Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest Update: Jan 26, 2022
This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series that presents an alphabetical list of some* English language children's recreational rhymes that mention "father".
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/01/some-english-language-hand-clap-other_26.html for Part II of this pancocojams series that features examples (M-Z)
The content of this post is presented for folkloric purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
*Because pancocojams is a family centered blog, I'm not including examples in this collection of sexualized ("nasty") rhymes that mention "father". However, some examples of those rhymes such as "Ta Ra Ra Boom De Aye" are included in a pancocojams post whose purpose is to document and share some examples of those rhymes.
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES
There are far more English language hand clap rhymes and other children's recreational rhymes that mention mother ("mama", "ma", "grandma" etc. ) than those that mention "father" ("daddy", "papa", "grandpa" etc.).
This collection isn't meant to include all the examples of this sub category of hand clap & other children's recreational rhymes.
Some examples that are considered part of the same rhyme family have different titles. In that case, all of the examples from that rhyme family are given under the title that I believe is most commonly associated with that rhyme (at this time in the United States). Also, some verses may be found in more than one rhyme example.
This pancocojams blog usually focuses on examples of African American culture and other Black cultures around the world. However, pancocojams' children's rhymes posts are exceptions to that rule. Although the race of the composers of these rhymes doesn't determine whether these examples are included in this collection, I'm still interested in documenting (when it is noted), the race of those who contributed these examples and/or the race/s of those people who the contributors remember chanted these rhymes.
The online or offline source for each rhyme is given after each example.
These rhymes are given without performance instructions or any explanatory notes from me. I've given the line/s that include "father" in each rhyme in italics to highlight those lines. The italic font doesn't mean that that line is emphasized when it is chanted.
I'm interested in documenting other ["clean"] rhymes that mention father that are from other rhyme families that aren't included in this collection. Please add the version that you know in the comment section for this post. Please remember to include demographic information, particularly where (geographic location) and when (year or decade) that you remember first chanting or hearing this rhyme. Thanks in advance!
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SOME CHILDREN'S HAND CLAP & OTHER CHILDREN'S RECREATIONAL RHYMES THAT MENTION "FATHER"
A, B
ABC (Example #1)
A.B.C.
It’s easy as 1.2.3.
My momma takes care of me.
My father don’t yell at me.
Caught you with your boyfriend.
Naughty, Naughty.
Didn’t do the dishes.
Lazy, Lazy.
Ate all the candy
Greedy, greedy.
Jumped out the window.
Man, you’re crazy!
-anonymous woman (White; Washington, D. C), collected by
Azizi Powell, 1999
**
ABC (Example #2)
My momma takes care of me
My daddy drinks cool coffee
My grandma says
Oooh Aaah I wanna piece of pie
Pie too sweet I wanna piece of meat
Meat too red I wanna go to bed
Bed not made I want some lemonade
Lemonade too sour I wanna take a shower
Shower to cool I wanna go to school
School too dirty I wanna ride a birdy
Birdy too slow and that's all we know
So we close our eyes and count to ten
And then we do it all over again!
This version ends with counting to ten.
[Count to ten]
-
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ABC (Example #3)
abc, easy as 123, my momma takes care of me, my daddy
watches mtv, ooh ahh i want a piece of pie, pie too sweet i wanna piece of
meat, meat too rough i wanna ride a bus, bus too full i wanna ride a bull, bull
not black i want my money back, money too green i wanna jelly bean, jelly bean
not cooked i wanna read a book, book not read i wanna go to bed, bed not made i
want some lemonade, lemonade too sour i wanna take a shower, shower too cool i
wanna go to school, school too dumb i wanna suck my thumb, thumb too dirty i
wanna ride a birdie, birdie too slow and that's all i know, so close your eyes
and count to ten, whoever messes up starts all over again, 12345678910..no one
messed up so that's the end!
-Chanelle Pan, https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-lyrics-to-the-ABC-hand-game, Answered Aug 17, 2015
**
ABC (Example #4)
ABC it's easy as 123 my mama takes care of me my daddy
watches NBC, ooh ah I want a piece of pie, pie too sweet I wanna piece of meat,
meat not cooked I wanna read a book, book not read i wanna make my bed, bed not
made I want some lemonade, lemonade to sour I wanna take a shower, shower to
cold I wanna piece of gold, gold too shiny I wanna kick a hiney, hiney too fat
and that's the end of that, so close your eyes and count to 10 whoever messes
up has to start over again 1 2 3 4 kick your brother out the door 5 6 7 8 who
do you appreciate me me American cheese 9 10
Or at least this is what I know
-Poojitha Gorumutchu, Had a friend that would do Hand Games with me 24/7,https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-lyrics-to-the-ABC-hand-game, Answered
July 23, 2021
**
ABC (Example #5)
ABC, easy as 123, my daddy drank Cocafee(don’t ask what that
is) right off of my feet.
That’s how nasty people can be.
Judge, judge, call the judge!
Mama’s gonna have a baby, a sweet little choc-o-late baby!
If it’s a boy, I’ll give it a toy.
If it’s a girl, I’ll give it a curl.
If it’s a twin, I’ll give them a spin.
Wrap it up in toilet paper,
Send it down the elevator.
First floor, STOP.
Second floor, STOP.
And then it would just go on until someone screwed it
up….usually me.
- ChloeMireille, http://kateharding.net/2009/10/02/miss-lucy-had-friday-fluff/ [This website is currently private], October 2, 2009
**
ABC (Example #6)
Yo' papa's on L-I-C.
Get offa my feet.
That's how nasty people can be.
Fudge, fudge, fudge.
The doctor called the judge.
Mama's havin' a baby.
Papa's goin' crazy.
If it's a boy,
I give it a toy.
If it's a girl,
I give it a curl.
If it's a twin,
I give it a spin.
Wrap it up in toilet paper,
Put it down the elevator.
First floor, stop, your mother.
Second floor, stop, your father.
Third floor, stop.
Now you better watch out
'cause S-T-O-P spells stop."
On the final word, "Stop," both players would freeze.
[Handclapping game learned in Summit, New Jersey, when I was about 11, from an African American girl friend of mine who lived in Orange, New Jersey. It must have been ~1990 or 1991.]
-Anonymous, September 25, 2010, cocojams
-snip-
Here's a comment that Anonymous sent in with this rhyme:
"[My memory of] the clapping game for the “A-B-C” song is clear. The clapping game involved slapping your right hip, and snapping your fingers and clasping hands. I am attaching a sound file of the song as I remember it.
As I remember it, “L-I-C” was a reference to liquor... I interpreted the song as a rather grim story".
**
BLUE BELLS COCKLE SHELLS (Example #1)
Bluebells, cockle shells,/ Eevie, ivy, over;
I like coffee, I like tea;
I like the boys, and the boys like me.
Tell your mother to hold her tongue;
She had a fellow when she was young.
Tell your father to do the same;
He had a girl and he changed her name.
-http://www.homeschool.co.uk/resource/skipping-rope-jump-rope-hopscotch-songs.html, (retrieved 5/23/2010)
**
BLUEBELLS COCKLE SHELLS (Example #2)
Bluebells, cockle shells,
Eevie, ivy, over;
Mother went to market
To buy some meat;
Baby's in the cradle
Fast asleep.
The old clock on the mantel says
One o'clock, two o'clock.
(to twelve o'clock)
Bluebells, cockle shells,
Eevie, ivy, over;
I like coffee, I like tea;
I like the boys, and the boys like me.
Tell your mother to hold her tongue;
She had a fellow when she was young.
Tell your father to do the same;
He had a girl and he changed her name.
- http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101113222223AAw99M5 "What are your favorite jump rope rhymes,
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C, D
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E, F
EENIE MEENIE (Also known as "I Woke Up Sunday Morning", "Roaches and Bedbugs" and other titles) (Example #1)
I woke up Sunday morning
And looked up on the wall
The cooties and the bedbugs
Were having a game of ball.
The score was six-to-nothing,
The cooties were ahead.
The cooties hit a home run
And knocked me out of bed!
[Chorus]
I'm singin
Eenie meenie and a-miny-mo
Boom boom boom
Catch a whifferwhaffer by the toe
Boom boom boom
And if he holler hollers let him go
Boom boom boom
Eenie-meenie and a-miny-mo
My father gave me a nickel
My mother gave me a dime
My sister has a boyfriend
Who looks like Frankenstein
[Chorus]
My father is a lawyer,
My mother is a spy
Me and my big mouth
I told thee FBI!
I went downstairs for breakfast
I ordered ham and eggs
I ate so many eggs
That the yolk ran down my leg
I went into the sewer
And that is how I died
They didn't call it murder
They called it "sewer-side!"
-Submitted by Guest, https://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/childrens_songs/eenie_meenie-lyrics-1138582.html
**
THE WHIPPER WHOPPER SONG (EENER MEENER)
(Example #2)
I woke up Sunday morning,
I looked up on the wall,
The beetles and the bedbugs
Were playing a game of ball.
The score was 6 to nothing,
The beetles were ahead,
The bedbugs hit a homerun
And knocked me out of bed.
Chorus:
I'm singing - Eeny meeny and a miney mo, mo, mo, mo
Catch a Whipper Whopper by his toe,
And if he HOLLERS, HOLLERS, HOLLERS, let him go.
I'm singing - Eeny meeny and a miney mo, mo, mo, mo
I went downstairs for breakfast,
I ordered ham and eggs,
I ate so many eggs
The ham ran down my legs.
I went outside to play,
I looked up in the sky,
I saw a little bluebird,
It poo-pooed in my eye.
My mother is a butcher,
My dad's a side of beef
And I'm the little hot dog
That runs around the street.
My father is a crook,
My mother is a spy,
And I'm the little big-mouth
That told the FBI.
I fell into the sewer,
And this is where I'll die,
Some people call it suicide,
I call it sewer-cide.
- http://dragon.sleepdeprived.ca/songbook/songs5/S5_79.htm ;
contributor: Sue Moore (no publishing date given)
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G, H
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I, J
I MET A LITTLE INDIAN GIRL
When I was younger me and my friends used to do
I met a little Indian girl called eye, shoe, shalalalala
All the boys on the football pitch loved , eye, shoe, shalalalala
How’s your father (alright)
Died in the chip shop (last night)
What was he eating (raw fish)
How did he die?
Like this!! Then you fall in the others arm.
-Tre55dhb, https://www.netmums.com/coffeehouse/being-mum-794/parenting-advice-192/434766-playground-clapping-rhymes-your-childhood-3.html, 27/5/2014
**
INKY BINKY BONKY
I
can remember does these back in grade school (Washington State...
Inky binky bonky
daddy had a donkey
donkey died
daddy cried
inky binky bonky
-GUEST, Folklore: http://awe.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=63097&desc=yes "Do kids still do clapping rhymes?", 31 Mar 07
INKY PINKY PONKY
I heard the donkey rhyme in 1953ish as
Inky pinky ponky
Daddy bought a donkey
Donkey died
Mummy cried
Inky Pinky Ponky
Not a handclap, just something someone recired once.
-Mo
the caller, Folklore: http://awe.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=63097&desc=yes "Do kids still do clapping rhymes?", 31
Mar 07
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I WENT TO A CHINESE RESTAURANT
My daughter, who is eight, is still doing clapping rhymes,
though the ones she does are different from the ones I did in the 50s and 60s.
(These, by the way, are in England). The one she seems to do mostly is:
I went to a Chinese restaurant
To buy me a loaf of bread, bread, bread.
He wrapped it up in a five pound note
And this is what he said, said, said:
My name is
Elvis Presley,
Girls are sexy
Sitting in the back seat
Drinking pepsi.
Where's your father?
Died in a fishtank..Last night
What did he die of?..Raw fish.
How did he die..Like this.
On the "Like this" they pull a strange face as of
somebody dead. She says there are various versions of the rhyme. We used to do
the first bit, but not the bit beginning with "Elvis Presley"...
-MBSLynne, Folklore: http://awe.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=63097&desc=yes "Do kids still do clapping rhymes?",21 Sept 03
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I WISH I HAD A NICKLE
I wish I had a nickle,
I wish I had a dime,
I wish I had a boyfriend
to kiss me all the time.
My mom gave me a nickle,
my dad gave me a dime,
my sister gave me a boyfriend
to kiss me all the time.
My mom took back the nickle,
my dad took back the dime,
but no one took the boyfriend
who looked like Frankenstein.
- http://nz-home-schooling.blogspot.com/2006/05/chants-and-clapping-games.html#NICKLE
Saturday, May 13, 2006; Chants and Clapping Games (Thanks to Rifter]
**
JOHNNY OVER THE OCEAN (Example #1)
Johnny over the ocean,
Johnny over the sea.
Johnny broke a bottle,
And blamed it on me.
I told Ma.
Ma told Pa.
Johnny got a whippin'.
Ha ha ha!
- https://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=5260
**
DOWN BY THE RIVER, DOWN BY THE SEA (Jump Rope Rhyme) Example #2
Down by the river, down by the sea,
Johnny broke a bottle and blamed it on me.
I told Ma, Ma told Pa,
Johnny got a lickin' and a ha, ha, ha.
How many lickin's did he get?
-Jill, https://www.scrapbook.com/poems/doc/2935.html
K, L
LEMONADE
Duh silly we still do hand clappys, it makes us happy!!!!!
Love ya`ll !
Lemonade ( clap clap clap )
Crunchy ice ( clap clap clap )
Beat it once ( clap clap clap )
Beat it twice ( clap clap clap )
Lemonade, crunchy ice
Beat it once, beat it twice
Lemonade, crunchy ice
Beat it once, beat it twice
Turn around ( literally )
Touch the ground ( literally )
Give that partner a high five ( literally )
We made 20 dollars at a lemonade stand
Just exactly as we planned
Now how should I should I spend the money with my friends
How bout the candy store
But daddy say don't spend it on that
Cause mommy say that will give you cavities and make you fat
Take it Back
Take it Back
The way you say that, gave me a slap
Right in the back
Slap Slap
Nick Nack
slap slap
aimed exactly too my back
candy bars ( clap clap clap)
lollypops (clap clap clap)
eat it once ( clap clap clap)
eat it twice ( clap clap clap)
Candy bars, jelly beans
now looky there our teeth turned green
now looky there my butt dont fit in my brand new jeans!
Slap Slap
Now I am fat
Mommy aint to happy, thats a fact!
-GUEST,The
Hotties from Europe, http://awe.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=63097&desc=yes "Folklore Do kids still do clapping rhymes?, "14 Jun 07
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This concludes Part I of this two part pancocojams series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
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