Examples Of The Children's Hand Clap Rhyme "I'm A Nut In A Hut", Part III

Jazz Johnson, April 7, 2014
-snip-
This video was made by a woman and her seven year old son, Jevon.

The mother and son perform a hand clap rhyme that they learned during their vacation in Michigan.

Both the mother and son are White. 

**** 
Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision- March 15, 2021

This is Part III of a three part pancocojams series on the song "I'm A Nut".

Part III of this pancocojams series presents examples of the hand clap rhyme "I'm A Nut In A Hut". This rhyme may also be chanted as "I'm A Nut In A Rut".   

This post also includes my editorial notes about those rhymes. 

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/03/two-sound-file-examples-of-childrens.html for Part I of this pancocojams post. That post showcases two YouTube examples of  "I'm A Nut". The first sound file that is embedded is a country music version of that song that was recorded in 1966 by (White American) singer Leroy Pullins.

The second sound file that is embedded in this post is an example of a children's (summer) camp song of "I'm A Nut".

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2021/03/documenting-dates-for-some-lyric.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. Part II provides selected comments about the song "I'm A Nut". Some of the comments in Part II include lyrics for versions of this song/rhyme (including the lyrics that Leroy Pullin sang in his 1966 record). In addition to sharing lyrics for these examples, I'm interested in sharing comments that indicate the decade or year that the commenter first heard this song.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric 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
Almost all of the content of this pancocojams blog focuses on African American culture, African cultures, or cultures from other people of the African Diaspora.

However, with regard to the song "I'm A Nut", I've found no information that directly or indirectly link the composition of early or later versions of that song to African Americans or to other Black people. 

Also, I've found no online comments by African Americans about the song "I'm A Little Hunk Of Tin" and I have no offline experience with this song being sung by African American children, teens, or adults. (I'm referrring here to my personal experiences, including the community programming that I did in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area from the late 1980s - 2007 in predominately Arican American schools and neighborhoods.) That said, I think it's probable that some African Americans know the song, "I'm A Nut" particularly from adult led school music classes and/or summer camps, Girl Scouts/Boy Scouts. 

However, I have found a number of examples of  the rhyme "I'm A Nut In A Hut" that were posted online by African Americans who remembered that rhyme from their childhood (from the 1980s on) as well as comments from African Americans who currently perform the "I'm A Nut In A Hut" hand game.  

Some pancocojams posts- such as this one- focus on children's recreational material (rhymes, cheers, chants, and singing games), without regard to the race or ethnicity of those who originally composed that material or without regard to who performed or performed that material.

That said, pancocojams' posts on children's recreational material often focus on versions of rhymes, cheers, and singing game that Black children compose/d, modifiy/ied, and/or perform'ed. The words and performance activities of those examples are sometimes different than the words and performance styles for the same titles of rhymes or other rhymes that are chanted by non-Black people.chanted by non-Black people.

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MY COMMENTS ABOUT THE I'M A NUT IN A HUT" RHYMES
I don't know when the rhyme "I'm a nut in a hut" was first chanted. However, it seems clear that this rhyme came from the song "I'm A Nut".  Here's a verse from Leroy Pullin's 1966 hit Country song "I'm A Nut":
"I'm a Nut, I'm a Nut,
My life don't ever get in a rut."

**
I found one comment online (given in Part II of this pancocojams series) that "I'm A Nut" was recited in 1940. In that case, the words to Pullin's song may not be the same as the original version of that song. (The original version of the "I'm  A Nut" song i s likely unknowable.) That said, a nut (acorn) being in a rut seems more likely than a nut (acorn) being in a hut. Furthermore, having a nut in a hut changes the meaning the word "nut" to that of a person who is "coo coo" (crazy).

"I'm A Nut In A Hut" rhymes follow a formulaic pattern in which the person declares that he or she does something socially unacceptable and then says "So what"? [meaning "Who cares?"]

Most of the examples of "I'm a nut in a hut " rhymes that I've come across online have four short lines:
"I'm a nut
In a hut 
I've [insert something wrong that you did]
So what". 

I believe that the "i showed my butt in Pizza Hut" versions of this rhyme are the most recently composed examples of that rhyme (that I have found as of this date-March 2021).  

**
With regard to the "I'm crazy" lines that are sometimes chanted in the rhyme "I'm A Nut In A Hut" or "I'm A Nut in A Rut", those lines could have also been folk processed from the "I'm A Nut" song. Here's a portion of Pullin's "I'm A Nut" song: 

 "And I ain't got the sense God gave a goose
Lord, I ain't crazy but, I'm a nut"

**
Please add to this collection of examples of "I'm A Nut in a Hut" and "I'm A Nut In A Rut" by sharing examples that you know in the comment section of this post.

For the folkloric record, please remember to add where (the geographical location) you learned the example and when (decade or year). It would be great if you also shared other demographic information such as race/ethnicity and gender, and whether you did any movement activity such as hand clapping when you recited that song/rhyme. Thanks in advance.

****
SELECTED EXAMPLES OF THESE RHYMES
These online sources are given in no particular order. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.  These comments aren't numbered on the pages that I retrieved them, or the numbering sequences are different. Italics are used for comments with dates.

Some of these examples consists only of a two line rhyming verse, with no information about whether any movements (such as hand clapping) was done while chanting that verse. 

Source #1 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x_8BbsSwJk&ab_channel=JazzJohnson
[This is my transcription of the  video that is embedded in this post. Additions and corrections are welcome.]

I’m a nut in a hut
I stole my mama’s lima beans
so what
I’m crazy
I’m coo coo wish
I’m crazy
I’m foolish
I’m crazy
I’m foolish
I’m coo coo coo.
-snip-
"Coo coo" is from the word "cuckoo". The slang meaning of "cuckoo" is "crazy"..

****
Source #2
http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/archive/index.php/t-31403.html Old School Chants

1. Afrochic,. 03-30-2003

I'm a nut

In a hut

I stole an apple off the tree so what

I'm crazy

I'm foolish

And Im cool 
-snip-
"Old school" is a usually positive informal African American referent for something or someone from the past.  

**
2. Optimistic1, 12/29/ 2000
Hand games

[...]

I'm a nut (I'm a nut [hand clapping]...in a hut [more handclapping]...I stole my mama's pantyhose so what...)

**
http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=4123&page=2 Old School Chants

3. ZChi4Life, 2-30-2000
Location: Washington, DC

Optimistic, I used to LOVE "I'm a nut"

I'm a nut

In a hut

(we used to say) I stole an apple off the tree

so what

I'm craaaaazy

I'm fooooolish

I'm crazy, I'm foolish, I'm crazy, I'm foolish

I'm cool!

**
http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=31403&page=3 
Old School Chants

4. Symphony08, 03-26-2003
Location: Illinois

Smile Taking me back

You all are really going there with these.  Here are some I remember:

I'm a Nut (hand game)

I'm a nut
In a hut
I stole my mama's pantyhose so what

I'm craaaaazy
I'm foooolish

I'm a nut
In a hut
I stole an apple from a tree so what

I'm craaaaazy
I'm foooolish
I'm crazy, I'm foolish, I'm crazy, I'm foolish

That's me!
-snip-
This discussion thread is made up of young African American women who are members of historically Black Greek letter sororities.

Based on their comments, my guess is that these women remember these rhymes from the early to mid 1980s.

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Source #3
https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/remember-old-school-hand-games.122468/page-2 Remember Old school Hand Games???

1. Miss_M, March 8, 2008
"Yea, I'm a nut in a hut i stold my mama panty hose so what. LOL"

**
2. Daniel-San, March 8. 2008
":dead: There was another version then! I knew it as, "I stole an apple from a tree. So what." Omg"
-snip-
WARNING: A small amount of profanity is found in this discussion thread.
-snip-
"Dead" here means that the comment/example made the person "die laughing" (laugh a lot). 

****
Source #4
http://whisper.sh/whisper/0518fbc1bd885283509079216afbb6016c1528/Im-a-nutIn-a-hutI-stole-an-apple-from-a-tree-so-whatIm-a-n

"I'm a nut
in a hut
I stole an apple from a tree
So what...
I'm a nut"

****
Source #5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-NKrzvqz_I&t=2s&ab_channel=Geneas
90’s hand games (part 2)
Geneas, March 28, 2020
-snip-
Geneas and Atiyah are two young African American women from Newark, New Jersey. The women demonstrate how to play various hand clapping games. For most of the video they are seated. This is my transcription of the handclap game that begins around 6:31 in the video.

1. ... I showed my butt at Pizza Hut
So what?
what ya gonna do-
Kiss my butt?
I'm craaaaazy (Each women twirls two fingers around both ears, i.e. the "crazy" gesture)
You know I'm crazy.
I'm foooolish (twirls hands (Each woman twirls hands a little bit lower down)
Take a freeze. (Each women strikes a pose) 
-snip-
Atiyah say that they can't remember the beginning of this rhyme and Geneas says "But I know y'all played this. They asks people watching this video to share the rhyme in the video's discussion thread and a number of people responded with the version of "I'm a nut in a hut" that they remember. rhymes given below are only a small sample of these rhymes that were shared in that video's discussion thread. 

I interprete the unsmiling, lean back pose that both women made at the end of this rhyme as a confident look that signifies that the women know that they look good and are "in charge".

"Butt" = "behind", "backside", "booty" etc.
However, "show my butt" doesn't necessarily mean what it says. 

A colloquial African American meaning for "I showed my butt" is "I acted a fool" ("I acted up.") 
"Kiss my butt" does indeed mean "behind", although a person saying this doesn't really mean what he or she is saying. Instead, "kiss my butt" is a clear statement of  the speaker's contempt for whoever is addressed. Another way of saying this is "Go to hell."

**
2. Adrienne Merritt. 2020
"We used to say.... Im a nut, in a hut, I showed my butt at Pizza Hut so what...." 

**
Reply
Official Carla Lorraine, 2021
"Yes, the way the song started they couldn't remember was like that, "I'm a nut, in a a hut." "

**
3. Valentina M, 2020
"Omg these are taking me back!! 😭😭😭The one you call “I show my butt” I think we called it “So What” 🧐"

** 
4. Ms. Hill, 2020
"I'm a nut... In a hut... I show my butt at pizza hut so what... I'm craaaaaazy.... I'm fooooooolish.... Hey man I'm cool 😎 I'ma fool...  I'ma fool.. I'ma fool la la.... I'ma fool, I'ma fool, I'ma fool la la, I'ma fool, I'ma fool, I'ma fool la la... so freeze!"

**
5. Life Of A Gemini, 2020
"I'm a nut in a hut,I showed my butt in pizza hut so what,I'm craaaazy,I'm foooolish,I'm crazy I'm foolish I'm ooh lala I'm crazy I'm foolish I'm ooh lala so freeze😂😂😂I remember it perfectly"

**
6, 舞Bluemoon-漫, 2020
"Aminah in a hut I stole an apple from a tree so what?"
-snip-
"Aminah" is an Arabic female name that is somewhat familar to Americans (and I think mostly African Americans). The use of "Aminah" in this rhyme is probably an example of  "folk processing" ("folk etymology") when a word or phrase is used in a song or rhyme because of misremembering or mishearing or because that word or phrase isn't known to that person,) 

****
Source #6 [added March 7, 2021]
https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/hood-cheers.43158/ "Hood Cheers"

[WARNING- Some of the comments or rhymes in that discussion include profanity.]

1. GODDESS!, 8-18-2006 

almond nut...in a hut

i stole my momma's pantyhose, so what?

i'm crrraaazzzyyyyyyyyy

i'm foooooooooooolish

im supa dupa, supa dupa, supa dupa, cool cool cool"
-snip-
"Almond" is an example of folk processing (mishearing, or misremembering a word or phrase of a song or rhyme, or substituting a familiar word or phrase for an unfamiliar word or phrase.

One of the commenters wrote that these examples were from the early 1980s. The contributors to that discussion thread were all African Americans (based on the screen photographs of some of the contributors selected, based on the forum itself which was and is still predominately or completely frequented by African Americans, and based on the thread title "Hood Cheers", with "hood" meaning "the African American neighborhood"). 

**
2. Cocaine, 8-18-2006

"Our version was:

I'm a nut......in a hut.....
I stole a apple from the treeeee, so what?
I'm craaaaaaaazy
I'm foooooooooolish,
And I'm cool, you the fool!"

****
Source #7:  http://forum.blackhairmedia.com/lil-girls-hand-games_topic128043_page6.html Lil Girls…Hand Games! [added March 15, 2021]

I'm a nut

In a hut

I stole an apple from a tree

So what

Whatcha gonna do?

Kick my butt?

I'm craaaaazy

You got that right

I'm fooooolish

You got that right

I'm super duper

I'm super duper

I'm super duper OG baby

truequeen06  (California), Apr 25 2008 
-snip-
"OG" = "Original Gangsta" 

****
This concludes Part III of this pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

 

"Double This Double That" Hand Clap Rhymes (Examples Of & Instructions)

Kidspot, May 23, 2013

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Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Revision- January 22, 2022 (title change) 

This pancocojams post presents some examples of the children's hand clap game "Double This Double That" (also known as "Boom Boom Tap Tap", and other names).

Different instructions for playing "Double This Double That" (or other names for this hand clap game) are also included in this post.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos and all those who are quoted in this post.

****

SHOWCASE VIDEO #2

Naish, April 1, 2015

DOUBLE DOUBLE THIS THAT - HAND CLAPPING GAMES | Ti&Naish Hey friends, we do an old school hand game for two people.

DOUBLE DOUBLE THIS THAT LYRICS:

Double Double This This
Double Double That That
Double This Double That
Double Double This That

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TEXT (WORD ONLY) EXAMPLES OF THIS RHYME AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR PLAYING THIS GAME 
These examples are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only. 

1. DOUBLE DOUBLE CLAPPING GAME
[video #1 given above  This is just one way of doing the motions for this game. The instructions given as #2 (and the way this game is played in video #2) are actually the only way that I've seen this game played.]

" Clapping games are a great way to improve motor skills and language development.  Double double is a fun quick clapping game you can teach your kids.

Double (front) double (front)
This (back) this (back)
Double (front) double (front)
That (fist) that (fist)
Double (front) this (back)
Double (front) that (fist)
Double (front) double (front)
This (back) that (fist)

Hints and tips:

Front = two players clap their palms together.

Back = two players clap the backs of their hands together.

Fist = two players bump fists together."
-Kidspot, May 23, 2013

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2. DOUBLE DOUBLE THIS

Double double this this
Double double that that
Double this
Double that
Double this that.

-African American girls, ages 7-10 years; Fort Pitt Elementary School (Pittsburgh, PA). collected by Azizi Powell, 2003 
snip-

Editor's notes:
This is a two person hand clap game. Usually, the two people playing this game stand facing each other, but the two people can play this game seated facing each other.

The most important part of the handclap rhyme is maintaining the correct sequence of hand clap exchanges. The chant helps children do this because you can remember which hand motion goes with which word.

The motion for the word "double" - hit the sides of your partner's fists with the sides of your fists

The motion for the word "this" - hit the palm of your partner's hands with your palm of your hands (clap your partner's hands)

The motion for the word "that" - hit the back of your partner's hands with the back of your hands 

Each time "Double Double This" is chanted, it goes faster. Those who perform the wrong motion, or don't perform fast enough are out. The person who is the last one remaining is the winner, although a winner may not be announced.
-posted on pancocojams' sister blog  https://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/10/test_28.html "(C, D) Hand Clap & Jump Rope Rhymes Examples"
-snip-
These motions are the same as the ones that are performed in the embedded video given as #2 in this post. 

This is the only way I've observed "Double This Double That" being performed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  I don't remember this game from my childhood & teen years in the 1950s and 1960s in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Please share in the comment section below how you play "Double This Double That" and also share what you call this hand clap game. Remember to include demographics (where you play/ed this game, ages, gender, and years (decade/s) you play/ed it). Thanks in advance!  

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3. DOUBLE THIS DOUBLE THAT

Double double this this,

Double double that that,

Double this, double that,

Double double this that.

Variations:

Kids use almost any words they can think of…

Double double ice ice,

Double double cream cream.

Double ice, double cream,

Double double ice cream.

Instructions:

Face each other. Hold your hands up

As you’re saying the rhyme, turn your hands back and forth.

Whenever you say “double,” both hands are facing towards you.

Whenever you say “this,” and “that,” your palms are facing away from you.

Do it fast – it’s not as easy to do as it sounds! :)"…
- http://funclapping.com/song-list/double-this-double-that/ retrieved October 3, 2020

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4. Bubble Bubble Ice Ice 
"it's  bubble  bubble  ice ice bubble  bubble  cream cream bubble  ice bubble  cream bubble  bubble  ice cream   h oooooo oooooo yes😃😃😃😃😃☺😊😀😁😂😃😄😆😅😇😈😉😯😐😑😕😠😬😡😢😴😮😣😤😥😦😧😨😰😩😟😱😲😳😵😶😷😞😒😍😛😜😝😋😗😙😘😶😎😭😌😖😔😪😏😓😫"

-fun with andrea cute adventures, 2016,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0KMFSj-FrQ&t=23s&ab_channel=Camillecoggburn

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5. Boom Boom Tap Tap
Boom Boom
Tap Tap
Boom Boom 
Tap Tap
Boom Tap
Boom Tap
Boom Tap
Boom Boom
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zEcsIfe6lU&t=23s&ab_channel=Geneas 

90’s hands games !!!!!, November 4, 2018 [begins around 2:22 of that video]
-snip-
This is my transcription of that rhyme from that video. Corrections are welcome.

Each time the chant and its accompanying motions are repeated it goes faster and faster.

This video is Part I of a series of two hand clap rhyme videos that were published by these young women. Part II can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-NKrzvqz_I&ab_channel=Geneas .

In response to a question in this discussion thread and in Part II of that series, these women are from Newark, New Jersey.   

Here are three comments about this rhyme from the discussion thread for Part I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zEcsIfe6lU&t=23s&ab_channel=Geneas 

(with numbers added for referencing purposes only)
1. Jada's Bff, 2020

"I was born in 2000's and the boom boom/tap tap was "double double this this""

**
REPLY
2. Essie Bray, 2020
"Double double this this??? We call it double double ice ice double double cream cream where I’m from"

**
REPLY
3. Jada's Bff, 2020
"@Essie Bray yeah we had that version too"

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams. 

Examples Of The Children's Rhyme "Flea Fly Flow" (also known a "Cuma La Vista" or similar sounding words)

  Edited by Azizi Powell Latest revision - April 15,2023

This pancocojams post showcases several video and text examples of the children's rhyme "Flea Fly Flow" (also known as "Cumala Vista" or some similar sounding words.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners. Thanks to all those who are featured in this record and thanks to the producers of this record. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post. -snip- Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/01/flea-fly-flow-cumala-vista-rhyme-songs.html for the 2013 pancocojams post entitled "The Flea Fly Flow" ("Cumala Vista") Rhyme & Songs That Helped It Grow

That 2013 post presents information about and a YouTube sound file of one song that I believe helped influence the development of the playground rhyme "Flea Fly Flow" ("Cumala Vista").  That video is entitled Desi Arnaz - "El Cumbanchero" (1946),

Two other YouTube sound files showcased in that post document the development of that rhyme in the 1960s and 1970s. Those sound files are Chubby Checker - "Cu Ma La Be Stay" (1960s), and Marsha Hunt - "Oh, no! Not the Beast Day!" (1973).

That 2013 pancocjoams post includes some of the word only examples of "Cuma La Vista" that are also included in this post.

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SHOWCASE YOUTUBE VIDEOS/SOUNDFILES OF THE CHILDREN'S RHYME "FLEA FLY FLOW" (also known as "CUMALA VISTA" or similar words)

(These examples are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only

1.  Sissy in de Barn; Bamalam a Cummala

Various Artists - Topic. Nov 19, 2017 
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/09/1978-sound-file-of-new-york-city.html for the transcription for the children's song that is performed in the beginning of this record. 

The "Bamalam a Cummala" rhyme begins at 1:10.

Here's my transcription of that rhyme:

Bamalam a cummala
Cummala a beef steak
Bamalam a cummala
Cummala a beef steak

Oh no no no no
a beef steakOh no no no no

a beef steak

beef steak
beef steak
beef steak
beef steak

Bamalam a cummala
Cummala a ice cream
Bamalam a cummala
Cummala a ice cream

Oh no no no no
a ice cream
Oh no no no no
a ice cream

ice cream
ice cream
ice cream
Ice cream

[Follow the same pattern each time with one of these things you eat or drink or with any other item that the group has agreed on beforehand]

pizza
oranges
soda
peaches
gum
grain [?]

****
2.  "Kuma La Vista" with the kids of Sola Fe"

amandastacyhill, Mar 28, 2010

****
3. Camp Songs | Fi Fi Fo



Mountain Camp Woodside, Aug 5, 2014

"Fi, Fi, Fi Fi Fo.

Comola.

Vista.

Comola, Comola, Comola, Vista,

Woahohoh na nana vista.

enie menie, decimeenie, you are an ernie meeinie.

Scatland doon doon, rarara."

****
4. Mama Lama

Various Artists - Topic, May 30, 2015

Provided to YouTube by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Mama Lama · John's Island children

John's Island, South Carolina: Its People and Songs

℗ 2004 Smithsonian Folkways Recordings / 1973 Folkways Records

Released on: 1973-01-01

****

WORD ONLY EXAMPLES OF FLEA FLY FLOW 

These examples are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only. 

1. FLEA FLY FLO 

...Used to sing it as a brownie and guide. the rhythm is done by slapping your thighs then clapping your hands.

 

FLEA

(All lines are done by the leader then echoed)

 

Flea

Flea fly

Flea fly flo

vista

 

Cumala, cumala, cumala vista

Oh no no no no da vista

Eeney meaney decimeaney ooh wala wala meaney ex a meaney sal a meaney ooh wala wa

Beat biddley oten doten bobo da beeten doten Shhhhht.

 

Then you do it FAST!!!

-alison, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=8951  RE: meaning - musha ring dumma do dumma da, February 1, 1999

-snip-
"Brownies and guides" are Girl Scouts levels . Notice that this example includes lines from the huge "Eeny Meanie" playground rhyme family.

****
2. FLEA FLY FLO
My version is the same as Alison's until the first line that ends with vista (but I learned vistey not vista).

FLEA

 

Each line is echoed back to the leader.

 

Flea (Flea) Flea fly (Flea fly) Flea fly flo (Flea fly flo) Vistey (Vistey)

 

Cumala, cumala, cumala vistey

 

Oh no no no not the vistey

 

Vistey ( and then it really changes!)

 

Eeney meney dis a leenee, ooh ahh ahh meleenee Otchicotchee oochirachee, ooh ahh ooh. Ish bibili oaten doten, why not in doten toten, bo bo ski doten toten hey don areema!

 

This was always a camp song that was lots of fun because you got faster each time until everyone just collapsed in laughter. I've heard other versions but this is the only one I've ever been able to learn.

-karen k, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=8951  RE: meaning - musha ring dumma do dumma da, February 1, 1999

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3.  FLEA FLY FLEW 

flea (flea)

fly (fly)

flea fly flew (ditto)

coomalata coomalata coomalata beestay

no no no no not the beestay

 

and ended in a sort of scat-rhythm: eee-biddlety-oaten-doaten-wahbat-skee-watten-tatten-SHHHHHHHHHHHHH !!!!

-Bonnie S.; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=47148 RE: eena meena mackeracka (children's rhymes);7/1/2006

 

****

4, 5, 6 -  FLEA 

In this song, the song leader sings (says) a line and the audience repeats the line. Keep the beat by alternately slapping thighs and clapping hands:

 

Flea!

Flea Fly!

Flea Fly Mosquito!

Oh no no no no Mosquito!

Get that big bad bug with the bug spray!

PSSSSSSSSSSH (spray can sound)

 

Repeat three or more times, each time a little faster.

 

Another Version:

 

Flea!

Flea Fly!

Flea Fly Flo!

Eenie, meenie, decimeenie, oo wall a wall a meenie!

Ex a meenie, zoll a meenie, oo wall a wall!

Beep billy ott in dotten oh bo ba beaten dotten shh!

 

Flea!

Flea fly!

Flea fly flow!

Kumalata kumalata kumalata veeslay!

Oh, no no no, not the veeslay.

Ich a mini, satch a mini, oo walla walla mini.

Des a mini, satch a mini, oo walla wall.

A beat billy oaten bobin obo a boatin bobin obo a boatin bobin boatin bobin boatin bobin boatin bobin sssshhh...

 

Fleas (audience repeats)

Fleas Flies (audience repeats)

Fleas Flies Mosquitos (audience repeats)

Calimine, calimine, calimine lotion

Oh no, no more calimine lotion

Itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, itty bitty

Nasty bitey mosquito -- SQUASH (squash is yelled at top of lungs)

 

Flea!

 

Flea Fly!

Flea Fly Flo!

Vista

Coo-ma-la, Coo-ma-la, Coo-ma-la Vista

Oh no-no, no, not the vista

Eenie, meenie, decimeenie, oo walla walla meenie!

Ex a meenie, zoll a meenie, oo walla wall!

Beep billy ott in dotten oh bo ba beaten dotten shh!

- Susan Best, Ev Holm, Cathy Porter, http://www.macscouter.com/songs/Repeat.asp [retrieved 1/27/2013]

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7. FLEE FLY FLO
Flee

Flee fly

Flee fly flo

Vista

Coomalah, coomalah, coomalah vista

Oh no no no, not the vista

Eeny meeny decimeeny, oo-ah loo-ah lameeny

Eximeeny zalimeeny oo-ah loo-ah

Ah beat belly oh bo bo do ba dee-bah

Shhhhhhh!
-snip-
https://www.mamalisa.com/?p=3225&t=es

The editor of this website wrote that "Flea Fly Flo is an echo song. Every line the leader says is echoed by the group (or 2nd person)." That website includes another examples of this rhyme.

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Visitor comments are welcome.

"The Crazy Song" - A Mid 1950 Cheerleader Song That May Be A Precursor To African American Originated Stepping Chants, Foot Stomping Cheers, And Stomp & Shake Cheers

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision: Nov. 19, 2021

This pancocojams post showcases two 2015 videos of Crispus Attacks High School (Indianapolis, Indiana) cheerleaders from 1955-1956 singing a rendition of that school's cheerleader song entitled "The Crazy Song". I believe the song's performance by cheerleaders and its lyrics are precursors to African American originated fraternity sorority stepping chants, foot stomping cheers, and stomp & shake cheers.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the composer of this song and thanks to the women who are featured in this video. Thanks also to the publisher of this video on YouTube.

Hat tip to Dan Robinson, the publisher of this 2016 Crispus Attucks cheerleading video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SpqF9kj7-4 for alerting me to "The Crazy Song" video.

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Example #1: Crispus Attucks Crazy Song



19nine, Published on Feb 25, 2015

Butler University honored the 1955 and 1956 Crispus Attucks basketball teams at Hinkle Fieldhouse on February 25, 2015. Their cheerleaders celebrated by singing the Crazy Song once again.
-snip-
Another slightly shorter YouTube video of this same rendition of "The Crazy Song" can be found on YouTube.

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Example #2: Attucks Crazy Song



Anthony Beverly, Published on Jan 31, 2015
-snip-
This January 2015 video of Attucks High School (Indianapolis, Indiana) cheerleaders singing "The Crazy Song" shows some younger cheerleaders dressed in uniforms are shown singing this song at a program (and not an actual athletic game) in an auditorium/gym. The cheerleaders sing while standing in place, shaking their hips a little bit, moving from one foot to another, and waving their arms to the song's beat.

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SONG LYRICS: THE CRAZY SONG
One woman- Stop
All others- Stop
One woman- Look
All others- Look
All – and take it slow
They can beat everybody
But they can’t beat us.

Hi-de hi-de hi-de-hi
Hi-di hi-di hi-de ho-o
Boh skip bop beat-um
That’s the crazy song.

We’re gonna pull them boys
Right over the line
But they never did mind
They were so far behind
Hi-de hi-de hi-de-hi
Hi-di hi-di hi-de ho-o
Boh skip bop beat-um
That’s the crazy song.
That’s the crazy song!
-snip-
Transcription by Azizi Powell. (Please correct any mistakes that I made in this transcription. Thanks!)

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COMMENT EXCHANGE ABOUT THE "CRAZY SONG"
As indicated above, I learned about Crispus Attucks High School cheerleader's "The Crazy Song" from Dana Robinson, the publisher of a 2016 stomp & shake video of the Indianapolis, Indiana Criptus Attucks High School cheerleaders. Dana Robinson wrote that these cheerleaders sung "TheCrazy Song" in the 1950s and that song was like the Stomp & Shake cheerleaders. We exchanged some comments and I finally understood that he meant the insult/bragging lyrics to the song were like Stomp & Shake cheerleading and not the movements that the cheerleaders did.

Here are some comments that we exchanged in 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SpqF9kj7-4&ab_channel=DanaRobinson 

You know we got it. If you want it, come and get it!, posted by Dana Robinson, Jan 24, 2016
Azizi Powell, July 6, 2016

"Dana, the Facebook comments* about the Attucks cheerleaders were very interesting. I'm assuming from those comments that this stomp & shake style of cheerleading isn't common in Indianapolis.

Some commenters mentioned that this style is common in the South (I'm assuming that those commenters meant among a number of African American cheerleading squads in parts of the south. -Note One person on that Facebook thread from Miami wrote that this is the way cheerleaders cheer in that city. But I've read comments from people in Texas who were unfamiliar with this cheerleading style.) ....

* https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155193197523914&id=347221378913

**
Here's Dana Robinson's reply to that comment:
Dana Robinson, July 6, 2017
"Azizi Powell This style of cheerleading isn't very common in the USA. The Attucks cheerleaders from even the 1950's did some cheers like this. Look up "The Crazy Song" on YouTube. I think there is an interview of some of those cheerleaders singing it. The song was written by one of the students from Attucks back then.
As you mentioned, only the southeastern states mention cheering in this manner. It may stem from sorority /fraternity stepping but, it being that there is a history dating back to the 1950's of some form of this, I don't know. However, looking at some of the African styles of dance, I think it may have come out of those."

**
Here's Dana Robinson's reply to my comment that the movements for "The Crazy Song" aren't like Stomp & Shake cheerleading chants:
Dana Robinson, 2016
"Azizi Powell no school from the 1950's would allow the movements of stomp and shake cheering that goes on today. But the bragging and insulting were definitely a part of what went on then."


***
Pancocojams Editor's Notes:
The type of song:
Crispus Attucks High School's mid 1950s cheerleading song entitled "The Crazy Song" and the way that it is sung remind me more than anything of the singing traditions of historically White (University based) Greek letter fraternities and sororities*. Those singing traditions also influenced the past and present day singing customs of historically Black (university based) Greek letter fraternities and sororities.

Note: One widely known example of a PWI* (predominately White Institutions) fraternity song is "The Sweetheart Of Sigma Chi". Like BGLOs (Black Greek Letter Organizations), PWI have self-bragging and competitor organizations' insult chants. However, I'm not that familiar with the history of PWI songs/chants and therefore I don't know whether their songs also included/include competitor organization insults, and if so how long that content has been included in PWI songs.

*"PWI" (predominately White institutions) is an acronym that I've often seen online for historically White Greek letter fraternities and sororities, particularly in online discussions among members of historically BGLOs (Black Greek letter organizations)

The singing style
From the two different videos* that I watched of Attucks High School cheerleaders singing "The Crazy Song" it appears that the cheerleaders sung/sing that song while standing in place, clapping their own hands in accompaniment, and moving side to side or from one foot to another to the song's rhythm/beat. This singing style- and particularly the swaying back and forth while accompanying the singing with individual hand claps-is the same way that I recall seeing PWI fraternities and sororities sing their songs in the "quad" during their "Sing Outs" at the predominately White college that I attended in the mid 1960s. That said, one difference between the PWI fraternity and sorority "sings" that I recall and the second "The Crazy Song" video in which the cheerleaders sing at an actual game is that the cheerleaders appear to sometimes move their hips to the beat of that song, and moving one's hips wasn't something that PWI sororities (let alone fraternities) did. Also, moving one's hips was -and largely still is- considered anathema to many proponents of mainstream cheerleading.

It should also be noted that historically Black [university based] fraternity and sorority chanting and stepping evolved from those groups' singing while standing in place and also (perhaps later in the evolution of this performance art) while marching around the university campus.

*My guess is that the January 2015 video of the Attucks High School cheerleaders singing "The Crazy Song" during a program may have been done as a tribute to that school's 1950s cheerleaders and not a usual part of the contemporary cheer repertoire of that high school. The cheerleaders who were shown appeared to be standing relatively in place and (it seems mostly unsuccessfully) directing or encouraging people in attendance at the game to sing and/or clap along with them.

While an Attucks cheerleader in that second video at auditorium/gym program is shown moving from one foot to another to the beat of that "Crazy Song", that movement isn't the synchronized, metronome-like percussive, bass sounding stomps that characterized foot stomping cheers, not to mention that this movement activity isn't done in a group as is the case with foot stomping cheers.

**
With regard to the subject of stomp & shake cheerleading, I agree with Dana Robinson that stomp & shake cheerleading movement performances were/are greatly influenced by BGLO stepping, and other African American/African/Caribbean dramatic elements such as pattin juba (rhythmically alternating hand clapping with knee or chest patting), and leaning forward in an aggressive stance toward your opponents. But I think the words of many stomp & shake cheers were/are more directly influenced by girls' self-bragging and opponent insulting foot stomping cheers. Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/05/an-overview-of-foot-stomping-cheers.html for a pancocojams post on foot stomping cheers.

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THOUGHTS ABOUT "THE CRAZY SONG"'S LYRICS
The Attucks High School (Indianapolis, Indiana) mid 1950s cheerleader song entitled "The Crazy Song" and most stomp & shake cheerleader cheers have different focuses. The cheerleaders singing "The Crazy Song" mildly* brag about their basketball sports team by mildly* putting down (insulting, dissing) the opponent's team. Also, unlike stomp & shake cheerleader cheers (and foot stomping cheers, and historically Black Greek letter organization stepping chants), even the title of "The Crazy Song" mildly self-deprecates the cheerleaders who are singing it (and/or their athletic team players).

In contrast, in many stomp & shake cheerleading cheers, the focus isn't on the athletic game being played or on the cheerleader's athletic team or their opponent's athletic team. Instead, in many stomp & shake cheers the focus is on the cheerleading squad and/or their opponent's cheerleading squad.

Furthermore, although the cheerleaders sing this song, they use the "voice" of the basketball (or football?) players: i.e. "We’re gonna pull them boys/Right over the line".

*These brags and insults are "mild" given in comparison with later self-bragging and insulting songs, chants, and cheers. Yet the very fact that this song includes self-brags and opponent insults distinguishes it from many mainstream cheerleader cheers of the 1950s, and aligns it closer to the African American originated chants and cheers that I've mentioned.

To clarify, I believe that stomp & shake cheerleading appears to have begun (in Virginia and North Carolina) in the early to mid 1970s or the early 1980s as the latest beginning date.

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Note also that the "hi di hi" chorus in this song is a form of scatting. The "hi di hi" vocalizations were popularized by Cab Calloway's 1934/1935 "Hi di Hi" song. Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-kJqM7he9o for a vintage film clip of that now classic Cab Calloway "hi Di Hi" song.

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THOUGHTS ABOUT 'THE CRAZY SONGS" STRUCTURE & TEMPO
I believe the video starts with one woman saying the word "Stop" and then everyone else saying the word "stop" and the same woman saying the word "look" and everyone else saying "look". If that's correct, then that brief call & response pattern may be significant in that a lot of contemporary cheers (including a lot of stomp & shake cheers) begin with a captain or lead caller starting the cheer and then the entire squad chanting and performing the cheers.

The song has a moderate tempo which isn't very percussive (using today's criteria). The women clap own hands to the beat and maintain that same beat throughout the entire song. This is similar to the metronome-like way that girls doing foot stomping cheers alternate (individual) hand claps with their own foot stomps. However, in this mid 1950s cheerleading song, the woman stay standing in place and sway back and forth while singing this song and there don’t appear to be any foot stomps.

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Any additional information and comments about this cheerleader song or cheerleader songs like it would be greatly appreciated.

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Two Early 20th Century Examples Of The Singing Game "There Stands A Blue Bird"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post presents two early twentieth century examples of the American singing game "There Stands A Blue Bird". The first featured example is from 1927 (with another title) and the second featured example is from 1936.

Addendum #1 showcases a video entitled Zora Neal Hurston's 1928 fieldwork. A portion of that video shows Black children in the 1930s playing a ring game with one child in the middle. "Here Stands A Blue Bird" has that performance structure.

Addendum #2 provides provides play instructions for "There Stands A Bluebird" that are given on an internet site. I also share my memories of playing "Here Stands A Bluebird" (from Atlantic City, New Jersey in the mid 1950s) and also share how groups of children in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and some surrounding communities who learned "Here Stands A Bluebird" from me added a little bit to that singing game's play instructions.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Dr. Frank C. Brown and to Zora Neil Hurston and Alan Lomax for collecting this folkloric material. Thanks to all those who were featured in these embedded YouTube examples. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and all those who published this sound file and video on YouTube.
-snip-
"Here Stands A Blue Bird" isn't the same singing game as "Blue Bird, Blue Bird Through My Window". Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/11/bluebird-bluebird-through-my-window.html for a pancocojams post on the latter singing game.

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FEATURED EXAMPLES
These examples are given in chronological order with the oldest dated example given first.

EXAMPLE #1
This example is listed under the title "What's the Lady's Motion?", [example #] 87 on page 124
From https://archive.org/stream/frankcbrowncolle03fran/frankcbrowncolle03fran_djvu.txt The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore; the folklore of North Carolina, collected by Dr. Frank C. Brown during the years 1912 to 1943, in collaboration with the North Carolina Folklore Society

DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

[...]

Genera! Editor
NEWMAN IVKY WHITE

"This game song appears to have been reported hitherto only from Virginia (JAFL xxxiv 119). 'Monkey Motions' (TNFS 133) is something like it but not the same song.

'Skip o'er the Mountain.' Reported in 1927 by Julian P. Boyd from the singing of Catherine Bennett, one of his pupils in the school at Alliance, Pamlico county. The first line and the refrain are repeated with each stanza.

Skip o'er the mountain,
Tra-la-la-la-la,

Skip o'er the mountain,

Tra-la-la-la-la.

Ski[p] o'er the mountain,

Tra-la-la-la-la,

Oh, she loves sugar and cheese 1

2 What's the lady's motion?

Oh, she loves sugar and cheese!

3 It's a very lovely motion.

Oh, she loves sugar and cheese!

4 Yonder goes a red-[b]ird.

Oh. she loves sugar and cheese!"
-snip-
One instance of "skip o'er [over] the mountain is given as "Ski])"
"red-bird" was given as "red-hird", which is clearly a typo.
I'm not sure what the citation number "1" is in reference to.

No racial inforamtion is given for Catherine Bennett or the school of Alliance in Pamlico county (North Carolina). Note that all the schools during that time would have been segregated by race (i.e. White, non-White).

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EXAMPLE #2: Zora Neale Hurston - There Stands a Bluebird



WallakAt Thursday, November 3, 2016

"Bluebird Bluebird Through My Window" (lyrics & playing instructions)
Rec. 12-1936

There stands a bluebird, tra la la la
There stands a bluebird, tra la la la
Gimme sugar, coffee and tea.

Now trip around the ocean, tra la la la
Now trip around the ocean, tra la la la
Now trip around the ocean, tra la la la
Gimme sugar, coffee and tea.

Now show me a motion, tra la la la
Now show me a motion, tra la la la
Now show me a motion, tra la la la
Gimme sugar, coffee and tea.

Now choose your partner, tra la la la
Choose your partner, tra la la la
Choose your partner, tra la la la
Gimme sugar, coffee and tea.

(Pic: Zora Neale Hurston with three boys in Eatonville Florida, 1935. Hurston interviewed children and had them demonstrate their games as Alan Lomax documented the action)

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ADDENDUM #1: Zora Neale Hurston Fieldwork 1928



Andrew Rasmussen, Published on Aug 11, 2013

I do not claim anything original from this video.

The film was shot by Hurston in 1928 and I got it from here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqWH5b

The audio is Hurston herself, as recorded in the mid 1930's.
-snip-

The segment of this showcased film clip that shows children playing a ring game (with a boy in the middle dancing) is from 3:24 to 4:50 in that YouTube video.

I'm not sure which ring game the Black girls and boys are playing in this particular film clip. However, it's almost certainly an example of a "show me your motion" ring game (i.e. a circle game in which people take turns going into the center of the ring and performing a dance or some other movement/s).

The sound that is heard during that segment is Zora Neale Hurston singing the African American song "Mule On The Mount" and not the children singing the ring game.*

*Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/03/african-american-folk-song-mule-on.html for the related pancocojams post "African American Folk Song "Mule On The Mount" (information, lyrics, & sound files)"

Here's my description of that ring game as shown in that film:
"Girls and boys forming the ring (circle) hold hands with person at either side and skip counterclockwise at a fast pace around a boy who is standing in the middle of the circle.

When the boy begins to dance, the children stop moving around the circle. They drop hands and begin to clap their hands. It doesn't appear that the children are singing throughout this dance performance or even at any time during that dance performance. The film captures glimpses of the children forming the ring stamping their left foot (and some children moving both of their knees and feet) while they watch the boy dancing in the center of the ring.

The boy is doing fast foot work that is accompanied by a flip into a half split several times during his dance performance. (I wonder if this half-split is a precursor to the voguing dance move that is called a "death drop"). I'd label the type of dancing he's doing as "buck dancing" and/or "a jig", but I'll leave a more detailed description of this dance to those who can name it and describe it better than me.
-snip-
Here's one of very few comments from that YouTube video's discussion thread:
Andre Wilson, 2014
"Fantastic! Very important footage that documents the real lives of African Americans. I particularly love the footage of the children's game. Zora documents games in "Mules and Men" and included the lyrics and description of the game "There Stands a Blue Bird" which is probably what this film footage represents."
-snip-
Unless it is noted in that Hurston's 1928 Children's Game film clip, I don't think that there's any definitive way of knowing which game song the children are playing. However, "There Stands A Blue Bird is played this way.
-snip-
Note: I featured this film segment on this pancocojams post: https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/03/heres-fantastic-find-1928-film-clip-of.html. That post includes information about Zora Neale Hurston. This description of the ring (circle) game is also found on that post.

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ADDENDUM #2
Part #1
From http://www.culturalequity.org/rc/ce_rc_lessons_bluebird.php
..."Directions to Playing "There Stands a Bluebird"

1. Children stands in a circle; one child is chosen to be the "bluebird" in the center.

2. On verse 2, the "bluebird" skips around the circle, going through windows (arches) at will.

3. On verse 3, the "bluebird" returns to the center of the circle and improvises a motion or movement to the beat, which the rest of the circle imitates.

4. On verse 4, the "bluebird" flies around the circle and chooses a partner to take her place before the song ends."
-snip-
This site also includes the same words for "There Stands A Blue Bird" that are given in Example #2 above.

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Part #2
I found Zora Neale Hurston's YouTube sound file of "There Stands A Bluebird" while searching for YouTube examples of children playing the ring game (circle game). This was the only sound file of this song that I've found to date. Other YouTube videos were of the singing game "Bluebird Bluebird Through My Window".

I played "Here Stands A Bluebird" in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the 1950s. Note the the word we used was "Here stands" and not There stands" a bluebird".

The song that I remember singing has the same tune as the song in Zora Neale Hurston's sound file, but I don't recall speeding up the tempo for the "let me see your motion" part of the game as Zora Neale Hurston appeared to do in this sound file. Here are the words that I remember singing for "Here Stands A Blue Bird":

Here stands a bluebird, tra la la la
Here stands a bluebird, tra la la la
Here stands a blue bird, tra la la la
Oh, she loves sugar and tea.

Let me see your motion, tra la la la
Let me see your motion, tra la la la
Let me see your motion, tra la la la
Oh, she likes sugar and tea.

Oh, who do you choose, tra la la la
Who do you choose, tra la la la
Who do you choose, tra la la la
Oh, she likes sugar and tea.
-snip-

The way that we played this game is described above, except for #4. Instead of purposely picking the next person to take her" place, while the rest of the group sung "Who do you choose?", the middle person stood in the center of the circle, closed her eyes, put her left hand over her eyes, extended her right arm and pointed her right hand while turning around in that spot. The middle person stopped turning on the word "tea" and the person she was pointing to took her place in the middle of the circle.

Around 2002-2005, I taught "Here Stands A Blue Bird" singing game to children who participated in my Alafia Children's Ensemble game song groups (after school groups that met for 1 1/2 hours once a week at two sites in mostly African American neighborhoods in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. I also taught this singing game to some children who attended various special programming activities that I performed at (also, in mostly African American neighborhoods in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area.

The first Alafia after-school group in Braddock, Pennsylvania was composed almost entirely of girls between the ages of 5- 12 years. In addition, there were usually about two boys under the age of 9 in attendance. The second Alafia after-school group was only attended by girls who were ages 5-0 years old (as per the school principal's directive. The special programming events were usually sponsored by elementary school age community groups attended by girls and boys ages 5-12 years.

It appeared that none of the children who attended any of these groups/events knew "Here Stands A Blue Bird".

The only addition we made to the performance activity was that when we sang "She likes sugar and tea", we mimicked eating a cube of sugar and drinking a cup of tea.

*It's been my experience that most children consider non-competitive singing circle games to be for "little kids". For preschoolers and kindergarten girls and boys the most popular circle game by far is "Ring Around The Rosey". Children over six who I've worked with in the USA tend not to play non-competitive circle games on their own. If there are exceptions, for instance a game such as "Going To Kentucky", those games are usually considered the province of girls. However, in my experience, elementary school age boys (5-12 years old) wouldn't initiate play, but would join with girls who initiated such competitive circle games as "Stella Ella Ola" (also known as "Slap Billyola" and other names), and "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" (the hand slapping game and not the partner hand clapping game, since hand clap games usually are considered "girls' things".

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