"We're Going To Kentucky" (Two Video Examples Of A Children's Singing Game In Which The Next Middle Person Is Choosen By Pointing At Someone Forming The Circle)

Going to Kentucky

Andrew Wichman, Jan 2, 2016

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases two YouTube examples of the children's singing game "Going To Kentucky."

This post also provides a description of the strategy in which a person standing in the middle of a circle chooses the next middle person by pointing at someone forming the circle.

Addendum #1 to this post presents information about state fairs in the United States.
 
Addendum #2 to this post presents information about the event called "the Kentucky state fair" that inspired the singing game "We're Going To Kentucky".

Addendum #3 to this post presents my memories of playing the circle game "Going To Kentucky" in the 1950s.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and recreational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are featured in these showcase videos and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube..
-snip-
Click https://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/11/switching-places-ring-games-part-1.html for the cocojams2 post entitled "Switching Places Ring Games (Part 1-Description & Other Comments)". 

Also, click http://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/11/little-sally-walker-ride-that-pony_9.html for Part II of that series. Part II provides text and video examples of two contemporary "switching places" circle games: "Little Sally Walker" (Walking Down The Street) and "Ride That Pony".

cocojams2 is another Google blogpost that I voluntarily curate. That blog focuses only on children's recreational rhymes and children's singing games.

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LYRICS FOR SHOWCASED VIDEO #1 

 i was going to Kentucky

i was going to the fair

When I saw a senorita

With flowers in her hair.

Oh, shake it, shake it, shake it

Shake it all you can

Shake it like a milkshake

And do the best you can.

Rumble to the bottom.

Rumble to the top

Turn around and turn around

Until you make a stop.
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There are multiple lyric versions of "Going To Kentucky". I believe that the "shake it like a milkshake" lyrics in "Going To Kentucky" circle games weren't sung until the early 2000s probably influenced by Kelis' 2003 R&B song "My Milkshake". 

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SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 - Going To Kentucky

Amy Abbott, Aug 24, 2016

1st day of class, 5th grade, 1st activity!

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LYRICS FOR SHOWCASED VIDEO #2 

i was going to Kentucky

i was going to the fair

To meet a senorita

With flowers in her hair

Oh, shake it, shake it, shake it

Shake it all you can

Shake it like a milkshake

And drink it from a can.

Oh, round da de bop, one two

Round da de bop, one two

Turn around and turn around

Until you make a stop.

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CHOOSING THE NEXT MIDDLE PERSON BY POINTING AT SOMEONE FORMING THE CIRCLE
This singing game begins with someone designated as the first middle person (i.e. the person standing in the center of the circle). 

The next middle person in these children's circle games is chosen by the middle person pointing to someone who is helping to form the circle.

Toward the end of each iteration of the song, the middle person turns around in a small circle with her or his eyes closed while  holding their right arm extended and one finger pointed.
In addition to closing both of their eyes, the middle person may cover their eyes with their other hand.
 
The people forming the circle continue to sing while standing still and watching the middle person turning and pointing.   

The person who is pointed to at the end of that iteration of the song becomes the new middle person and the singing game immediately begins again.

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ADDENDUM #1 - INFORMATION ABOUT STATE FAIRS IN THE UNITED STATES
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_fair
"A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in their categories at the more-local county fairs.

State fairs began in the nineteenth century for the purpose of promoting state agriculture, through competitive exhibitions of livestock and display of farm products. As the U.S. evolved from a predominantly agrarian to an industrial society in the twentieth century, and the more service economy of the 21st century, modern state fairs have expanded to include carnival amusement rides and games, display of industrial products, baking competitions, crafts (such as quilting and crop art), automobile racing, and entertainment such as musical concerts. Large fairs can admit more than a million visitors over the course of a week or two. The oldest state fair is that of The Fredericksburg Agricultural Fair, established in 1738, and is the oldest fair in Virginia and the United States.[1] The first U.S. state fair was the New York one, held in 1841 in Syracuse, and has been held annually since.[2] The second state fair was in Detroit, Michigan, which ran from 1849[3] to 2009.[4][5] The fair was revived in 2013 and has been held at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Michigan ever since."...

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ADDENDUM #2 - INFORMATION ABOUT THE KENTUCKY STATE FAIR THAT INSPIRED THE SINGING GAME "WE'RE GOING TO KENTUCKY"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_State_Fair
...."History
The [Kentucky State] fair was organized in 1816, just five years after the United States' first fair in Massachusetts. Fayette County farmer Colonel Lewis Sanders (no known relation to Colonel Harlan Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame) was the organizer. The event did not become an official state fair until 1902. The fair moved from city to city until 1907, when Louisville became the fair's permanent home. Churchill Downs has hosted the fair on three occasions, particularly during World War II. The fair moved to its current site at the Kentucky Exposition Center in 1956.

There were cancellations in 1862 to 1864, 1917 to 1918, and 1942 to 1944. The COVID-19 pandemic caused officials to present the 2020 fair in modified fashion."

ADDENDUM #3- MY MEMORIES OF PLAYING "GOING TO KENTUCKY" IN THE 1950s
There's no official documentation of when the song "We're Going To Kentucky" was first sung or when the "We're Going To Kentucky" singing game was first played.

I remember playing that circle game in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the 1950s (Black girls, probably ages 6-12 years) . We played that game in a large circle with one person in the middle. In these two YouTube videos the children marched counterclockwise around the circle until they sung the "Shake it" words. In contrast, I remember that we held hands with the person on either side of us and walked counterclockwise around the circle until the words "Shake it". (I don't remember the person in the middle singing or doing any motions for that part of the song.). In those videos and according to my memories of playing "Going To Kentucky", the children forming the circle stopped moving around the circle at the words "Shake it". The middle person still didn't sing but would start doing some exaggerated shaking motions and the people forming the circle would also do some exaggerated shaking motions.  When the people forming the circle sang the lyrics "Turn around"*, the middle person would  close her eyes and covered them with one hand while spinning around while extending her arm and pointing to the people forming the circle. The person who was pointed to at the end of that song was the next middle person and the singing game would immediately begin all over again. 

*Here are the words that I remember for this singing game:

Going to Kentucky
Going to the fair
To see a senorita
With flowers in her hair
Oh, shake it, senorita
Shake it all you can
All the boys are watching you
So do the best you can.
Rumble to the bottom [Do a hip shaking dance toward the ground].
Rumble to the top [Do the same hip shaking dance until you are again standing erect]
Turn around and touch the ground [Do these actions]
Until you holler S. T.O. P
speeels STOP.
-Black girls in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the mid 1950s

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Given the lyrics for the children's recreational song "We're Going To Kentucky", at least one of those annual Kentucky state fairs featured a Spanish woman ("a senorita") with flowers in her hair who did a hip shaking dance. That performance obviously was something unique enough to leave a lasting impression on whoever composed this song. 

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