Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents selected examples of children's recreational rhymes from a 2008 online United Kingdom discussion thread "the student room". These skipping rope (jump rope) and/or hand clapping rhymes include lines about female/male romantic relationships
The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, 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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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
This is part of an ongoing series on this pancocojams blog that focuses on children's recreational rhymes, cheers, chants, and/or singing games. As such, this post departs from the main focus of this pancocojams blog which is to provide content about African American culture or other Black cultures around the world.
The fact that these selected examples of recreational rhymes are from the a United Kingdom discussion thread doesn't mean that these rhymes originated in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, some of these rhymes (such as "Down Down Baby") are documented to have originated with African Americans and/or have versions that originated with or are most closely associated with African Americans.
This online discussion began with a request for participants to share "games [they played] during breaktime at infants/junior school". Discussion thread commenters responded to this request by sharing lists of games, descriptions of one or more games, and partial or
complete word examples of rhymes, usually with the category of the play
activity (such as skipping rope, hand clapping). These examples of rhymes that include lines about female/male romantic relationships are a portion of the last category of recreational rhymes that is given above.
These examples document how children's recreational rhymes help influence girls' opinions and expectations about female/male romantic relationships. As these examples show, these opinions and expectations are usually not positive.
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ALPHABETICAL LIST OF EXAMPLES OF CHILDREN'S RHYMES THAT INCLUDE LINES ABOUT FEMALE/MALE RELATIONSHIPS
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=680317
These examples are presented in alphabetical order based on the first letter of their "title". The titles of these examples are usually the first words of that rhyme that are given in that comment.
A, B
"apples on a stick they make me sick,
they make my heart beat to 46,
not beacuse you're dirty,
not because you're clean,
but because you kissed the boy behind the magazine,
boys boys have all the fun,
here comes the boy with the big fat bum,
he can wiggle he can waggle he can even do the splits,
but i bet you 10 bucks he cant do this,
close your eyes and count to ten and if you mess it up,
you're a bit fat hen!"
(and then there was a weird little counting bit that
followed)"
-Elziebelzie, 20-09-2008, https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=680317&page=4 Playground Games/Rhymes
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C, D
“This is the skipping rhyme the kids sing and the club I
volunteered at
Cinderella dressed in yella'
went upstairs to kiss her fella
How many babies did she have?
1,2,3,4.....
Anamaria90, 2008, https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=680317&page=2
**
DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE
Anyone remember:
down down baby
down by the riverside
sweet, sweet cherry
no place to go (wow now I type i sense deeper meaning
here..)
Looking through the keyhole
nosey, nosey
caught you with your boyfriend
naughty, naughty
didn't do the dishes
lazy, lazy
Jumping out the window
flippin' crazy
-Nynyflower-27-09-2008, https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=680317&page=5
**
DOWN DOWN BABY
"Haha, that song is pretty weird! Our school had one a bit
like it, our version started out like nelly's song, I think its country
grammar? I'm gonna google it to check... okay yeah, we must've heard it and
made our own version that went -
Down down baby, down down the rollercoaster
Shimmy shimmy coco pop, shimmy shimmy POW!
Shimmy shimmy coco pop, shimmy shimmy POW!
I like coffee, I like tea,
I like little boy, little boy likes me,
Little boy, little boy, don't you SHOUT
Little boy, little boy, YOU ARE OUT!
With lots of random gun gestures and pointing =S
My primary school was so very cool."
-EskimoKisses, 27-09-2008, https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=680317&page=5
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E, F
G, H
****
I, J
i'M A SEXY,SEXY TEXAS GIRL
"I remember clapping games & weird dance games
Like these ones.
I'm a sexy, sexy Texas girl,
and I come from a landscape far away
I can do, I can do the hula hoo
when the Indians come to town.
There's a boy over there and he winked his eye.
He said I love you, but he tells a lie.
His hair ain't curly, and his shoes don't shine.
He ain't got the money so he ain't mine.
The girls wear red white blue,
and the boys say 'We love you'
and the kids say 'yuck yuck yuck'
when the cowboys come to town.
Yee ha."
-Thecaterpillar, 20-09-2008, https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=680317&page=4
I WENT INTO THE BAKER'S SHOP (Version #1)
"I went into the baker's shop
To buy a loaf of bread, bread, bread,
They wrapped it up in a five pound note
And this is what they said, said, said
My name is Elvis Presley
Girls are sexy (wiggle)
Sitting in the back seat
Drinkin' Pepsi (mime drinking)
Had a baby, (mime rocking)
Called it Daisy (mime flower above head)
Had a twin,
Named it Tim,
In the Royal Navy,
Push off! (push each other)
-
**
I WENT INTO THE BAKER'S SHOP (Version #2)
Clapping games, 'I went into the bakers shop to buy a loaf of BREAD BREAD BREAD, he wrapped it up in a 5 pind note and this is what he SAID SAID SAID, My..name..is Andy Pandy sugar and candy, tipsy toesy, roly poly sitting in the back seat, drinking all the pepsi, boys go woo woo girls go WOO!' and another one started 'Down by the alley..something about a brother getting a smack?. I LOVED primary school. Might be the same ryhme- Down by the bam bushes, under the sea..? Johnny got a smacking and he blamed it on me' yeah it is the same
-StarsAreFixed 22-09-2008 https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=680317&page=4
**
"
He wrapped it up in a five pound note and this is what he
said said said
My name is...
Elvis Presley girls are sexy
Having babies in the navy
Sitting in the back seat... nudge nudge
FireDeuce, 2008, https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=680317&page=2
**
I WENT TO A CHINESE RESTAURANT (version #2)
"We had the Elvis rhyme, too, but another variation:
I went to a Chinease Resturant to buy a loaf of bread bread bread.
He wrapped it up in a five pound note and this is what he
said said said
My name is
Elivis Presley
Girls are sexy
Sitting in the back room
Drinking pepsi
Having a baby
Calling it Daisy
O. U. T spells OUT move OUT
And then you pushed the other person."
-Emma the Hippy, 2008, https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=680317&page=3
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K, L
****
M. N
15
I remember this one from primary school!
My boyfriend gave me an apple,
My boyfriend gave me a pear,
My boyfriend gave me a kick up the bum,
And threw me down the stairs.
I gave him back his apple,
I gave him back his pear,
I gave him back his kick up the bum,
And threw him down the stairs.
I threw him over England,
I threw him over France,
I threw him over the USA,
And he lost his underpants.
Perhaps there was more, but i've forgotten it!
BrightGirl, 19-09-2008 https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=680317&page=2
-snip-
Phantom Phoenix, 2009
“:rofl: I'd forgotten that one! :rofl:
Edit: Oh, but in my school we threw him over England, France
and for some utterly incomprehensible reason, Istanbul!”
-BrightGirl, 2008, https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=680317&page=3
MY NAME IS ELVIS PRESLEY
"
My name is,
Elvis Presley,
Girls are sexy,
Sitting in the back seat
Drinking Pepsi,
How is your mother?
All right!
Died in a fish shop,
Last night!
What did she die of?
Corned beef!
How did she die?
Like this (mimes death)"
It makes no sense
-username91207, 2008, https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=680317&page=3
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O, P
ON THE MOUNTAIN STANDS A LADY
"Ooh our school used to let us play with huge skipping ropes
at lunch times, and we used to get one person at each end of the rope to turn
it, and someone would jump in the middle (like normal skipping except other
people were holding the handles, basically) all while singing this rhyme:
On the mountain, stands a lady,
Who she is I do not know.
All she wants is gold and silver,
All she wants is a nice young man.
All right (girl's name)
Go and tell your mother,
Kissing (boy's name)
Around the corner!
Is it true?"
The people singing would say "yes!"
"no!" with each jump and when they tripped up on the rope, there was
your answer
There were other questions, too, like are you getting married? How many
children will you have? (On this one they counted rather than said yes or no)
etc
-username91207, 2008, https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=680317&page=3
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Q,R
****
S, T
TURN YOUR BACK YOU DIRTY RAT
…."There was another [rhyme] for the girls when some rhyme would be sung to
determine a girl then she would turn her back towards the circle and the girls
would walk around in a circle singing...
Turn your back you dirty rat
I'm suprised at you
for kissing "Noel Edmonds" (for example)
down the avenue
He loves you
he kisses you
he sits you on his knee
he says oh my darling wont you marry me
clap your hands if you love him
roll your hands if you dont mind
stamp your feet if you hate him
now get that in your mind (while whacking the girl on the
head)"
Most girls usually stamped their feet but it was always fun
when someone did actually fancy the lad that was named.
- CheesyBeans, 2008, https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=680317&page=3
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U, V
UNDER THE BIBLE BUSHES
"Those hand slapping games ahhhh those were the days...
"Under the bible bushes under the sea (boom, boom,
boom)
To-la for you my darling to-la for me
She's getting marriiiied
In California
With sixteen children,
All in a row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream;
Tip your teacher overboard
and listen to her scream (*SCREAM*)"
- anarchy,2008,https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=68031719-09-2008 https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=680317 Playground
games/rhymes
-snip-
The title for this rhyme is usually given as "Under The Bramble Bushes".
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W, X
WE ARE THE BEAVER GIRLS
"We are the Beaver Girls,
We wear our hair in curls,
We have our dungarees down to our sexy knees.
You know the boy next door?
He pushed me on the floor,
We did it once or twice,
It wasn't very nice
La la la bum shaka
La la la bum shaka
La la la bum skaka
My mother was surprised
To see my belly rise
My father jumped for joy
It was a baby boy.
I cant believe we were singing this in primary school! I
doubt we knew what it meant!"
- J9127, 2008, https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=680317
**
WHEN SHALL I MARRY?
"When Shall I Marry?
When shall I marry?
This year, next year, sometime, never.
What will my husband be?
Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich-man, poor-man,
beggar-man, thief.
What will I be?
Lady, baby, gypsy, queen.
What shall I wear?
Silk, satin, cotton, rags (or silk, satin, velvet, lace)
How shall I get it?
Given, borrowed, bought, stolen.
How shall I get to church?
Coach, carriage, wheelbarrow, cart.
Where shall I live?
Big house, little house, pig-sty, barn."
-Kew (OP), 29-09-2008M https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=680317&page=5
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Y, Z
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