℗ 1993 Atlantic Recording Corporation For the United States
and WEA International Inc. for the world outside of the United States.
**** WHAT DOES "CALL & RESPONSE" MEAN IN SONGS & CHANTS? Explanation #1 From https://www.twinkl.com/teaching-wiki/call-and-response-music "What Is Call & Response Music?" "In music, a call and response is a series of two parts usually played or sung by different musicians. The second part is heard as a comment about or an answer to what the first has sung."
**** Explanation #2 From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_and_response_(music) "In music, call and response is a compositional technique, often a succession of two distinct phrases that works like a conversation in music. One musician offers a phrase, and a second player answers with a direct commentary or response. The phrases can be vocal, instrumental, or both.[1] Additionally, they can take form as commentary to a statement, an answer to a question or repetition of a phrase following or slightly overlapping the initial speaker(s).[2] It corresponds to the call and response pattern in human communication and is found as a basic element of musical form, such as the verse-chorus form, in many traditions."...
**** INFORMATION ABOUT THREE TYPES OF CALL & RESPONSE SONGS & CHANTS Here's information about three types of call & response patterns based on the nature of the responses:
1. "Echo" responses (usually referred to as "Echo songs") In echo songs, the leader (caller) sings or says a passage (a word, phrase, or a short line and the group responds by exactly repeating (echoing) what the leader sang or said (with the same tune , tempo, and inflections i.e. They sing or say the same way the leader sang or said it.)
A familiar example of an echo children's song is "Row Row Row Your Boat".
An example of a R&B song that includes an echo portion is is James Brown's R&B hit song "Say It Loud-I'm Black And I'm Proud". In some portions of that song James Brown (the lead/the caller) commands the group to "Say It Loud" and the group always sings (responds with) the words "I'm Black And I'm Proud".
** 2. Fixed (unchanged) responses In fixed (unchanged) responses, the leader (call) changes, but the group (response) remains the same throughout the entire song or throughout a portion of the song (In another portion of the song, the group (response) may sing or chant another passage (word or phrase) that then remains fixed (unchanged) for a time or for the rest of the song.
The children's song "Way Down Yonder, Sometimes". is an example of a song in which the leader changes what she or he sings or says, but the group's response remains fixed (unchanged).
** 3. Changed responses In some songs and chants that include call & response or entirely consist of call & response, the responses change and the call may also change.
Call: “When my granny was 91” Response: “She did PT just for fun.”
Call: “When my granny was 92” Response: “She did PT better than you.”
Call: “When my granny was 93” Response: “She did PT better than me"
**** INFORMATION ABOUT, LYRICS AND PERFORMANCE ACTIVITIES FOR THE SONG "WAY DOWN YONDER, SOMETIMES" from the book Step It Down: Games, Plays, Songs & Stories from the Afro-American Heritage, edited by Bessie Jones and Bess Lomax Hawes (published 1972, page 100-101)* "In this ring play, an account of the doings of magical animals and the courtship feats of human beings is continually punctured by the performers' sardonic remark "Sometimes". The tune, when sung and slapped with strong rhythm, will give you an idea of how interesting only four notes can be.
FORM: Ring of players, not holding hands, one center player. Lead Voice Chorus VoiceAction
Way down yonder Sometimes Center player walks (struts) around the ring
Below the log Sometimes
Wild geese are holl'ring. Sometimes
Ganders trot, Sometimes
Bullfrog marry, Sometimes
His mother-in-law, Sometimes.
Now let's get on board, Sometimes Center player stands in front of a chosen partner
I'm going to ball that jack, Sometimes Center player balls the jack **
Until my honey comes back, Sometimes
I want to rear back, Jack, Sometimes Center player (and partner) lean back
And get a hump in my back, Sometimes Center player (and partner) hunch shoulders
I'm going over here, Sometimes Center player takes partner's hand and turns her into center of the circle,
Goin' to get my pal. Sometimes taking her place in the ring. Play continues with the new center person"
-snip- *Page 101 in that book includes a musical score and this statement: "New words and new music adaptation by Bessie Jones, collected and edited with additional new material by Alan Lomax TRO @copyright 1972 Ludlow Music Inc, New York, N. Y used with permission.)" -snip- This statement may suggests that "Way Down Yonder, Sometimes" wasn't originally sung as a ring play (a singing game). The beginning lines about "the bullfrog marrying his mother-in-law" are a nod to the 16th century English folk song "Frog Went A Courting".
** What "way down yonder" means: "Way down yonder" is a (Southern) African American originated Vernacular English phrase that means something like "a place that is far away from here".
** Description of "Ball The Jack" (from Step It Down book, pages 44-45) "Holding the legs together from foot to hip, rotate the knees in a circle, this obviously rotates the hips also; Mrs. Jones seemed to feel this was mildly improper for small children-the sort of thing that you should tell them not to do, but you know they are going to do it anyway."
-snip- (About this song from that same genius.com page)
"This song is by Bessie Jones & Group and is sung acapella. It appears on the compilation Southern Folk Heritage Series Recorded in the Field by Alan Lomax (1960.) On an expedition to record and preserve folk songs and musical traditions in various areas, Lomax recorded Jones’s song in Georgia. When the boxset of Lomax’s recordings was reissued in 2003, this was called “a game song for children in the Georgia Sea Islands” about “an account of the doings of magical animals and the courtship feats of human beings is continually punctuated by the chorus’s sardonic refrain ‘Sometimes.’ The tune, when sung and clapped with strong rhythm, will give you an idea of how interesting only four notes can be.”
The song was prominently sampled in “Honey” by Moby, the lead single from his 1999 album Play.
Moby’s “Honey” was also featured in the 2003 American film Holes soundtrack."
**** ADDENDUM- A VARIANT CALL & RESPONSE PATTERN IN FOOT STOMPING CHEERS AND IN SOME OF THE CHILDREN'S CAMP SONGS THAT ARE ADAPTED VERSIONS OF THOSE CHEERS
The girls' cheerleader cheers that I refer to as "foot stomping cheers" use/d a variant form of call & response that I refer to as group/consecutive soloists. In those cheers, the group voice (usually commanding a particular action) is heard first and a soloist responds. At the end of the first iteration of that cheer, the cheer begins again from the beginning with the group voice making the same command and the next soloist responding. This pattern continued continues until everyone in that group has had the same equal length time as the soloist.
A few foot stomping cheers live on as particular examples of children's camp songs. Most of those children's camp songs are abbreviated versions ("clips"; portions) of the foot stomping cheer that inspired them. Also, those camp songs usually don't start with the group voice and, partly because of time concerns, each person in the group usually doesn't have a chance to be the soloist.
Here's an example of one of those foot stomping cheers/camp songs that is sometimes sung as a children's camp song. Notice that this cheer/song begins with the group voice and notice the call & response patterns in that cheer/song:
ROCK THE BOAT
Rock the boat. Don't tip it over. Rock the boat. Don't tip it over. Hey, Aniya. "Hey what?" Hey, Aniya. "Hey what?" Can you rock the boat? "No way." Can you rock the boat?! "Ok." She slides. She slides. She do The Butterfly. She dips. She dips. She shakes her little hips! -ti55, Mar 16, 2008, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9QuTsAtQPY -snip- This is my transcription of that cheer which is composed using the traditional foot stomping cheer structure. The "rock the boat/don't tip it over" line is a clear indication that this cheer was heavily influenced by The Hues Corporations' 1973 record "Rock The Boat".
for additional information about foot stomping cheers and more examples of those cheers. That post is one of a five part pancocojams series on foot stomping cheers. The link to all of those posts are given in each post in that series.
Playing little sally walker in the munchkin room at the show
in Irving on the 23rd!! -snip- This example of "Little Sally Walker Walkin Down The Street" doesn't come from the Facebook page that is the focus of this 2025 pancocojams post.
**** Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents some examples of the singing game "Little Sally Walker" from a 2025 discussion thread of the Facebook page of Vintage
& Iconic African American Everything.
This compilation also includes some examples of "Little Sally Walker Walking Down The Street" and a few other recreational singing games and rhymes.
That discussion was sparked by a brief black & white (no color) 1975 film clip of Black American girls and boys performing the singing game "Little Sally Walker" (sitting in a saucer).
The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, cultural, and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Vintage & Iconic African American Everything" Facebook account for embedding a 1975 film clip of Black children playing a version of the singing game "Little Sally Walker" and thanks to that Facebook account for starting a discussion thread about that singing game and other recreational games and rhymes. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post. -snip- Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/02/a-few-examples-of-little-sally-walker.html?m=1 for the closely related 2022 pancocojams post entitled "Some Examples Of "Little Sally Walker" Singing Games That African Americans Remember (with geographic location & decade remembered or collected)."
The comments that are given in that 2022 pancocojams post aren't included in this 2025 post. -snip- Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/05/how-let-your-backbone-slip-is-performed.html for the pancocojams post entitled What "Backbone" Mens &"How "Let Your Backbone Slip" Is Performed In The "Little Sally Walker" (Sitting In A Saucer) Singing Game".
Click
the "Little Sally Walker" tag below for other pancocojams posts about
this singing game
**** 1975 FILM CLIP OF BLACK AMERICAN CHILDREN PLAYING A VERSION OF THE "LITTLE SALLY WALKER" SINGING GAME This film clip that has the title "Children
playing Little Sally Walker (1975) #1970s " is embedded on https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3653896478089568 "Vintage & Iconic African American
Everything" Facebook account, January 29, 2025.
This clip is a part of a longer documentary that is filmed in black & white (not color]. Unfortunately, I can't find this clip or that documentary on YouTube. If you have any information about the titles of these YouTube videos, please share them in the comment section of this pancocojams post. Thanks, in advance.
shows Black American children (girls and boys) playing this
ring game together, different ages (from pre-school to early middle school ages?
From the girls and pre-school to elementary school ages for the boys) I can’t find this video on YouTube. It’s part
of a longer documentary since it cuts off when an older Black woman is sitting
in a chair talking.
Film show a group of Black American boys and girls playing
this game standing out doors holding hands and moving counterclockwise around
one person standing in the middle of the circle [That person represents Little
Sally Walker.
Note: The words "Little Sally Walker" are also used if a boy is the center regardless of the fact that "Sally" is a female name only.
Here are the words to that singing game:
"Little Sally Walker sittin in a saucer Weepin and a cryin for a cool drink of water Rise Sally Rise Wipe between your eyes Put your hand on your hip And let your backbone slip We’re gonna shake it to the East We’re gonna shake it to the West We’re gonna shake it to the one that you love the best Mama said so Papa said so… -snip- An older Black woman in that film is heard sharing her memories of the words to this singing game, although she doesn't say the last part of that game.
Commenter #31 [quoted below] wrote that the last line of that version of "Little Sally Walker" that she remembers is "That's what you do if you wanna get a beau" [The word "beau" means "boyfriend" or "girlfriend" rhymes with the word "so"].
**** SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS FACEBOOK PAGE There are a total of 1,598 comments in reply to that first comment about the film of Black girls and boys performing "Little Sally Walker" that is embedded on that Facebook page. (Unfortunately, I can't embed that film in this pancocojams post.)
Given the name of that Facebook page and some of its comments that specifically referred to race and nationality, it's likely that all of the commenters who responded to that first comment are African American.
I tried to retrieve all of the comments that include the words to this singing game that the commenters remembered and/or comments that include demographic information (location, decade remembered playing this singing game). Unfortunately, at some point, I was unable to see the comments since I wasn't signed in to any Facebook account (I gave up my Facebook account decades ago). However, this compilation doesn't include all of the comments that I was able to read. For instance, I didn't include comments that said something like "I agree" or "I remember this from my childhood" that were given without any lyrics to any singing game or that were given without any demographic information.
This compilation also includes some comments about a few other recreational rhymes, singing games, and other play activities that those commenters remembered.
Numbers are added to these comments for referencing purposes.
Some of these comments refer to the 1975 film that was embedded in that Facebook page that showed children playing a version of "Little Sally Walker" (sittin in a saucer.)
1. Melvenia V Pressley "Wow! Thanks for sharing this brings back so many memories we
played out doors. We played red light green light 123, hopscotch, jumped rope,
hide and seek and so much more . We got our exercise."
** 2. Kimberlee Brown "Wow! All of them are at least 60 years of age now, some of
them are older than 60. My brother was born in 1962 and he's 62 or 63."
** 3. Jean Nanna Mayer "I remember playing this but only with girls. The boys
wouldn't play because of the name"Sally".....LOL."
** Reply 4. Val Sawyer "Jean Nanna Mayer some boys would play with us, because when
they got to the part” shake it to the east,shake it to the west, shake it to
the very one you loved the best, that was their time to shake it in front of
the girl they had a cruse on!🥰"
** Reply 5. Veronica Johnson "Jean Nanna Mayer ...I never recall boys
playing it."
** 6. Wallace Collins "Old man this takes me back I remember
kids used to play this outside at school doing recess"
** Reply 7. Dee Madden "Wallace Collins oh my, we use jump rope
at recess to, or at lunch, cause we went out of school for lunch"
** 8. PeaceLove Atman "I've never heard of little Sally
walker...it was ring around the rosie for my era....Sally walker sounds so much
better and was way more positive.
** Reply 9. Nora Keithley "PeaceLove Atman
Either have I. I am 73 and it was Ring
around the Rosie.
It looks like fun."
** Reply 10. PeaceLove Atman "Nora Keithley WOW, i wonder if the words
were different within each state"
** Reply 11. Tavika Kersey "PeaceLove Atman ring around the rosie
pocket full of posies ashes ashes we all fall down, something like that 😝"
** 12. Doris Neal-Alexander "We played this as kids in the Chgo.
Henry Horner Projects.. we said "Lil Sally Walker was walkin down th
street, she didn know wat t do so she stopped in front of me. We said gone girl
shake that thang, shake that thang, shake that thang, gone girl shake that
thang, shake that thang and Stop! I can see my friends faces and that was over
50 years ago! 🥹 Thank you for the memories!!! 💋💋💋"
** 13. Gloria Anderson "This is what we sang in the Fifties!
Little Sally Walker
Sitting in a Saucer
Weeping and a Crying for
some young man!
Oh ! Rise Sally Rise
And wipe your weeping eyes
Now rise to the East
Now rise to the West
Now rise to the very one that you love
the best
Shake it to the East
Shake it to the West
Shake it to the very one that you love
the best!
Now put your hands on your hips and let
your backbone slip !"
** 14. Shikim Collins "Our generation was little sally walker
walking down the street. She don’t know where she’s going but she’s always
follow me. I said now gone girl shake that thang , shake that thang stop and
repeat gone girl shake that thang shake that thang 🛑"
** Reply 15. Lashawnda Monique Boykin "Shikim Collins I been looking for this
comment because that’s the version I knew 80’s Midwest."
** 16. Catherine Davis "We sang ..lil Sally waker sitting in a
saucer she weeping she wipping all her tears away rise sally walker wipe your
tears away put your hands on your hip and let your backbone slip.. you skake it
to the east ..and you skake it to the west ..you shake it to the one that you
love the best..."
** Reply 17. Carilyn Young "Yes I remember that song when I was
elementary school in the south."
** 18. Panessa Bankston "I remember growing up my friends and I
would play this☺️, I don't remember the boys playing,I noticed someone saying
it was innocent times then, so true, now it's just crazy, kids will never
understand how much fun we had growing up, anyhoot God
bless all and remember, keep reminding them it was once safe for kids to play
outside , but things have changed, people have changed, and it's only getting
worse,STAY SAFE AND BE BLESSED 🙏"
** 19. Lori Guilbeau "It sounds completely different. We
didn't sing all the words!!!! What a strange but funny feeling I have, hearing
and seeing kids playing together. Just having innocent fun."
** 20. Janice Swearinger "I remember this but the words were a
little different at the end of the song, but it still brings back good memories
as a kid 👍♥️"
** 21. PJ Edwards "In Houston Texas in the 1970s, we
said...
Little Sally Walker sitting in a saucer
rise Sally rise wipe your weeping eyes put your hand on your hips and make your
backbone slip oh shake it to the East oh shake it to the West oh shake it to
the very one you love the best turn to the east turn to the West turn to the
very one you love the best."
** Reply 22. Tracey Tball Williams "PJ Edwards , 'and if you got a boyfriend
I’ll tell you what to do, take some salt and pepper and shake it on your shoe
now gone girl shake that thing shake that thing stop turn to the east turn to
the west turn to the boy that you love the best'. I’m 62 years, and that song
just came out my mouth so naturally"
** Reply 23. Lisa Fisher "Tracey Tball Williams I forgot about
that version!"
** Reply 24. Marilynn Pointer "PJ Edwards exactly the way we did it in
Memphis!!! Back then was the best days!! ❤️"
** Reply 25. Ambree Blake "PJ Edwards yes we did sing it exactly
like that in Houston. My Lord! Great memories!"
** Reply 26. Mattie Jones "PJ Edwards, same in Arlington,
Tennessee. But my times was in the 50's"
** Reply 27. Renita Abraham "PJ Edwards we did too but we did say the
last line like the video....mama said so papa said so that's the way you do it
when you want to catch a boo 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣"
** Reply 28. Candice Carter Allen "PJ Edwards this is how we did it in the
L.A. area too"
** Reply 29. Ella Guillory Washington "PJ Edwards the words were same in Lake
Charles LA as in Houston. Back in da day… 60’s for me. I was teenager in the
early 70’s, didn’t sing it much then."
** Reply 30. Tamela Holley "PJ Edwards same in Mississippi I teach
red light green light stop n bubble gum bubble gum in the ditch still today to
my grands n they lovvveee the simple games"
** Reply 31. Callie Marshall "PJ Edwards moma said so, papa said so,
that's the way you do it when you wanna catch a beau! 😊"
** Reply 32. Kimberly Alford Sitton "PJ Edwards yes indeed , we did Houston ,
Proud"
** Reply 33. Cheryl L Whittington Lockley "PJ Edwards we did it in San Diego
California...oh yes!!!!"
** Reply 34. Denise Huntjones "PJ Edwards I remember your same version
of this growing up in my part of NC."
** Reply 35. Lucille Shields "PJ Edwards yes that's the way we sang it
in Alabama to."
** Reply 36. Michelle Waller "PJ Edwards we sang it the way you
mentioned in California also."
** Reply 37. Jennifer Marie Jones "PJ Edwards same - born and raised in
Lake Charles, Louisiana."
** Reply 38. Cynthia Giddens Hunter "PJ Edwards I was born in 1953 and I
played these same games growing up."
** Reply 39. Shebrew Shebrew "PJ Edwardsthat’s what we said in the
80’s in Oklahoma."
** Reply 40. Zaneta Tolbert-Dean "PJ Edwards that is what we song in
Chicago as well"
** Reply 41. Anna Longmeyer "PJ Edwards that's the way we did it in
Santana California"
** Reply 42. Lisa Neal "PJ Edwards my grandma taught me from
Missouri."
** Reply 43. Rita Whitsett Franklin "PJ Edwards We sung it like you did in
the 60’s in Mobile, Alabama."
** Reply 44. Tracy Savoy "PJ Edwards im from Houston and we said
this one too!!! Remember Hollywood Swing It?"
** Reply 45. Gwendolyn Ann Lollis-Smith "PJ Edwards In New Orleans we said that
same thing 😅😅😅😅"
** Reply 46. Cindy Chretien "Omg was we singing this song wrong lol
we always sang Lil Sally Saucer sitting in the water cry Sally cry wipe off
your eyes ?? We sang the I was going to Kentucky I was going to a fair I met a
senorita with diamonds in here hair shake it shake it shake it shake it if u
can shake it like a milk shake and shake it once again turn to east turn to the
west turn to the one u like the best! And Ms Mary Mac Mac Mac all dressed in
black black black with silver buttons buttons buttons all down her back back
back with ask our mother for 50 cents to see the elephant elephant elephant
jump over the fence fence fence"
** Reply 47. Kimberly Alford Sitton "I was born in 65 , grew up in these
years with games etc. as girls we wore cool locks , like the lil girl in red ,
now called different , and shorts under your dress, but when returning home
from school , you were to put on play clothes , meaning you didn’t play any
games , in your school attire , and as a lil girl ,, you better act like a lil
young lady , around boys at school , or in the neighborhood , they kept their
eyes 👀 on us"
** Reply 48. Nora Keithley "PeaceLove Atman
Interesting question. Was this only in
the black communities? I grew up as a military child and most of my school
years, was overseas."
** 49. April Love "I’m from Cali,
We use to sing:
down down baby …down down… a roller coaster… sweet sweet
baby sweet sweet. ..Don’t let me go…shimmy Shimmy Coco pop shimmy,
shimmy…rise…Shimmy Shimmy Coco pop… I had a boyfriend ….a biscuit …he so sweet…
a biscuit …like a cherry tree… a biscuit…ice cream, soda pop cherry on top
…aweee BB awww Baby, I said it… I meant it… I’m cool ..smooth ?something…..
don’t remember the rest😆😆"
** Reply 50. Alieda Viruet "April Love I'm from Chicago
We used to don't a variation of this song like this:
Man and lady sittin' on a bench, trynna make a dollar out of
fifteen cent...
You missed, you missed, you missed like this
🤣😂😂Little
less innocent than your lyrics... though we didn't realize it as kids."
** Reply 51. Sherrea Jones "April Love We did also in Dallas Texas I'm sure I'm lot
older cause we sang and played these games in the 59s and 60s things started
changing more in late 70s"
** Reply 52. Michelle Waller "April Love This is another one we also sang. We used to sing
another version of little Sally Walker and another too."
** Reply 53. Cassandra Thomas "April Love must be a 70s or 80s baby because my children
sang that. 😅😅"
** Reply 54. Wendy Miller "April Love yup. I remember those playground rhymes. I lived
in Watts/Compton at the time."
** Reply 55. Barbara Miller "Lucille Shields you are ABSOLUTELY right. 1950’s. My
classmates and I played this game and many others in Mobile, Alabama. Sweet
Memories."
** Reply 56. Marjie Edwards "Lucille Shieds you are right. The 50s. Not the 70s."
** Reply 57. Rosalyn Sinkfield "Lucille Shields such good memories, when children were
children 😃💗"
** Reply 58. Anita Cloutier Bridge "Lucille Shields I agree. Kids played this way before the
70’s."
** Reply 59. Tommie Jean Thomas "Lucille Shields ABSOLUTELY! I'm 82 and we did "Little
Sally Walker" when I was 5.🙏❤️🎶💃🌹💋"
** Reply 60. Bunnie Gaines-Tabb "Lucille Shields these games were pre civil war! They are
African traditions which combine percussions, dance, calls and responses. They
had no toys..."
** Reply 61. Veronica Johnson "Lucille Shields .truth!"
** Reply 62. Keith Duncan "My Nana says she Remembers this
this is Priceless"
** 63. TenishiaNene Smith "Wow!! We enjoyed playing games like this even in the 90's.
But Man, looking at how short some of these little dresses
were. Somebody lied to us talking about when we were coming up you wouldn't see
girls with these little dresses yall wear now. Honey they couldn't even bend or
fall without everything showing lol" -snip- This comment refers to the 1975 film of children playing this singing game (ring game) that was embedded on that Facebook page.
** Reply 64. Benita P. Traphan "Takes me back to my childhood when I played with children in
my neighborhood. Those were the clothes we wore. Short little dresses were so
cute. What innocence! Today’s children don’t have the innocent fun we had fifty
years ago."
** 65. Nikki Berry " 'Little Sally Walker walking down the street...She didn't
know what to do so she stopped in front of me. She said, "Hey girl, shake
that thang, shake that thang, don't stop.' Repeat and everytime she stops.
The person she stops in front of does a dance and they switch places."
** Reply 66. Kawana MsKay Renee "Nikki Berry we use to say jumped in front of me.. and said
gone girl shake that thang stop.."
** Reply 67. Unique Buckley "Kawana MsKay Renee we said gone girl do yo thang do yo thang
in the 90s"
** Reply 68. Lisa Marie "Kawana MsKay Renee I’m from Detroit. That’s how we sang it!❤️"
** Reply 69. Ray Ray "Nikki Berry this is the one we sang in school in mid 2000's ❣️"
** Reply 70. Taneisha McIntosh "Nikki Berry yesssss I was looking for
this version, we were poppin it at the playground in 1998 lol"
** Reply 71. Kendra Thompson "Nikki Berry now this is the Sally Walker
I remember lol"
** Reply 72. Era Smith-Perry "Nikki Berry 💯except we said gone
girl shake that thang🤣"
** Reply 73. Terri Allen "Nikki Berry I guess we all had different
words.."
** Reply 74. Georgia Williams "Terri Allen I know right. I remember
something like. Little Sally Walker sitting in a saucer? Rise Sally rise and
wipe your weeping eyes etc..."
** Reply 75. Daniele Green "Nikki Berry my mama used to sing the one
they’re singing*. We used to sing the one you just wrote. Maybe it’s different
for every generation. I was born in 1988." -snip- This comment refers to the film that is embedded on that Facebook page. ** Reply 76. Artimease Jackson "Nikki Berry shake that thing Stop 🥰🤣"
** Reply 77. Treneice Okpaku "Nikki Berry this the one!!! 90s in
Kansas"
** Reply 78. Linnie Butler "Nikki Berry Right. Thats the later
version my nieces used to say. Except they would say "gon girl shake that
thang." I guess lil Sally grew up. 😄😄😄😄🥰"
** 79. Carliss Deniece "Coming up in the 70’s in Mississippi I remember
Lil Sally walker
Ring around the Rosie
Miss Mary Mac
I don’t wanna go to Mexico no more
It was one song when two people were facing each other and
you sing a song and using your hands to the song…I done forgot so many years
ago. Times were tough but we were happy."
** Reply 80. Kathy Newby "Carliss Deniece hello Queen I remember those also i lived in
a different state but we played the same games must be a cultural experience"
** Reply 81. Catherine Davis "Carliss Deniece Mrs Mary Mac mac mac all dress in black
black black with 24 buttons buttons buttons right down her back back back...lol"
** Reply 82. Jackie Smith "Carliss DenieceTake me out to the ballgame was one"
** Reply 83. Drama Mo "Carliss Deniece tweet-tweet-tweetalie"
** Reply 84. Erin Traynum Cameron "Carliss Deniece we did the Mexico one too in Ohio where I’m
from
I don’t wanna go to Mexico no more more more
There’s a big fat policeman at the door door door
If you grab him by the collar you SHOLE to make him holler
I don’t wanna go to Mexico no more more more
🥰🥰"
** Reply 85. Carliss Deniece "Erin Traynum Cameron That’s it 😂
we say catch him by the collar and make him pay a dollar 😂😂"
** Reply 86. Alieda Viruet "Erin Traynum Cameron in Chicago we said,
he grabbed me the collar, he made me pay a dollar🤣🤣😂"
** 87. Lucille Shields "1970's heck these ring games were back
in the 50's when I was a child at my elementary school, good memories."
This pancocojams post showcases the African American originated children's game "Green Green Rocky Road".
The content of this post is presented for cultural and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who were associated with creating this children's game. Thanks also to all the students from Lilly's Chapel School (Alabama, USA.) for performing this and a number of other ring games and play party songs. Thanks also to all those who helped collect and popularize this singing game.
****
ARTICLE EXCERPTS ABOUT THE CHILDREN'S SINGING GAME "GREEN GREEN ROCKY ROAD"
Excerpt #1: From https://www.elijahwald.com/songblog/green-rocky-road/ GREEN ROCKY ROAD (LEN CHANDLER, BOB KAUFMAN, ETC.) published MAY 27, 2016 by ELIJAH WALD
"One of the early songs Dave Van Ronk taught me, this was largely composed by Len Chandler, one of the most musically sophisticated writers on the Village folk scene. len chandlerChandler had been a classical oboe player in Akron, Ohio, and Dave recalled Variety referring to him as “musician turned folksinger.”
[...]
Both Dave and Chandler remember hearing the traditional version of “Green, Green Rocky Road” from the poet Bob Kaufman, who had learned it as a child in New Orleans. It was a popular African American children’s game song throughout the South, and there’s a nice version recorded by Harold Courlander in Alabama that was issued by Folkways in the early 1950s*. It’s in Dave’s recollection, Kaufman sang it for him and Chandler backstage at the Commons, the coffeehouse where Dave was doing most of his playing in the late 1950s, but Chandler recalls learning it from Kaufman over dinner in Chandler’s apartment.
In any case, Chandler came up with a new melody and wrote the verses, Dave learned it from him, and it became one of the most enduring and requested songs in Dave’s repertoire, as well as one of his fundamental Dave Van Ronk 10 copy guitar arrangements in dropped D tuning....
To finish off, here are Courlander’s notes on the children’s game:
Ring Game songs: “The children form a circle with the leader in the center. The group sings ‘Green, green’ and the leader answers, ‘Rocky road,’ skipping around the ring. As the chorus is sung the leader is deciding which person to choose. As he picks one, the group sings the first line of the verse, naming the child selected. The leader brings his choice to the center and kisses her...”
Hence, “Tell me who you love, tell me who you love.”
-snip-
I added italics to highlight this portion of this article excerpt.
Notice that, according to this description, boys play this game along with girls. Presumably, when the girl is the center person, she would pick a boy next to kiss.
Needless to say, because of several reasons, this game would have to be modified if it were introduced to children for play nowadays. Here are two reasons for this that immediately come to mind: 1. Boys rarely play non-competitive singing games with girls; 2. Children nowadays aren't encouraged to kiss any other child in public or in private and most children of certain ages probably wouldn't want to kiss anyone on their cheek and definitely not on their mouth because they consider doing so to be "yucky". (That said, although my six and 1/2 year old grand daughter went through a phase when she was late five years and early six years old when she looked forward to the kiss at the end of the pretend wedding ceremony when her "Barbie" and "Ken" dolls-those weren't the names she gave them- got married. Her favorite male Ken doll would frequently get married to a different "Barbie" doll-which I hastened to tell her wasn't the way marriage and divorce works in the real world."...
** *The YouTube example that is mentioned in that article is no longer available except for its title and publisher's name/date. However, that same sound file is given in the YouTube example showcased below.
** *Len Chandler and Bob Kaufman are African American. [Update: Thanks for Anonymous Oct. 4, 2022 for correcting the misinformation I had about Bob Kaufman's race.]
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Excerpt #2
From https://www.musicconnection.com/len-chandler-true-tales-gaslight/
“If it was never new, and it never gets old––it’s a folk song,” proclaims Oscar Isaac as the title character in the feature film Inside Llewyn Davis. For Len Chandler, these words are prophetic. “Green Green Rocky Road,” a song he co-wrote and registered for copyright over a half century ago, has two prominent placements in the film. Performed on camera by the lead character, it is also featured as the film’s end title, in a version recorded by the late Dave Van Ronk.
Chandler and poet Robert Kaufman penned it on the bones of a traditional folk song collected in Negro Songs From Alabama by Harold Courlander. Chandler remembers the collaboration like this. “Kaufman was at my $34 a month New York apartment on Stanton Street for dinner. I had already put the music together. Kaufman said, ‘Dooka dooka soda cracker/Does your momma chew tobacco?’ and I said, ‘If your momma chews tobacco/ Dooka dooka soda cracker.’ We were just playing.” In addition to Van Ronk, the song was covered by numerous artists including Judy Henske, Leroy Inman and Ira Rogers, and Chubby Checker."...
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/05/debunking-urban-myth-about-hooka-tooka.html for a related 2013 pancocojams post entitled "Debunking The Urban Myth About "Hooka Tooka Soda Cracka".
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SHOWCASE YOUTUBE EXAMPLE: Green Green Rocky Road
Lilly's Chapel School (Ala.) – Topic, May 30, 2015
Provided to YouTube by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Ring Games: Line Games and Play Party Songs of Alabama
℗ 2004 Smithsonian Folkways Recordings / 1953 Folkways Records
Released on: 1953-01-01
-snip-
In contrast to the play instructions that are included in the article excerpt which is given in italics above, in this sound file a leader sings the word "Green Green" and the group sings the words "rocky road".
Here's my transcription of this sound file. Additions and corrections are welcome.
Leader – Green Green
Group- Rocky road
Leader- Come a lady’s green
Group- Rocky Road
Leader -Tell me who you love
Group- Rocky road
Leader -Tell me who you love
Group- Rocky road
[One girl says her name. I think the girl in the recording says "Minnie Moore".}
{The entire group except for the person who said her name says - Dear Miss Minnie your name been called
Come and take a seat there by the wall
Give her a kiss and let her go
She’ll never sit in that chair no mo’
[The song begins again from the beginning, substituting the next girl's name.]
-snip-
I wonder if the third line "Come a [pronounced "ah"] lady's green" may have originally been "[Here] come's a lady in green". I also wonder if the color mentioned changed depending on what color dress (or other clothing) the girl wore.
By the way, I have a vague recollection of singing a brief segment of some African American girls singing this game on Sesame Street when that television series first started. I remember this segment because it was so unusual to see Black girls on television in and of itself, and especially playing singing games on television. With regard to the lyrics "Come a lady's green", I thought the girls were singing "come a lady's dream", but that doesn't make much sense in terms of the singing game.
