Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series about documenting and decoding "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" children's rhymes.
This post presents information about the origins of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky"
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-bullfrog-jumped-from-bank-to-banky_20.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. That post presents certain themes of many but not all "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhymes and decodes some words that are commonly found in many versions of those rhymes.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, socio-cultural, linguistic, and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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DOCUMENTING THE ORIGIN OF "DOWN BY THE BANKS OF THE HANKY PANKY" RHYMES
This post is a shortened form of this earlier pancocojams post: "The Origin Of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" (Various Song Sources & Real Life Events & More)" https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/11/how-certain-song-sources-other-real.html (published on November 27, 2023)
CERTAIN SONG SOURCES FOR "DOWN BY THE BANKS OF THE HANKY PANKY" SONGS AND RHYMES
around 1830s or 1840s - "Minstrels Of The Pasquotank" by James Biddle Shepherd
"MINSTRELS OF THE PASQUOTANK
By James Biddle Shepherd
Away down yonder on the Pasquotank,
Where the bull-frogs jump from bank to bank"...
-Source-North Carolina Poems, edited by Eugene Clyde Brooks: 1912. This is a Google book.]"
**
1888 - VERSE IN BOOK OF COUNTING OUT RHYMES
"Hokey, pokey, hanky, panky
I'm the Queen of Swinkey Swankey;
And I'm pretty well, I thanky."
-posted by and e, 05 Jun 20, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034&page=9 "Subject: RE: Origins: Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky"
-snip-
from https://www.amazon.com/Counting-Out-Rhymes-Children-Antiquity-Distribution/dp/1428651888 "The book 'The Counting-Out Rhymes Of Children: Their Antiquity, Origin And Wide Distribution"" by Henry Carrington Bolton is a comprehensive study of the counting-out rhymes that children have been using for generations."...
**
1896 AND 1907 - "MAY IRWIN'S FROG SONG"
Charles E. Trevathan, 1896
"Away down a-yonder in Yankety Yank,
A bullfrog jumped from bank to bank
'Cause there wasn't nothin' else to do.
He stubbed his toe an' in he fell,
An' de neighbors all say dat he went to well,
'Cause he hadn't nothin' else to do."...
-snip
" "May Irwin's Frog Song" [is] one of several of this massively built entertainer's hits— others included "Lulu" and "Bully of the Town." She had a knack of picking up song material from black sources, so it's not impossible that hers are rewrites of even earlier stuff. Irwin repays study; I only wish she'd recorded so we could hear the voice that tickled thousands in vaudeville days. --Bob Coltman, Lyr Req: a big bullfrog jumped into the lake; posted as GUEST, 28 Dec 04 - 06:39 PM; https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=76856 Click that link for the complete lyrics for that song."...
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1911: NEWSPAPER ARTICLES MENTION OF "THE PIANKATANK ...WHERE THE BULLFROGS JUMP FROM BANK TO BANK
"From The Long Roll (a novel) by Mary Johnston, with illustrations by N. C. Wyeth (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1911)..
**
1946 & 1947 - CITATIONS ABOUT THE BULLFROG &THE YANKE-TE- HANK
..."Here's some related variants from grown-ups printed in the Ozark folklore collection 'Blow the Candle Out' (Vance Randloph / Gershon Legman, 1992, p.689):
Bullfrog jumped from bank to bank,
Skinned his pecker shank to shank.
(Collected 1947, Missouri)
They also cite another version from 'What Happened to Mother Goose' (Ray Wood, 1946):
Down on the river Yank-te-hank,
The bullfrog jumped from bank to bank,
He spread his legs from shank to shank,
And split his hide from flank to flank""...
(posted by Uke, 17 June 08, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034&messages=476&page=4
**
1955- PETE SEEGER'S "FOOLISH FROG" [book and record]
A sound file of Pete Seeger's 1955 book and record entitled "The Foolish Frog" is found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NksJ32bjFd4
...an excerpt about that song [is found at] https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-the-foolish-frog-by-pete-seeger/
....Based on what I've read online, Pete Seeger's "Foolish Frog" record and the book that illustrates this story apparently was popular in a number of United States school districts and elsewhere. Here's a comment from a woman about her childhood memory of that Pete Seeger song:
"Mr. Cirillo teacher (1964) from Roosevelt School in Englewood, NJ taught us:
Way down yonder and a yankety yank,
a bullfrog jumped from bank to bank
just because of having nothing for to do.
He jumped and stumbled and fell in the water.
You could hear him holler for a mile and a quarter,
just because there's nothing for to do."...
**
"Version from my childhood (California, late 70s-early 80s):
Way down yonder in the Yankety Yank
Where the bullfrog jumped from bank to bank
Just because there’s nothin’ better for to do, what to do, what to do, what to do
He stubbed his toe and he fell in the water
You could hear him holler for a mile and a quarter
Just because there’s nothin’ better for to do, what to do, what to do, what to do
Note: “there’s” meaning “there was” "
-GUEST,KGreene, 08 Sep 19, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034 Origins: Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES [These notes are quoted from the above mentioned 2023 "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" post:
"I don't know when the song with its reference to "Yankety Yank" changed to a rhyme that refers to "Hanky Panky".
-end of quote-
**
1980s - THE COLA WARS
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cola_wars
"The cola wars are the long-time rivalry between soft drink producers The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo, who have engaged in mutually-targeted marketing campaigns for the direct competition between each company's product lines, especially their flagship colas, Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Beginning in the late 1970s and into the 1980s, the competition escalated until it became known as the cola wars.[1][2]"
-snip-
Here's an example of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" that includes lyrics that reflect the "cola wars":
"Down by the river with the hanky bankys
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
say an
epp
opp
epp
bop
bop
Skittle dittle curly pop
I pledge allegence to the flag
That Micheal jackson makes me gag
Diet Pepsi came to town
Coca-Cola pushed him down
Orange soda picked him up
Now I'm drinking 7 up
7up caught the flu
Now I'm drinking Moutain Dew
Moutain Dew fell off the moutain
Now I'm drinking from a fountian
Foutain Broke
Now I'm drinking plain old Coke"
-Guest;, July 15, 2007,
-snip-
I haven't found any documentation of when the verse "I pledge allegiance to the flag/ [insert the name of a famous person] makes me [use a word that rhymes or near rhymes with "flag".] I also haven't found any examples of "I pledge allegiance to the flag" in any other rhyme but long forms of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky"."
-snip-
Pancocojams editor's note written on October 20, 2025: These statements that I wrote in 2023 are still true in 2025.
**
1980s - "YANKEE DOODLE WENT TO TOWN" Song
From https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media-and-interactives/media/music/story-behind-the-song/the-story-behind-the-song/yankee-doodle/ "Yankee Doodle: The story behind the song - …A Colonial Insult?
..."The “Yankee Doodle” tune was already well known by the 1750s. But tradition says that in 1755 a British doctor named Richard Schuckburg penned new words to mock his American allies. He portrayed the colonists as rude, crude, and cowardly. In the song, Schuckberg referred to the American fighter as both a “doodle”—a country hick, and a “dandy”—a conceited jerk. No one has ever figured out exactly where the term “Yankee” comes from"....
[...]
Here's a version of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" that includes lines from "Yankee Doodle Went To Town:
"Down by the banks with the hanky pank
where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank
say E-I-O
You Yo Momma stank and so r u
ping pong donky kong
Yo Momma smell like king kong
Micheal Jackson went to town riding on the pony
stuck a feather in is hat n called him macaroni
resse pieces butter cup
u mess wit me ill bust you u up
i woke up in the morning i looked up on the wall
i saw a bunch of cocka roches playin basketball
and they score was 1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9 and on 10 they have to try to slap the other person hands if the person misses n slaps their own hand they are eliminated"
-GUEST,Me![Her's The Miami Version], 20 Jun 08
-snip-
The song "Yankee Doodle Went To Town" eventually changed to the rhyme "Coca Cola Went To Town". I believe that change occurred in the 1980s before its inclusion in "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhymes. This change from "Yankee Doodle" to "Coca Cola
reflects the real life marketing event that is referred to as the "Cola wars"...
**
1982 - MICHAEL JACKSON'S "BILLIE JEAN" RECORD
Pop superstar Michael Jackson recorded his hit songs "Billie Jean" in 1982. The female double name "Billie Jean" or a folk processed form of that name is found in a number of many long form versions of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky".
[...]
Here's a "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhyme that includes a version of "Michael Jackson Went To Town" as well as a folk processed form of the double female name "Billie Jean":
"Down by the river near the hankey pank
where the bullfrogs jump from bank, to bank,
and they say E I O U,
your momma stinks and so do you
so ping pong ding dong
your daddy smells like king kong.
Ask your teacher what she wears,
polka dotted underwear.
Not too big and not too small,
just the size of city hall.
Michael Jackson went to town,
coca-cola brought him down.
Coca-cola brought him up,
now he's drinking 7up.
7up with no cafiene, now he's seein' belgain (pronounced beligene).
Belgain is outta sight,
now we're talking dynamite.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BAM!"
-Veggie; http://www.cocojams.com/content/handclap-jump-rope-and-elastics-rhymes, August 21, 2006 [Cocojams is the name of my no longer active cultural website.]
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/04/forms-of-name-billie-jean-in-down-by.html for the 2014 pancocojams post entitled "Forms Of The Name "Billie Jean" In "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" Rhymes"."
**
1984 - MICHAEL JACKSON'S BURNING HAIR ACCIDENT
"From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jackson
.."On November 1983, Jackson and his brothers partnered with PepsiCo in a $5 million promotional deal that broke records for a celebrity endorsement (equivalent to $14.7 million in 2022). The first Pepsi campaign, which ran in the US from 1983 to 1984 and launched its "New Generation" theme, included tour sponsorship, public relations events, and in-store displays. Jackson helped to create the advertisement, and suggested using his song "Billie Jean", with revised lyrics, as its jingle.[95]
On January 27, 1984, Michael Jackson and other members of the Jacksons filmed a Pepsi commercial...at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. During a simulated concert before a full house of fans, pyrotechnics accidentally set Jackson's hair on fire, causing second-degree burns to his scalp. "...
-end of quote-
Michael Jackson was singing a version of his hit song "Billie Jean" during that commercial filming, which at least partly explains why he and "Billie Jean" are named so often in "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhymes.
Here's an example of a "Hanky Panky" rhyme that directly refers to Michael Jackson's scalp being burnt:
"Down by the bank of the hanky panky
where the bull frogs jump from bank to bank
going eeps ieps ops oop
Listen to the ker-plop
i pledge allegience to the flag
Michael Jackson stinks so bad
Coca Cola burned him up
now he's drinking 7 up
7 up has no caffiene
now he's drinking gasoline
Gasoline has no good taste now he's drinking toxic waste"
-GUEST, Rebecca, 19 Dec 07, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034 Origins: Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky
**
The lines "Michael Jackson went to town/coca-cola brought him down" that are found in certain "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" are indirect references to Michael Jackson's scalp being burnt, although the children chanting those lines may not have been (may not be) aware of that.
Given the "Cola wars" between Pepsi Cola, Coca Cola and other carbonated beverages companies, it's ironical that most of the "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhymes that refer to cola beverages blame "Coca Cola" for "burning him up". Those rhymes seldom say "Pepsi Cola burned him up" even though Pepsi was the brand of cola that Michael Jackson was singing about in the commercial when his hair got burned. "...
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THE TUNE FOR PETE SEEGER'S "FOOLISH FROG" SONG
Notice that Pete Seeger's "Foolish Frog" is a song and not a rhyme. The tune for Pete Seeger's "Foolish Frog" is the same as that of "The Three Little Fishies" song. The "Three Little Fishies" song includes the word "Down in the meadow... ... And they swam and they swam right over the dam". The song "Three Little Fishes" was recorded by Kay Kyser in 1939. Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-963CTDLy68 for a sound file of that song.
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THE TUNES FOR "DOWN BY THE BANKS OF THE HANKY PANKY" RHYMES AND THE "COCA COLA CAME TO TOWN" RHYMES
Whether they are short forms of long forms (i.e. a combination of two or more rhymes that could be chanted by themselves) , the "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhymes that I have heard (from direct experience and from YouTube examples) sound to me like they have a hint of the tune for Ky Kyser's 1939 "Three Little Fishes" song.
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=541HKD8alfg for a YouTube song file of that song.
The tune that I've heard (online) for long form versions of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" doesn't change even when the words are from other songs. For example, the "Coca Cola Went To Town" lines in long forms of "Hanky Panky" rhymes that are updated versions of "Yankee Doodle Went To Town" rhymes sound like other long form versions of "Hanky Panky". Also, even when they are chanted alone, the "Coca Cola Went To Town" rhymes that I've heard don't sound like the "Yankee Doodle Went To Town" song."
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This concludes Part I of this 2025 two part pancocojams series on "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky"
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