"Mickey Mouse" Children's Recreational Rhymes That Aren't Part of "Down By The Hanky Panky" Rhymes

Edited by Azizi Powell

This  pancocojams post presents examples of "Mikey Mouse" children's recreational rhymes that aren't a part of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhymes.

This post serves as a compilation of some examples of "Mickey Mouse" children's recreational rhymes that aren't part of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky". 

This compilation includes duplicate versions of these examples from different sources.

This content is presented for folkloric, historical, socio-cultural, and recreational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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DISCLAIMER: This pancocojams compilation isn't meant to be a comprehensive documentation of "Mickey Mouse recreational rhymes.

Please share any examples of these rhymes that you know with demographic information such as where (city, nation) and when (year/decade). Thanks in advance!

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
My Analysis Of The Children's Recreational Rhyme "Mickey Mouse Built A House"
"Mickey Mouse Built A House" (and similarly titled rhymes) is an English language children's recreational rhyme that appears to have initially been used as a counting out/choosing it rhyme.

Based on the number of examples of this rhyme that I've found online, it appears that "Mickey Mouse Built A House" is a rather widely known English language children's rhyme in the United States, if not elsewhere.

A sub-plot of Mickey Mouse cartoons/television skits is that Donald Duck is jealous of Mickey Mouse having the spotlight. Therefore, out of spite, Donald Duck is often depicted as messing up Mickey's plans, and in the case of most of the versions of this rhyme that I've read, he messes up Mickey's house. 

The "Mickey Mouse Built A House" rhymes were chanted by children in their neighborhoods before the "Mickey Mouse Club House" American television series began airing in 2006. (The 1980s is the earliest date that I've found for these rhymes. Read that example below.) However, it's likely that the "Mickey Mouse Club House" series helped popularize these rhymes.

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Types of Recreational Rhymes
"Mickey Mouse Built A House" rhymes have been chanted as skipping (jump rope) rhymes, partner hand clap rhymes, group hand slap rhymes, and "counting out" (choosing it) elimination rhymes. These rhymes have been chanted by themselves as (independent; stand alone) verses or in combination with lines/verses of one other (and usually more than one other)  recreational rhyme/s such as long forms of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky".

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Related pancocojams posts
In 2022 I published a pancocojams post that compiled examples of Mickey Mouse Built A House (or similarly titled) rhymes that are included in long forms of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhymes:https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/09/mickey-mouse-built-house-rhymes-in-long.html  " "Mickey Mouse Built A House" Verses In "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" Rhymes"

Most of the examples in that 2022 pancocojams post are from an online Mudcat folk music discussion thread that is entitled "Origins: Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky" https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034&messages=489&page=10&desc=yes [Note: That hyperlink is for the first page of a 10 page discussion thread that I began in 2006. As of October 26, 2025 that discussion thread is still open for comments/examples with the latest example being from April 21, 2025. 

In September 2025 I published a complete reprint of that post, with some additions and corrections. Some of those additions were from that 2022 post's comment section. https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/09/mickey-mouse-built-house-verses-in-down.html "Mickey Mouse Built A House" Verses In "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" Rhymes (reprint & updates)."

A few of those examples aren't from the "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" family of children's recreational rhymes. Those rhymes are also included in this October 2025 pancocojams post.  

Since I published that September 2025 post, I've come across more "Mickey Mouse Built A House" rhymes that aren't in that pancocojams post particularly from.https://www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/pme8mi/down_by_the_banks_of_the_hanky_panky   "Comments/Nostalgia: Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky".

That long Reddit.com discussion thread began in 2021 and (as of October 27, 2025) it is still open for comments/examples.

Partly because these examples are similar to the rhymes that were already included in that post, at this time, I've decided not to update that post by adding additional examples of those rhymes. However, I have updated that 2022 post and that September 2025 post with a major correction about the earliest date that I've found for "Mikey Mouse Built A House" (and similarly titled) recreational rhymes. That date is 1936 as indicated in Source #1 below.

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SOME EXAMPLES OF MICKEY MOUSE CHILDREN'S RECREATIONAL RHYMES WITH OR WITHOUT DONALD DUCK) THAT AREN'T A PART OF "DOWN BY THE HANKY PANKY" RHYMES

Numbers are given for referencing purposes only. 

Source #1
From https://dokumen.pub/counting-out-rhymes-a-dictionary-9780292711037.html
"[page] 345

Mickey Mouse (He) bought a house. See 346. Mickey Mouse built a house Under an apple tree, Mickey Mouse called his house Number twenty-three. Also found as a jump-rope rhyme; see JRR, p. 122. Opie (1959), 111 [Dublin].

Mickey Mouse In a public house. See 355. -141 -

[Page] 346

Mickey Mouse Lived in a house. What color was it? "Red." R-E-D spells red And you are he. Opie (1969), 59 [since 1936]. "Mickey Mouse bought a house. / What colour did he paint it?" Howard, NYFQ, 16 (i960), 140 [Australia 1954-1955]. Ritchie (1965), 47 [Edinburgh]. Begins "Mickey Mouse / He bought a house."

Mickey Mouse made (planned) a house. See 366. 347

Mickey Mouse was in a house Wondering what to do. So he scratched his bun-tiddly-um, Out goes you. Opie (1959), 111 [Farnham, Surrey]."

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Source #2
[Pancocojams Editor's Note:
This version of "Mickey Mouse Built A House" is included in the magazine article "LIFE : Mickey Mouse at 90: LIFE Celebrates An American Icon, published by the Editors of LIFE, 2018]

From https://www.google.com/books/edition/LIFE_Mickey_Mouse_at_90/xDFxDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=mickey+mouse+built+a+house+donald+duck+messed+it+up&pg=PT115&printsec=frontcover
…“His name is still uttered by children around the United States in the playground rhyme (a variation of eenie meenie minie mo) that starts “Mickey Mouse, built a house; Donald Duck messed it up. Who will pay the con-se quen-ces, Mouse or Duck?"

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Source #3
From https://www.hydrohotel.net/PS18.pdf
"[Rhymes for Games]

collected 1997-2004 by Ken Cockburn [In Painted, spoken, Number 18, 2008

Mickey Mouse

In his house,

Pulling down his trousers,

Quick, mum,

Smack his bum!

What colour was his pants?

[colour - spell this out while counting round]

And [colour] you must have on.

[If you don't have this colour on you're out.]

[Aberdeenshire] Scotland"

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Source #4
From https://www.ablemuse.com/erato/showthread.php?t=810&styleid=1
"Skipping/playground rhymes

02-14-2006

Kevin Andrew Murphy

northern California in the late 60s/early 70s

[…]

Mickey Mouse built a house. How many bricks did he use?

 

*answer*

 

One two three (and so on) and you are not it."

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Source #5
From https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/1fnj0hp/what_were_some_weird_rhymes_you_used_to_sing_or/
1. "ullfinch88, 2024

A variation on eeny-meeny-miney-mo:

Mickey mouse, in his house, pulling down his trousers. Hey mum, dirty bum, you are not it!"

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Reply
2. ViridianKumquat, 2024
"For us it ended "quick, Mum, smack his bum, that's the end of part one!"

We never did find out how the saga continued in part 2."

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Reply
3. pippysquibbins, 2024
"There was also

Donald duck, done some muck on the kitchen floor

Mrs duck, swept it up and Donald done some more"

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Source #6
https://keepworkingthroughit.blogspot.com/2014/03/childrens-chanting-games.html
"Mar 8, 2014

Children's Chanting Games

I love the chanting games kids play. Some of them have been around for years, some are new. They are invented by children and some survive with minimal changes for generations; others get reworked and change rapidly.  Often snippets from one chant work their way into another.

The benefits of chanting games are hand-eye co-ordination and memory training, but most of all friendship bonding. It's interesting to me that they are mostly played among girls.

[…]

Counting games

These are the chants you use to count off among a group of friends to see who will be "it".  They're variations on Eenie-Meenie-Miney-Moe.

[…]

Mickey Mouse had a house

underneath the movies

when the movie started

Mickey Mouse farted

What colour was it?

[child landed on chooses a colour, then all spell out the colour to finish counting off]"

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Source #7
From https://forums.doyouremember.co.uk/forum/culture/school-days/9039-playground-school-songs/page5
"glam_racket
16-07-2009
Re: Playground Songs!

For determining who's it. 

Rhyme sayer: Mickey Mouse had a house, what colour was it....

Child: RED

Rhyme sayer: R - E - D you are not it."

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Notice that this example is from the United Kingdom.

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Source #8
From https://www.reddit.com/r/melbourne/comments/zdkwp7/what_phrases_did_you_use_as_a_child_to_choose_who/ Melbourne [Australia] What Phrases Did You Use As A Children's Way To Choose It
"honeybadger598, 2022

Mickey Mouse had a house, underneath the movies. When the movie started, Mickey Mouse farted. What colour was Mickey Mouse’s fart? G. R. E. E. N".

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Source #9
From 
https://www.reddit.com/r/southafrica/comments/1n4zql4/anyone_remember_this_clapping_game/
"barrybrinkza, 2025

Mickey mouse built a house, how many bricks did he use "

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Source #10
From https://ctac.esrc.unimelb.edu.au/biogs/E000391b.htm University of Melbourne [Australia] Blogs
"Elimination Game
Mickey Mouse

Functions

Counting Game, Elimination Game and Physical Play

Mickey Mouse is a counting game with a rhyme. It is normally played by girls and used to determine who will be it.

Details

At School 19

Players: 3

Girls

Age: 11

 

Counting on shoes

 

Mickey Mouse went to the movies:

Mickey Mouse went to the movies, when he got there mickey mouse farted, what colour was his gas, (blue),

Mickey Mouse went to the movies, when he got there mickey mouse farted, what colour was his gas, (pink),

Mickey Mouse went to the movies, when he got there mickey mouse farted, what colour was his gas, (black),

Mickey Mouse went to the movies, when he got there mickey mouse farted, what colour was his gas, (pink),

Mickey Mouse went to the movies, when he got there mickey mouse farted, what colour was his gas, (pink).

 

At School 05

Players: 3

Girls

Age: 9

 

Mickey Mouse had a house,

What colour was it?

(Response) Red. (any colour can be chosen)

R-E-D.

Person on whose foot the last letter lands is 'It'."

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Source #11
From http://www.inthe80s.com/rhymes.shtml "In the 80s Rhymes"
"Mickey Mouse built a house and made it out of glass. Daffy Duck messed it up and made me kiss his a**" 
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This is the way this rhyme was written on that page except that all the words were given in upper case letters.

Notice that the name "Daffy Duck"* is used instead of "Donald Duck". My guess is that the person who contributed this example to that rhyme page either mixed up the names of the two cartoon ducks or the version of that rhyme that she or he learned had the name of the wrong duck."

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Source #12
From https://forums.doyouremember.co.uk/forum/culture/school-days/9039-playground-school-songs/page5 United Kingdom Culture/School Days/Playground/School Songs

"glam_racket 

16-07-2009

Re: Playground Songs!

"For determining who's it.

Rhyme sayer: Mickey Mouse had a house, what colour was it....

Child: RED

Rhyme sayer: R - E - D you are not it."

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