The Evolution Of The Children's Rhyme "Say Say My Playmate" (with a focus on some examples that include a reference to the flu)

My Lorgan, Dec. 26, 2013

Anne and Virginia playing "Say Say My Playmate" -snip-
The words to this version are found in the summary of this video and are given in this pancocojams post as Example #1. 

Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAmw8htDyKw&ab_channel=TheHyNotes for a much "lighter" version of "Say Say My Playmate" that includes the line "my dollies have the flu". That YouTube "video" consists of a photo collage and a woman singing a version of this song/rhyme.

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Edited  by Azizi Powell 

Latest revision - December 21, 2023

This pancocojams post presents a YouTube video and some text (word only) examples of "Say Say My Playmate" ("Say Say Oh Playmate", Ce Ce Oh Playmate" or similar titles) children's rhymes. These examples are a small portion of those rhymes that include references to the flu. Some of these examples may also include references to other infectious diseases such as chicken pox and measles and one example refers to Covid-19.*

The content of this post is presented for folkloric purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Anne and Virginia who are featured in this showcased video, and thanks to the publisher of that video on YouTube. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
* The example given as #11 below is a purposely composed parody of "Say Say Oh Playmate" that refers to Covid-19. Technically, this example may not be an actual "children's rhyme" since both the mother and the teenage girl shown in the video composed the rhyme. However, the definition that I use for "children's rhymes" doesn't stipulate that they only be composed by children. I believe that if children have a hand in composing the rhymes and if children chant the rhymes, then the compositions are "children's rhymes". 

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THE SOURCES OF THE CHILDREN'S RHYME "SAY SAY MY PLAYMATE"
From https://clickamericana.com/topics/culture-and-lifestyle/say-say-oh-playmate-what-we-know-about-this-old-song-and-hand-clapping-game-pl  for information about the "Playmate" song.  
"Millions of people know “Say, Say, Oh Playmate” — also known as just “Playmate” — but very few folks today know much about the song.

The rhyme — which became the song’s lyrics — have been around a lot longer than the music itself. 

The tune we know as “Playmate” is actually from a song called “Iola,” composed and published by Charles Leslie Johnson sometime between 1904 and 1906.

A singer/songwriter/musician named Saxie Dowell has been credited with writing the song, but from what we were able to discover, he is most likely the one who first paired the old Victorian-era rhyme with the Johnson ditty.

Since then, “Playmates” has been recorded dozens of times by a wide variety of musical artists… and also sung thousands of times by kids on the playground."...
-snip-
Here's a comment from https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=8560  about the "Playmate" rhyme:

Subject: RE: Name: 'slide down my cellar door' (Playmate)
From: GUEST,Q
Date: 06 Feb 03

"The Saxie Dowell song was undoubtedly based on "I Don't Want To Play In Your Yard," words by Philip Wingate and music by H. W. Petrie, composed in 1894, in Levy as pointed out by KatLaughing.

The chorus:

I don't want to play in your yard,

I don't like you any more.

You'll be sorry when you see me

Sliding down our cellar door.

You can't holler down my rain barrel,

You can't climb my apple tree.

I don't want to play in your yard,

If you won't be good to me."...
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor's Note: Saxie Dowell was a White American who is credited as writing "Playmate" in 1940. Dowell also is credited for writing the novelty song "Three Little Fishies".

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The references to the flu in the children's rhyme "Say Say My Playmate" (or similar titles) come directly from the 1940 song "Playmate" which is credited to Saxy Dowell. That song includes this verse that refers to the flu:

"I'm sorry Playmate, I cannot play with you
My dollies have the flu,
Boo-hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo.
Can't climb your rain barrel, (or, Ain't got no rain barrel)
Can't slide your cellar door [or, Ain't got no cellar door)
But we'll be jolly friends forever more."
-snip-
Click https://kids.niehs.nih.gov/games/songs/childrens/oh-playmate/index.htm for the complete lyrics to that song.

(A lot of versions of "Say Say My Playmate" that I've read online don't include any reference to the dollies or anyone else having the flu.)

Also, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/07/larry-grayson-source-for-shut-door.html for the closely related pancocojams post whose title was changed to "The Probable Source For The "Shut The Door" Ending In "Say Say My Playmate" Hand Game".

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SOME EXAMPLES OF "SAY SAY MY PLAYMATE" RHYMES THAT INCLUDE REFERENCES TO THE FLU

(Except for the first rhyme which is a transcription of the video that is embedded in this pancocojams post, these examples are given in no particular order. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.)

1. SAY SAY MY PLAYMATE
"Say, Say my playmate
Come out and play with me
and bring your dollies 3
climb up my apple tree
slide down my rain barrel
into my cellar door
and we'll be jolly friends
forever more - more - more !

Say, say my playmate,
I cannot play with you.
My dolly has the flu,
Boohoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo.
Ain't got no rain barrel,
Ain't got no cellar door.
But we'll be jolly friends,
Forever more, more, more!

Say, say, my playmate
Don't come and play with me
Don't bring your dollies three
Cut down my apple tree
Fall off my rainbow,
Into my cellar door
And we'll be enemies
Forever evermore.

Say, say my enemy.
Come out and fight with me.
And bring your Bulldogs three.
Climb up my sticker tree.
Slide down my lightning.
Into my dungeon door
And we'll be jolly enemies
Forever evermore.

Say say old enemy
Come out and fight with me
And bring your BB gun
And we'll have lots of fun
I'll scratch your eyes out
And make you bleed to death
And we'll be jolly enemies
Forever evermore.

Oh little enemy,
I cannot fight with you,
My mommy said not too
Boo hoo hoo hoo
I can't scratch your eyes out
And make you bleed to death
But we'll be jolly enemies
Forever evermore.
-My Lorgan, Dec. 26, 2013; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2lOX-ccvxs&ab_channel=MyLorgan [video embedded above]

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2. "The lyrics we had was

Si si my playmate
I cannot play with you
I've got the swine flu
Chicken pox and measles too
Fell down the drain pipe
Into the apple tree
Where I shall stay there forever
More more more."
-Emma x, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2lOX-ccvxs&ab_channel=MyLorgan [video embedded above]

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3. "I only know it is ‘see see my playmate (clap clap) I can not play with you (clap clap)because I’ve got the flue, chicken picks and measles to. slide down a rainbow into the cellar. I don’t really know the rest"
-Bonnie's World, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2lOX-ccvxs&ab_channel=MyLorgan [video embedded above]

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4. "BRO AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO THOUGHT THERE WERE DIFFERENT LYRICS? THE ONES I WAS TAUGH ARE SO MORE INNOCENT

cede my playmate
I cannot play with you today
Because I got the flu
Chicken pocs and needles too
My mommy told me
If I was goody
That she would buy me
A rubber dolly
Down in the cellar
With Cinderella
Drinking Pepsi
And coca cola-

That’s all I remember lowkey and it’s scares me
-Yurio Nikiforov, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2lOX-ccvxs&ab_channel=MyLorgan [video embedded above]

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5...."Mine is 

say say my playmate
come out and play with me
my father's got the flue
the German measles too
slide down my drain pipe
onto my cellar floor
and we'll be jolly friends
forever more, more, more more more!
-Katie Siddoway, 2019; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2lOX-ccvxs&ab_channel=MyLorgan [video embedded above] 

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3. "I grew up in Zimbabwe and the version my friends and I would sing was "Susie my playmate, come back and play with me, my dolly has a flu, chicken pox and measles too. Slide down my rainbow, slide down my silver spoon, and we'll be jolly friends forever more more more more"... Lol"
-Belinda K, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2lOX-ccvxs&ab_channel=MyLorgan [video embedded above] 

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6. "Black girls, Denver, Colorado - late 70's/early 80's 3 Say-Say Songs:

(Say-Say Happy Song - sung upbeat)

Say-say oh playmate
Come out and play with me
And bring your dollies-three
Climb up my apple tree
Slide down my rainbow
Into my cellar door
And we'll be jolly friends
Forever more, more - shut the door

(Say-Say Sad Song - Sung slowly, imitating crying)

Say say oh playmate
I cannot play with you
My dolly has the flu
She spit up in my shoe
Ain't got no rainbow
Ain't got no cellar door
And we'll be jolly friends
Forever more, more - shut the door

(Say-Say Angry Song)

Say say oh enemy
Come out and fight with me
And bring your pistols-three
Climb up my poison tree
Slide down my spider web
Into my dungeon door
And we'll be jolly enemies
Forever more more,
shut the door"
-Jeanae; www.cocojams.com/content/handclap-jump-rope-and-elastics-rhymes-2  June 14, 2008
-snip-
cocojams.com was my multi-page cultural website that was online from January 2001 to November 2014. 

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7. SAY SAY OH PLAYMATE
"I learned this song as a child. It was a clap song, but this is all I remember.

Say, say, oh playmate,
come out and play with me,
and bring your dollies three,
dee, dee, dee, dee, dee, dee (not sure about words here)

slide down my rain barrel,
and through my cellar door,
and we'll be jolly friends, forever more, more,
more, more, more, more

So sorry playmate,
I cannot play with you,
my dollies have the flu,
boo hoo, boo hoo, boo hoo

but you can still slide down my rain barrel,
and through my cellar door,
and we'll be jolly friends, forever more, more,
more, more, more, more"
-: Agabe, 21 Nov 03, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=8560  Lyr Req: Playmates 'slide down my cellar door

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8. OH, JOLLY PLAYMATES 
Oh jolly playmate, come out and play with me 
And bring your dollies three; 
Climb up my apple tree. 
Slide down my rainbow into my cellar door, 
And we'll be jolly friends forever more.

Oh jolly playmate, I cannot play with you. 
My dollies have the flu; 
They threw up in my shoe. 
I have no rainbow; I have no cellar door, 
But we'll be jolly friends forever more.

(This one we weren't supposed to sing, but did anyway)

Oh rotten enemy, come out and fight with me,
And bring your soldiers three,
Climb up my poison tree.
Slide down my razor into my dungeon door
And we'll be rotten enemies forever more.

Oh rotten enemy, I cannot play with you;
My soldiers have the flu--
They threw up in my shoe.
I have no razor; I have no dungeon door,
But we'll be rotten enemies forever more.”
-DebbieOlsen, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=81350&messages=147#1921649 , " I'm Rubber . You're Glue: Children's Rhymes", 29 Dec 06

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9. See see my baby 
I cannot play with you
For I have got the flu 
Chicken pox and measles too 
We slid down drainpipes 
In 1952
And we'll be best of friends 
For ever more, more, shut that door, eat that rat 
that's on that floor! 
-By Anonymous on Friday, April 7, 2000, Streetplay.com Discussion: Girl Games: Clap & rhyme: Shimmy Shimmy Cocoa Pop [This web page is no longer viable.]

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10. [partial rhyme] 

CeCe my baby
I cannot play with you
Because you have the flu
Chicken Pox and measels too
Go down the draining pipe
I lost my sailors shoe
since 1972
123"...
-Derri, August 6, 2009, http://forum.blackhairmedia.com/childhood-songs-or-rhymes_topic205958_page9.html  BlackHairMedia.com Childhood Songs Or Rhymes 
-snip-
WARNING: A number of rhyme examples in this discussion thread contain profanity and sexually explicit references. None of those examples are included in this pancocojams post.

"123" serves as a connecting phrase to a lines that could be chanted as another independent, separate rhyme. That rhyme includes risque content although it may rise (or fall) to the level of being either profanity or sexually explicit.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/09/a-guyanese-version-of-say-say-my.html for a pancocojams post that showcases this Guyanese example of "Say Say My Playmate".

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11. "Took a childhood hand clapping game and made a Covid 19 parody.

Original Lyrics:
Say, say, oh playmate.
Come out and play with me.
Bring out your dollies three.
Climb up my apple tree.
Slide down my rainbow,
Into my cellar door.
And we’ll be jolly friends,
Forevermore, one, two, three, four!

Say, say, oh playmate.
I cannot play today.
My dollies have the flu.
Boo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo
My apple tree is dead.
My rainbow’s gone away.
My cellar door is locked.
Forevermore, one, two, three, four!

We actually flipped the versus and used verse 2 first so the song would end on a more cheerful note!

Our Parody:

Say, Say, oh playmate.
I can't come play today.
The world has got the flu.
Covid 19 Boo Hoo.
Wash your hands til they're red,
Six feet is what they said
My front door is locked
Forever more, one, two, three, four!

Say, Say, oh playmate.
It's time for quarantine.
You can't come play with me,
or climb my apple tree.
but we can snapchat,
or have a zoom meeting.
We'll still be jolly friends,
when it's all o'er, one, two, three, four!
-Crafti Violet, March 30, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd_a2CrbA_k&ab_channel=CraftiViolet "Coronavirus Parody of Say Say Oh Playmate"
-snip-
This video shows a mother and her teenage daughter performing a hand clap routine to a parody of "Say Say Oh Playmate" that they came up with.  

This parody prompted Marini Tribe to post a tik tok of their daughter on a snowboard singing this version of "Say Say Oh Playmate". [as per Marini Tribe, May 2021 and another commenter.] 

It's likely that other children may soon be chanting this parody and/or other versions of "Say Say My Playmate" that include a reference to Covid. 

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