those comment threads were rich sources of contemporary examples of children's hand clap rhymes that are seldom found elsewhere online or offline.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/11/my-comments-about-youtubes-policy.html for a pancocojams post entitled "YouTube Information & My Comments About YouTube's Policy Enacted February 2019 Which Disallows Comments For Most YouTube Children's Videos"
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
By "children's rhymes" I mean recreational rhymes that are may or may not have been composed by children, but are documented as being chanted by children while playing hand clap games, jumping rope, or recited as taunting rhymes or parodies, or used as counting out strategies.
Most of the examples that are included in this post contain no information about how the rhyme is performed. However, my guess is that all of these examples are hand clap rhymes.
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE RHYMES "I DON'T WANT TO GO TO MEXICO" & "I DON'T WANT TO GO TO HOLLYWOOD NO MORE MORE MORE"
Here's a portion of my notes from http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-real-origin-of-i-dont-to-go-to.htmlThe REAL Origin Of "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" Rhymes (also known as "Shame")
..."Judging from the number of online examples of this rhyme, including the number of YouTube videos, "I Don’t Want To Go To Mexico” appears to be a widely known hand clap rhyme in the United States.
[...]
"I Don't Want To Go To Hollywood" is a (probably purposely) folk processed form of the widely known (in the United States) hand clap rhyme "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico". The source for "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" is the jump rope rhyme “I Don’t Want To Go To Macy’s.” Roger Abraham notes in his collection Jump-Rope Dictionary that "I Don't Want To Go To Macy's" is documented as being performed by American children in 1938. “Macy’s” is the name of a chain of department stores. The most famous Macy's store is located in New York City.
My theory is that the word "Mexico" was substituted "Mexico" for "Macys" since children weren't familiar with the "Macy's" store or the word “Macy’s”. This is an example of “folk etymology”. Folk etymology occurs when people change foreign words or unfamiliar words into familiar words or sounds that are similar to the word they don’t know.
[...]
Since at least the 2000s, it appears that in the United States the rhyme "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico No More" is usually known as "Shame". That title comes from the introductory words "Shame Shame Shame" that are said before the rhyme's hand clapping pattern and the words for that rhyme actually began. The word "Shame!" is also usually said at the end of many examples of "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico". In the context of these rhymes, "Shame" means "Aren't you ashamed?" or "You should be ashamed". The title "Shame" for "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" rhymes (including other versions in this rhyme family such as "I Don't Want To Go To Hollywood") originated with African Americans.
It should be noted that there are other children's hand clap rhymes that also begin with the words "Shame Shame Shame".* However, usually when African American girls say that they are going to do [the rhyme] "Shame", they mean "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico".
*In this video, the rhyme "Brick Wall Waterfall" that is performed by two African American girls begins with the introductory phrase "Shame, Shame, Shame": in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br9fAi7HdDk.
**
Since at least the 1990, in many versions of "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico", the word "Mexico" is replaced with some other place that the chanters don't want to go- i.e. "I don't want to go to Hollywood", "I Don't Want To Go To College", or "I don't want to go to school". However, one example that I found replaced "Mexico" with "Disney World", which is usually a place where children want to go. (As a reminder, the word "Mexico" in this rhyme is a folk processed form of the store name "Macys").
If the word "Hollywood" in those rhymes represents a place that people don't want to go to, it may reflect many Americans' dislike of trashy films, and egotistic rich people who flaunt their wealth and lord it over other people.
**
In some contemporary rhymes, the "policeman" is replaced by "Michael Jackson" (i.e. there's a big fat Michael Jackson at the door", or "there's a skinny Michael Jackson at the door" or "there's a fake Michael Jackson at the door"). Some examples replace "policeman" with "a cute boy" or "two cute boys", or "a tall man" etc. Usually in those rhymes, the person or persons at the door takes the girl by the hips and kisses her on her lips. In other versions, the person takes the girl by the pants and makes her do a dance.
As of the date of this post's publication, I have only found one folk processed version of "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" that mentions another celebrity except Michael Jackson. That celebrity is Elvis Presley, although his name is misspelled in that example:
Sham,sham,sham
I don't want to go Tennisee
No more,more,more
there is a big fat Elves
at my door,door,door
He'll grab me by the wrist
Make me do the twist
I don't want to go Tennisee
No more,more,more
-Anonymous on Sunday, November 19, 2000 [www. streetplay.com- This website is no longer available.
A risque (1990s or later?) version of "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" that appears to be quite widely chanted has the person or persons at the door (policeman, Michael Jackson, cute boy etc) peeing on the floor. (Notice that "door" and "floor" rhyme), suggesting that "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" or, at least, this version of that rhyme is chanted by children as a way to challenge society's rules and experience being a little bit bad (i.e. not good) in a safe, relatively consequences free way.
For the record, when I was collecting examples of children's rhymes and cheers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (beginning in 1985, but most actively from 1997-2008), the only examples of "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" that I collected had the words that referenced "Mexico" and "policeman" and the words of those examples didn't include any peeing on the floor.
**
Although it wasn't an element in early examples of this rhyme, by at least the 1980s, a competitive and aggressive, if not violent, ending was added to "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" rhymes (whatever their titles/words). For instance, both partners doing the hand clap routine shout "Shame!" (or shout "Shut the door!") and try to be the first person to tap, poke, or hit their partner on the forehead. The person who is the first one to complete that action "wins" that hand clapping "contest".
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*Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/11/information-about-examples-of-hand-clap.html for this pancocojams post entitled Information About & Examples Of The Hand Clap Rhyme "Michael Jackson Went To Town".
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EXAMPLES OF THE HAND CLAP RHYME "I DON'T WANT TO GO TO MEXICO" THAT MENTION MICHAEL JACKSON
These examples are given in chronological order with the oldest dated example given first. Note that that date doesn't mean that that is the earliest example of "I Don't Want To Go To Hollywood" that mentions Michael Jackson. It just means that it is the earliest example of that rhyme that I've collected as of this date.
Note that I haven't found any examples of this rhyme that is combined with other verses, such as verses of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky", "I Pledge Allegiance To Flag", or "Coca Cola Went To Town" (or its variant form "Michael Jackson Went To Town".
1. Sham,sham,sham
I don't want to go hollywood
No more,more,more
there is a big fat Michel jackson
At my door,door,door
he'll grab me by the hips
Make me kiss his lips
I don't want to go hollywood
No more,more,more
-Anonymous on Sunday, November 19, 2000, http://www.streetplay.com/discus/
Streetplay.com Discussion: Girl Games: Singing: Silly songs, theme songs, etc.: Archive through November 27, 2000 [This website is no longer be available.]
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2. Shame Shame Shame
I don't want to go to Hollywood no more, more, more
There's a Michael Jackson at the door, door door
He grabbed me by my hips
Made me kiss his lips
I don't want to go to Mexico
No more, more, more.
-from The Man who Adores the Negro: Race and American Folklore by Patrick B. Mullen [University of Illinois Press, 2008, page 161, 162]
The analysis that Patrick B. Mullen wrote of this rhyme in quoted in the comment section for this pancocojams post.
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3. shame shame shame,
i don’t wanna go to hollywood no more more more,
theres a fat michale jackson
at the door door door,
he grabbed me by the hips,
kissed me on the lips,
i don’t wanna go to hollywood no more more more
-Shasta, http://losemyway.wordpress.com/2008/02/06/hand-clapping-games/ No More 3x5's Hand Clapping Games; August 12, 2010
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4. i dont wanna go to hollywood no more more more theres a skiny micheal jackson ant the door door door so he grabbed me by my hips kissed me on the lips i dont wanna go to hollywood no more more more
-Ja’ Kayla Jasmine, 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=26&v=e0KMFSj-FrQ [comment]
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5. Shame, shame, shame, I don't want to go to Hollywood no more, more, more. There's a fake Michael Jackson at the door, door, door. Grabbed me by the hips, kissed me on the lips, I don't want to go to Hollywood no more, more, more SHAME! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.194.118.238 (talk) 04:39, 27 July 2014 (UTC)"
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This example was given as an "alternative lyrics" for a version of "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico"
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6. i dont wanna go to hollywood no more more more theres a skiny micheal jackson ant the door door door so he grabbed me by my hips kissed me on the lips i dont wanna go to hollywood no more more more
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0KMFSj-FrQ [comment in Fun hand games, fatcat123455Dec 24, 2011; no commenter's name or date retrieved
(As of November 19, 2024, that video's discussion thread is still open probably because it features two young women and therefore isn't affected by the February 28, 2019 YouTube ban on comments for videos that feature children ages 13 years.
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Here's the comments that Patrick B. Mullen, author of 2008 book "The Man who Adores the Negro: Race and American Folklore" provided for the rhyme "I Don't Want To Go To Hollywood No More More More":
ReplyDeleteThey [the girls reciting this rhyme] are aware of the anti-Michael Jackson meaning of the other rhyme*. I asked them "What do you think of Michael Jackson?" I asked them "Is he someone that kids like nowadays"? "They all said no, and one of them said "I like his songs, but I don't like him". They did not elaborate, but social context suggests that "He grabbed me by my hips/Made me kiss his lips" is a reflection of their concerns about sexual abuse of children. "I don't want to go to Hollywood" might be seen as a rejection of popular culture, but other rhymes embrace it." [page 162]
I largely agree with author Patrick B. Mullen's comments about the Michael Jackson versions of "I Don't Want To Go To Hollywood" reflect girls' dislike of Michael Jackson, in part because of his child sexual allegations- but also because he was said to be gay.
DeleteHowever, other versions of "I Don't Want To Go To Hollywood" which mention "cute boys" or "hot boys" [instead of Michael Jackson) who "take me by the hips and kiss me on the lips" don't reflect any concern about sexual abuse or sexual activity. Instead, those examples demonstrate how girls [usually younger than pre-teen] "play" with the notion of "romantic" behavior that they probably actually find exciting although they may not want to readily admit it.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-real-origin-of-i-dont-to-go-to.html for some examples of these (non-Michael Jackson) "I Don't Want To Go To Hollywood" rhymes that I found online.
On the other hand, I very much disagree with author Patrick B. Mullen's analysis that the children's rhyme "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" has anything what so ever to do with corrupt policemen taking bribes to cross the Mexican border in order to smuggle drugs in Mexico or anywhere else.
DeleteHere's the REAL origin of the rhyme "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" that I detailed in this pancocojams post:
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-real-origin-of-i-dont-to-go-to.html:
"The authorship is obscure, but the rhyme was popular by the turn of the 20th century, and might have been associated with an incident that occurred when the modern department store was still in its infancy.
On Dec. 24, 1870, Elizabeth B. Phelps, a suffragist and woman of no small renown, was accused of petty thievery while shopping at Macy's, then at 14th Street and Sixth Avenue. At issue was a box of bonbons that Mrs. Phelps dropped on the floor that day. Margaret Grotty, a salesgirl, asserted that Mrs. Phelps was trying to steal it, while she insisted that it had fallen as she was trying to extract payment from her coin purse while juggling her packages. The store detective was summoned.
Mrs. Phelps's arrest was exhaustively covered by the popular press, and it turned out that several other well-to-do women had been detained at Macy's the same day, for other and seemingly innocent lapses in protocol. A judge threw Mrs. Phelps's case out of court, and Macy's was left to struggle with the perception that, whether due to class animosity or confusion over department store etiquette, innocent shoppers were routinely harassed. Though picket lines and boycotts were planned, they never materialized. The rhyme, whatever its origins, survived well into the 1950's."
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Notice that this article indicated that "I Won't Go To Macy's" was popular by the turn of the 20th century. However, the first published example of this rhyme wasn't until 1938 (as cited by Barry Popik http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/i_wont_go_to_macys_any_more_more_more_jump_rope_jingle_1938.