Seven YouTube Examples Of The Children's Singing Game "Little Johnny Brown"

 

Bessie Jones with the Georgia Island Singers - Little Johnny Brown

Monkey D. Sound, Aug 2, 2019

Get in Union: Recordings By Alan Lomax 1959-1966
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Here's information about this recording that is found on https://www.culturalequity.org/resources...

"Recorded: Central Park, New York City, NY (August 1965)

Performers: Bessie Jones (tambourine, vocal), John Davis (clapping/foot stomping, vocal), Peter Davis (clapping/foot stomping, vocal), Mable Hillery (clapping/foot stomping, vocal), Emma Ramsay (clapping/foot stomping, vocal)”… 

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases different ways of singing and/or different ways of playing the Georgia Sea isles singing game "Little Johnny Brown".

Information about this singing game is given in some of the summaries for these showcased examples.

The content of this post is presented for historical, socio-cultural, and recreational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the Gullah Geechie people for creating this singing game. Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.
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The Gullah Geechie people are a sub-set of African American people. Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah to learn about the Gullah Geechie people.

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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/03/united-states-play-party-songs-other.html for the 2012 pancocojams post "Draw Me A Bucket Of Water & Three Other African American Children's Singing Games". The four featured examples are "Draw Me A Bucket Of Water", "Tideo" (Jingle At The Window", "Little Johnny Brown", and "Paw Paw Patch".

Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/04/little-johnny-brown-childrens-singing.html "Little Johnny Brown (Children's Singing Game With No Hand Holding & No Clapping Another Person's Hands), This pancocojams post was published during the Covid 19 pandemic.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
With the exception of Showcase Video #1 which is the earliest recording of this singing games , these examples of the singing game "Little Johnny Brown" are presented in chronological order based on their publishing dates on YouTube.

This pancocojams compilation is only a small portion of the examples of this singing game that is found on YouTube. 

SHOWCASE EXAMPLE #2 - Johnny Brown



carolannf1, Apr 5, 2010

Kids playing a game Called Little Johnny Brown
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Lyrics for this modified version of thissinging game:

Little Johnny Brown

Lay your comfort down

Little Johnny Brown

Lay your comfort down

Fold it in a corner,

Johnny Brown

Hoot! Hoot! Hoot!

Fold it in a corner,

Johnny Brown

Show us your motion

Johnny Brown

We can do your motion

Johnny Brown

Now choose a friend

Johnny Brown
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The game starts again with the new "Johnny Brown".

Some versions substitute the female name "Jennie" for "Johnny" when the person in the middle is a female.

The word "comfort" may have been a Gullah Geechie refernt for what some other Americans called a "comforter" (a blanket). In the "Little Johnny Brown" singing game, players use a handkerchief or another piece of cloth to represent the "comfort".

In the original version of this singing game, people sang "take it to your lover" instead of "choose [or "take it to"] your friend".  

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLE #3 - Little Johnny Brown

Vincent Bates, Jan 22, 2013

Little Johnny Brown, lay your comfort down . . .

Now fold one corner, Johnny Brown, fold the other corner, Johnny Brown . . .

Give it to your lover, Johnny Brown . . .

Make a little motion, Johnny Brown . . .

Lope like a buzzard, Johnny Brown . . .

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLE #4- MUSIC TEACHER RESOURCES - Little Johnny Brown

Kate Fellin,Jul 3, 2015

This is a play party that several of us learned from Ivy Rawlins in Kodaly classes at George Mason University through the Potomac Arts Academy.  

Some modifications to save time, make sure all students get turns, etc., are to take out the "lope like a buzzard" lines, to make the 4th repetition of "fold another corner" into "fold the last corner" and to change the last line to "then sit down" so that students can differentiate between who has and has not had a turn.  

We started off a little slow with our tempo, and I usually keep a steady tempo through the whole song instead of making the first two phrases slower. 

Little Johnny Brown, lay your comfort down (2 times)

Fold one corner, Johnny Brown

Fold another corner, Johnny Brown

Fold another corner, Johnny Brown

Fold the last corner, Johnny Brown

Take it to a friend, Johnny Brown (2 times)

Show them a motion, Johnny Brown (2 times)

Join in the motion, Johnny Brown

Join in the motion, then sit down

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLE #5 - Little Johnny Brown | Classic Folk Game for Kids | Elementary Music Activity

Mr.Hudspeth's Music Channel, Jan 16, 2017

LITTLE JOHNNY BROWN is a traditional African American play‑party song, widely associated with the Georgia Sea Islands and preserved through oral tradition.

[…]

This arrangement was recorded and produced by me, David Hudspeth, for use in classrooms and educational settings. I arranged, performed, and own the rights to the audio and video in this recording...

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLE #6-Little Johnny Brown -- dance

Aaron Bell Sep 2, 2022
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This is the portion of this session that shows the Little Johnny Brown singing game.

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLE #7-"Little Johnny Brown" Circle Game, Song

Elementary Music Fun - Happy Tunes, Sep 13, 2025

Enjoy this original version of  “Little Johnny Brown”, a traditional African American game song. Children sing while moving in a circle, acting out the motions in the lyrics. One child (Johnny Brown) is in the middle with a handkerchief, blanket, or scarf, and follows the playful directions—laying it down, folding it. At the end, Johnny Brown chooses another player to take a turn, and the game continues

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