Some "Rockin Robin" ("Twee Lee Lee") Rhymes" With Geographic Locations (Part I: A -J)

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Update -January 9, 20242

This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series which presents some examples  of or comments about the hand clap rhyme that is known as "Rockin Robin", "Twee Lee Lee" or other titles such as "Tweet Baby" and "Swing Swing Swing".

There are LOTS of different examples of "Rockin Robin hand games", but all of these examples in this collection include notes about where (city, state, district [Washington D.C.], region, or country) these versions of this rhyme were performed.

This post provides examples or comments about this rhyme from geographic locations in the United States and elsewhere that begin with letter A through letter J.   

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/07/some-rockin-robin-twee-lee-lee-rhymes_21.html for Part II of Some "Rockin Robin" (Twee Lee Lee") Rhymes" With Geographic Locations (K - Z).

WARNING: A number of versions of the hand clap game "Rockin Robin" ("Twee lee lee" or other names) are risque ("dirty") and some versions of that hand clap rhyme are very risque. Those risque versions of "Rockin Robin" include  references to sex and/or violence and or profanity.  Some of these examples may also include what is commonly known as "the n word".

Part I of this pancocojams series does not include any risque versions of "Rockin Robin". However, a few versions of risque ("dirty") versions of "Rockin Robin" are included in Part II of this series. Those examples have amended spelling for profanity and/or sexually explicit/violent references. "The n word" is also given with amended spelling. 

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. 

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
This collection documents a very small number of "Rockin Robin"/ "Twee Lee Lee" rhymes. 

The examples are given under the first letter of the name of the state with the city (or borough and/or neighborhood in the case of New York City) given after the state, if given in the comments that are with those examples.  

Unless otherwise noted, all of the cities and states that are listed in this collection are located in the United States. 

Countries or regions outside of the United States are also given under the first letter of that country/region. 

Links are added for the online sources for these examples, and provided numbers for those examples from that link that are given under that letter. These examples are numbered for referencing purposes only.

Please add to the folkloric record by sharing the examples with demographic information that you remember. And please remember to include demographic information (where-city, state, or country if outside of the United States and when (the decade) you first chanted this rhyme. Also, please add how you performed this rhyme (such as with two people or four people or otherwise.) Thanks! 

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EXAMPLES OF ROCKIN ROBIN (TWEE LEE LEE) RHYMES WITH GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS (A-J)

A, B
ARKANSAS 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1sGAd9ea3A
 "Rockin' Robin Hand Clap, published by ProjectEsperanzaVids,  Jan 13, 2013

[comment]

near Pine Buff, Arkansas
Pati Heinz, 2016
"OMG!!  This brought back so many memories!!!  I LOVED playin' that game! I was in 5th grade when my parents moved us to Arkansas (near Pine Bluff), some really nice girls taught this to me, and I'll ALWAYS be thankful, now I can teach it to my daughter (who's 20!) and my niece (12). I had forgotten some of the movements & order!! 1976 was a minute ago--or so. THANKS SO MUCH!! And God Bless!!  :)"

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BAHAMAS [country in the Caribbean]
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lpzGSpd5Z8 "Bahamian Hand Games/Ringplay: Twe Lee" published by LeeKimberley Minors, Apr 17, 2013  Students from the ENG 108 class of the College of The Bahamas playing Twe Lee Lee
-snip-
I didn’t try transcribe this video because I didn’t understand too many of the words. However, it sounds like the Twee Lee Lee example continues with a version of what appears to be a widely known clean but usually dirty (sexually explicit) rhymes that include the lines “My mother was surprised/To see my belly rise/my daddy jumped for joy/It was a baby boy."

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BARBADOS [country in the Caribbean]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5BgrGEQaBQ Rockin' Robin Hand Game 2017! published by Costa Rica Rich, Jan 6, 2017
-snip-
This video shows two Black females and two Black males who are members of a family that emigrated to Costa Rica from the United States doing a hand clap routine to Michael Jackson's "Rockin Robin" record. No rhyme is chanted.

[comment]

1. LifeWorks, ndh enterprises,llc., 2018
"take me back to camp too🙌😅😅😅😅😅😅☺️🤗🙂😀👑💋😘 love you king. thanks Barbados."

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C, D
COLORADO

Read the Rebba Martin (Wichita, Kansas"'s entry In Part II in which the contributor shares a risque  example of "Rockin Robin" and writes that "Rebecca Martin, 2018

"I'm from Wichita, KS and we had the SAME  ones ...."my cousins would come down from Colorado for summers and teach us new ones."

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E, F

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G, H

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I, J
ILLINOIS

Detroit, Illinois
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uP38jUEhF8 "Old School Game👐 Rockin Robin" published by Ms. C. D; March 18, 2016

[comment]

Rayna Thompson, 2016
"Wonderful! I wanted to show my husband how we did the Rockin' Robin clapping game in grade school. After watching several simplified versions online, this was the closest I could find to our early 70s west side Detroit version. My husband and I think you made a great video. Thanks!

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2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5BgrGEQaBQ "Rockin' Robin Hand Game 2017!" published by Costa Rica Rich, Jan 6, 2017
[comments]

Shadforth W, 2020
"we did this in the 70s in Detroit-where does it originate, I wonder..."

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Shadforth W, 2020

"I did it outside Detroit in the 70s- but it was the black girls the taught us white girls:)"

**

East St. Louis, Illinois

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zEcsIfe6lU&t=2s "90’s hands games !!!!!", published by Geneas, Nov 4, 2018  Part 2 of the 90s hand games is out

 Tyisha Borders, 2021

"I’m from East St. Louis are rockin robbin went a lil different"

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JAMAICA [country in the Caribbean]

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpexeCmzKjM&context=C4073e20ADvjVQa1PpcFPnnebeReOtf8G_6F2ZCR3a9Rl0MRFFkRc= , 

[comment]

-babygirl200922, March 2012

twee twee twee, and the way we go,
so rocking in the tree top,
all the days long,
rocking and puffing and singing the song,
all the little girls from JBC,
like to here the robin go twee twee twee,
go wash bagie,
twee twee twee

jonny and i went to the beach
jonny bruk a bottle and throw it on me,
mom told dad,
dad told mom,
mom got a beaten with a mmm stick,

so freezy american cheese,
don't skin your dirty teeth
colgrate is very cheap.
-snip-
"bruk"= broke
"colgrate"= misspelling of the American toothpaste brand "Colgate"
-snip-
This was given as a comment in that video's discussion thread. [as of January 8, 2024 if not earlier, this video's comment section is deleted]

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GShzvXLNU9E How Jamaican🇯🇲 kids play hand game and the differen type of games 🦋🦋

garcia cutie, Mar 24, 2021

TWEET TWEET TWEET

Tweet tweet tweet
and away we go

rockin in the treetop
all day long
rockin and talkin and singing this song
all the little girls from JBC
like to hear the robin go tweet tweet tweet
Go wash your body
tweet TweetTweetTweet
Go wash your body
Tweet TweetTweetTweet
Mother in the kitchen
cookin rice and chicken
Father upstairs drinkin milk
Drinkin milk is a very good thing
So when I run out
You run in
When I count to twenty
The room must be empty
5, 10, fifteen, twenty

-snip-

This is my unofficial transcription of the video. Additions and corrections are welcome.

A woman and a girl perform a partner hand clap rhyme standing up outdoors. 
The ending portion of this rhyme beginning with "so when I run out" documents that this used to be performed as a jump rope rhyme.

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This concludes Part I of this two part pancocojams series.

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