Iragoman, Jun 11, 2010
What Sasha learned in kindergarten
Latest revision- October 24, 2022
This pancocojams post showcases tthreeTube videos and several text (word only) examples of the children's rhymes with the line "May Mother And Your Mother Live Across The Street".
These examples are a small portion of "My Mother And Your Mother Live Across The Street" rhymes that begin with the letters "SOSOS" or similar letters as an introduction to the actual rhyme.
My Editor's Notes presents my thoughts about the meaning of "SOSOS" or other beginning letters in these rhymes.
Like most contemporary (1970s and on) American children's rhymes, the examples that are showcased in this pancocojams post are made by combining two or more stand alone rhymes (rhymes that can be chanted alone or are chanted combined with other verses.) The example given as #1 below is written to distinguish how that version was created by combining introductory letters, stand alone verses, and a connecting (bridge) line.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the girl who is featured in this embedded video and thanks to the publisher of that video on YouTube. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/08/my-mother-your-mother-live-across.html for the closely related pancocojams rhyme entitled "My Mother & Your Mother Live Across The
Street" ("Boys Are Rotten Made Out Of Cotton") Video, Analysis,
& Examples
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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2: SOS SOS SOS my mother your mother live across the street
joulise torres, Dec 15, 2016
By:My Family
-snip-
The "SOS" letters in the title of this video don't match the way the girl chanted "sososos" (My transcription of that version is given as #2 below.)
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SHOWCASE VIDEO #3 -Mackenzie/Jenna: Boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider...
deborahlapoint, Dec 28, 2012
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This post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on introductory lines in children's recreational rhymes and cheers. These introductory lines are composed of letters, numbers, a word, or more than one word that are chanted in some children's hand clap rhymes and foot stomping cheers (also known as "steps") before the actual rhyme/cheer begins.
Certain introductory lines have become associated with specific rhymes/cheers more than others. For example, the introductory words"Shame Shame Shame" have been associated with the rhyme "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" so often, that among many African Americans, the word "Shame" or the words "Shame Shame Shame" has/have become the title of that rhyme.
I've also noticed that different clapping pattern is sometimes (often? usually?) performed for these introductory wordus or letters than the hand clap pattern that is performed during the actual rhyme.
"SOSOS", "Esoso" and "XOXOX" are examples of what I refer to as an "introductory" line, word, or words that is/are chanted before the actual rhyme begins. The letters "SOSOS", "Esoso" and "XOXOX" may have "literal" meanings apart from these rhymes i.e. "SOS" might be the now traditional morse code for distress (help); "esoso" might be a folk processed form of "SOS"; and "XOXOX" might be the colloquial representation for "hugs and kisses".
However, in the context of children's hand clap rhymes and cheers, I believe that these examples and the other examples of introductory lines, the literal meanings of the introductory lines are usually not important. Instead, these introductory lines such as "Shame", or "shame shame shame", or "Wooble Wooble Wooble and the deep blue sea" to name a few) are usually chanted by rote memory, with the chanters not giving any thought to their meaning or their reason for being a part of that rhyme.
From my informal collection of children's recreational rhymes, it appears to me that introductory lines are much more characteristic of African American children's recreational rhymes than non-African American children's rhymes. I believe that the purpose of these introductory lines is to alert chanters that the game is getting ready to begin. This announcement is intended to remind chanters that they must be ready to concentrate in order to do the performance activity the right way. For foot stomping cheers (also known as "step") these introductory words are chanted to make sure that chanters "get on beat".
In both cases, these introductory letters, words, or numbers serve the same function as tthe "Ready, set, go" and "Ah one and ah two and you know what to do" sayings do for other children's recreational games. However, I believe that the purpose of these introductory lines is largely unconscious. Children chant those introductory lines because that's the way they learned those rhymes or cheers.
With regard to "My Mother And Your Mother Live Across The Street" rhymes, it appears that only a small portion of these rhymes begin with the "SOSOS" or similar letters. Instead, "My mother and your mother live across the street" is usually the first line in examples of these rhymes.
I use that complete first line "My Mother And Your Mother Live Across The Street" as the title for this rhyme family to avoid confusing it with the "My mother and your mother were hanging out clothes" rhymes. The "hanging out clothes" examples are usually used as counting out/choosing it" rhymes. I've added an example of those rhymes in the comment section below.
The beginning portion of "My Mother And Your Mother Live Across The Street" hand clap rhymes are closely related to counting out rhymes with the first line "My Mother And Your Mother Were Hanging Out Some Clothes".
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/09/partial-list-of-introductory-lines-in.html for a pancocojams post entitled "Partial List Of Introductory Lines In Hand Clap Rhymes".
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE #2
As a reminder, although the overall purpose of this pancocojams blog is to showcase aspects of African American culture and aspects of other Black cultures throughout the world, pancocojams also publishes posts on English language children's recreational rhymes. I do so because I'm interested in that subject, regardless of what race or ethnicity compose/d or perform/ed them.
That said, even in the general subject of children's rhymes and cheers, I'm particularly interested in showcasing and analyzing examples of this recreational compositions from African Americans and other Black people.
For folkloric purposes, I include demographic information (including race/ethnicity) when I document rhyme examples that I personally collect, and when that information is given with online examples and in offline examples (in books and records etc.) One use of that information is to gauge how and when rhymes and their accompanying activities change overtime or remain the same within the same time in the same populations and in different populations. Demographic information may also help also ocumenting fiddthe cotextsrhyme nd in offline collections, I document rhyme contributors' demographic information as a means of documenting what differences if any there are across racial populations in the words of rhymes and the performances activities, and also -among other things- documenting the meanings of vernacular words that occur in different populations.
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SELECTED EXAMPLES
Except for the first two examples of the rhymes that are chanted in the videos that are embedded in this pancocojams post, these examples are given in chronological order based on their publishing date, or (in one case) the date I collected that example.
The letters that are given as the first line of each of these examples are chanted.
Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.
1.Sososos
My mother your mother walked down the street
1819 blueberry street
Every night they had a fight
And this is what they said alright
Boys are rotten made out of cotton
Girls are sexy made out of Pepsi
Boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider
Girls go to college to get more knowledge
Rumble rumble punch punch
Rumble rumble slap slap
Rumble rumble kick kick
Rumble rumble tap tap
Rumble rumble freeze!
5678
To the front
to the back
To the side to the side
Front back side side
let me to see you butterfly
turn around
touch the ground
Let me see you break it down
-Iragoman, Jun 11, 2010
-snip-
This is my transcription of this video. The rhyme is chanted by a little White girl who is standing, facing forward, and smiling. She rocks back and forth for the first part of this rhyme until the rumble, rumble portion of the rhyme. Although she does no motions (except for briefly twirling her hands in front of her body when she first says "rumble rumble"), it's likely that the pantomine motions which are indicated by the words of the rhyme are usually done while this version of this rhyme is chanted.
This version is a combination of
1. the introductionary letters "sososos"
2. the first rhyme beginning with my mother and your mother "
3. the second rhyme beginning with "boys are rotten"
4. a connecting ("bridge") line made up of the number 5678"
5. the third line "beginning with the words "to the front"
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2. sososos my mother your mother live across the street
18 19 blueberry street
every time they have a fight
this is what they say to me
Boys are rotten
made out of cotton
Girls are sexy
made out of Pepsi
Boys take a bath
to get some math
Girls take a shower
to get some POWER!
-joulise torres, Dec 15, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt-xbPrHVUk&ab_channel=joulisetorres
-snip-
This is my transcription of this rhyme. Additions and corrections are welcome for my transcriptions.
Every night they have a fight.
This is what they fight about:
Boys are rotten, made out of cotton.
Girls are sexy, made out of Pepsi.
Boys go to Jupiter to get stupider.
Girls go to Mars to be movie stars.
Slap. Slap. Clap. Clap
Hands up over the head and:
I-hate-boys
-Susan Campbell, Courant Staff Writer, The Hartford Courant (Conneticut), June 9, 1993 https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1993-06-09-0000100990-story.html Girls Love To While Away Hours With Slap-Clap Games And Rhymes
My mother and your mother
live across the street
eighteen nineteen Blueberry Street
Every night about half past five
they have a fight
and this is what they say
Boys are rotten
made out of cotton.
Girls are dandy
made out of candy
Boys that are beautiful
to get more stupider.
Girls that are wilder
To get more milder.
Boys drink beer
To get nowhere.
Girls drink Pepsi
To get more sexy.
-African American girls and boys (ages 6-12 years); Millview Acres; Clairton, PA, 1999, collected by Azizi Powell.
-snip-
This is my transcription of this rhyme. "XOXOX" is the first line that is chanted in this rhyme. .
Clairton, Pennsylvania is a city that is located near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. ****
my mother
your mother
lived across the street
18, 19 strawberry sweet
every night they had a fight
and this is what they say all night
boy are rotten, made out of cotton
girls are sexy, made out of pepsi
boys go to jupiter to get more stupider
girls go to mars to be film stars
ramma ramma PUSH
ramma ramma CLAP
ramma ramma FREEZE IT (thats when you strike your best pose and freeze)
-Derri, Aug 06 2009, http://forum.blackhairmedia.com/childhood-songs-or-rhymes_topic205958_page10.html [This link is no longer active- July 2022]
esso esso esso ess
my mother
your mother
lived across the street
18, 19 blueberry street
every night they had a fight
and this is what they say all night
boy are rotten, made out of cotton
girls are sexy, made out of pepsi
boys go to jupiter to get more stupider
girls go to mars to be superstars
mambo mambo strawberry pie
mambo mambo blueberry pie
mambo mambo STOP
...LOOK
A CHIKA WA WA WA WA WA(we start dancing in a circle on one
leg)
-wj0147 (location Canada), Aug 06
2009, http://forum.blackhairmedia.com/childhood-songs-or-rhymes_topic205958_page10.html
-snip-
Derri wrote this comment on August 5, 2009 in response to wjo147's example:
"^^^^ lol cool
I've come to the conclusion that our ancestors made up these
things
to take their minds off of slavery and as a cry for help
A lot of the songs we sang as children have deep messages to
them like colored girl in the ring
I imagine esso esso esso ess is actually
SOSOSOS
as in save our souls save our souls
when I actually sing these rhymes I could picture my people
being so oppressed but their African culture is all they know, so naturally,
music is in everything
-snip-
Read my Editor's note above for my thoughts about the meaning of the "SOSO" introductory letters in these rhymes.
I agree with Derri that recreational songs and rhymes offerred some enjoyment for enslaved Black people. I also agree that " a lot of songs we sang as children have deep messages in them". For example, I agree with Derri that "Brown Girl In The Ring" (which she referred to as "colored girl in the ring") was a song that helped teach and reinforce racial pride and acceptance. However, all recreational rhymes, cheers, and singing games that were chanted or sung by Black Americans don't have "deep messages in them."
Furthermore, although I recognize the spirit of Derri's statements, I don't agree that these "My Mother And Your Mother Live Across The Street" were chanted or sung during slavery (in the Caribbean and in the United States). Instead, my guess is that these rhymes probably date from 1960s or later. They were first performed as jump rope rhymes and then, as was the case with many recreational rhymes, were converted to hand clap rhymes in the 1970s on.
As an aside, in another comment in that blackhairmedia discussion thread, Derri shared an example of and information about a version of the "My Mother And Your Mother Lived Across The Street" children's rhyme from Guyana, South America. That rhyme is showcased in this pancocojams post https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/09/a-guyanese-version-of-say-say-my.html.
The fact that Derri is from Guyana may explain why she mentioned the Caribbean game song "Brown Girl In The Ring" rather than a game song that might be more familiar to African Americans. Note that culturally, Guyana is considered part of the Caribbean.
https://www.flycrc.com/blog/guyana_caribbean
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