Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest revision- April 12, 2025
This pancocojams post presents all of the comments and my replies from the visitors' discussion thread for the pancocojams post entitled "Racialized Versions Of "I Like Coffee I Like Tea" ("I Like A Black Boy And He Likes Me" and other racial referents)".
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/racialized-versions-of-i-like-coffee-i.html
That pancocojams post was published on January 17, 2012. The last visitor's comment was published on February 5, 2021. I published a reply to that commenter and also published another example of that rhyme on January 21, 2022. I also published the latest comment on that discussion thread on January 24, 2022. However, that discussion thread is still open for additional comments.
The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, cultural, and recreational purposes.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
WHAT I MEAN BY THE WORD "RACIALIZED" IN THE CONTEXT OF CHILDREN'S RECREATIONAL RHYMES
In the context of children's recreational rhymes, my use of the word "racialized" means examples of rhymes whose earliest known examples don't include any reference to race or ethnicity, but which include one or more of those references in later examples.
The word "racialized" may also be used to refer to certain examples of newly created recreational rhymes that include one or more reference/s to race or ethnicity. The use of the word "racialized" for certain newly created recreational rhymes implies that there are other examples of those particular rhymes that don't include any racial or ethnic referents.
In my opinion, almost all of the racial and/or ethnic referents that are found in the "I Like Coffee. I Like Tea" (such as "Black", "White", and "Colored") aren't derogatory or offensive in large part because these referents were -and in the case of "Black" and "White" still are) the official and colloquial referents for specific populations.
Whether a term is derogatory or offensive isn't the same thing as whether I (or any one else) approves or disapproves of what that term conveys in those particular children's rhymes. I wished that we lived in a world where race and ethnicity doesn't matter to children or to anyone, but that's not how the real world is. These racialized rhymes provide a snapshot of one way children dealt (or still deal) with multiracial interactions and, unfortunately, race was/is factored into many of those interactions.
I've found that only a few recreational rhymes (old school or contemporary) include racial and/or ethnic referents. Those recreational rhymes that do include racial and/or ethnic referents such as a relatively small sub-set of the "I Coffee. I Like Tea" rhymes can provide socio-cultural information about the perceptions of some children about race/ethnicity during those times.
****
PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE ABOUT THE REFERENT "COLORED"
The
word "Colored" is an outdated referent for African Americans (Black Americans, Black people in the United States). The referent "Colored" (which was also given as "Colored people") is no longer officially used in the United States and is rarely used by African Americans since around the mid 1960s (except for the fact that the venerated Civil Rights organization "The National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People" NAACP has retained that referent in its organization's name).
For some period of time prior to the mid 1960s, "Colored" (or "Colored people") was the preferred racial referent in the United States for the population who are now known as African American and "Black". The "Colored"/"Colored people" referent changed to "Black" and/or "African American" as a result of the Black power movement in the United States.
Here are part of a comment and my reply to that comment that were written in the discussion thread for a pancocojams post about racialized examples of the "I Like Coffee I Like Tea" hand clap rhymes. Both of these comments were published on March 15, 2015. This comment and my reply are given as comment #7 & #8 in the Comment section of this post that is immediately below.
:
"I grew up in the South in the early eighties and remember these playground chants from those years or my kindergarten time. To hear people outside the South comment about "colored boy" not being inherently racist is laughable. Both the word colored and boy are precisely racist and derogatory."
Reply
"Thanks, Anonymous.
My position is that when used as referents for Black Americans, the word "colored" and the word "boy" can be and often was/is racist. However, in the late 1940s and 1950s when I was a child, the referent "colored people" was an acceptable and even preferred referent for African Americans.
Times and contexts -including who is using the words- determines whether those words are racist.
I would go so far as to say that statement even applied to the n word which was used by some Black people in the 19th century/early 20th century and beyond as a non-racist referent for themselves. That said, my position with regard to the n word is that I consider it too offensive to be salvaged or reclaimed even with the "ni&&a" spelling."
-end of quotes-
In racialized versions of "I Like Coffee. I Like Tea" the referents "Colored" and "Black" refer to the same populations. I think it's likely that many of the "I Like Coffee. I Like Tea" recreational rhymes that include the referent "Colored" were composed and first chanted when "Colored" was considered by Black Americans and other Americans to be the preferred referent for that population. It's also possible that the people (regardless of their race/ethnicity) who shared those examples with other people may have mistakenly believed that "Colored" was still the accepted (and acceptable) referent for Black people in the United States.
As I am writing this in 2025 I believe its important for me to say more clearly than I did in 2015 that I don't consider the word "Colored" to be a derogatory or offensive referent in the context of these racialized "I Like Coffee I Like Tea" recreational rhymes.
Also, in the context of these children's rhymes which were at least initially composed to be chanted by Black girls, I don't consider the word "boy" used with the referent "Colored" to be derogatory or offensive. In those rhymes, "Colored boy" refers to a Black male who isn't an adult. (What was and still is derogatory and offensive is calling a Black man "boy"). Notice that these rhymes also refer to a White male child as a "boy".
I believe that it's important to recognize that these racialized rhymes are historical artifacts that may contain outdated terms. It's also important to know that it isn't socially correct anymore to use the referent "Colored" as a referent for African Americans (Black Americans). Furthermore, people in the United States and elsewhere who use "Colored" now as a referent for Black Americans (apart from historical, folkloric, sociological, or literary exercises) convey the message that they are behind the times when it comes to socio-cultural standards and practices. And being "behind the times" isn't a good thing.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/09/how-african-american-won-what-should-we.html for the 2020 pancocojams post entitled "How "African American" Won The "What Should We Be Called?" Contest" (and other comments about the "African American" referent)".
-snip-
In addition, I believe it's important for people to be aware that the racial/ethnic referent "People of Color" doesn't mean the same thing as "Colored people". Also, it's important to know that the South African racial referent "Coloured" refers to a different population than the outdated United States referent "Colored".
****
COMMENTS & MY REPLIES FROM THE PANCOCOJAMS DISCUSSION THREAD
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/racialized-versions-of-i-like-coffee-i.html
From the pancocojams post "Racialized Versions Of "I Like Coffee I Like Tea" that was published in 2012.
The tunes for hand clap rhymes are usually much more consistent than their words. For that reason, it's very likely that the tune for all of these examples is the same tune as the Bobby Day/Michael Jackson "Rockin Robin" records.
Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.
1. Caziah, November 19, 2012 at 7:33 PM
"Thank you for this post."
**
Reply
2. Azizi Powell, November 21, 2012 at 5:06 AM
"You're welcome, Caziah."
**
2. Anonymous, March 12, 2013 at 8:59 AM
"Down down baby / colored boy version was sang on the school
yard at my elementary school in 1977 during double dutch at recess. I never
understood the colored reference (iknew what it meant but not how it came to
be, bc no one had ever used that term), I was only in 3rd grade, but it seems
that it was taught to the younger generation. Oaklake elementary, Seattle"
**
Reply
3. Azizi Powell, March 12, 2013 at 12:15 PM
"Thanks, Anonymous March 12, 2013 at 8:59 AM
Your recollection gives the earliest date for a racialized
version of "Down Down Baby" that I've read. I'll note that in the
above post.
I want to also add that I believe that most young children
who recited/recite racialized versions of these rhymes either don't know what
the racial referents mean or don't realize that those racial referents can be
problematic."
****
4. ~T, August 25, 2013 at 2:46 PM
"I'm young but in New Orleans 1990s-2000s I always heard:
Take a piece take a plum take a piece of bubblegum
No piece no plum, no piece of bubblegum
I like coffee, I like tea
I like the colored and he likes me.
So smack that white boy, he don't shine.
(it could be step back white boy, I think I heard both)
I'll throw him round the corner and i'll beat his behind
Last night and the night before.
I met my boyfriend at the candy store.
He bought me ice cream he bought me cake.
He brought me home with a stomach ache.
I said Mama, mama, I feel sick
Call the doctor, quick, quick, quick
Doctor, doctor, if I die
I'll close my eyes and count to five
I said 1-2-3-4-5
I'm Alive!
See that house on top of that hill.
That's where me and my boyfriend live.
Cook that chicken
Burn that rice
Come on baby let's shoot some DICE!"
****
Reply
5. Anonymous, September 30, 2013 at 6:45 PM
"i like coffee i like tea
i like the colered boy and he likes me
so step back white boy you dont shine
i like the colored boy and he is mine
last night abd the night before
he took me to the candy store
he bought me ice cream
he bought me cake
he brought me home with my belly ache
mama mama i feel sick call the doctor quick quick quick
doctor doctor will i die
close your eyes and count to five
1-2-3-4-5
i'm alive
you see that house on top of that hill
that is were me and my baby going to live
cook the chicken and cook the ribs
THATS RIGHT BABY NO CALLEN DIBS"
**
Reply
6. Azizi Powell, January 27, 2019 at 12:51 AM
"I'm sorry that I am just reading these 2013 examples of
"I Like Coffee I Like Tea" replies in 2019 after responding to
another comment about that rhyme.
~T, August 25, 2013 at 2:46 PM, thanks for sharing your example and your demographic information (New Orleans 1990s-2000s). I haven't come across the "Cook that chicken
Burn that rice
Come on baby let's shoot some DICE!" ending before. I
appreciate adding it to this collection.
And thank you Anonymous September 30, 2013 at 6:45 PM. I also hadn't come across your ending "cook the chicken and cook the ribs
THATS RIGHT BABY NO CALLEN DIBS" before.
I love it!
Btw, here's a definition of "dibs" for those who
may not be familiar with the word:
From https://www.yourdictionary.com/dibs
"dibs
SLANG
a claim to a share of, or rights in, something wanted: I've
got first dibs on that candy bar."
-snip-
A person who has something to eat (usually a snack) doesn't
want to share any of, he or she would say "No calling* dibs!" before
anyone else would say "Dibs!"
*In the example of that rhyme "Calling" is given
as "callen".
In my childhood in Atlantic City, New Jersey (1950s),
instead of saying "Dibs"/"No Dibs", I remember saying
"Hunksies" and "No hunksies" for the same purposes."
****
7. Anonymous, March 15, 2015 at 2:18 PM
"I grew up in the South in the early eighties and remember
these playground chants from those years or my kindergarten time. To hear
people outside the South comment about "colored boy" not being
inherently racist is laughable. Both the word colored and boy are precisely
racist and derogatory.
My confusion the rhymes is that it seemed we were chanting
about kids hooking up after a date at the candy store, having a child, and
living in a house on a hill."
**
Reply
8. Azizi Powell, March 15, 2015 at 3:37 PM
"Thanks for your comment, Anonymous.
My position is that when used as referents for Black Americans, the word "colored" and the word "boy" can be and often was/is racist. However, in the late 1940s and 1950s when I was a child, the referent "colored people" was an acceptable and even preferred referent for African Americans.
Times and contexts -including who is using the words- determines whether those words are racist.
I would go so far as to say that statement even applied to
the n word which was used by some Black people in the 19th century/early 20th
century and beyond as a non-racist referent for themselves. That said, my
position with regard to the n word is that I consider it too offensive to be
salvaged or reclaimed even with the "ni&&a" spelling."
**
Reply
9. Azizi Powell, March 15, 2015 at 3:41 PM
"Also, anonymous, I agree that the "come on baby let's
go to bed" line in "Down Down Baby" is rather risque for
children.
However, I don't think that "tummy hurt" has to mean that the girl is pregnant. I think it means that the girl ate too many sweets."
****
10. Anonymous, October 26, 2018 at 6:49 PM
"I was born in the very early 80's in the San Gabriel Valley
and yes a lot of Black people lived there when I was growing up. From me
reading the examples I always thoughts theses were separate rhymes because for
each section different movements were made.
For me the "I like coffee, I like tee" went like this
I like coffee, I like tea.
I like a Colored boy and he likes me.
So white, white boy, you don't shine.
Turn around the corner and I’ll beat your behind.
Then after that rhyme we did maybe this
I’m cool, I’m cool all day from number 9
Give it to me another time.
Mhmm oh/or all my babby.
Mhmm oh/or all my babby.
Mhmm Mhmm Mhmm.
Also, Mama mama, let's get the rhythm, down down baby were
all separate and we did separate movements. I just wanted to add my version of
I like coffee and I'm cool(i can't find a reference for that).
Down, down baby down down the roller coaster
sweet sweet baby I’ll never let u go.
shimmy shimmy cocoa puff
shimmy shimmy pow
shimmy shimmy cocoa puff
shimmy shimmy wow"
Reply
11. Azizi Powell, October 26, 2018 at 8:01 PM
"Hello, Anonymous.
Thanks for sharing the example that you remember fro the early 1980s in California.
Playground rhymes often combine "floating" verses from multiple other rhymes which could be chanted by themselves.
I'm particularly interested in the "I'm cool. I'm cool all day from number 9" verses in the rhyme that you remember.
The referent "soul sister number 9" is found in a number of African American children's rhymes and African American popular music. Click https://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/11/soul-sister-number-9-in-childrens.html for a post entitled ""Soul Sister Number 9" In Children's Playground Rhymes". Cocojams2 is another Google blog that I curate.
That post indicates that "soul sister" means "Black female" and "number 9" means something that is superlative. That post also provides some background to that vernacular meaning for "number 9" from the late 1940s and 1950s in the United States.
Thanks again!"
****
12. Anonymous, January 26, 2019 at 5:36 PM
"Hello! I was singing this song and I wanted to learn where
exactly it came from and I didn't know that it had so much history! I grew up
in Detroit and was born in the year 2000 and the version I grew up with seem to
have some mixtures of the examples you provided. The version I grew up with:
I like coffee, I like tea
I like the colored boy and he likes me.
So step back white boy you don't shine,
Cause I'll get the colored boy to beat yo behind.
Last night, and the night before
I met my boyfriend at the candy store.
He bought me ice cream he bought me cake,
He brought me home with a belly-ache.
I said "Mama, Mama I feel sick
Call the doctor quick,quick,quick."
Doctor Doctor shall I die?
Just close your eyes and count to 5.
I said a 1-2-3-4-5, I'm alive.
See that house n top of that hill?
That's where me and my baby gonna live.
Scoop the ice cream cut the cake,
Come on baby let's celebrate!
And sometimes, there'll be a weird ending at the end (which
to me doesn't seem to match the flow of the rhyme) that goes:
That's not all, that's not all
My baby drinking alcohol.
Overall, this was a very interesting post, got to learn
something new today. :)"
Reply
13.
"Thanks, Anonymous for sharing the version of "I Like
Coffee. I Like Tea" that you remember. Thanks also for adding demographic
information.
This is the first time that I've come across the verse "Scoop the ice cream, cut the cake/ Come on baby let's celebrate". I like it :o)
The last verse that you shared seems somewhat familiar- from reading it online.
Thanks again for your interest in this rhyme."
14.
"Wow crazy! I was born during the early 2000’s and heard it
way differently
I like coffee
I like tea
I like a black boy and he likes me,
So step back white boy you don’t shine
I’ll get a black boy to beat yo behind
Last night, night before my boyfriend met
Me at the candy store he bought me ice cream
He bought me cake he brought me home with a stomach ache I
said momma, momma I feel sick
Call the doctor and quick quick quick!
Doctor Doctor will I die
Close your eyes and count to 5
1 2 3 4 5
I’m alive to the Fourth of July
See that house on tipo of that hill that’s where me
And my baby gon live
Oh ah I wanna piece of pie, pie to sweet I wanna piece of
meat , meat to rough wanna ride the bus
From there I forgot but I’m amazed to see the variations
through the states and the crazy thing is we would play this all the time on th
play ground and now that I look back we really had no idea what we were saying."
Reply
15.
"Southern Bee, thanks for sharing the example of "I Like
Coffee I Like Tea" that you remember.
The "Oh ah I wanna piece of pie" verse at the end is part of another rhyme that can be recited by itself. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/06/abc-its-easy-as-1-2-3-playground-rhyme.html for a pancocojams post that includes information about & early examples of that rhyme."
16.
"This is such an interesting article and so neat to see
something that is a deep memory of mine. I went to Fruitvale Elementary in
Oakland, Ca. Kindergarten 76-77. We also sang this song. The version I sang,
for some unknown reason, was :
I like coffee , I like tea,
I like the Mexican Boy
He don’t like me
Go away White boy
He don’t shine
She bop a badda badda
She bop a badda badda
She bop a badda badda
Bing
I was a 5 year old white girl. I came home singing this
song. My mother just thought I was adapting to my surroundings and fellow
school mates.
I have never forgotten this song. So interesting to find your article.
Thank you
Bella"
Reply
17.
Thank you, unknown, for sharing this example along with
demographics (location, your age, your race, and the years you remember it
from).
Your example is the only one that I've ever come across that includes a referent to someone who isn't White or Black. (Some examples I've read have the line "I like a Colored boy". In the United States, "Colored" is a largely retired referent for Black people.)
The lines "I like the Mexican Boy/He don't like me" and "Go away White boy/He don't shine" are interesting. In the "standard" pattern for racialized examples of "I Like Coffee I Like Tea", those lines would be "I like the Mexican Boy/and he likes me" and "Go away White boy/You don't shine"."
It may be that you are misremembering those lines or the children you heard chanting at rhyme misheard those lines and/or learned that rhyme that way.
Note that in the "standard" pattern for racialized versions of "I Like Coffee, I Like Tea", the lines "I like a Mexican boy/ "(and) He likes me" would be chanted by girls who were Mexican. The Mexican girl is telling the White boy who is romantically interested in her that he doesn't shine (He's not special)- because she likes a boy of her same ethnicity.
In the standard racialized rhyme pattern for "I Like Coffee/I Like Tea", the rhyme would continue with the girl threatening to get a boy of her same race (or, in this case, ethnicity) to "beat his behind".
Unknown, I also should mention that this is the first example of this rhyme that I've come across which has the "she bop a badda badda bing" ending. I love it!
You wrote that when you came home singing this song at age five, your mother just thought that you were adapting to your surroundings and your fellow school mates. Since you were in California where there were probably a lot of Mexican students, I agree with your mother.
Thanks again!"
****
18. Sarah, November 3, 2020 at 9:58 PM
"Here’s how I heard it as a child in late 70s/early 80s
Atlanta:
I like coffee I like tea
I like the Jackson 5 and they like me
So step back white boy you don’t shine
I’ll get the Jackson 5 to beat your behind
Last night and the night before I met my boyfriend at the
candy store
He bought me ice cream he bought me cake
He brought me home with a stomach ache
Mama mama I feel sick
Call the doctor quick quick quick
Doctor doctor shall I die
Close your eyes and count to 5
1 2 3 4 5 I’m alive
See that house on top of the hill
That’s where me and my baby gonna live
Gonna cook some oatmeal cook some bread
Come on baby let’s go to bed"
Reply
19.
"Sarah, thanks for sharing your memories of "I Like
Coffee I Like Tea".
I added this example to Part I of this pancocojams series that presents examples of children's rhymes that include names of famous people: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/08/playground-rhymes-that-include-names-of_30.html
Thanks again for remembering to add demographics."
****
20. Anonymous, February 5, 2021 at 1:37 PM
"I recall this, and it is very disturbing to me that I was
taught as a little girl of perhaps 4-5 years old, by a neighbor I can only
assume, around 1980-1981 (born 1976, raised in Southern NJ, in an very
integrated town over the bridge from Philadelphia), and it went as follows:
Down, down baby,
Down by the Rollercoaster.
Sweet, sweet baby,
I'll never let you go.
Shimmy, shimmy cocoa-pop,
Shimmy, shimmy wow.
Shimmy, shimmy cocoa-pop,
Shimmy, shimmy wow.
I like coffee, I like tea.
I like white boy, he likes me.
So jump back black boy,
you don't shine.
I bet you five dollars
he can beat your behind.
You can roll your eyes
and you can stomp your feet
but this white boy you sure can't beat."
Reply
21.
"Anonymous, thanks for sharing that version of "I Like
Coffee" and thanks for including demograpics (such as age, place, and
gender, and-I assume-your race.)
I've only collected a few examples of these racialized versions of "I Like Coffee" that say "I like a White boy and he likes me". Perhaps those vesions were chanted as frequently as the "I like a Black boy and he likes" which I think were the earliest examples. However, they haven't made their way online as much as the examples from Black (African American) people.
I wanted to also mention that I believe that the part of your example that begins "You can roll your eyes" is also quite common among African Americans- with the ending "but this Black girl (or Black boy) you sure can't beat."
I remember it from my childhood or pre-teen years in the 1950s (Atlantic City, New Jersey).
Thanks again, Anonymous!"
****
22. Azizi Powell, January 21, 2022 at 6:19 PM
"Here's a racialized version of another hand clap rhyme
"Ronald McDonald" that I just happened upon in this online 1993
newspaper article:
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
By SUSAN CAMPBELL; Hartford Courant, June 09, 1993
"Ronald McDonald, how do you like my lover?
A-biscuit, a-biscuit.
Ooh chi chi awa-wa-a-biscuit.
How do you love my lover?
He's so fine Just like cherry wine.
Take a smoooth shot Take a smoooth shot.
Don't show your dirty teeth You could roll your eye You can suck your tea Now, Puerto Rican, you don't beat me."
****
23. Azizi Powell, January 24, 2022 at 4:37 PM
"Here's a racialized example of "I Like Coffee I Like
Tea" from http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/archive/index.php/t-31403.html
"Old School Chants". The participants in that discussion thread are
members of historically Black Greek letter sororities.
The contributor of this example's screen name "SWEETAKA" identifies her as a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (which is informally known as AKA).
Down down baby
Down by the roller coaster
Sweet sweet baby
I'll never let you go
Shimmey Shimmey Cocoa Pop
Shimmey I
I like coffee
I like tea
I like a black boy
and he likes me
Step back white boy
you done shine
I got a black boy to beat your behind
Went upstairs to beat my drum
beat it so hard til the police come
please Mr. Police don't arrest me
arrest that white boy behind that tree:D
-SWEETAKA, 03-25-2003"
****
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