Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part II of a three part pancocojams series series about the children's hand clap rhyme "A Sailor Went To Sea".This post features the words and accompanying actions for what I refer to as the "Timbuktu" version of this hand clap rhyme.
This post also includes information about the West African city of Timbuktu.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/10/a-sailor-went-to-sea-hand-clap-rhyme.html for Part I of this series. That post presents general information about "A Sailor Went To Sea" hand clap rhymes and showcases the "sea, chop, knee" version of those rhymes.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/10/examples-of-sailor-went-to-sea-part-iii.html for Part III of this series. That post features a version of "A Sailor Went To Sea" that includes the word "China".
I'm publishing this version for folkloric purposes. I'm not promoting the performance of this version with that racist gesture and I advise that that gesture should never be made.
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The content of this post is presented for folkloric, socio-cultural, and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the unknown composer/s of the "A Sailor Went To Sea" song and thanks to the originator/s of "Timbuktu" version of this hand clap rhyme. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
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WORDS FOR "A SAILOR WENT TO SEA" ("TIMBUKTU" VERSION)
A sailor went to sea, sea, sea
To see what he could see, see, see
But all that he could see, see, see
Was the bottom of the deep blue sea, sea, sea
A sailor went to chop, chop, chop
To see what he could chop, chop, chop
But all that he could chop, chop, chop
Was the bottom of the deep blue chop, chop, chop
A sailor went to knee, knee, knee
To see what he could knee, knee, knee
But all that he could knee, knee, knee
Was the bottom of the deep blue knee, knee, knee
A sailor went to sea, chop, knee
To see what he see, chop, knee
But all that he could see, chop, knee
Was the bottom of the deep blue sea, chop, knee
Extended version
A sailor went to toe, toe, toe
To see what he could toe, toe, toe
But all that he could toe, toe, toe
Was the bottom of the deep blue toe, toe, toe
A sailor went to Timbuktu,
To see what he could Timbuktu
But all that he could Timbuktu
Was the bottom of the deep blue Timbuktu
A sailor went to sea, chop, knee, toe, Timbuktu
To see what he could sea, chop, knee, toe, Timbuktu
But all that he could sea, chop, knee, toe, Timbuktu
Was the bottom of the deep blue sea, chop, knee, toe,
Timbuktu
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-snip-
Here's a comment that was posted on that funnysongforkids.com page for those lyrics:
IAN JAMES MORRIS, 7/13/2019
"I'm pretty sure at my school in Cradley Heath [United Kingdom] so in the 70s/80s it ended with... Sea...Chop...Knee...Toe....China"
-snip-
This exact same "Timbuktu" version of "A Sailor Went To Sea" is also published on https://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=58 as an "Australian version".
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PRONUNCIATION OF THE WORD "TIMBUKTU"
In versions of the hand clap rhyme "A Sailor Went To Sea" that include the word "Timbuktu", that word is pronounced with the last syllable sounding like the English word "toe".
However, on the Wikipedia page, this pronunciation is given for the name of that West African city: "TIM-buk-TOO".
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE WEST AFRICAN CITY WHOSE NAME IS "TIMBUKTU"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timbuktu
"Timbuktu (/ˌtɪmbʌkˈtuː/ ⓘ TIM-buk-TOO; French: Tombouctou;
Koyra Chiini: Tunbutu; Tuareg: ⵜⵏⵀⵗⵜ, romanized: Tin Bukt) is an ancient city in Mali, situated
20 kilometres (12 miles) north of the Niger River. It is the capital of the
Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali, having a
population of 32,460 in the 2018 census.
Archaeological evidence suggests prehistoric settlements in the region, predating the city's Islamic scholarly and trade prominence in the medieval period. Timbuktu began as a seasonal settlement and became permanent early in the 12th century. After a shift in trading routes, particularly after the visit by Mansa Musa around 1325, Timbuktu flourished, due to its strategic location, from the trade in salt, gold, and ivory. It gradually expanded as an important Islamic city on the Saharan trade route and attracted many scholars and traders before it became part of the Mali Empire early in the 14th century. In the first half of the 15th century, the Tuareg people took control for a short period, until the expanding Songhai Empire absorbed it in 1468.
A Moroccan army defeated the Songhai in 1591 and made Timbuktu their capital. The invaders established a new ruling class, the Arma, who after 1612 became virtually independent of Morocco. In its golden age, the town's Islamic scholars and extensive trade network supported an important book trade. Together with the campuses of the Sankoré Madrasah, an Islamic university, this established Timbuktu as a scholarly centre in Africa. Notable historic writers, such as Shabeni and Leo Africanus, wrote about the city. These stories fuelled speculation in Europe, where the city's reputation shifted from being rich to mysterious. The city's golden age as a major learning and cultural centre of the Mali Empire was followed by a long period of decline. Different tribes governed until the French took over Mali in 1893, in a regime that lasted until the country became the Republic of Mali in 1960.
In recent history, Timbuktu faced threats from extremist
groups leading to the destruction of cultural sites; efforts by local and
international communities have aimed to preserve its heritage. The city's
population has declined as a result of the recent issues.”…
-snip-
I added italics to highlight these sentences.
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This concludes Part II of this pancocojams series.
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