Part II of Some "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" Rhymes" With Geographic Locations (K - Z)

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Update: March 3, 2023

This is Part II 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" https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034&messages=454&page=1 (Page 1 of a 10 page discussion thread as of Sept. 2, 2022).

Part II provides examples and comments for geographic locations in the United States and elsewhere that begin with the letter K through Z.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/03/part-i-of-some-examples-of-down-by_22.html for "Part I of Some Examples Of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" Rhymes With Geographic Locations (A - J)". 

I started the Mudcat discussion thread "Origins: Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky" on August 21, 2006 and it is still open for comments/examples from members and from guests.[as of March 1, 2023] 

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.

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.
-snip-

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 Note  - 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.

****
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. 

****
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. 

****
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.

Also, some comments in that Mudcat thread include profanity. 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 thread is still open for new comments (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. 

****
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.

****
PART II: "DOWN BY THE BANKS OF THE HANKY PANKY RHYMES" (geographic locations beginning with K through Z)

"Origins: Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky"

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 "the 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.  

from https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034&messages=454&page=1  (and the nine other pages in that discussion thread)

K- L

Kansas (USA)

1. "I remember back home, around Salina, KS, we'd sing it

"Down by the banks of the hanky panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank-y
With a 'fe-fi-fo-fun'
Micheal Jackson lost his thumb
Now we're talkin' 7-Up
7-Up has no caffeine
Now we're talkin' jellybeans
Red, blue, yellow, green"

Of course I was too young to know who Billie Jean was at that time, though, which is probably where the jellybeans verse came from."
-GUEST, Dinonysus, 12 Sep 21 - 06:14 PM

**

2. "Heard near Wichita, Kansas:

Down by the valley of the Hanky Panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank
Sayin’ eeps, ipes, opes, ops
And a little flicker-doodle and a big ker-plop

(This version uses the same tune I saw mentioned by someone else earlier)"
--GUEST, Lavender, 30 Jul 20
-snip-
This commenter shared several examples of this rhyme from various states. All of those examples are from the mid 2000s. The first example that was shared (from Mississippi) has Guest, Lavender's beginning comment.

**
Kentucky (USA)

1. "Wow A lot of these I've never heard before. Makes me wonder how I learned the version I did. Now that I think about it It makes no sense. Anyway here it is

Down By the Banks of the Hanky Panky
Where the bullfrogs jump form bank to bank
East, Meast, Sun Ceased
Eastside, Westside
Bow Wow, Ding dang dong.

I learned this when I was about 6 in 1994. I;'m from Kentucky and all my friends say it the exact same way. Guess the entire translation got lost somewhere."
- GUEST,Jade, 11 Jan 08

**
2. "I'm from Kentucky and I've never seen my version before, down by the banks of the hanky panks where the bullfrog jumps from banks to banks saying eeps ips ops oops, listen to the rhythm of the ding dang dong, Michael Jackson went to town Pepsi-Cola shot him down dr. Pepper fixed him up now we're talking 7UP, 7up has no caffeine now we're talking Billie Jean, Billie Jean went down the street singing do da Diddy Diddy dum Diddy do, Lincoln Lincoln I've been thinking what on Earth have you been drinking is it whiskey is it wine oh my gosh it's suppertime 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10"
-GUEST, 10 May 20

****
Louisiana (USA)

1. "In New Orleans, Louisiana, ours normally goes

Down by the riverside Hanky Panky
Where the bullfrog jumps from bank to bank
I said a A-E-I-O-U, bamboo!
Johnny struck a match and blamed it on Sue
Sue told Ma
Ma told Pa
Johnny caught a whooping so ha-ha-ha!
He jumped so high
He touched the sky
And he never came back 'till the
Fourth of July!

Everybody sits in a circle and sends a clap through the circle while singing the song and move the clap around the circle at a random rhythm that goes or doesn't go with the song's timing depending on how many people are playing. The rhythm doesn't change until the very last line, where people are trying to break it into as many syllables as possible to keep the clap away from them. The person who gets the 'Ju' syllable in July has to hit the hand of the person that would have gotten 'ly'. If they hit it, then the 'ly' person is out. If they miss, then the 'Ju' person is out. The 'ly' person can move their hand to avoid getting hit."
-GUEST,Anon, 06 Mar 11

**
2. "Down by the riverside
Hanky Panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank
I said a a-e-i-o-u beetle juiceI pledge allegiance to the flag
Michael Jackson is so fat
Coca-Cola bust his butt
Now he's drinking 7 Up.
7 Up has no caffeine
Now he's drinking gasoline.
Gasoline was made for cars
Now he's eating candy bars.
Candy bars have too much fat
Now he's driving Cadillacs.
Cadillacs are out of style.
Now. He. Has. To. Walk. A. Mile."
-GUEST,The Louisiana Version, 26 May 21 
-snip-
This same guest contributor also wrote that same day "That's how black kids in Louisiana that were born in the 90's play it!"

 ****

M-N

Maryland (USA)

1. "Growing up in Maryland, I learned it this way:

Down by the banks with the hanky-panky
Where the bullfrog jumps from bank to banky
Saying eeps, ipes, opes, oops
Listen to the doorbell ring
I pledge allegiance to the flag
Michael Jackson sucks so bad
Pepsi-Cola burned his butt
Now he's drinking 7-Up
7-Up is bad for you
Now he's drinking Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew has no caffeine
Now he's drinking gasoline
Gasoline is made for cars
That's why he is so bizzare
Down by the banks with the hanky-panky
Where the bullfrog jumps from bank to banky
Saying eeps, ipes, opes, oops
Listen to the Keeerplop!

We sat or stood in a circle with each person's right hand palm-up on the next person's left hand, and each right hand would slap the next right hand. You were out if your hand was hit on "plop", and you could avoid this by pulling your hand out."
- GUEST,anonymous, 13 Aug 07

****

Michigan (USA)

1. "Down by the bank of the hanky panky,
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky,
To the Hip Hop Shirley Pop,
I pledge allegience to the flag,
of Michael Jackson makes me gag,
Coca-Cola burnt his butt,
Now he's drinking Seven-Up
Seven-Up has no caffeine,
So Now he's drinking Jelly Bean
Jelly Bean is out of sight,
So Now he's drinking Sprite
Spell it!
S-P-R-I-T-E!"
-GUEST,Madison from Metro Detroit, Michigan; 31 Mar 10

**
Minnesota (USA)

1. "I sang this soooo much as a kid in Shoreview, Minnesota in the late 60's, early 70s:

Down by the banks of the hanky panky
Where the bullfrog jumps from bank to banky
With an eep - opp - oap - opp
Ease off a lily with a...
Ker-PLOP!

We sang it as a round, it sounds very cool like that :)

Feeling very nostalgic here, and impressed that this has been documented to be chanted in so many different forms all the way around the world."
-Mary (GUEST,mesj68), 27 Jul 10

****
Mississippi [USA]

1. "I’ve been interested in the different versions of this rhyme since forever and can’t believe it took so long to find this site! All versions I know are from the mid 2000s.

Heard in a Christian camp in Mississippi:

Down by the valley of the Hanky Panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank
Sayin’ ooh, ah, skittle, skattle, big, fat, bull, frog
I pledge allegiance to the flag
Michael Jackson is so bad
Pepsi-Cola, burnin’ up
Now we’re drinkin’ 7-Up
7-Up has no caffeine
Now we’re wachin’ Billy Jean
Billy Jean went out of style
Now we’re wachin’ X-Files
X-Files, way too scary
Now we’re wachin’ Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry’s way too funny
Now we’re wachin’ Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny’s way too lame
Now we’re playin’ video games
Video games are way too boring
Then one morning I woke up snoring"
-GUEST, Lavender, 30 Jul 20
-snip-
This commenter shared several examples of this rhyme from various states. All of those examples are from the mid 2000s. The first example that was shared (from Mississippi) has Guest, Lavender's beginning comment.

**
2. "i'm from mississippi and these are the lyrics we always sang!!

 down by the river of the hanky lanky where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky singing A E I O U bamboo michael jackson went to town coca cola shot him down dr pepper shot him up now we're talkin seven up seven up has no caffeine now we talking billy jean billy jean went down the street singing doo ah diddy diddy dum diddy doo singing A E I O U bamboo"
-GUEST,  4 May 20

**
Missouri (USA)

1. "In St Louis this was our version when I was growing up

 Down by the river to the hanky pank
No bulldog jumps from bank to bank
Old lady said ding dong
Your mama smell like king kong
Your daddy smell like donkey kong
Eastside
Westide
Ding
Dang
Dong" 
-GUEST,Tre', 10 Feb 09 

**
2. "From northern Missouri about 1993 or so:

Down by the banks of the hanky panky
where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
saying e a-poppa, i a-poppa, o a-poppa, POW

It was the circle elimination game with slaps coming on each beat until the last, and that person was out. When you got to two players you grabbed hands and pushed back and forth with every beat until the POW and whoever's arm was extended with the pow won."
-GUEST,Guest- Missouri, 19 Jan 11

**
3. "I recently got into an argument with my friend about this... he’s from NY and I’m from MO so that might explain the difference

 Haven’t seen my version of down by the banks ANYWHERE! Very weird

 I learned it in Girl Scouts/general elementary school

Down by the banks of the hanky pank
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank
Singin fee fo fum
Hee-say mee-say
Ding dang dong (out on dong)
Dr.Pepper came to town, 
Coca Cola knocked him down,
7 up caught the flu,
Now we’re drinking Mountain Dew,
Mountain Dew fell off the mountain,
Now we’re drinkin from the fountain,
Fountain broke,
Now we have nothing to drink (out on drink)"
- GUEST,Sara,  16 Jul 18

****

Montana (USA)

1. "I'm from Montana, and up here we sing it like this:

Down by the banks of the Hanky Panky
Where The Bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
singing hip,hop, hippity hoppity
east side, west side
Keerrr PLOP!"
-GUEST, Devina, 23 Oct 10

****
Nevada (USA)

1."I am from Las vegas, nv and learned this song in Girl Scouts. I had no idea that other people sang much longer versions! our general goal was to slap hands as fast as possible so that we could sing as fast as possible and get someone else out and be the winner! and then it starts aaaaaaaaaaall over again. we sang a very simple version as someone posted above

 down by the banks of the hanky panky, where the bull frogs jump from bank to bank, sayin' eeps opps soda pops, johnny broke a bottle and it went ker-PLOP!"
-GUEST,alyssa., 26 Jan 13

****
New England (USA)

1. "well, the way i learned it it went like this:

 down by the river of the hanky panky
where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
singing hip hop dont stop
listen to the water drop
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

and then at ten one person trys to slap the other's hands.

i dont know how it goes in other places, but thats the way we say it in New England :)

hope it helped !"
-GUEST,xfortheflies, 14 Nov 08 

****

New Hampshire (USA)

1. "Here's how this rhyme is done by kids in Keene, NH these days:

Down by the banks
of the hanky-panky
where the bull frog
jumps from
bank to banky
with a
hip
hop
flip
flop*
Missed that banky and went
ker-plop!

The kids sit or stand in a circle, palms up, arms extended to the side, left hand over neighbor's right palm. One child starts by slapping his/her left hand across to his/her right, passing the slap around the circle until "kerplop" when the child about to be slapped has to pull his/her hand out of the way, or else be eliminated.

It's a great way to focus a whole class. The eliminated kids automatically start their own circle going as soon as they have critical mass..."

- AllisonA(Animaterra); 22 Aug 06
-snip-
In another comment in that discussion thread, AllisonA (Animaterra) corrected her misspelling of the word "flop". She also shared that this example was from students who she taught.

****
New Jersey (USA)

1. "here in new jersey we do it like this:

Down by the bank of the hanky panky Where the bullfrog jumps from bank to bank saying : Hee pa hee pa pa skittle diddle kernel pop I pledge allegiance to the flag Michael Jackson sings so bad coca Cola messed me up Now I'm drinking seven-up Seven-up has no caffiene now im drinks gasoline gasoline ran out of feul Now I'm drinking Mountain Dew Mountain Dew fell off the mountain Now I'm drinking from the fountain After that the fountain broke Now I'm back to plain old diet COKE"
-ME (GUEST), 29 Oct 12

**
2. "From NJ, this is what I know.

Down by the banks with the hanky panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank
Saying eep, opp, eep opp opp
Skittle, diddle, kertle pop
I pledge allegiance to the flag
Mivheal Jackson makes gag
Coca cola has caffeine,
Now I'm drinking gasoline
Gasoline gave me the flu
Now I'm drinking mountain dew
Mountain dew fell off the mountain
Now I'm drinking from the fountain
Yesterday the fountain broke,
Now I'm drinking cherry coke
Cherry coke fell off the tree
Now I'm drinking sunny d
Sunny D fell off the sun
Now im counting 10 to 1
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
-GUEST,10 May 20"

***
3. "Your versions are so weird to me

(I'm from south Jersey)

Down by the river with the hanky pank
where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank
sining ee ii ooh oh oh
skittle dittle tik tak toe
I pledge allegiance to the flag
michael jackson makes me gag
Coca Cola blew him up
Now I'm drinking seven up
Seven up has no caffeine
Now i'm drinking gasoline
gasoline gave me the flu
now i'm drinking mountain dew
mountain dew fell off the mountain
Now i'm drinking from a fountain
Uh oh fountain broke
now i'm drinking plain old diet coke
whoopsie gotta pee
now i'm drinking sunny D
Sunny D fell off the sun
okay now i'm done
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8"
-GUEST, 09 Jun 20 

****
New York (USA)

1. "Down by the banks of the Hanky Panky where the bull frogs jump from bank to banky. Eeps oops orbs skittle diddle kur plops.

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 I pledge alliegence (Sp.) to the flag, Michael Jackson makes me gag.

Pepsi Cola blew up now were drinkin seven up. Seven up caught the flu now were drinkin Mountin Dew. Mountain Dew fell of the mountain now were drinkin from a fountain. Fountain broke now were drinkin plain old DIET COKE!

That's the one I've always known. We sing it in New York."
-GUEST,:) LaLaLaLaLaLaLaLa; 06 Mar 09 

**
2. "in Rochester, NY it goes like this

down by the bank of the hanky pank;
where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank;
saying E-I-O-U;
yo momma stank and so do you;
so ping pong donkey kong;
martin luther king jr;
mickey mouse bought a house;
donald duck messed it up;
he couldn't pay the rent;
so he got kicked out;
O-U-T;
out

we would do process of elimination by eliminating whoever got to the letter -T they we would start over the song until we got to the last person"
- GUEST,Guest, 06 May 11

 
****
New Zealand

1. "I heard a version of this from my daughter last year; she was aged 7 at the time. She told me that lots of her friends knew it at her school in the Hutt Valley, New Zealand.

Her words went:

Down by the banks of the handy mandy,
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank,
I said a hip hop
Swaggle waggle hop.
I said a hip hop,
Full stop.

It had a quite complex clapping system between two children to go with it - certainly more complicated than the usual three-part hand clap systems she usually showed me. I videoed her performing this, but can't easily describe it.

Anyway, the rhyme game has made it to New Zealand."...
-Uke, 23 Aug 06

****

Nigeria

1. "My children learnt the clapping rhyme Hanky Panky in Nigeria and, when they came to England, taught it to all the children in primary school. It went like this -

Down by the river there's hanky panky
Where frogs jump from back to back,
Eeeee, Ooooo,
Eeeee, Ooooo,
Eeeee, Ooooo,
Bad dog.

I think they must have misheard it when they first learnt it and then taught all the kids at primary school the wrong words."
-GUEST,Eniale, 18 Jul 10

 ****
North Carolina (USA)

1. "WAY DOWN YONDER IN THE HANKY-BANKY WHERE THE BULLFROGS JUMP FROM BANK TO BANKY SINGIN'
"EASTSIDE"
"WESTSIDE"
"EASTSIDE"
"WESTSIDE"
DILLYDANGDONG.

Whoever's hand was slapped on "DONG" was out."
-GUEST,Cary, North Carolina, 16 Apr 11

**
2. "i was born in Pasquotank Cty, NC in the early 1950s. i was told by my great-grandmother, who was born in Tyrrell Cty, NC in the mid 1880s---and she was told by her mother---this song was originally about the Pasquotank River. originally this song, so it has been told to me, goes like this---

"Down on the banks of the Pasquotanky

(note: originally the inhabitants of the Pasquotank River basin were a tribe of Native-Americans known in the late 1660s as the Pas-ka-tanki Indians of the Tus-ca-ro-roe Nation)

Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky

(further note: the Albemarle Sound area, which the Pasquotank River drains into, once was a wetland and was teeming with wildlife, including bullfrogs though not so much anymore and there was loads of vegetation that no longer exists for them to jump around all over on the river and sound)

and on and on as many have written----so goes the rest of the song.

i believe what i am telling you is more than likely true."
- GUEST,Cathy Brown Heiby daughter of Virgie Forbes; 28 Jun 11  

**
3. "In NC in the mid-2000's, our version went

Down by the banks of the Hanky Panky
Where the bull-frog jumps from bank to bank ("sy" was sometimes added")
Say A-E-I-O-U-and-Y
Now that frog has caught the fly!"
-GUEST, 28 Sep 15

**
4. "I learned this version in Elementary school in North Carolina.

Down in the banks with the hanky pants
Where the bullfrog jumps from bank to bank
Singing epes ipes opes oops chilly willy ding dong
I pledge allegiance to the flag
Justin Beiber makes me gag
Coca-Cola brought him up now we’re talking 7 up
7 up has no caffeine now we’re talking Billy Jean
Billy Jean ran out of sight now we’re talking dynamite
Dynamite blew up the school now we’re talking really cool
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

The last person clapped obviously being out. When two people were left they would lock hands so that one person’s arms were crossed and the others wasn’t. They would then sing the song and try to make sure their arms weren’t crossed at the end."
- GUEST,  22 Nov 18 

**
5.  "I think I learned a few variations of the chant throughout elementary in the mid to late 2000s in NC, but the ones I best remember are:

Down by the banks of the hanky pank,
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank,
Goin' east side, west side, east side, west side,
Chilly Willy ding dong

I pledge allegiance to the flag,
Michael Jackson makes me gag

Coca-cola burned his butt,
Now we're talkin' Seven Up

Seven Up has no caffeine,
Now we're talkin' Billy Jean

Billy Jean went outta 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

And the other version was the exact same except for the first few verses where it was

Down by the banks of the hanky pank,
Where the bull frogs jump from bank to bank,
Singin' eeps, ipes, opes, opps
Chilly Willy ding dong

But the same second chant.

We'd sit in a circle with one palm on top of one neighbors' and the other underneath our other neighbors' and do like a slap circle. The last two people would sit facing each other with one person's hands palm down in the air and the other person's hands palm up underneath the first pair and they'd go up and down slapping (if that makes sense) and whoever's palms were last palm up and got slapped was the loser"
-GUEST. 17April 21

**
6.  "I was in elementary and early middle school from 2008-2012 in North Carolina, U.S., and the version me and the kids in my class would play went like:

Down by the bank with the hanky panky,
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank(y),
Singing east side, west side,
East side, west side
East side, west side
Dilly/diddily dang dong!

We would usually stand in a circle with our palms out to the side, each persons right hand on top of the person beside them’s left hand. As we sang we would pass a clap around the circle by hitting the person on our left’s hand. If you hit someone’s hand on “dong” you got them out, but if they pulled their hand away quick enough and you hit your own, you were out. If you caught yourself and didn’t hit them or you you continued in the game."
-GUEST, An NC native born in 2000, 17 July 2022

****

O- P

Ohio (USA)

1, "I am from Cincinnati Ohio and did not realize the differences between the states and lyrics to this song! We say sat in a circle palms up and someone starts with slapping the next person's hand as it goes in a circle whoever's hand is it when you get to 10 they are out. We sang...

Down, down down in the valley with a hanky panky.
Fe fi fo your mamma stanky
Fe fi fo fum
Chilli willy doing dong
Your mamma smells like king kong
Let's play a game of ping pong

1, 2 etc until you get to 10 whoever gets slapped at 10 is out"
-GUEST, 15 Mar 20 

**
2. "Oh yeah, we used to have a game where we all were linked and slap each others hands:

Down by the bank where the
Hankypank {?)
Where the bullfrog jumps from
Bank to bank
Said-a eas, oss, ohss, oos
Listen to the ding dong [try to slap your friend's hand at "dong", if you get them, they're out]

Extended version:

[Listen to the ding dong]
Your mama smell like king kong
Let's play a game of ping pong
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-[slap your friend's hand at 10"]
carboncopysue, location Ohio, 7/24/2004

**
3. 

"Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky Where the bullfrogs leap from bank to banky With a, fee fi fo fum, pass it to the next one. Mickey Mouse built a house, Donald Duck messed it up, who will pay the consequences Y - O - U!" -GUEST Columbus, Ohio, 29 April 21 ** P-Q Pennsylvania (USA) 1. "at camp in eastern pa, roughly 2008-2011, it was this: Down by the banks of the hanky panky Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky Saying ding-dong ding-dong, your Momma looks like Donkey Kong I pledge allegiance to the flag That Micheal Jackson is my dad. Pepsi-cola's burning up, now we're drinking 7-up 7-up has no caffeine, now we're drinking gasoline gasoline is bad for you, now we're drinking mountain dew mountain dew fell off a mountain, now we're drinking from a fountain the fountain broke and now we're drinking plain, old, di-et, coke" -GUEST, c, 09 April 21

****
R -S

Rhode Island (USA)

1. "Greetings, all! I hope everyone is well! I was wondering about the Down By The River handclap circle game ever since I taught my youngest sister it. So, I’d like to contribute my location’s variation on the rhyme! I learned it from the older girls at school (in RI, USA) sometime around the later 2010s, and I believe it went something like this:

Down by the river with the hanky-panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank-y
Saying ee bop ee bop bop, skittle diddle lollypop

I pledge allegiance to the flag, Michael Jackson makes me gag/is a fag
Coca Cola has caffeine
Now we're talking jelly beans
Jelly beans are out of style
We've been talking for a while

Ee bop ee bop bop, skittle diddle lollypop
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!

I’m not exactly sure how the middle part (paragraph) goes, as it’s been a while. I feel like it was longer, too, and that sometimes we sang “Billy Jean” instead of “jelly bean,” but I am probably wrong.

I hope that one day, we can collect all of the variations and keep them going! Some of these are cool and others hilarious! <3"
-GUEST,Repeep, 23 Aug 19 

****
T-U

Tennessee (USA)

1. "This is the way I learned it.

--- DISCLAIMER: Kids were fast in my day. ---

 
Down by the riverside hanky panky.
Where the bullfrog croaks "Yo' booty stanky."
Jumpin easts west north south.
Ding dong all in yo mouth.
I pledge allegiance to the flag.
Michael Jackson is a fag.
Dr. Pepper burnt him, but
Now we're drinkin 7 UP.
7 UP got too much green.
Now we're drinkin more caffeine.
Fiends drink coke cause it's a drug.
Slurped the toad who ate... a ... BUG!

And if you were the person to say "bug",
You were suppose to hit the next persons hand,
To stay in the game. If you missed their hand,

You were out. And that person stayed in."
-From: GUEST,GUEST - Nash.TN, 27 May 08 

**
2. "Heard in an elementary school near Memphis, Tennessee:

Down by the valley of the Hanky Panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank
Sayin’ ooh, ah, skittle, skattle, big, fat, bull, frog
I pledge allegiance to the flag
Michael Jackson is so bad
Pepsi-Cola, burnin’ up
Now we’re drinkin’ 7-Up
7-Up has no caffeine
Now we’re wachin’ Billy Jean
Billy Jean went out of style
Now we’re wachin’ X-Files
X-Files, way too scary
Now we’re wachin’ Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry’s way too stupid
Now we’re wachin’ Cupid (This line shifts from a chant to a song)
Once on Sunday morning
I looked up at the wall
I saw a team of cockroaches
Playing basketball
The score was none to six
Roaches in the lead
I think I need some bug spray"
1, 2, 3
-GUEST, Lavender, 30 Jul 20
-snip-
This commenter shared several examples of this rhyme from various states. All of those examples are from the mid 2000s. The first example that was shared (from Mississippi) has Guest, Lavender's beginning comment.

**
3. "Half remembered near Memphis, Tennessee:

Down by the valley of the Hanky Panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank
Sayin’ ooh, ah, skittle, skattle, big, fat, dirty, rat
I pledge allegiance to the flag (to the flag said faster than normal rhythm)
Michael Jackson was so bad (was so bad said faster than normal)
Pepsi-Cola, burp it up
Now we’re drinkin’ 7-Up
7-Up has no caffeine
Now we’re drinkin’ gasoline
Gasoline made me puke (or possibly throw up)
(Don’t remember a few lines)
Now we all drink Coke"
-GUEST, Lavender, 30 Jul 20
-snip-
This commenter shared several examples of this rhyme from various states. All of those examples are from the mid 2000s. The first example that was shared (from Mississippi) has Guest, Lavender's beginning comment.

**
4. "In 2001 in TN it was :

Down by the river hanky pank where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank,
Say E, I, O, U
Your mama she says "soda" (this may be been misheard)
You say ding dong donkey Kong,
Went to school with nothing on,
Ask the teacher what she wears,
Polka dotted underwear.
Not too big, not too small,
Just the size of Brown mall.
I pledge allegiance to the flag,
Michael Jackson is a drag.
Coca cola pump it up,
Now we're talking 7Up.
7up has no caffeine,
Now we're talking Billie Jean,
Billie Jean is out of site,
Now we're talking dynamite,
Dynamite blue up the school,
Now we're talking really cool.
Really cool is saying you are out,
O-u-t out."
-GUEST,  20 Mar 21
-"TN" = Tennessee

**
5. "I grew up in Memphis and this is how I personally heard the song for the game goes:

Down by the river of hanky Panky
Bullfrog jumps from bank to bank he
Says "ooh! Ah! Skittle skat! Big fat dirty rat!"
I pledge allegiance to the flag, Michael Jackson is so bad
Coca-cola burnin' up, now it's time for seven up
Seven up has no caffeine, now it's time for billy Jean
Billy Jean went out of town riding on a pony
Stuck a feather in his head and called it macaroni
Mickey Mouse had a house
Donald Duck messed it up
Who will pay the con-se-quenc-es
Y-O-U

And the person who's hand gets hit on the last U is the "loser" and is removed from the circle and we keep going with the game"
--GUEST, a Southern girl, 14 May 21

****
Texas (USA)

1. "One of my 2nd graders taught a hand clapping game in our music class in Abilene, Texas 5-30-08.

Down by the bay, by the bay, the bay,
Where the bullfrogs jump from bay to bay,
\Where the eeps, ahps, ohps, ahps
Bowl fulla jelly and a ker-plop.

The children stand in a cirle with hands extended palms up. The right hand is on top of the one to the right and the left in beneath the one to the left. The beat is passed around clockwise as the players slap their neighbor to the left. On 'plop' they must hit the neighbor's hand before it is pulled away. If you hit your own hand, you're out. If you hit the neighbor's hand, he is out. The last two standing lock fingers and "saw" to the beat and tug on plop like tug of war. The one who pulls someone over the line is the winner."
--GUEST,Guest, Walker, 03 Jun 08.  

**
2. "Heard in Texas:

Down by the banks of the Hanky Panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank
E I O U east side, west side
Ping, pang, pong"
-GUEST, Lavender, 30 Jul 20
-snip-
This commenter shared several examples of this rhyme from various states. All of those examples are from the mid 2000s. The first example that was shared (from Mississippi) has Guest, Lavender's beginning comment.  

****
The Deep South 

1. "DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE HANKY PANKY
WHERE THE BULLFROG JUMPED FROM BANK TO BANK
I SAID A E I O U BEETLEJUICE
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
MICHAEL JACKSON IS MY DAD
COCA COLA BURNS HIS BUTT
NOW HES DRINKING 7 UP
7 UP HAS TOO MUCH CAFFEINE
NOW HES DRINKING GASOLINE
GASOLINE IS MADE FOR CARS
NOW HES EATING CANDY BARS
CANDY BARS HAVE TOO MUCH FAT
NOW HES DRIVING A CADILLAC
CADILLACS ARE OUTTA STYLE
NOW HE HAS TO WALK AN EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA MILE"
-GUEST,Lexi; The Deep South’s Version, 22 Jul 19
-snip- 
Here's information about the term "the deep south" from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_South
"The term Deep South is defined in a variety of ways:
 Most definitions include the states Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
Texas and Florida are sometimes included."... 

**
V-W

Virgin Islands, St. Croix (USA)

1. im from the Virgin Islands, St.Croix to be exact...our rhyme goes like this

down by the river hankey pankey
25$ dollars hankey pankey
he said, he said,
he said, he said ding dong
your mother smell like king kong
(count 1-10)"
-GUEST, 23 Oct. 10

**
Virginia (USA)

1."I'm from South Eastern Virginia and this was how we used to do it.. :)

Down by the bank where the hanky pank
where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank
sayin east ist ost ust
Isabella ding dong.
Not last night but the night before
Someone came and knocked at my door,
Knock one, knock two, knock three, knock four...

knock knock OUT!

We would sit in a big circle outside (a bunch of little girls) with our left hands underneath the person to our left's palm (palms up) and then our right hands the opposite (above the person to our right's palm. Then we would slap on the beat from our right hand onto the person to the left's palm above ours in a circle until you were ended on in the song on the out (last word). Gosh I'm so glad other people know about this, it's so interesting how colloquial it can be!

Be well."
-GUEST,Mandy, 28 May 08 

**
2. "Hello- I stumbled upon this as I was looking for the "correct" rhyme to sing with my 15 month old. I was delighted to find that everyone seems to have a different version. The one I remember growing up with in Northern Virginia is:

Down by the banks of the hanky panky

Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky

Singing ooh ayy ooh ayy

Skiddle I diddle I ding dong!"
-GUEST,Abdomite, 18 Oct 08  

**

United Kingdom

1. "I am from London, UK, and we used to do it exactly the same way as described above, sitting in a circle with out palms facing upwards.

Lyrics:

Down by the river lives the hanky panky
Two fat frogs go from bank to banky
Zoo Zam
Zoo Zam
Down by the river goes the HONK A TONK

And on 'TONK' the child would try to slap the hand of the next one to get them 'out'.
-GUEST,Kerry, 08 Nov 06
-snip-
Click Part I of this series for another example from London, England.

**

2 "Hi! This is the version I learnt at school (UK 1987 5yrs - 1993 11yrs)

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!

BUT! We had totally different clapping patterns - it's between 2 people only:

hold your hands together like you're praying and swing them from side to side, hitting your partners hands in time to the beat 3 times. On the 4th, stop with your hands touching left to left hand and your right hand claps first your own left hand, then your partners right hand above, your own hand again. As your move your right hand down, instead of clapping their hand, you grab it like a hand shake, pulling up and away to your right, moving your left hand in a similar way. As soon as you let go with your right hand (still holding hands with your left) you slap your thigh and click your fingers, bringing your hand back up to do a one handed swinging slap like at the beginning 3 times (STILL holding left hands!). I don't remember what we did after that - it only gets me to 'bullfrogs leap'. Maybe we repeated it? It def finishes with a patticake type slap at the end (no head bashing!). The aim was to go as fast as you could and still get it right.

Anyone else?!"
--GUEST,Laura, 11 May 08 

** 

Washington [state/USA]

1. "I'm fascinated to find all of this. I wanted to teach my 2 year old daughter the words to this game. I learned it in kindergarten in Walla Walla, WA during the '79-'80 school year. I could only remember these words:

Down by the banks of the hanky panky,
where the bullfrogs jumped from bank to banky,
...[don't remember]...
with an eeps oops ops
and a
Ker-plop!

Ours didn't have any lyrics more suggestive than "hanky panky", nor any specific cultural references that would date it. (I think Michael Jackson was probably still with the Jackson 5 at that time.) I'm only missing one or two lines in the rhyme, it was definitely a shorter version.

So far noone's version quite matches up with mine, at least as I think I remember it. Nor do I recognize the endings of any of the others. If anyone seems to know 'my' version, I'd love to know the rest of the words. (I've created a new email account just for this sort of thing:[email address deleted] Otherwise, I guess I'll just make it up! When I come up with my 'new' version (based on those in this thread most likely), I'll add it.

We played a circle handclap elimination game, with our palms facing IN towards the center of the circle:

With arms outstretched, hands were layered so that each persons' right hand was in front of the neighboring left hand. When your right hand got sandwiched by your neighbor's hands, clapped between the two, it was your turn to swing your right arm and make a sandwhich around your other neighbor's right hand, to your left. The owner of the hand sandwiched at "Ker-plop!" was out.

The last two players had a sort of pushing arm-wrestle:

 Right hands linked in some sort of arm-wrestle fist (I can't remember exactly), while still standing, the last two would alternately push and pull. This was syncronized (sp?) so that the back and forth could increase in speed. You tried hard to get it going fast so that on "-plop!" you could try to take advantage of the inertia and freeze your arm in the 'push' position to win. However, if you froze your arm in 'push' before the rhyme reached the very end, even on "Ker-", then you lost.

One kid tried to take advantage of this by freezing his arm in 'pull' on "Ker-" to make it look like the other kid was trying to win-too-soon. As we were all kindergarteners, it wasn't very hard for the supervising (sp?) adults to figure it out. Clever of him to try though!"
-GUEST, sarah jane  16 June 07 [Mudcat discussion forum]

****
X, Y, Z

****

This concludes Part II of this two part pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.