Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents information about the 1935 American film "The Little Colonel" and showcases a film clip of the stair step tap dancing scene.
This post also presents my transcription of the rhyme that Bill "Bojangles" Robinson recited as he performed his famous stair step tap dancing routine. In addition, this post includes my comments about this type of rhyme and examples of similar rhymes from African American culture.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric purposes.
All copyrights are reserved for their owners.
Thanks to Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Shirley Temple for their cultural legacies. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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INFORMATION ABOUT "THE LITTLE COLONEL" MOVIE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Colonel_(1935_film)
The Little Colonel is a 1935 American comedy drama film directed by David Butler. The screenplay by William M. Conselman was adapted from the children's novel of the same name by Annie Fellows Johnston, originally published in 1895. It focuses on the reconciliation of an estranged father and daughter in the years following the American Civil War. The film stars Shirley Temple, Lionel Barrymore, Evelyn Venable, John Lodge, Bill Robinson, and Hattie McDaniel.
The Little Colonel was the first of four cinematic pairings between Temple and Robinson, and features the duo's famous staircase tap dance."...
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SHOWCASE VIDEO CLIP: Shirley Temple & Bill "Bojangles" Robinson - Tap Dancing Scene
Like Andriani, Dec 28, 2012
Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (May 25, 1878 -- November 25, 1949) was an American tap dancer and actor of stage and film.
Shirley Temple Black "Shirley Jane Temple" (born April 23, 1928 - died February 10, 2014) [was] an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia. She began her film career in 1932 at the age of three, and in 1934.
Bill "Bojangles" Robinson dancing with Shirley Temple in a series of films during the 1930s . in such films as The Little Colonel, The Littlest Rebel, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and Just Around the Corner, or Will Rogers In Old Kentucky.
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THE RHYME THAT BILL ROBINSON CHANTED AT THE BEGINNING OF HIS STAIR STEP TAP DANCING ROUTINE
I went to the market
For to get some beef
and the beef so tough
That I couldn’t get enough
I paid five dollars
for a great big horse
and the horse so fast
that I couldn’t get pass
[from .05-.024 in this YouTube video]
-snip-
This is my transcription of that rhyme. Additions and/or corrections are welcome.
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S COMMENTS ABOUT THIS RHYME
The rhyme that Bill "Bojangles" Robinson chanted at the beginning of his stair step routine in The Little Colonel movie is similar to what I refer to as "children's trading rhymes".
"Trading rhymes" is my term for a category of children's rhymes in which throughout the rhyme one defective item is traded (exchanged) for another item which also turns out to be defective (something is wrong with it). In these examples the item that is defective and therefore traded is indicated by the last word in the first line of each verse rhyming -or near rhyming- with the last word in the second line.
For example:
Hush little baby, don't say a word,
Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird.
And if that mockingbird won't sing,
Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring.
-snip-
In the case of the rhyme that Bill Robinson chanted in The Little Colonel, the rhyme describes "some beef [being] so tough that I couldn't get enough" [so] I paid five dollars for a great big horse"/and the horse was so fast that I couldn't get past.
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OTHER "TRADING RHYMES" FROM AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURE
Example #1:
From https://www.gutenberg.org/files/27195/27195-h/27195-h.htm
..."Title: Negro Folk Rhymes Wise and Otherwise: With a Study
Author: Thomas W. Talley [originally published 1922]
Release Date [for www.gutenberg.org file] : November 7, 2008 [EBook #27195]
GRAY AND BLACK HORSES
I went to de woods an' I couldn' go 'cross.
So I paid five dollars fer an ole gray hoss.
De hoss wouldn' pull so I sol it for a bull.
De bull wouldn't holler, so I sol it for a dollar.
De dollar wouldn't pass, so I throwed it id de grass.
Den de grass wouldn't grow. Heigho! Heigho!
[page 45]
-snip-
I believe that rhyme or a very similar rhyme was a source for the rhyme that Bill "Bojangles" Robinson recited in that now famous stair step tap dance scene in the Little Colonel movie.
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Example #2
[from the same source as Example #1, page 6]
CROSSING THE RIVER
I went down to de river an' I couldn' git 'cross.
I jumped on er mule an' I thought 'e wus er hoss.
Dat mule 'e wa'k in an' git mired up in de san';
You'd oughter see'd dis Ni--er* make back fer de lan'!
I want to cross de river but I caint git 'cross;
So I mounted on a ram, fer I thought 'e wus er hoss.
I plunged him in, but he sorter fail to swim;
An' I give five dollars fer to git 'im out ag'in.
Yes, I went down to de river an' I couldn' git 'cross,
So I give a whole dollar fer a ole blin' hoss;
Den I souzed him in an' he sink 'stead o' swim.
Do you know I got wet clean to my ole hat brim?
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this rhyme.
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Example #3: HUSH LITTLE BABY
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hush,_Little_Baby
" "Hush, Little Baby" is a traditional lullaby, thought to have been written in the Southern United States. Like most folk songs, the author and date of origin are unknown. The lyrics promise all kinds of rewards to the child if they are quiet. The simple structure allows more verses to be added ad lib.
[...]
Lyrics
There are a multitude of different versions of the song. It has a simple structure consisting of a series of rhyming couplets, where a gift is given to the little baby. In the next couplet, the gift is found faulty in some way, and a new gift is presented. The song continues in this pattern as long as the singer likes; and can come up with new gifts that fit the rhyming pattern. An example of some common couplets used in the song:
Hush, little Baby, don't say a word,
Mama's gonna buy you a Mockingbird.
And if that mockingbird don't sing,
Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring.
And if that diamond ring turns brass,
Mama's gonna buy you a looking glass.
And if that looking glass gets broke,
Mama's gonna buy you a billy goat,
And if that billy goat get cross,
Mama's gonna buy you a rocking horse.
And if that rocking horse turns over,
Mama's gonna buy you a dog named Rover.
And if that dog named Rover won't bark,
Mama's gonna buy you a horse and a cart.
And if that horse and cart fall down,
You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town.
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Example #4
From the short story "Big Boy Leaves Home," in Uncle Tom's Children by Richard Wright (1938).
Bye 'n' bye, Ah wanna piece of pie.
Pie's too sweet. Ah wanna piece of meat.
Meat's too red. Ah wanna piece of bread.
Bread's too brown. Ah wanna go t' town.
Town's too far. Ah wanna ketch a car.
Car's too fas'. Ah fall 'n' break mah ass.
Ah'll understan' it better bye 'n' bye.
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Example #5
I learned it at summer camp as a clapping game:
Winston tastes good just like a cigarette should
Just like an - ooh, ah, I want a piece of pie
Pie too sweet, I want a piece of meat
Meat too brown, I want to go to town
Town too far, I'll have to take a car
Car too black, I want my money back
Money too green, I want a limosine
..... I want some lemonade
Lemonade too sour, by now we have the power
To close our eyes and count to ten
Whoever messes up has to do it again.
And at this point, the clapping pattern got more complicated and the players closed their eyes and counted to ten.
-Guest, Chocolate Pi; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=26926 "Lyr Req: Oh my, I want a piece of pie", October 10, 2000
-snip-
This is a contemporary version of the rhyme given as Example #4 above.
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TWO RELATED PANCOCOJAMS POSTS
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/10/childrens-trading-rhymes-such-as-hush.html Children's Trading Rhymes (Children's Trading Rhymes (such as "Hush Little Baby, Don't Say A Word","Aunt Maria Jumped In The Fire", & "There Once Was A Man & He Was Mad"
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/06/abc-its-easy-as-1-2-3-playground-rhyme.html "ABC It's Easy As 1, 2, 3" Playground Rhymes & Their R&B Record Source
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