Part I of Some Examples Of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" Rhymes With Geographic Locations (A - J)

 Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Revision - Nov, 28, 2023

This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series which presents a portion of the Mudcat folk music discussion thread entitled "Origins: Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky" that I started on August 21, 2006 https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034&messages=454&page=1 [Page 1 of a 10 page discussion thread as of Sept. 2, 2022). 

I believe that I've added all of the comments/examples from that discussion thread that contain demographic information (city/state or region in the United States and city or country if outside of the United States. (Some of these comments/examples also include performance directions for this hand clap game or hand slap game.)

My apologies if I missed any comments/examples from that discussion thread which include geograpic information.

Part I provides examples and comments for geographic locations in the United States and elsewhere that begin with letter A through letter J.  

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/03/part-ii-of-some-down-by-banks-of-hanky.html for Part II of Some "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" Rhymes" With Geographic Locations (K - Z).

July 25, 2022 Note - For whatever reason, the comment section for Part II has multiple examples of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" (regardless of geographic location) while the comment section for Part I of this series has no comments as of this date.

March 1, 2023  - Read the comment section of this post and (especially Part II) for examples the comment section for examples of that rhyme, with or without geographic location. Since this series focuses on the Mudcat Discussion thread post about "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" that I started in 2006, I haven't added any examples from these discussion threads in these above named pancocojams series. 

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the Mudcat folk music discussion thread and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. 

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WHY I'M INTERESTED IN DOCUMENTING GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS FOR "DOWN BY THE BANKS OF THE HANKY PANKY" RHYMES (AND OTHER CHILDREN'S RECREATIONAL RHYMES)

The main reasons why I'm interested in documenting geographic location for "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" and other children's recreational rhymes are
 
1. to document for the folkloric record how widely known a particular rhyme and versions of those rhymes were/are

2. to document how different versions of a rhyme may be known in the same geographic location during the same time period

3.to document how a version of a rhyme my have changed in a particular geographic location over time

The geographic locations that are noted in this compilation for a particular version of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" doesn't mean that that version was/is the only one that was known in that geographic location at that time. For example, it's usually the case that multiple versions of rhymes with the same title are known by in the same city at the same time. 

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WHAT I MEAN ABOUT THE TERMS "HAND CLAP GAME" AND "HAND SLAP GAME"
*A "hand clap game" is performed by usually performed by two people standing or seated facing each other. However, hand games can be performed by up to three people facing each other. The players clap their hands and the hand or hands of other players while chanting a rhyme in unison.

**A "hand slap game" is a lightly competitive game that is performed by a group of people who chant a rhyme in unison while standing or seated to form a circle. The players lightly slap the hands of the person to their right. At the end of each iteration of the rhyme the person whose hand is slapped is out. More play instructions are given with some of these examples. 

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES 
All of the examples in this compilation from the Mudcat folk music discussion thread "Origins: Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky".

I was a member of the Mudcat folk forum from around 2005 to around 2011. My main interest in that forum was contemporary English language children's recreational rhymes. I started that "Origin: Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" thread in April 2006, and helped curate that discussion (by thanking commenters, adding notes etc) up to and including September 26, 2009. 

I believe that I have archived every comment/example on that particular Mudcat discussion thread that includes a geographic location (where) the commenter first chanted/performed or learned about the "Down By The Hanky Panky" rhyme. A number of these comments/examples also include information about when (year/decade) they first chanted/performed that rhyme. The geographical location of  a commenter may (also) be determined by her or his screen name. 
 
This pancocojams compilation doesn't include any comments that make general references to where or when the commenters first chanted/performed a "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhyme (such as "from summer camp" or "learned in elementary school".) 

Notice that almost all of the comments/examples in this compilation are from female guests or male guests of that Mudcat folk music forum. It's likely that these guests found that Mudcat thread by doing a Google search (or some other online search) for the "Down By The Hanky Panky" rhyme. Once they arrived on that site, a number of guests modeled their comments after previous comments that contained geographic information. 

I believe that the main reason why a number of guests on that folk music forum included time (year or decade) and place (city, state, and/or nation) demographic information along with their rhyme example is that they were modeling their comment after the comments of other  bloggers on that discussion thread who had published that kind of demographic information.  

Some Mudcat members shared information in that discussion thread about likely sources for the rhymes that became "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky". However, since I was interested in this compilation documenting recollections of examples that commenters had chanted, those comments aren't included in this pancocojams compilation. 

NOTE: For some reason, there are two active links for the "Origins: Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" Mudcat discussion thread that is showcased in this pancocojams post.

The link https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034&messages=454&page=1 is the first page for the complete (10 page) discussion thread.

The link https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034&messages=456  also leads to a single page of that Mudcat discussion thread with the same title. I've used the ten page Mucat thread for this pancocojams series and I've also double checked to make sure that all of the examples with geographic locations from that Mudcat single page discussion thread are included in this pancocojams series.

That Mudcat discussion thread is still open (as of March 3, 2023). When new examples with geographic locations are added to Mudcat's "Origins: Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" thread, I eventually add them to this pancocojams series.

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DISCLAIMER
This post isn't meant to imply that these are the only examples of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" that have been featured on the Mudcat forum.

The majority of the examples of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" in that the Mudcat discussion forum that is the source of this pancocojams post don't include any geographic information. Therefore, those examples aren't archived in this pancocojams compilation. Furthermore, examples of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" that were posted to other Mudcat discussion threads aren't included in this pancocojams compilation.  

I have previously showcased a number of examples of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" on several pancocojams posts, including http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/05/song-sources-for-down-by-banks-of-hanky.html"Song Sources For Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" and "Forms Of The Name "Billie Jean" In "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" Rhymes 
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/04/forms-of-name-billie-jean-in-down-by.html .

Click the tags found below for pancocojams posts about and of this large family of children's recreational rhymes.

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WARNING: 
Some comments that are included in this compilation contains the homophobic referent "fag". I'm retaining that referent in those examples for folkloric reasons.

Some comments (but not the examples) in that Mudcat thread include profanity. Those comments aren't included in this pancocojams compilation.

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GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS OF SOME EXAMPLES OF "DOWN BY THE BANKS OF THE HANKY PANKY RHYMES" (with locations beginning with A through J)

How comments/examples are presented:
Cities and regions in the United States (such as Northwest Ohio") are given under the name of their state. Regions such as "East Coast of the United States" are listed under the beginning letter of that geographic location.

Cities and/or regions in other nations other than the United States are listed under that nation's name.   

Multiple examples from a particular geographical location are given in chronological order based on their publishing date with the oldest entry given first.

Most of these comments/examples are given "as is", but some comments are edited to exclude another rhyme or other rhymes or songs that the commenters shared in that same post unless the commenter wrote that that rhyme or rhyme was chanted right before or right after or with a version of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky".  

From https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034&messages=454&page=1 [and the other nine pages of that discussion thread] 

A- B

Alabama (USA)

1. "I was attempting to find the words to the hand game I learned when I was young, after hearing my son sing the version he learned at school. I didn't see any version that was the same as mine but they are all very interesting.

I learned a couple of versions in the early 80's in Birmingham, AL. This is one that I think incorporated Japanese sounds:

Down the river of Hanky Panky
Bullfrog jumps from bank to bank,
Eesh, Meesh, Sun, Shee
Eece Say Meece Say Ding Dong
Your breath smells like King Kong!

 I think it ended there. There might have been more, I don't remember if it was.

 Today, this is what my 8-yr-old son sings:

Down by the river, Silver Rock
Michael Jackson wears no socks
Ee-pi-pi, Oh-pi-pi, Pow!
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,    10!
-GUEST,Fatima

**
2. I'm from Alabama. We always said:

Down by the bank of the hanky pank

where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank

singing eeps ops ohps oops

one well in and went ker PLOP."
 

we also sit around in a circle, left hand under right and slap each others' hands. On "plop" whoever got hit was out.
-GUEST, 12 Oct 08

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Arkansas (USA)
"In Arkansas it goes like this:

Down by the river of the Hanky Panky
Sat a big fat frog jumpin bank to banky
With a E-E-I-I-O U
Johnny struck a match and it landed on YOU!

We would stand in a circle, hitting the next person's hands until the end of the song!
- GUEST,KHall, 04 Sep 19

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Arizona (USA)

1. The version that I learned as a child (Arizona in the 1980s) were:

Down by banks of the hanky panky
where the bullfrog jumps from bank to banky
With a hip, hip, hip, hop
He jumps from a lilypad --
KERPLOP

This was sung, so it was likely taught to us by adults at summer camp.

My friends and I also had variants of the other rhymes, but they were separate
-GUEST, 07 Apr 09

**
2. "The version I grew up with in the 90's was:

(you stand in a circle with one hand on top of the others and slap the next persons hand as it goes around the circle while you sing)

Down by the banks of the Hanky Panky
Where the Bullfrogs jumped from bank to banky
With the eips ipes opes skiddle scaddle ding dong
we would sing that to pick the person who would stand in the middle for another rhyme:

I was going to Kentucky
The old Kentucky fair
When i met a seniorita with purple underwear
OH shake it to the bottom(go down)

Shake it to the top(come back up)
Spin around, spin around(spin around with eyes closed)
Till you S-T-O-P spells stop

The person you were pointing at would be the next person to start and we would sart all over again.
-GUEST, Alicia, 26 Jun 09 - 03:00 PM
-snip-
[One minute later GUEST, Alicia wrote this]:

"P.S. this was in Arizona

Coca-cola went to town
Pepsi Cola shot him down
Doctor Pepper fixed him up
And now we're drinking Seven-up

(sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle)

and the rhyme in question:
I pledge allegiance to the flag, Michael Jackson is a fag.

That was 1985 give or take a year. The version I knew from childhood did not include the line about little toys or little boys. I believe this predates the sex scandals. Rather, the faggotry in question was his wearing a white glove, prancing on stage, and grabbing his crotch. I distinctly recall that none of my friends knew what a fag was, but Michal Jackson grabbing his crotch was a sources of considerable discussion."
-GUEST,Alicia, Date: 26 Jun 09 - 03:01 PM
-snip-
This commenter appears to separate the Coca-cola went to town" rhyme from the "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhyme. However, I'm including that rhyme in this compilation because those two rhymes are often combined, particularly after Michael Jackson's accident in 1984 when he was filming a Pepsi-Cola commercial and fireworks burned his hair and face.

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Australia

1.  "I live in Melbourne Australia, and during the 90's I was also taught this version:

Down by the banks of the Hanky Panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
With an A, E, I, O, U (you), R (are), out!

It was a two person clap, that was quite complex with up, down hand motions and hand slapping, it also finished with hitting the other person on the head or chest, depending on how much you liked that other person, of course.

Until I read this post I had never heard of it done in a circle, it was also a school yard thing, never a taught/practiced in class experience."
-GUEST,Becca,  20 Feb 09 

**
2. "Okay here in Melbourne, Australia

I've always sung it

'Down by the banks of the hanky panky
where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
With a hip, hop, crackle and a pop
With a hip, hop, crackle and a pop
With an A, E, I, O, You are out'
-GUEST,  3 June 09

**
3. "At primary school in the 80s in Australia, our version went like this:

down by the banks of the hanky panky
where the bullfrogs leap from bank to banky
with an eep, ipe, okey dokey
with an eep, ipe, okey dokey, yeah!
-GUEST,Guest: Australia;  24 Sep 11

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C-D

California (USA)

1. In southern california we sang it like this

Down by the banks of the hanky panky
where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
where eeps ops
soda pops
hey mr. willy and he went kerplops

Later in my childhood someone corrected me and said it was actually this:

Down by the banks of the hanky panky
where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
where he hops
soda pops
he missed a lilly and he went kerplops
-GUEST, 30 April 08

**
2. I learned this and forgot most of it (not complete! but it goes sort of like this....

Down by the bay in beverly hills
where the bull frog jumps from bank to banky
and the heeps hops, coffee shops,
we all drink mochas and we wear flip flops

(faster)

I pledge allegence to the flag
Michal jackson makes me gag
coca cola has cafeine and now we're talking billy jean
billy jean when out of style now lets sit and talk a while

diddy diddy donkey
daddy had a donkey
donkey died, daddy cried
diddy diddy donkey!

theres a party round the corner wont you please please come
bring your own cappuchinos and your own chewing gum
what is your boy friends name?______ (whoever the clap lands on has to come up with a name)
_______ will be there blowing kisses in the air saying I love ______ (who ever came up with the name) saying I love_____ saying O U T spells you are out!

OR

______will be there blowing kissed in the air singin' I... Love...Ma..Ma...Mia, singin' I love ma...ma...mia singin' O U T spells you are out!
-GUEST,mooseormeece, 21 May 08

**
3. I remember when i was in 6th grade Crowley Elementary ( Visalia, Ca year 1991 ) and we sung it like this:

down by the river of the hanky pank
where the bull frog jumped from bank to bank
going eep opp soda pop
Hey Mr Willy...and he went ker-plop

and if you were smacked on the sound plop...you were out..and the circle got smaller...man...RECESS was fun!!!!

remember double dutch!!!"
-GUEST,David Taylor, 05 Jul 08

 **
4. when i was growing up in northern california, the lyrics i learned went, "Down by the banks of the hanky panky

Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
With an eeps ipes opes opps
Hey Mr. Bullfrog goes kerplop!"
-GUEST, 08 Jul 08 

**
5. "Beverly Hills, CA, 1984-1988. What I remember:

 Down by the banks of the hanky pank
where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank
with an eeps, eips, opse, opps
me socka dilly with a kerplop

For the record, I was always confused by the socka dilly line, but that's what everyone sang so there you go. Seeing some of the lily pad versions is very interesting and I love all the variations!"....
-GUEST,Amanda, 13 Oct 09

**
6. "This was the version we used at my elementary school (1st version) and in the surrounding neighborhood (second version) just outside of San Francisco, California in the late 80's:

Ooooh,
Down by the banks
Of the Hane-k-tey Panky
Where the bullfrogs jump
From bank to bank-ket-tey
With a hip, hop, soda pop
East side, west side
KER-PLOP!

or

Down by da bank
Of da Han-k-tey Pan-key-tey
W'ere duh bull-a-frog
Jump fro' bank ta bank-key-tey
Just ah hip ah hop ah sodey pop
To da eas' si', wes' side
Keeer---PLOP!
-GUEST, 8 April 10

**
7. Here's what I learned in San Francisco around 1990 in elementary school:

Down by the banks of the hanky-panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
With a hip, hop, hippity hoppety
East side, west side, kerrrrrplop

That was done to a circle elimination game as described in some other posts.

A few years later I learned a slightly different version from some kids at day camp, also in San Francisco

Down by the banks of the hanky panky
Where the bullfrog jumps from bank to banky
With an eeps, ops, soda pop
Frog missed the lily and he went kerplop (freeze)

This was done to a 2-person handclap game which I can't really describe because it had some complicated motions. You did the same hand game, sometime right after or right before this other rhyme to the same motions. The lyrics to that one:

Bo bo, say yotton cotton
Nay nay, you are so rotten
Itty bitty cocoa puff
Bobo say yotton cotton BOOM (freeze)

Both of these rhymes had tunes that went with them"
-Katran, 28 Sep 10 - 02:53 AM

**
8. " This was the version we used at my elementary school (1st version) and in the surrounding neighborhood (second version) just outside of San Francisco, California in the late 80's:

Ooooh,
Down by the banks
Of the Hane-k-tey Panky
Where the bullfrogs jump
From bank to bank-ket-tey
With a hip, hop, soda pop
East side, west side
KER-PLOP!

or

Down by da bank
Of da Han-k-tey Pan-key-tey
W'ere duh bull-a-frog

Jump fro' bank ta bank-key-tey
Just ah hip ah hop ah sodey pop
To da eas' si', wes' side
Keeer---PLOP!
-GUEST,  08 Apr 10 

**
9. "I grew up in Turlock, CA in the early 90's and we said

 Down by the banks of the Hanky Panky
Where the bullfrogs jump
From bank to banky
Saying Hip Hop Hippitie Hop
East side, west side
KER-PLOP!

Sorry guys this is the RIGHT WAY :)
-GUEST,Ell, 04 Nov 10 

**
10. "When I was in elementary school (early 2000s, Los Angeles) we sang it:

Down by the banks of the Hanky Panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
Where the eeps, ops, soda pops,
Froggy missed a lilly and he went ker-plop!

I don't remember what game went with it. I do remember it having a tune:
F, F, F, A, A, A, A sharp, A sharp, C, C
C, C, F,F, A,A, A sharp, A sharp, C, C,
C, C, F (octave up from the other ones), C, A, C, F
C,C, C, C, C, D, C, A sharp, A, G, F

I thought I should include the tune because I'm not sure how widespread it is. Some of the versions here don't seem like they would fit it.
-GUEST,ADalton, 04 Oct 14 

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11. "Version from my childhood (California, late 70s-early 80s):

Way down yonder in the Yankety Yank
Where the bullfrog jumped from bank to bank
Just because there’s nothin’ better for to do, what to do, what to do, what to do

He stubbed his toe and he fell in the water
You could hear him holler for a mile and a quarter
Just because there’s nothin’ better for to do, what to do, what to do, what to do

Note: “there’s” meaning “there was” "
-GUEST,KGreene, 08 Sep 19

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Canada

1. Did anyone ever sing this as a round? I didn't even know there was a clapping game associated with it! It's great! And I learned it in the early 80's before the whole Michael J hair incident! Very cool music! I've never heard it afterwards, but it's kept a skip in my step ever since! I was in Southern Alberta in the 80's, now on the West Coast of British Columbia, Canada.

-GUEST,BlueCat, 08 May 07
-snip-
This comment doesn't include any words to this rhyme. However, I've added it to this compilation for its folkloric information.

**
2. this is how I remember the song from the early 80's in the interior of BC, Canada:

 down by the banks of the hanky panky
where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
with the eep ipes opes op
hey sock it to me with a
ker-plop

and there would be a sort of patty-cake fast clapping alternating with a partner to go along with it. this is a real great thread, and I'm encouraged to add some verses to the version I grew up with. so very neat to see so many variations, I had no idea!
-GUEST,inkblob,  02 Sep 07

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Colorado (USA)

"I cannot remeber the whole thing but what I do remember goes like this:

 "Down by the banks of the hanky panky
where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
with a hip
hop
kerrrrrplop!!!"

I grew up in Aurora, CO (suburb of Denver)"
-GUEST,Taylor, Date: 27 Apr 08 

****

E-F

East Coast of the United States

"I lived on the East Coast of the United States and we sung the song like this:

Down by the banks of the hanky-pank
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank
Saying eee! Aaaah! Eee! Bop! Bop!
Skiddle diddle kernel pop
Said 1, 2, 3, 4
I pledge allegiance to the flag
Michael Jackson makes me gag
Coca-cola has no caffeine
Now we’re drinking gasoline
Gasoline is made by you
Now we’re drinking Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew fell off the mountain
Now we’re drinking from the fountain
Fountain broke, now we’re drinking
Plain, old, Diet Coke

We played this game in a large group. The person next to you would put their right hand on top of your left hand and so on until everyone was matched up. The point was to tap the person to your left’s hand. Whoever’s hand was hit when you said the last “coke” was out and then you’d start the song over again until there was two people left. Then, the two people would have one person start with their palms facing down and the other person would have their palms facing up under the other person’s hand and you would clap and switch. Whoever’s hand was hit lost or if the person on top didn’t hit the hands hand of person on the bottom lost .
-GUEST,augphi, 04 Mar 20 

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England

1. I sing this songs regularly through work in toddler groups in England.

We sing:

Down by the banks of the Hanky Panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
they go hip hop
bellyflop
one missed the lilypad and went kerflop!

Recently I've recieved a complaint from one mother about the phrase 'hanky panky', thinking it was sexually inappropriate!

If the world continues along this line of hyper political correctness, i suppose we might lose this song altogether...
-GUEST, Date: 01 Nov 07 
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor's Note: Examples from England may also be found in the entries for the United Kingdom.  

**
2. I was looking for the words as my friend from Surrey argues that my last line is wrong.

In England at my school we sang,

down by the banks of the hanky panky,
where the bull frogs jump from bank to banky,
hip hop, don't stop,
ding dang dollar and a ding dang dong."...
-GUEST,Fiona, 03 Aug 08

**
3. "West london , i was thinking of this song for some odd reason from when i was like 7 (17 now) and i remember it going.

Down by the river near hanky panky where the two fat frogs sit bank to banky with a oooh ah oooh ah pick a number right now.

game of some sort?

Also heard a rude one before:

Down near the river near the bank banky where the two fat frogs have hanky panky...somthing like that o.0
-GUEST, 16 April 09

****

Florida (USA)

1. " I learned this in summer camp at a day school in Jacksonville FL sometime around 1990.

 
Down by the bank where the hanky pank
where the bullfrog jumped from bank to bank
saying ees ice ose oos
esta billy bing bong
your daddy smells like King Kong.

I always wondered what all that nonsensical stuff was in the middle, but never thought that it might have been a degradation of someone elses words. I just thought it was nonsense.

We played the circle elimimenation game, but when you said "Kong" the final slapper had to essentially fake out the slappee, because the way we played, if the slapper hit the NEXT persons hand because you moved yours in time, the KONG stayed "in" and the song started over.

Made for loooooong days."
-GUEST,Guest, Emma, 15 Oct 09

**
2.  Down by the river of the Hanky Panky
Where the bull frogs jumped from bank to banky
He said "E-I-O-U
your mamma stinks and so do you"
ping-pong dingdong
Your breath smells like King Kong

I learned that 10 years ago in 5th grade when I moved to florida.

Actually I heard three versions then but this is the only one that stuck with me."

-GUEST, 16 Oct 09

**
3. The version I recall goes like this:

Down by the riverside hanky panky
Where the bull frogs jump from bank to bank
Singin' E-I-O-U your momma stinks and so do you.
Ping pong, ding dong, your daddy smells like King Kong
and plays with his Rubber Ducky Ding....... Dong!

It's the typical hand-slapping game where two children sit face-to-face with their palms outstretched, slapping back and forth. The "Dong" signifies that the game is over, and the last person who has slapped has won.

I was in grade school between 1986-1993 or so, in Southwest Florida.
-GUEST,29yr old fogie, 28 June 10

**
4. "Down by the banks with the hanky pank
where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank
say E-I-O
You Yo Momma stank and so r u
ping pong donky kong
Yo Momma smell like king kong
Micheal Jackson went to town riding on the pony
stuck a feather in is hat n called him macaroni
resse pieces butter cup
u mess wit me ill bust you u up
i woke up in the morning i looked up on the wall
i saw a bunch of cocka roches playin basketball
and they score was 1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9 and on 10 they have to try to slap the other person hands if the person misses n slaps their own hand they are eliminated
-GUEST,Me![Her's The Miami Version], 20 Jun 08 

**
5."The version I recall goes like this:

Down by the riverside hanky panky
Where the bull frogs jump from bank to bank
Singin' E-I-O-U your momma stinks and so do you.
Ping pong, ding dong, your daddy smells like King Kong
and plays with his Rubber Ducky Ding....... Dong!

It's the typical hand-slapping game where two children sit face-to-face with their palms outstretched, slapping back and forth. The "Dong" signifies that the game is over, and the last person who has slapped has won.

I was in grade school between 1986-1993 or so, in Southwest Florida."
- GUEST,29yr old fogie, 28 Jun 10

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6. "I remember a version from the 90s in the Tampa Bay area, FL. It went like this:

A group of girls would sit (or stand) in a circle, their left hand under the right hand of the person to their left. The leader would start off by clapping her right hand to the right hand of the person to the her, they would do the same to the person on their left, etc. Clapping would start slow and then build speed to match the words. The person caught at the end of the rhyme would have to clap the next person's hand. If they were fast enough, the person to their left was out. If the person to their left was faster and removed their right hand in time, the last person would end up slapping their own left hand and would be out.

Down by the banks of the hanky-pank
A bullfrog leaps from bank to bank
Singin' E-I-O-U
Your momma stinks and so do you
Ping pong, ding dong
Daddy smells like King Kong
On his feet and on his toes
Your daddy wears
Pink
Pan-
ty
HOSE!

(Where "hose" was the word that would get you out.)

The person out would drop behind, the circle would close up and the whole thing would start again until there was only one person left - who was usually acknowledged as the fastest."
-GUEST,Tampa Bay, Florida, 02 Jan 11 

**
7. "Hi~

 When I was in Elementary school in Florida we had a version of this. It went like ;

Down by the river with a hanky panky
where the bull frogs jump from bank to bank
saying EIOU
Your mama stinks and so do you
ping pong donley kong
went to school with nothing on
Asked the teache what to wear
Polka dotted under wear
not too big, not too small
just the size of Broward mall
reece peices butter cup
now were talking 7up
7up has no caffeine
now were talking Billy Jean
Billy Jean blew up the school
now were talking really cool
really cool is in the house
now were talking Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse and all his friends
Now we'll count to ten / name all his friends

We would stand in a circle and hands out palms up and slap each others and at the end when we count/say the names the person that gets hit is out.
-GUEST,Kate. 28 Feb 11

**
8. "Grew up in south Florida

Down by the lake with the hanky pank
Said the bullfrog jumps from bank to bank
say E-I-O-U
Yo Momma smell and so do you
Micheal Jackson went to town riding on a pony
stuck a feather in is eye and called him macaroni
resse pieces butter cup
u mess wit me ill bust you u up
bang bang choo-choo train
Let me see you do that thang.
I can't! Why not? I can't! Why not?
Cause my head hurt my bra too tight
and my booty shake from the left to the right
Go left, Go right, go left right left right (last smack)"
-GUEST, 20 Jun 20 - 03:01 AM

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G- H

Georgia (USA)

1. "I learned this rhyme so long ago it seems.

 I'm from GA, and my most vivid memory of playing this hand game was at girlscout camp in north ga. It was probably sometime around 1993-1995.

Our version was:

Down by the banks of the hanky panky
where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank
you go eeps iips opes oops
chilly willy ding dong!

It fascinates me the number of variations on this there are. I had no idea! I sure do hope children still play these games - I have such fond memories"
-GUEST,Emily - GA, 30 Dec 07

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2. "How come nobody remembers the yanky doodle rhyme at the end? I was born in '84 and grew up in the early nineties and in Atlanta we did it like this:

Down by the river of the hanky panky
where the bullforogs jump from bank to bank
singing eep, ipe, oop, opps
Chillie willy ding dong
Play a game of ping pong
I pledge alligence to the flag
Michael Jackson is a fad (we didn't even know what fag meant growing up let alone say it)
Coca-cola burned him up
Now He's drinking 7-up
7-up has no caffine
now we're singin' "Billie Jean"
"Billie Jean" is out of style
Now we're singing Bobbie Brown
Bobbie Brown is not a song... I forgot what came next as everything goes hazy from here

but then it went into this:

Michael Jackson went to town, riding on a pony
stuck a feather in his hat and called it macoroni
Girl Scout, Girl Scout,
Do your duty,
Don't forget to wash your booty (or tooti if we were naughty... tooti was our slang for vagina)
Boy Scout Boy Scout
Do your trick
don't forget to wash your...

Oh and we didn't jump rope to this, we did the circle hand clap like a few other people said
-GUEST,CutiefromGA, 05 Dec 08
-snip-
Atlanta is a city in the state of Georgia.

**
3."I heard this one in elementary school in Atlanta, GA, probably between '05-'08. Some variations on here got close to mine, but not quite. Here's the version I remember best:

Down by the banks of the Hanky Pank
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank
Singin' eeps, ipes, opes, ups
Chilly willy ding dong
I pledge allegiance to the flag
Michael Jackson makes me gag
Coca Cola, burn it up
Now we're talkin' 7-Up
7-Up has no caffeine
Now we're talkin' Billie Jean
Billie Jean is out of sight
Now we're talkin' dynamite
Dynamite blew up the school
Now we're talkin' really cool
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!
-GUEST,Max, 15 Dec 19; 

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I - J

Idaho (USA)

I learned this song at summer camp in Idaho. We learned it as :

Down by the banks of the Hanky Panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
with an eep, ipe, oop, opps
you missed the lily pad, Kerplop!"
-GUEST, 30 Jan 07 

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Illinois

Down by the farm said hanky pank
Said bulldog bulldog hanky pank
Said fee fi fo fum pass it to the bulldog
Mickey Mouse built a house
Donald Duck messed it up
Who will pay the consequences
Y-O-U and that spell YOU!
-GUEST,Dinah from the 90’s in the south Chicago sub. 11 Oct 22 

**

Bullfrog Bullfrog Hanky Pank
Say Bullfrog Bullfrog Hanky Pank
Say fee fi foe fum
Pass it to the next one
Mickey Mouse built a house
Donald Duck mess it up
Who will pay the consequences
Y-O-U spells you are OUT!

(Bullfrog and Bulldog were interchangeable at any given time/day)
-GUEST,Kat 2000s an hour south of Chicago, 1 Mar 23

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Indiana (USA)

1. "Here's mine from either Indiana or Virginia in the mid 90's, mainly sung by girls, but boys also. we sat in a circle, with our hands interlocking, whoever it landed on was out, and so forth like many others above.

Down by the banks of the hnaky panky
where the bullfrog jump from bank to banky
with an eips aeips, opps oops,
oomph flop a dilly and an om flop flop.
-GUEST, 28 Nov 10

**
2. "Having grown up in central Indiana and also having a scouting background and working with kids myself, this is the version that I've always seen played, which has three verses, though the second verse tends to get omitted fairly often, and sometimes we only use the first verse...

Down by the banks of the hanky panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
With an eeps! Ipes! Opes! Oops!
And an oop flop a dilly and an oop flop flop

Pepsi cola came to town
Coco cola shot him down
Dr pepper fixed him up
And now we all drink 7up

Pepsi cola ginger ale
Ginger ale ginger ale ginger ale ginger ale
Pepsi cola ginger ale
7up 7up 7up you're out

The game is played in a circle with everyone sitting with their palms up, left hand under and right hand over the person's next to them. A leader is chosen to start the hand slap, which is passed around the circle. When the song ends, the person it stops on is out, and the person to their left becomes the new leader. When it gets down to two people, they join hands and move their arms in a saw-like motion until the song ends. Whoever has their arm extended wins!

The other ways I've seen online are neat, too, and though I still have a soft spot for the version I learned as a kid, I'm guessing the original third line of the rhyme dealt with a frog hopping and then the original fourth line (which I'm guessing was probably the last line) dealt with a lillypad and a kerplop!

Since children's songs like this are passed down by word of mouth, and children mishear and misspeak lyrics all the time, I don't think the original version is out there anymore, though that one post about the Pasquotanky might be pretty close, since hanky panky is easier to say and remember. However, even that could have been changed to fit the location of the children singing it at the time, so it's probable that the only original words to the song were "the bull frogs jumped from bank to banky". Whether the original was "down by the banks of the" or "down by the river of" is still up for debate. Other words could fit there and make sense, too, such as shore or bed instead of banks or river, so even those two could be changed versions of the original, though I think it's more likely that it was river instead of banks first, since banks appear twice more in the second line, and it would be easier to remember for a child if all the things pertaining to water were the same word. Chances are that if it was indeed originally "down by the river of", there was probably no "the" after the word "of" because rhythmically, the word "the" wouldn't fit as well before the name of the river.

Despite all this, do I intend to sing it any differently from what I always have? Nope! While most of the other ways are really neat, I've got a bit of sentimentality for the one I grew up with, so that's the one I'm sticking to.

I hope everyone has an awesome day!

Over and out,"
-Sarah (GUEST,Sarah), 04 Nov 11 

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Iowa (USA)

"80 years ago in south central iowa it started like this:

Way down yonder in the rank tank tank

the bull frog jumped from bank to bank"
-GUEST,genieken, 21 Oct 08

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Ireland

"I'm from Ireland (Dublin) , grew up in the 80's (born 1979).

We used to sing this in a circle clap game to choose who could choose the next group game (e.g. Red rover, kick the can, grass houses, what's the time mr. Wolf etc) or pass the time at break time at school.

Down by the river of hanky panky,
Two fat frogs sit back-to-back,
ooooo-ahhhh-ooooo-AAH!
Down by the river was

Ooo-peee-PLODGE! ('ooo' and 'peeee' mantras permitted claps to the next and the next person as long as the chant held: oooooo *clap* oooooo *clap* *peeeeeee* *clap!* PLODGE!! (person 'plodged' was 'It')

Good times :)
-Catríona S.(GUEST,Psychonaughty), 03 Nov 09

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This concludes Part I of this two part pancocojams series.

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