The African American Children's Game Song "Old Egg Bread" ("Did You Go To The Hen House?") Which Refers To Going To A Lynching (information & lyrics)

The78Prof, May 1, 2019

This not-so-typical Kyser disc got lost among the also-rans as the band rode high throughout 1942 with one major best-seller after another.  Among them were Who Wouldn't Love You, Jingle Jangle Jingle, Strip Polka, He Wears A Pair Of Silver Wings, and Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition.

78rpm Columbia 36615 - Egg-A-Bread (MacGimsey) by Kay Kyser & His Orchestra, vocals by Julie Conway & Sully Mason, recorded May 4, 1942 .
-snip-
The record label indicates that this song is performed as a "Fox Trot".

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents a definition of the term "egg bread" and presents information about and lyrics for the African American children's singing game "Old Egg Bread". That ring game* was collected in 1917 in the state of Georgia. Another name for that singing game is "Did You Go To The Hen House?"

*"ring game" = circle game 

This post also showcases a YouTube sound file of 1942 adaptation of that singing game by Kay Kyser's (White American) Jazz band. The lyrics for that adaptation-without the verse about going to a lynching and some other verses- are included in this pancocojams post. Those lyrics are attributed to (White American) Country Western singer Tex Ritter who recorded that song in 1948.

My Editorial note about this African American children's game song is also included in this post. That editorial note includes a YouTube song file of the very similar African American children's singing game "Did You Feed My Cow?" 

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the unknown composer of the game song "Old Egg Bread" and thanks to Loraine Darby who collected this singing game and several other singing games in 1917 from Black children in Southern Georgia (USA).

Thanks to all those who are featured in this YouTube sound file and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of this video on YouTube.

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WHAT IS "EGG BREAD"?
From https://recipesformen.com/eggy-bread/#:~:text=Eggy%20bread%2C%20otherwise%20known%20as,can%20be%20savoury%20or%20sweet. "What is Eggy Bread?
...."Eggy bread, otherwise known as French toast, is what it says it is – bread soaked in egg and toasted in a skillet or pan. There are several ways to eat this simple food, which can be savoury or sweet.”… 

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LYRICS FOR THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN'S SONG "OLD EGG BREAD"
From https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/534340.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A13239d3004a560ee6cd2078fffa8650b&ab_segments=&origin=
Ring-Games from Georgia
Author(s): Loraine Darby
Source: The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 30, No. 116 (Apr. - Jun., 1917), pp. 218-221
Published by: American Folklore Society

"[page] 218 

I saw in Southern Georgia a number of ring games that I believe are peculiar to colored children of that region.

{...]

A game which is most amusing to watch is "Good Old Egg Bread".  The leader shouts one line, and the others answer with the next.

 The rhythm is very strong, and they stamp their feet most energetically as they circle.

 Did you go to the hen-house?
 Yes, ma'am!
 Did you get any eggs?
 Yes, ma'am!
 Did you put 'em in the bread?
 Yes, ma'am!
 Did you stir it 'roun'?
 Yes, ma'am!
 Did you bake it brown?
 Yes, ma'am!
 Did you hand it 'roun'?
 Yes, ma'am!

[page] 219

Good old egg-bread,
Shake 'em, shake 'em!
Good old egg-bread,
Shake 'em, shake 'em!

Did you go to the lynchin'?
Yes, ma'am!
Did they lynch that man?
Yes, ma'am!
Did the man cry?
Yes, ma'am!
How did he cry?
Baa, baa!
How did he cry?
Baa, baa!

Did you go to the wedding?
Yes, ma'am!
Did you get any wine?
Yes, ma'am!
Did you get any cake?
Yes, ma'am!
How did it taste?
So good!
How did it taste?
So good!

Good old egg-bread,
Shake 'em, shake 'em!
Good old egg-bread,
Shake 'em, shake 'em!

Bow, Mr. Blackbird, bow, Mr. Crow.
Bow, Mr. Blackbird, bow no mo'!"
-snip-
The collector of this singing game wrote that it was collected in "Southern Georgia". The lyrics and play instructions for several other African American singing games that were collected at that same time are included in that online excerpt. 

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LYRICS FOR WHITE AMERICAN ADAPTATIONS OF "OLD EGG BREAD"
From https://flowlez.com/en/songs/egg-a-bread-1789158/
"Egg-a-Bread
Album: Pecos Bill / Egg-A-Bread
Artist: Tex Ritter
Genres: Western, American Folk, Country, Spoken Word, Folk, Children's Music
Language: English
Year: 1948
Song lyrics Tex Ritter - Egg-a-Bread

Little girl little girl
Yes Sir
Did you go downtown?
Yes Sir
And did you look around
Yes Sir
Did you go on your legs, did you get some eggs?
Yes Sir, aha

Good old egg-a-bread, shake it shake it
Good old egg-a-bread, shake it down
Good old egg-a-bread, bake it bake it
Good old egg-a-bread, just bake it brown

Little girl little girl
Yes Sir
Did stay 'bout an hour
Yes Sir
And did you get some flour
Yes Sir
Did you put it in the bread and you show you did
Oh Yes Sir, aha
We'll have that

Good old egg-a-bread, shake it shake it
Good old egg-a-bread, shake it down
Good old egg-a-bread, bake it bake it
Good old egg-a-bread, just bake it brown

Little boy little boy
Yes Ma'am
Did you go downtown?
Yes Ma'am
Did you look around
Hm' hmm
Did you meet a little girl?
I sure did
Was her name called Curls?
Sure it was
Did you go for a walk?
Hm' hmm
Did you have a little talk?
Yes Ma'am
Did she get candy and fool her mammy?
Yes Ma'am don't tell
Yes Ma'am don't tell

Shake it bake it
Bake it brown
Make it bake it"

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES ABOUT THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN'S SINGING GAME 'OLD EGG BREAD" 

The African American children's singing game "Old Egg Bread" (also known as "Did You Go To The Hen House?") has the same textual structure as the African American children's singing game "Did You Feed My Cow?". Both singing games probably have the same tune and tempo. Here's a sound file of Did You Feed My Cow" that is led by Ella Jenkins:



Ella Jenkins, May 21, 2015

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Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjXJ1Q_VpfY for another YouTube example of this song that is led by and popularized by (African American) folklorist/singer Ella Jenkins. 

**
The earliest documented example of "Old Egg Bread" appears to be from 1917 (Loraine Darby, "Ring-Games from Georgia", The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 30, No. 116, 1917)

The earliest documented example of "Did You Feed My Cow" appears to be from 1922 (Thomas W. Talley, Negro Folk Rhymes: Wise And Otherwise)

**
I believe that one purpose of early 20th century African American children's singing games was to prepare those children for living in an oppressive world. For example, I believe that the African American children's song "Johnny Cuckoo" helped Black children develop and reinforce their self-esteem with the group's line "You look too black and dirty" and the soloist's reply "I'm just as good as you are".  Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/08/two-examples-of-african-american_5.html "Two Examples Of The African American Children's Singing Game "Johnny Cuckoo" (By Bessie Jones & By Joan Baez)".

Similarly, the verse in "Old Egg Bread" that refers to going to a lynching was purposely added to that singing game to harden African American children and reinforce the fact that (for them, in that time) lynching was a fact of life for Black people. Particularly in the American South, lynching was a danger that Black people must be alert to. In addition, I believe the inclusion of lyrics about lynching in that song was meant to teach those Black children that if lynching happened to someone they knew, they must work through their emotions and go on with life as best they could.

Notice that the song "Did You Feed My Cow?" includes a reference to the cow dying and buzzards coming to feed off of the dead cow. That's just one example of death being featured in African American children's songs. That said, death is also featured in a number of children's game songs that originated among White people.  
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"All Around The Kitchen" (African American Originated Children's Singing Game: information & examples)

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision (title) - March 31, 2023

This pancocojams post showcases three YouTube examples of the African American originated children's singing game "All Around The Kitchen".

Three comments from the discussion thread for one of these YouTube example are included in this post. The lyrics for one version of this singing game is also included in this post.

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

This is part of an ongoing pancocojams series that showcases children's recreational singing games where children don't touch each other.

[Added April 6, 2020] After the Covid-19 pandemic-when elementary schools are in session again, school music instructors and other adults are encouraged to still practice some social distancing safety rules. For instance, music instructors might teach follow the leader type singing games like "All Around The Kitchen". Teachers can also have more than one circle with students standing further apart when they present singing games where students don't hold hands, or hit or slap each other's hands, or otherwise touch another person.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos and who are quoted in this post.
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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/04/examples-of-put-your-hand-on-your-hip.html for a 2020 pancocojams post entitled "Examples Of "Put Your Hand On Your Hip & Let Your Right Foot (or "Your Backbone) Slip" In African American Singing Games And In R&B Songs". Most of the content of that post is a reprint of a 2012 pancocojams post.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THIS SINGING GAME
From https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=104001&threadid=104001

Subject: RE: Folklore: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle
From: GUEST,Bob Coltman
Date: 14 Aug 07 - 08:54 AM

Hi all ... here's a little background for the song as far as I know it.

"All Around In the Kitchen" was its title when this ring game song was recorded in [1934]* by John A. and Ruby T. Lomax in the countryside near York, Alabama. I believe that is its first appearance, I don't know of any earlier version.

Ruth Crawford Seeger published it in American Folk Songs for Children in 1948, and it got into a lot of school music curriculums because that book was widely circulated among educators. She dropped the word "In" from the title for whatever reason.

Pete Seeger recorded it in the early 1950s on a Folkways album for children, also as "All Around the Kitchen." This gave it even more circulation. That's where I learned it. Hooray for LP records. :)

Bob
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*Guest, Bob Coltman gave the date "1940" in his comment. However, http://www.stephengriffith.com/folksongindex/all-around-the-kitchen/ includes a photograph of the Lomax's documentation with the date "1934" clearly seen.

That www.stephengriffith.com/folksongindex also includes this information:
"All Around the Kitchen
TITLE: All Around the Kitchen
AUTHOR: unknown
CATEGORY: traditional, public domain
KEYWORDS: kitchen, children
EARLIEST DATE: Recorded in 1934 by John A. and Ruby T. Lomax in the countryside near York, Alabama.

Ruth Crawford Seeger, in her [links broken] American Folksongs For Children [links broken] says, “Older children may like to play the game as it was played in Alabama. The children form a circle around a center child and “march or skip” while singing. Then they stand still while the singer in the center “makes a motion,” as her ingenuity dictates. She may kneel, prance, bow, dance a jig, or otherwise cavort. Sometimes the player chooses the motion and the others must follow her example, must “do it like this.”

OTHER TITLES AND VARIATIONS:

Around the Kitchen
Cocky Doodle Doodle Doo"
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Notice that "traditional" is given for this singing game. That is the citation that is usually given for this singing game (and for other African American singing games/children's rhymes). However, using the descriptor "traditional" doesn't answer the question "traditional to whom?" Since this singing game is part of African American culture, I prefer to use that citation.

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Example #1: Dan Zanes-"All Around the Kitchen"



Kwbsystems, Oct 12, 2006
From the concert/video DVD entitled, All Around the Kitchen! on Festival Five Records.”…

Here are some comments from this discussion thread (with numbers added for referencing purposes only)
1. Dianna Kennish, 2010
"OMG!!!! I remember singing this song in like 1st grade or kindergarten in music class lol. the teacher would have us walk in a circle making chicken wings while we sang this lol."

**
2. H. Bomb, 2012
"That moment when u realize that the song from 100 years ago WAS real, and not your imagination...."

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3. Tarah Sawyer, 2019
People are all saying they heard this song on a Netflix series for the first time....my brother and I have had this song in and out of our memory for at least 30 years....our elementary music teacher use to song it with us. Lolol we though he made it up.....lol
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The comments that Tarah Sawyer referred to was the adult mini-series entitled "Unbelievable.... If I'm not mistaken, in episode #5, the woman recalls this singing game from her childhood and sings it while she's driving her car.

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Example #2: All around the Kitchen



Cathy Benedict, Sep 28, 2014

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Example #3: All Around the Kitchen



Pete Seeger – Topic, May 21, 2015

Provided to YouTube by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

All Around the Kitchen · Pete Seeger

American Folk, Game and Activity Songs

℗ 2000 Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Released on: 2000-01-25
-snip-
Here's the lyrics to this version of "All Around The Kitchen" from https://genius.com/Pete-seeger-all-around-the-kitchen-lyrics

"All around the kitchen! cocka-doodle-doodle doo
All around the kitchen! cocka-doodle-doodle doo

Now stop right still cocka-doodle-doodle doo
And put your hands on your hips cocka-doodle-doodle doo

And let your right foot slip cocka-doodle-doodle doo (repeat
chorus)
Now stop right still cocka-doodle-doodle doo
And put your hand on your head cocka-doodle-doodle doo
And put your other one on your toe cocka-doodle-doodle doo (repeat chorus)
Now stop right still cocka-doodle-doodle doo
And put your hand on your knee cocka-doodle-doodle doo
And wave your other hand high cocka-doodle-doodle doo (repeat chorus)
Now stop right still cocka-doodle-doodle doo
And put your hands on your belly cocka-doodle-doodle doo

And jump up and down cocka-doodle-doodle doo (repeat chorus)
Now stop right still cocka-doodle-doodle doo
And put your hands over your eyes cocka-doodle-doodle doo

And turn all around cocka-doodle-doodle doo (repeat chorus)
Now stop right still cocka-doodle-doodle doo
And put your hands on your shoulders cocka-doodle-doodle doo

And put your foot up in the air cocka-doodle-doodle doo (repeat chorus)"

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Pizza Pizza Daddy-O (African American Children's Singing Game Lyrics, Videos, & Performance Directions)

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Revision - April 8, 2022

This pancocojams post presents text (word only) examples and YouTube videos of the African American children's singing game "Pizza Pizza Daddy O.

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

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All copyrights remain with their owners.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
-snip-
Some of the content of this post was originally published on pancocojams in 2012 [2020 reprint link given below] and in this post on pancocojams' sister blog "cocojams2" in 2014: https://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/11/african-american-singing-games-movement_8.html "African American Singing Games & Movement Rhymes (M-Z)"

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S COMMENT
It's ironical that this American singing game is being taught in some schools in the United States and elsewhere while the R&B record "Annie Had A Baby" by Hank Ballard and The Midnighters, which is the undisputed source of this rhyme was banned from radio stations in the United States because of it sexually suggested lyrics. In spite of being banned from radios, "Annie Had A Baby", was a #1 R&B hit song in 1954.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/04/pancocojams-reprint-annie-had-baby-r-1_2.html for the pancocojams post entitled: Pancocojams Reprint: "Annie Had A Baby", The R&B #1 Record That Is The Source Of Playground Rhyme "Pizza Pizza Daddy O". Most of the content of that post was originally published on pancocojams in 2012. The only two comments from the discussion thread of that post (excluding my thank you response) pertain to the rhyme Pizza Pizza Daddy O" and are quoted in the Addendum to this 2020 post.

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Example #1: Pizza Pizza Daddy-O



John Melville Bishop, Dec 13, 2009

From the DVD- The Films of Bess Lomax Hawes available from http://www.media-generation.com [Los Angeles African American girls, 1967]
-snip-
From http://www.folkstreams.net/context,201 [This link is no longer viable.]

Notes and Transcription of the Singing Games

The singing games in this film are transcribed with introductory notes by Bess Lomax Hawes.

References: Hawes and Jones, "Pizza Pizza Mighty Moe"
..."PIZZA PIZZA DADDY-0
This was by all odds the current favorite during my period of visits to the playground; during the morning's filming, the children played Pizza Pizza four times to every once for the other games. I have seen it in other Los Angeles schools and it has been reported as a "new" game sweeping through Georgia and South Carolina. During the first run-through on the film, the "new" child is leading in the center of the circle; since she is unfamiliar with the repertoire in general, another player standing in the ring begins to call out the steps. The first line of the song varies with the name of the child in the central position; the last eight lines refer to popular social dance steps."
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Another clip of this film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2YodFqZ7nQ
That clip's summary statement indicates that "Pizza Pizza Daddy-O" is "A 1967 film by Bob Eberlein and Bess Lomax Hawes that looks at continuity and change in girls' playground games at a Los Angeles school".
"The Jerk" and "Twine" are names of 1960s R&B dances.

That video is an even shorter segment of "Pizza Pizza Daddy-O" [1967 film], but also includes clips of the girls doing other singing games.
-snip-
Notice that the lyrics of the Midnighters' song "Annie Had A Baby" include the action words "walk", "talk", "sing", and "cling". It wasn't difficult for some creative person or persons to change those verbs to dance or movement words. There's no telling why the refrain "Pizza pizza Daddy O" was used for this rhyme. But those words certainly add a nice rhythmic effect.

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Example #2: Robertson Pizza Pizza Daddy O.MP4



LincolnMusic185 | June 04, 2010

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Example #3: Pizza Pizza Daddy-O MUE 3210



Cathy Benedict, Sep 21, 2014

Game song - (dedicated to Rita Klinger)
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This video shows how university music education students learn "Pizza Pizza Daddy-o" as part of their repertoire of songs that they might teach elementary school age children in their school music classes.

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Example #4: Pizza, Pizza, Daddy-O



PRIS Music, Sep 23, 2014

The PRIS K-2 combined class sing an arrangement of the 1960s playground game song, "Pizza, Pizza Daddy-O".

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Example #5: 07 Amateur Evening 2015 - Pizza Pizza Daddy-O




Moscow Swing Dance Society, Jun 21, 2015

Amateur Evening at Moscow Swing Dance Society
Moscow, 20-06-2015
-snip-
I added this comment on this video's YouTube discussion thread:
"Although it's five years late, I wrote this comment on this video's discussion thread in case any of the women in that group still check out that video: As an African American community folklorist, I'm impressed not only with the fact that this African American singing game is known in Moscow, but also with how well the women performed it. I'm particularly impressed with the women's stepping skills, but perhaps the fact that they are members of a "Swing Dance" society means they know how to keep the rhythm and move. (As I'm sure you know) like this singing game, "swing" (Jazz) dancing came from African Americans.

Good job, ladies! I added this to a post on my cultural blog [link added]
-snip-
I should have mentioned that I thought this group did a good job with a dance/movement (stepping) that isn't part of their own culture because they not only "kept the beat" (stayed in rhythm), but they also sometimes added their own personal styles to the performance of those steps- something African Americans call "adding your own flavor to the mix". This is the opposite of performing synchronized dance routines in a robotic manner with everyone always doing the exact same thing.

The preference for doing the same thing your own way is found in circle games when the entire group "mimics" the motion of the person in the middle. And it can also be found in the different ways that African American church choirs clap single time when they sing uptempo Gospel songs. Furthermore, sometimes when African American church choirs (and those churches' congregations) clap single time, some people might chose to clap double time (clap two times on the beat).

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TEXT (WORD ONLY) VERSIONS
(Given in chronological order)

Version #1: PIZZA PIZZA DADDY O
Mary had a baby (Tanya, Sherry, etc.)
Pizza Pizza daddy-O
How you know it?
Pizza Pizza daddy-O
Cause she told me
Pizza Pizza daddy-O
What's his name
Pizza Pizza daddy-O
Jessie James
Pizza Pizza daddy-O
What's special?
Pizza Pizza daddy-O
Toilet tissue
Pizza Pizza daddy-O
Let's jerk it
Pizza Pizza daddy-O
Let's swim it
Pizza Pizza daddy-O
Let's skate it,
Pizza Pizza daddy-O
Let's freak it,
Pizza Pizza daddy-O
Let's twine it
Pizza Pizza daddy-O
Let's bat it
Pizza Pizza daddy-O
Let's fan it
Pizza Pizza daddy-O
Let's spin it
Pizza Pizza daddy-O.
-from http://www.folkstreams.net/context,201 DVD - "The Films of Bess Lomax Hawes" by Bob Eberein and Bess Lomax Hawes

Editor: The actions that are indicated in this movement rhyme are done with accompanying motions. For instance, "Let's skate it" means to act like you are skating, "Let's bat it" means to act like you are swinging a baseball bat", "Let's fan it" meaning "act like you are waving a fan", "Let's swim it" means to act like you are swiming, and "Let's spin it" means to spin your body around. "Twine", "jerk", and "freak" are specific dance moves which later became the names of specific R&B dances.

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Version #2: PIZZA PIZZA MIGHTY MOE
Evalina?
Pizza, Pizza, Mighty Moe,
Well, have you seen her?
Pizza, Pizza, Mighty Moe,
She's got a wooden leg
Pizza, Pizza, Mighty Moe,
But can she use it?
Pizza, Pizza, Mighty Moe,
Oh, yes, she can use it.
Pizza, Pizza, Mighty Moe,
Well, do she 'buse it?
I know she use it.
Well, can she ball it?
Pizza, Pizza, Mighty Moe,
I say ball it!
-Bessie Jones and Bess Lomax Hawes, Step It Down... (originally published in 1972), p. 63
-snip-
Here's an excerpt from that book's comments about "Pizza Pizza Mighty Moe":
They [Bessie Jones and other people from the Georgia Sea Islands who were the contributors to this book saw] "a remarkable play [performance of the rhyme] presented by the children of Brunswick, Georgia elementary school a few years ago....apparently "Pizza" has caught on among the Island children as well as Los Angeles...."
-snip-
I believe that "Pizza Pizza Mighty Moe" is about a girl (whose name is Moe ?) who can really dance (in spite of her wooden leg.) The line "Well, do she 'buse it?" means "Can she really dance well" [To "abuse" something in this sense is a compliment.]. The line "Well, can she ball it? and "I say ball it!", "ball" means to dance really fast and/or "dance really good". That meaning comes from the phrase "balling the jack".

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Version #3: PIZZA PIZZA DADDY-O
(Jimmy) is having a birthday party.
Pizza, pizza, daddy-O!
How do you know?
Pizza, pizza, daddy-O!
Cause I saw it!
Pizza, Pizza, daddy-O!
Let’s jump it!
Jump it, Jump it daddy-O!
Let’s shake it!
Shake it, shake it, daddy-O!
Let’s hop it!
Hop it, hop it, daddy-O!
Let’s twist it!
Twist it, twist it daddy-O!
Let’s monkey it!
Monkey it, monkey it, daddy-O!
Let’s boogie it!
Boogie it, boogie it, daddy-O!
-Linda Gross and Marian E. Barnes, Talk That Talk, (New York, 1989; Simon & Schuster, pp. 444-445, from the Philadelphia (PA) School at 25th and Lombard in South Philadelphia).
-snip-
This singing game appears to provide an excuse for the girls to show off their dancing ability. While the commands "let's jump it!", "let's shake it", and "let's boogie it" refer to dancing movements, "the twist" and "the monkey" are actual names of R&B dances.

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Version #4 - PIZZA PIZZA DADDY O
Annie has a boyfriend. [Participants stand in circle without holding hands]
Pizza Pizza Daddy-o [On the words "Pizza Pizza Daddy-O:, participants do a "scissors jump"-jump crossing their feet in front.]
How you know it?
Pizza Pizza Daddy-O
Cause she told me.
Pizza Pizza Daddy-O
Let's swim it [make swimming motions]
Pizza Pizza Daddy-O
Let's rope it [Imitate twirling a rope above their head]
Pizza Pizza Daddy-O
Let's duck it. [hold their nose and duck down like they are jumping underwater]
Pizza Pizza Daddy-O
Let's end it. [turn around in a circle with their arms raised over their head]
Pizza Pizza Daddy-O
-African American girls & boys (ages 8 & 9 years, collected by Azizi Powell in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2010)

I observed children performing this movement song at a pizza party in their classroom on their last day of school (2010). The same words (with slightly different motions) were sung by students in another elementary school classroom also in the USA (That video is re-posted above). The fact that students from different schools performed the same version of "Pizza Pizza Daddy-O" implies that some standard version of that movement song is being circulated among elementary school music teachers who then teach that version to their students. Unfortunately, what appears to have been lost in this process is the notion that the words to this song - and the words to other playground rhymes/movement songs - aren't fixed but can be updated and otherwise changed.

Instead of the words "Anne Had A Baby", some examples of "Pizza Pizza Daddy O" 'clean up' those lyrics by saying "Anne (or some other female name) Had A Boyfriend". I've collected a version of this song with the title & beginning words "Pizza Pizza Mighty Moe" (from Bessie Jones' & Bess Lomax Hawes' 1972 book Step It Down [Version #2 above]. The "mighty moe" words probably are a result of folk processing, when words are misheard or mis-remembered or similarly sounding words are substituted for unfamiliar words. I have also found other versions of "Pizza Pizza Daddy O" that 'clean up' the original "suggestive" lyrics by starting with the words "Jimmy" (or some other male or female name) Had A Party". And there's a YouTube video that shows university music education students singing "[girl's name or boy's name in the middle of the circle] has a friend. [Read example #4 below].

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Version #5: PIZZA PIZZA DADDY O
[girl's name or boy's name] has a friend
Pizza Pizza Daddy O
How do you know?
Pizza Pizza Daddy O
'Cause she [or he] told me so
Pizza Pizza Daddy O
[person in the middle comes up with a movement]
Pizza Pizza Daddy O [The group imitates this same movement]
[person in the middle comes up with another movement]
Pizza Pizza Daddy O [The group imitates this same movement]
[person in the middle says] Let's end it [That person closes her or his eyes, puts her (or his) hand over their eyes and spins around while putting to the others in the circle. The person who is pointed to becomes the new middle person, and the game immediately begins from the beginning
-Cathy Benedict, Sep 21, 2014
-snip-
This is the transcription for the video that is given as #3 above.

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Version #6: PIZZA PIZZA DADDIO 
The version at my school was "annie has a boyfriend (Pizza pizza daddio) how do you know it? (Pizza pizza daddio) cause she told me (Pizza pizza daddio) let's rope it (rope it rope it daddio) let's swim it swim it swim it daddio) let's twist it (twist it twist it daddio) let's end it (end it end it daddio!)
-basil the frog, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2YodFqZ7nQ , Pizza Pizza Daddy-O, published by folkstreamer, August 3, 2006

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ADDENDUM - COMMENTS ABOUT THIS SINGING GAME BEING TAUGHT IN AMERICAN (USA) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MUSIC CLASSES
Anonymous, October 14, 2013 at 4:07 PM
"Great article- I think the missing piece is that the KOLDAY early music education method takes American folk songs and uses them intentionally to teach certain rhythm and pitch skills- Pizza Pizza is one of the songs taught in this method. This might be where elementary educators get it..."

**
Reply
Anonymous, October 14, 2013 at 4:13 PM
"I should have said that Kolday collects folk songs of many cultures

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

My Transcript Of The YouTube Vlog "Let's Discuss: Black Girl Childhood Hand Games and Sing Songs"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a three part pancocojams series that showcases the vlog [video blog] entitled "Let's Discuss: Black Girl Childhood Hand Games and Sing Songs" which was published on YouTube in 2014 by Ebony Janice Peace.

Part I showcases this vlog and presents my (unofficial) transcription of that video.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/03/black-girls-rhyme-examples-selected.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. Part II presents every comment from the discussion thread of the 2014 vlog "Let's Discuss: Black Girl Childhood Hand Games and Sing Songs" that include examples of children's hand game rhymes. This post also includes some other comments from that video's discussion thread.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/03/a-black-womans-comments-about-2014-vlog.html for Part III of this pancocojams series. Part III presents my response to some points that were made in the 2014 vlog "Let's Discuss: Black Girl Childhood Hand Games and Sing Songs".

The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural, folkloric purposes, and educational purposes.

This transcript is also given for those who are deaf or have some difficulty hearing.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to EbonyJanice Peace and thanks to all others who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor's Note: This transcription doesn't mean that I agree with everything that EbonyJanice Peace said in her 2014 video log (vlog) that is found in this post. My comments about that vlog will be published ASAP.

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SHOWCASE VLOG: Let's Discuss: Black Girl Childhood Hand Games and Sing Songs



EbonyJanice Peace, Aug 4, 2014

Years ago I read Joan Morgan's "When Chicken Heads Come Home to Roost" and this was a conversation inspired by that book.

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MY UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTION OF THE VLOG "LET'S DISCUSS: BLACK GIRL CHILDHOOD HAND GAMES AND SING SONGS"
Comments given in italics within brackets either provide information about this vlog or describe what the vlogger said or what she gestured. Additions and corrections are welcome.

Note: This video begins in the middle of a sentence.

..."book called When Chickens Came Home To Roost by Joan Morgan. It had to have been a good ten years ago, maybe longer. And I can't remember everything that it was about. But I remember after reading it having a conversation with a girlfriend of mine about Black girl hand games- how I thought that it was incredible that Black girls in Chicago, Black girls in Virginia, and Black girls in Ohio, and Black girls in California all had learned these same songs/hand games/rhymes. How did that happen? Who was transporting these messages from Virginia to California? Miss Mary Mack for example. Who taught girls in Virginia, little Black girls in Idaho Miss Mary Mack? And on top of that, 'cause I know that "Miss Mary Mack" isn't necessarily a Black girl hand game, but the way that Black girls but their own spin on it, I mean, who taught us that? And I don't even feel like this was what When Chickens Came Home To Roost was about, but it just made me think of that. It made me think about the conversation that are, are just in our DNA or something? How do we just know these things?

Years later, I was mentoring these little girls in these projects* in Decatur, Georgia. And one day-we were just out having free time-and so they started playing hand games which I thought was really dope because I'm like "Look, hand games life on. They're just gonna be here forever." And they start doing, you know, some of the older ones that we know like

Down, down baby
down down the rollercoaster
Sweet sweet baby
Sweet sweet don't let me go
shimmy shimmy cocopa
Shimmy shimmy pow
Shimmy shimmy cocopa
Shimmy shimmy breakdown

And they started doing those. They started doing "Miss Mary Mack" and then they do

My mama hot and fine
She got ah butt like mine
And when she cross the street
All the cars go beep beep beep
All the cars go beep beep beep
Break it down

[Sighs] After hearing that, I was like "You're mama hot and fine?! Why does your mother have a butt like yours [cuts off the last word in this sentence] Anyway, that's a whole other conversation for a while other day. And it will come back up, because really, thinking of about that, and the fact that when she crosses the street, all the cars go beep beep beep...And I was thinking about how inappropriate that was, and then it started just to make me think about how inappropriate many of the hand games were and the sing songy Black girl rhymes were when we were growing up like

I met my boyfriend at the candy store
He brought me ice cream
He brought me cake
He brought me home with a bellyache.
Mama, mama, I feel sick
Call the doctor, quick, quick, quick
Doctor, doctor, before I die
Close your eyes and count to five

[The vlog pauses and this word is given in large capitol letters on a dark screen followed by the vlogger saying this]

HOLD UP!!!

Somehow I failed to discuss the fact that

doctor, doctor before I die
Close your eyes and count to five
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
You see that house on top of that hill
That's where me and my baby gonna live
So cut the onions
Cut the bread
Come on baby, let's go to bed

[The vlog begins again, showing the vlogger]

What was this bellyache situation really about? Was it really about the, about the ice cream and cake or like, were there some underhanded...Like, were you and your boyfriend [The vlogger acts like she's telling a secret.] "doing the booty"? Seriously right, this girl needs to call the doctor about this bellyache. How much cake and ice cream did she eat [The vlogger makes a "quote" gesture with both hands right after she says this and then pauses and does that gesture again. I interpret those gestures to mean that she thinks that what the girl said about having a bellyache because she ate too much ice cream and cake is likely not true.]

Another one that was extremely inappropriate was

Miss Susie had a steamboat.
The steamboat had a bell.
The steamboat went to heaven
Miss Susie went to
Hello, operator, please give me number nine
And if disconnect me, I'll kick you right
Behind the 'frigerator, there laid a piece of glass
And if you sit up on it, it'll break right up your
Ask me no questions
Tell me no more lies
The boys are in the bathroom
Zipping up their flies
Now, this here is a story
And I hope you never tell
And if you tell the story
I hope you go to hell

All parties involved in this clearly needed their behinds beat.

Rockin Robin
tweet, tweedalee
Rockin Robin
tweet, tweedalee
Rockin Robin
tweet, tweedalee
Rockin Robin
tweet, tweedalee

Mama in the kitchen
Stirrin that rice
Daddy in the livin room
Shootin that dice
Brother in jail
Raisin up hell
Sister on the corner
Singin fruit cocktail

Sister is a prostitute. Brother's in jail, about to get sent to Solitary. Dad is a gangster. Mom has a blind eye to all of it. Seriously, what were these things/songs about.

There's another verse to that. I don't know where this came from, so please tell me in the comment section below if you ever heard this verse, but my sister got a whoopin for this verse, when we were little.

Grandma, Grandma, you ain't sick
All you want is Grandpa's ___

[The vlogger doesn't finish this rhyme but leans back and looks astonished. She then says]

What?! Where did you get that from?

Share it in the comment section some of your most favorite inappropriate childhood hand games.

I just think it's really incredible that Black girls around the world- because even when my room mate and I went to Africa last year we were teaching them some of our hand games and they were teaching us some of theirs which I thought was really incredible. They're so much more pure then us -It wasn't no "Grandma Grandma"... It wasn't none of that.

Leave a comment below. Tell me about the inappropriate Black girl hand games that you grew up with.

If you're not a Black girl and you're watching this, but you grew up with an inappropriate hand game, tell me "I'm not a Black girl. I'm Chinese and we used to say this." What ever, what ever. Tell me in the comment section. I would love to have these conversation with you.

I do just think it's really incredible from a Black girl perspective that we have shared these games. There are variations. My Sandusky, Ohio version is very different from my girlfriend that grew up in Chicago's version. It's still the same, it's still the same one.
|
I remember even on Crooklyn when they were doing that

So jump back White boy
You don't shine.
I'll get the colored boy
to beat your behind.

Why is this happening?! I mean, we said that growing up, but why- we didn't even grow up in the days of getting the colored boy to beat the - the colored boy...why are we doing this. And why is the White boy checkin for me and why am I tellin him he doesn't shine and why am I getting the colored boy to beat his behind?

Last night and the night before
I met my baby at the candy store

See, they went to last night AND the night before.

Something was wrong.

Like. Comment. Subscribe. Share these videos

[This vlog ends with the vlogger making the peace sign.]
-snip-
The referent "Black Girls" in this video and discussion thread probably mean "African American".

*"projects" refer to government run, low income housing projects [housing units/developments] for low income people
-snip-
Update: March 26, 2020
Unless I'm mistaken, only two of the examples that EbonyJanice Peace shared in that video were from Black girls who she was mentoring. The other examples were from her childhood memories.

For the record, it appears that EbonyJanice is in her twenties, thirties or perhaps even her early forties*, which I think would make the examples from her childhood be from the late 1980s or 1990s (since some of these hand games and "sing songs" are documented as being performed by girls up to around their early teens.

*Unfortunately, this vlogger didn't indicate any demographics besides the fact that she was from Sandusky, Ohio. And given the saying that "good Black don't crack" (Some Black people's physical appearance doesn't show aging as much as non-Black people), I can't really guess her age in that video.

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This concludes Part I of this three part pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

"Ooh Ungowa", "Funky Chicken" & Five Other Camp Songs & Cheers From Contemporary African American Sources

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases seven American children's camp songs or cheers that I believe have their source in contemporary (post 1960) African American songs, rhymes, cheers, or rhymes.

These examples are from the website http://www.girlscoutsaz.org/en/camps/our-camps.html [the Girl Scout camp named Camp Maripai in Prescott, Arizona].

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
DISCLAIMER:
This post is not meant to be a comprehensive listing of contemporary children's camp songs or cheers that have African American sources.

I believe that some song examples* on that showcased website may be post 1960s variant forms of older African American (or Caribbean) songs or rhymes. However, in this post I chose to focus on post 1960s examples or post-1960s songs or rhymes.

*For example, "Little Sally Walker, walkin’ ‘round the street" is a contemporary form of the very old singing game "Little Sally Walker".

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S COMMENTS
I happened upon this web page of children's camp songs while looking for examples of children's rhymes that include the term "FBI". After reading the example entitled "Emerald’s Chant" on that website's page and given below, I published a pancocojams post on the 1988 Hip Hop track (song) "Rollin With Kid N Play" https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/06/kid-n-play-rollin-with-kind-n-play.html.

I consider children's rhymes, cheers, singing games, camp songs etc. to be folk material and as a self-identified "community folklorist", I'm interested in documenting sources for folk material-including demographic information (race, ethnicity, gender, geographical location). Also, as a community folklorist, I'm interested in documenting how rhymes are spread across geographical areas, including nations- in this case from the United States to Canada.

I'm also interested in documenting continuity or changes in the lyrics and/or performance activities of American children's rhymes, cheers, singing games etc. over time or in different populations at the same time.

No songs from that camp's website mention race, and I consider a few examples to racially offensive- the most offensive example is entitled "The Washerwoman" which (I believe) stereotypes Asians -note the speech patterns and the references to doing laundry in that example:

Washerwoman Song
I live-ee in-ee a teeny weeny house-ee
I live-ee on-ee the thirty-first-ee floor
I take-ee in-ee the dirty dirty laundry
Ruffles on the petticoat ten cents more.
I like a pow pow better than a chow chow
I like a little girl, she like-a me.

One day in Hong Kong
Bigga Momma come along-a
Take away my little girl
Poor poor me.'

-snip-
That website also includes a form of the traditional African American song "Dry Bones" that includes the African American dialectic use of the word "dem" for "them": .
"Dry Bones
Dry bones sittin’ in a canyon, some of dem bones are mine
Dry bones sittin’ in a canyon, some of dem bones are mine
Some of dem bones are (enter person or unit name here)
Some of dem bones are mine
Some of dem bones are (enter person or unit name here)
Some of dem bones are mine"

-snip-
Also, given the racist use of "monkeys" as a derogatory referent for Black people, the line in the example entitled "Emerald's Song" which is given below "Those girls are funky/Always acting like monkeys!" could be considered offensive or could at least be problematic if Black or Brown girls were part of the group who was singing this song.

These example provide me with an opportunity to share the following links to some of the pancocojams posts that I've published about children's rhymes and race:

https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/racialized-versions-of-i-like-coffee-i.html "Racialized Versions Of "I Like Coffee I Like Tea"

**
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/07/anti-asian-rhymes-i-went-to-chinese.html "Anti-Asian Rhymes - I Went To A Chinese Restaurant"
-snip-
Here are comments that I wrote from some of those posts:
I believe that the stereotypical content in playground rhymes should be documented for the folkloric record, and also for the purpose of encouraging people interested in an eradicating stereotypes to the presence of this content.

In spite of children's attachment to the version of a rhyme that they first learned, given the large number of non-stereotypical versions of "I Went To The Chinese Restaurant, I believe that children can be complimented for their creativity but still be redirected to alternative, non-stereotypical examples of that rhyme. It's up to adults to educate the children in their care that the words and/or accompanying actions of these & some other playground rhymes are problematic and hurtful.

The children's rhyme "Eenie Meenie Miney Mo" stands as a strong testimony to the fact that offensive references can be completely excised from playground rhymes, as many adults today who grew up with that rhyme and are surprised to learn that it once included a pejorative reference for Black people.

**
Although most of the video examples and, presumably, also most of text examples that I've found of this rhyme are from White children and White adults, I'm including this subject in this blog that focuses on Black cultural indices because non-offensive and some offensive examples of "I Went To A Chinese Restaurant" appears to have become a part of the cultural body of playground rhymes in the United States and in some other English language nations to a large extent regardless of children's the race/ethnicity.

Note that a link given below to another pancocojams post given includes a video of two young Black women who indicate that they remember reciting this rhyme in their childhood. Also, there are people with Black/Asian (or Asian/Black) descent in the United States and elsewhere. Therefore, this topic is quite suitable for a blog about Black culture & customs in the United States & throughout the world.

**
It's important to consider that the words to examples of "I Went To The Chinese Restaurant" may appear to be non-offensive, but those words might be accompanied by the gesture of holding the skin at the ends of both eyes to mimic a squinting look. And while there should be no question that gesture is offensive, it clearly is something that children have to be made aware of, even if they don't intend to be hurtful or otherwise cause offense.

-snip-
Some of the examples featured in this post are from the sub-category of children's recreational material that I call "foot stomping cheers". Here's a quote from one of several pancocojams post on foot stomping cheers https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/06/at-playground-foot-stomping-cheer-that.html "At The Playground" - A Foot Stomping Cheer That Combines Words From A TV Commercial, The "Homey Don't Play That" Saying, & A Kiddie Hip Hop Record
"Foot stomping cheers" is the term that I coined in 2000 for a relatively new category of children's recreational play that is (was?) performed mostly by preteen and younger girls and that involves chanting and choreographed foot stomping combined with (individual) clapping movements.

Foot stomping cheers" have a textual structure and traditionally* have a performance style* that is distinct from hand clap rhymes, jump rope rhymes, other cheerleader cheers, and other categories of children's recreational rhymes. That record featured four examples of African American girls from Washington D. C. performing cheers in 1973-1975.

*By traditional, I mean the way that foot stomping cheers were performed by African American girls in the 1980s and 1990s, and perhaps in the early 2000s. I've noticed changes in the way that these cheers are performed as they become more mainstream (i.e. are performed by White or predominately White cheerleader squads.)"...

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EXAMPLES OF CHILDREN'S SONGS/CHEERS THAT (I BELIEVE) HAVE THEIR SOURCE IN CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN AMERICAN SONGS, RHYMES, OR CHEERS

Pancocojams Editor:
These examples are given in alphabetical order on this pancocojams website. I've assigned numbers to these examples for referencing purposes only.

A link to a pancocojams posts about (what I believe are) the African American sources for these examples is given below the camp example itself.

***
From http://maripai-songbook.tripod.com/songlyrics.html
[website Last Updated: May 20, 2009


1. A Boom Chicka Boom
(a repeat song)
I said a boom-chicka-boom!
I said a boom-chicka-boom!
I said a boom-chicka-rocka-chicka-rocka-chicka-boom!
Uh huh!
Oh yea!
Again!
(Put next name of style here) style!
Styles:
Underwater: sing with fingers dribbling against your lips
Loud: as loud as you can!
Slowly: as slow and drawn out as possible
Opera: sing in an opera voice
Alien: high-pitched, beep sounds
Valley Girl:
I said, like, boom-chica-boom!
I said, like, boom chicka-boom!
I said, like, booma-chicka, like, rocka-chicka, like, rocka-chica like boom!
Like, uh-huh!
Like, for sure!
Like, same thing...
Janitor style:
I said a Broom-Pusha-Broom,
I said a Broom-Pusha-Broom,
I said a Broom-pusha-mopa-pusha-mopa-pusha-broom.
-snip-
This is listed in that camp song website under "FAST songs"

I've categorized "A Boom Chicka Boom" as a song (chant) with an African American source even though I haven't been able to track down the earliest example of that song/chant. "A Boom Chicka Boom"'s text (words) and its call & response format are the elements that strongly suggests to me that it originated among African Americans (or was composed in imitation of African American cheers). I've collected similar foot stomping cheers such as "A Rah Rah A Boom Tang" in the 1980s among African American girls in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/09/foot-stomping-cheers-alphabetical-list.html.

****
2. "Big Fat Pony
Ride around that big fat pony
Ride around that big fat pony
Ride around that big fat pony
This is how she does it:
Front to front to front my baby
Back to back to back my baby
Side to side to side my baby
This is how she does it.
Actions: This is a dancing game that is done in a circle. One girl is in the center of the circle, and while the whole group sings the first three lines and claps, the girl in the center gallops like a horse around the circle. When the fourth line of the song is reached,the girl much stop in front of the girl she is nearest, and both shimmy towards each other, then turn and shimmy away from each other, then turn to the side and shake their hips back and forth. The partner for the center girl now becomes the new center girl."
-snip-
This is listed on that camp song page under "DANCING/GAME/CHANT songs"

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3. "Emerald’s Chant
(repeat song)
Oh-la, oh-la, eh!
Roll, roll, roll to the beat, now
I don’t know
Just what it is
Those girls are crazy
Always shakin’ their daisies!

Oh-la, oh-la, eh!
Roll, roll, roll to the beat, now
I don’t know
Just what it is
Those girls are funky
Always acting like monkeys!"
-snip-
This is listed on that camp song page under "DANCING/GAME/CHANT songs"

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/06/kid-n-play-rollin-with-kind-n-play.html for the lyrics and videos of the 1988 Hip Hop song "Rollin With Kid N Play".

****
4. "Funky Chicken
(Leader) Let me see your funky chicken!
(All) WHAT'S THAT YOU SAY?
(Leader) Let me see your funky chicken!
(All) WHAT'S THAT YOU SAY? I said....

Chorus: (everyone)
Ooo, ah-ah-ah ooo, ah-ah-ah ooo, ah-ah-ah ooo,
One more time, now!
Ooo, ah-ah-ah ooo, ah-ah-ah ooo, ah-ah-ah ooo,
One more time now!

Other Verses: Dracula, Orangutan, Elvis Presley, Cleopatra, John Travolta, do the polka, shopping car

(Actions: During first and third line of chorus, do silly movement that corresponds with verse)
-snip-
This is listed in that camp song website under "FAST songs"

Published on Dec 25, 2014
Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group International

Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn-F_GmNr-A for a video of the 1970 Jackson 5 R&B song "How Funky Is Your Chicken"

Since I can find no record that I've previously posted online the example that I collected around 1999 from three sisters under the age of 12 years (Faith, Grace, and ?, I remember that her name wasn't "Charity", African American girls in Braddock, Pennsylvania), here's that example- The girls said it was a cheerleader cheer:

[chanted in unison]

How funky is the chicken
How loose is the goose
So come on everybody
and shake your caboose
Shake your caboose
Shake your caboose.

[The girls shook their butt to the side while saying "Shake your caboose".]

****
5. "Gigalow

Person 1: Hey (insert Person 2’s name here)!
Person 2: Hey what?
1: Hey (Person 2’s name!
2: Hey what?
1: Show us how you gigalow, I said, show us how you gigalow!
2. My hands are high, my feet are low, and this is how I gigalow.
All: Her hands are high, her feet are low, and this is how she gigalows!"
-snip-
This is listed on that camp song page under "DANCING/GAME/CHANT songs"

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/12/childrens-rhyme-gigalo-examples.html for the pancocojams post "The Children's Rhyme "Gigalo" - Examples & Probable Sources"

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6."Humpty Dumpty Song
Hump-dee, dump
Hump, hump, dee, dump-dee dump-dee
Hump-dee, dump
Hump, hump, dee, dump-dee dump-dee
(enter any nursery rhyme and sing for 12 beats of song)

(i.e.) Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet, eating her curds and whey (HEY!)
Along came a spider and sat down beside her…|
Singing UHH! Ain’t that funky now?
-snip-
This is listed in that camp song website under "FAST songs"

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/02/pre-dozens-childrens-foot-stomping.html for the pancocojams rhyme "Pre-The Dozens Girls' Foot Stomping Cheer "Hump De Danda""

**
7. "Ooh Ungowa
My back’s a-breakin’, my belt’s too tight
My hips a-shakin’ from left to right
Singin’ ooh Ungowa, (enter person or unit name here)’s got the power
You know it, you said it,
And now you represent it.
Singin’ OOH UNGOWA (enter name here)’s GOT THE POWER!"
-snip-
This example is listed on that camp song page under "DANCING/GAME/CHANT songs"

The lines "my back's achin and my bra's too tight" are found in the African American children's rhyme "Bang Bang Choo Choo Train". However, those children's rhymes adapted those lines from African American military cadences which probably lifted those lines from the risque social song "Bang Bang Lulu". https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/08/bang-bang-choo-choo-train-rhyme-cheer.html.

Also, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-real-origins-of-word-ungawa-various.html for the pancocojams post entitled "The REAL Origin Of The Word "Ungawa" & Various Ways That Word Has Been Used In The USA"

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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visiting comments are welcome.

"All Around The Kitchen (Cock-A-Doodle Doodle Do") Information About & YouTube Examples Of This Singing Game)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post provides information about and examples of the African American originated children's singing game "All Around The Kitchen".

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

The Addendum to this post features a picture book with the title "All Around The Kitchen". This sing along storybook is a jazz flavored adaptation of that singing game.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the unknown composer of this singing game and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to all those who published these examples on YouTube.
-snip-
The two line rhyming verses (couplets) that are found in singing games such as "All Around The Kitchen" are similar to the rhyming patter of square dance callers. Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/05/square-dance-caller-researcher-phil.html for Part I of a two part series on the African influence on American square dance.

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INFORMATION ABOUT AND LYRICS FOR THE SINGING GAME "ALL AROUND THE KITCHEN"
This is an amended version of a comment that I wrote in 2007 on the Mudcat folk music forum in response to a query about the singing game "All Around The Kitchen". I've added some additional verses to the ones that I shared in 2007 and have also added and reformatted the performance direction comments.

http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=104001 Lyr Add:: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle [Lyr=Lyrics; Add=Additions]

"Oh!! I like that song! I sang this song with my children when they were litte, and they loved it. And I've used it as part of my repertoire of children's songs at the Alafia Children's Ensemble after-school groups that I facilitated for children 5-12 years old. In addition, I've included it in my repertoire of movement songs for children at summer camps, I encouraged the teen camp aides and adults camp counselors {leaders of specific groups whose roles are somewhat like teachers} to join in the performance of this song. And many of them enjoyed do so.

"All Around The Kitchen" is a call & response song which is improvisational and open ended, so you can use any rhyming couplets that you want which give movement directions.

Here's the words that I usually use for this singing game:

ALL AROUND THE KITCHEN

Chorus:
Leader: All around the kitchen
Everyone: Cock-a-doddle doodle do

Leader: All around the kitchen
Everyone: Cock-a-doddle doodle do

Verse 1
Leader: Now you stop right still
Everyone: Cock-a-doddle doodle do
Leader: Put your hands on your hips
Everyone: Cock-a-doodle doodle do
Leader: And let your right foot slip
Everyone: Cock-a-doodle doodle do

Chorus

Verse 2
Leader: Now you stop right still
Everyone: Cock-a-doddle doodle do
Leader: And you turn around
Everyone: Cock-a-doddle doodle do
Leader: Then you touch the ground
Everyone: Cock-a-doddle doodle do

Chorus

Verse 3:
Leader: Now you stop right still
Everyone: Cock-a-doddle doodle do
And you touch your toes
Everyone: Cock-a-doddle doodle do
Then you touch your nose
Everyone: Cock-a-doddle doodle do

Chorus

Verse 4
Leader: Now you stop right still
Everyone: Cock-a-doddle doodle do
Leader: Put your hand on your ear.
Everyone: Cock-a-doddle doodle do
Leader: And leave it right there
Everyone: Cock-a-doddle doodle do

Verse 5
Leader: Now you stop right still
Everyone: Cock-a-doddle doodle do
Leader: Put your hands in the sky
Everyone: Cock-a-doddle doodle do
Leader: And wave them up high
Everyone: Cock-a-doddle doodle do
-snip-
The leader can repeat any verse that she (or he) chooses to whenever she (or he) wants to.

DIRECTIONS:
Participants stand in a vertical line with a designated leader in front. That person leads the group in strutting in an often zig zag motion around the room or the designated play area while she (or he) and the rest of the group sings the chorus.

On the words "cock-a-doodle-do" the entire group imitates a rooster by acting like they have wings (put their right hand and their left hand in their arm pits and move them up and down to the beat).

When the leader sings "Now you stop right till", everyone stops in place.

The leader sing the rhyming command, and demonstrates how to do that command. The rest of the group then copies the leader's "motion".

The leader starts moving around the room again and everyone in the line follows her (or him).

Everyone sings "cock-a-doodle do" and moves their arms up and down like a rooster.

This pattern continues until the leader ends the singing game.

Additional notes:
"Let your right foot slip" is found in versions of "Little Sally Walker"("Little Sally Waters") and some other African American originated singing games.

Here's how I taught this motion
Stand still and then (on the beat)
1.extend your right foot out in front of you & touch the ground with your right toe
2. remain facing forward but point your toe right in back of you
3. moving your right foot back to its original position next to the left foot.
-snip-
In another comment on that same discussion thread, I wrote that
"Given its call & response, improvisational, and open-ended format, I think [that "All Around The Kitchen"] is of African American origin.

The use of that "let your right foot slip" verse also leads me to believe that All Around the Kitchen is of African American origin-or we took adopted it from elsewhere and made it our own."
-snip-
I also noted in that discussion that the after school children's group that I founded and the special programming sessions where I performed (in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area) were predominately attended by African Americans. However, no one knew this song or this "let your right foot slip" movement command.
-snip-
I learned "All The Kitchen" when I was a child from Mrs. Janie Owens, a Vacation Bible School teacher who shared this singing game (and the "In The River On The Bank" movement game) with the children who attended that church summer program. Mrs. Owens said that she learned these games when she was a child in the South (if I recall correctly, I think she said that she was from Georgia.)

****
Here are three other comments from that Mudcat discussion thread:

Subject: RE: Folklore: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle
From: GUEST,Bob Coltman
Date: 14 Aug 07 - 08:54 AM

"Hi all ... here's a little background for the song as far as I know it.

"All Around In the Kitchen" was its title when this ring game song was recorded in 1940 by John A. and Ruby T. Lomax in the countryside near York, Alabama. I believe that is its first appearance, I don't know of any earlier version.

Ruth Crawford Seeger published it in American Folk Songs for Children in 1948, and it got into a lot of school music curriculums because that book was widely circulated among educators. She dropped the word "In" from the title for whatever reason.

Pete Seeger recorded it in the early 1950s on a Folkways album for children, also as "All Around the Kitchen." This gave it even more circulation. That's where I learned it. Hooray for LP records. :)

Bob"

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Subject: RE: Folklore: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle
From: GUEST,Bob Coltman
Date: 14 Aug 07 - 08:58 AM

"And Azizi, I should add that the song was sung by a group of African-American children, which confirms your opinion. Bob"

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Subject: RE: Folklore: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Aug 07 - 09:28 AM

"Bob Coltman wrote:
"Ruth Crawford Seeger published it in American Folk Songs for Children in 1948, and it got into a lot of school music curriculums because that book was widely circulated among educators."

Mike & Peggy Seeger have recorded an album (now a 2XCD set) of the songs in this book, including "All Around The Kitchen".

This is certainly one of my favourite albums - it got us through so many long-distance car journeys with our son, who now has his own band. I wonder how many of these songs will eventually crop up in punky-ska versions?

Norman"

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLES
Example #1: All Around The Kitchen



David Nicholson, Uploaded on May 2, 2009

Willow Creek Elemenatry, Centennial Colorado. 1st Graders Spring Music Program. April 30, 2009.

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Example #2 Dan Zanes and Friends- All Around the Kitchen



Dan Zanes, Uploaded on Jun 1, 2010

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Example #3: All Around the Kitchen



dpcinva, Published on Jun 10, 2014

MPTS Kindergarten Program - June 2014

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Example #4: Pete Seeger-All Around the Kitchen



UltimateSerge, Published on Mar 13, 2013

On American Folk, Game and Activity Songs for Children. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED

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ADDENDUM: All Around the Kitchen Singalong Storybook Trailer



Music Together, Published on Nov 4, 2013

Dance "All Around the Kitchen" with a singing rooster, pots and pans, potatoes and pancakes—and see peanut butter and jelly fall in love!

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Children's Singing Games & Hand Clap Games That Include The Name "Sally" (lyrics, videos, and comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post provides lyrics, videos, and excerpts from various pancocojams & cocojams2 posts about singing games and hand clap games that mention the name "Sally".

These African American and/or Caribbean singing games include "Little Sally Walker" (also known as "Little Sally Water/s" and "Little Sally Ann"); "Little Sally Walker (Was Walking Down The Street", "Soul Sister Number 9" and "Here We Go Zoodio" (also known as Zudie-o, Zudio, and "Zodiac).

Text examples of these singing games are included in this post along with excerpts and videos from those posts.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the creators of these singing games. Thanks also to all those who are all quoted in this post and all those who are featured in these videos.

Special thanks to former United States Attorney General Sally Yates whose testimony at a United States Senate hearing on May 8, 2017 inspired me to re-visit these "Sally" posts. Thanks also to Former Director of [USA[ National Intelligence, James Clapper who also testified at that same hearing. [No disrespect is intended by my thanking these two former government administrators in a cultural post on "Sally" singing games and hand-clap rhymes.]

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LYRICS FOR THESE GAMES
(These singing games and/or hand clap games are given in no particular order)

LITTLE SALLY WALKER

Little Sally Walker
Sittin’ in a saucer
Cryin and weepin'
Over all she has done.
Rise up on your feet
And wipe your cheeks
Turn to the East
Oh, turn to the West.
And put your hands on your hip
And let your backbone slip.
Oh, shake it to the East
Oh, shake it to the West
And shake it to the very one
That you love the best
-(as sung by Bessie Jones)
-snip-
From https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/08/let-your-backbone-slip-phrase-in-r.html Wednesday, August 29, 2012

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LITTLE SALLY ANN

Little Sally Ann
sittin in the sand
a weepin and a cryin
for a nice young man.
Rise, Sally, rise.
Wipe your weepin eyes.
Now turn to the East
and turn to the West.
And turn to the very one
that you love best.
-snip-
These same words (with the exception of the name "Little Sally Ann") are sung in the singing game "Little Sally Walker).

This is the way that I played this game in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the 1950s. When I moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1969, I was surprised to learn that this singing game was called "Little Sally Walker". I believe that the name "Little Sally Walker" name is the one that is most often used in the USA.
-snip-
From https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/09/little-sally-walker-story-tellin-it.html Little Sally Walker (A Story. Tellin It Like It Is & Like It Was), Friday, September 16, 2011 (with an added note)

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LITTLE SALLY WALKER (WAS WALKING DOWN THE STREET)

Little Sally Walker was walking down the street
[clap, clap]
She didn't know what to do so she stood in front of me
I said "Oh girl, do your thing, do your thing
Stop! [or "and switch"]
"Oh girl, do your thing, do your thing
Stop! [or "and switch"]
-SNIP-
From: https://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/11/little-sally-walker-ride-that-pony_9.html Little Sally Walker & Ride That Pony (Switching Places Games, Part 2)

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SOUL SISTER NUMBER 9

Soul sister number 9
sock it to me one more time
said, un ungawa we got the power
said un ungawa we got the power
Little Sally Walker’s walking down the street
She didn’t know what to do
so she jumped in front of me
She said, “Go on girl do your thing
Do your thing do your thing
Go on girl do your thing
Do your thing do your thing. Stop!
-The School Of Rock transcript embedded in video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvGia9u1McM; 2003 American movie
-SNIP-
From https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/12/sources-of-movie-bigs-rap-shimmy-shimmy.html Sources Of The Movie Big's Rap Shimmy Shimmy Coco Pop, Part 3, Sunday, December 11, 2011

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GREEN SALLY UP

Green Sally Up, Green Sally down.
Last one squat got to tear the ground.

Ole (Oh?} Miss Lucy dead and gone.
Left me here to weep and moan.

If you hate it fold your arms.
If you love it clap your hands.

Source: Disc 4 of Alan Lomax: Sounds of the South, A Musical Journey from the Georgia Sea Isles to the Mississippi Delta (Atlantic 787496-2; 1993).

From https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/02/five-traditional-african-american-game.html Five Traditional African American Game Songs, Wednesday, February 1, 2012

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HERE WE GO ZOODIO

Here we go Zoodio, Zoodio, Zoodio
Here we go Zoodio all night long.

Oh, step back Sally Sally, Sally
Step back Sally all night long.

Walkin down the alley, alley, ally
Walkln down the alley all night long.

[repeat from the beginning]

-snip-
From https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/05/here-we-go-zoodio-zudie-o-zudiozodiac.html Here We Go Zoodio" ("Zudie-O", "Zudio","Zodiac") - Part I (Words To Various Versions) Monday, May 8, 2017

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VIDEO EXAMPLES OF SINGING GAMES THAT INCLUDE THE NAME "SALLY"
These examples in no particular order.

Example #1: Mattie Garder, Mary Gardner, Jesse Lee Pratcher - Green Sally, Up


IvchoBrasil Uploaded on Sep 13, 2009
A black children's singing game performed by a group of women in Como, Miss. Moby sampled this song for his song Flower.

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Example #2: Zoodio



Lotties Flock, Uploaded on Aug 2, 2009
-snip-
Here's my transcription of the singing game in this video:

"Here we go zoodio, zoodio, zoodio
Here we go zoodio all night long

Hey, step back Sally Sally Sally
Walkin' through the alley alley alley"

[Song repeats from the beginning]

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Example #3: Little Sally Walker Bessie Jones



ichagall | April 20, 2010
-snip-
This clip was filmed in the USA in the 1970s or early 1980s.

Note: The "Little Sally Walker" segment ends at 1:51.

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Example #4: Little Sally Walker

itsthemama3, Uploaded on Nov 6, 2008

A game that the girls will play 4ever...and then come home and sing it in the shower!!!

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Example #5: Little Sally Walker :)

AnnaGraceBananaFace, Uploaded on Feb 25, 2009

Playing little sally walker in the munchkin room at the show in Irving on the 23rd!!


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EXCERPTS FROM SOME PANCOCOJAMS OR COCOJAMS2 POSTS THAT FEATURE SINGING GAMES OR HAND CLAP RHYMES THAT INCLUDE THE NAME "SALLY"
(These excerpts are given in no particular order.)

Excerpt #1:
https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/09/little-sally-walker-story-tellin-it.html Little Sally Walker (A Story. Tellin It Like It Is & Like It Was), Friday, September 16, 2011

"A Story. Tellin It Like It Is & Like It Was
(c) Azizi Powell, May 10, 2004

Little Sally Walker may not be as popular as “Miss Mary Mack” but she’s got a following all her own. And I’m one of her biggest fans.

Did you know that there once was a time that every Black child from North Carolina to New York knew Little Sally? My girl, Sally - she sure got around.

Little Sally’s got a lot of aliases. When I was growing up in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the 1950s, Sally was known as “Little Sally Ann”

[...]

Well, I never knew what Sally’s last name was. But when I moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the late 1960s, I found out that folks here said Sally’s last name was “Walker”, which I know a lot about ‘cause my sister and my cousin married some WaIkers.

[...]

And talkin ‘bout movin, now I hear tell that Sally girl done really changed up. The other day my grand babies and their friends showed me a whole new side to Sally Anne Walker. Well, maybe it’s not new to you, but it was new to me.

[...]

Here’s how they did it. My grandbabies and their friends made a circle and one girl-I guess she was “Little Sally Walker” was in the middle of the circle. So while the other children are singing that song, little Sally Walker’s walking around the circle, kinda struttin you know. And then when they sang “she stood in front of me”, Little Sally does just that. And then when the song goes “ooh girl do your thing”, little Sally does some kind of hip swingin dance. And that one Little Sally’s standin in front of starts doin the exact same dance, only she does it her way. Then when the song says “Stop!”, they both stop movin. They kinda freeze in place, you know what I mean. Then the other children playin that game start singing again, and Little Sally and the one she’s standing in front of go back to doin that same dance they were doin before. Then when the song goes “Switch!”, the old Little Sally Walker changes places with the one she was standing in front of, and the new Sally Walker starts struttin around the circle. When it comes time for her to do her dance, she does somethin different from the other Sally Walker. But whatever she does, you can see she puts her whole soul in it. Because if it’s one thing about Little Sally Walker that everybody knows, is that she’s got soul.

Which is funny in a way cause Little Sally Walker's really WHITE. No, wait a minute. I’m not kiddin. I found out her real name was Sally Waters and she was born overseas in Europe. How she got started was like this: way back when, a woman who was gettin married had to step over a saucer of water on her way to the wedding ceremony. I swear I’m not making this up. That’s how those Little Sally sittin in a saucer words came about. It was to purify the water. Ain’t that somethin? We jumped over brooms, and they stepped over saucers.

Anyway, I don't care if Sally first came from White people. We made her Black with all those shake it to the East Sally Shake it to the west Sally, let your back bone slip hip shakin motions. Not to mention that Black people are all mixed up with Black, White, Indian, Hispanic, and Asian and I don’t know what else kind of folks. That’s the way it’s been for a real long time, and that’s the way it’s probable gonna always be. Anyhow, ole Sally Walker’s all right by me. Wherever she came from, she’s one of us now. And that’s all I’m gonna say ‘bout that subject.

The end."

**
Excerpt #2:
From https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/10/ten-playground-rhymes-performed-by-two.html October 26, 2012
Ten Playground Rhymes Performed By Two African American Women

"Since the mid 1980s, I have been collecting, compiling, and studying the lyrics & performance activities of English language playground rhymes & cheers. Although I'm interested in most of the genres of English language playground rhymes, my main interest is in African American playground rhymes & cheers from the 1960s to date. For that reason, I was very glad that I happened upon this video while "surfing YouTube" (clicking somewhat randomly on one video after another that are found on the youtube.com website.)

That said, I didn't add this video to the two hand clap rhymes pages or the children's movement rhymes of my Cocojams cultural website because one of the rhymes that the girls chanted included actions that are racially offensive & hurtful. [Note: I'm referring here to the rhyme "I Went To The Chinese Restaurant"; Also, note that I voluntarily discontinued that Cocojams website in 2014].

Yet it seems to me that discussions about the words & performance activities of playground rhymes - including words & actions that are considered offensive - should also be part of the folkloric record. For that reason, I've chosen to feature that video & selected comments from that video's viewer comment thread on pancocojams instead of on my Cocojams' website where it appears that a large percentage of the visitors are children.

Focusing on a discussion (that I participated in) about the inclusion of offensive words & actions in playground rhymes is only one of the reasons why I chose to showcase this video. I also am showcasing this video to document the way that different hand clap movements (routines) are used for different rhymes and the way that imitative actions (mimes) may also be used with certain hand clap rhymes.

I have observed similar routines for each of these rhymes among African American children and teens in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area where I live (observations of rhymes from 1980s to date). And I have observed the same or similar routines for versions of the same rhymes via YouTube videos.

The belief that there are specific, agreed upon hand movements for certain hand clap rhymes is, in my opinion, an important point that should be documented and explored for the folkloric record. Note, for example, how the one woman who introduces the rhyme examples indicates that the "Tweet Tweeet Tweet" rhyme (also known as "Rockin Robin" or "Tweedleelee" or some other similar title) is performed with four people together. This conforms with my direct (in person) observations of this rhyme and also conforms with my observations of this rhyme via videos."...

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Excerpt #3
From https://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/11/switching-places-ring-games-part-1.html Switching Places Ring Games (Part 1-Description & Other Comments), Sunday, November 9, 2014

"Switching places" games is a term that I coined for a sub-set of ring (circle) games. These games can be considered a variant form of "show me your motion" games. In "show me your motion games" the person in the center of the ring does a brief dance or other movement and the rest of the players who form the circle try to exactly imitate that motion or simply watch that performance. However, in switching places games, as the lyrics direct her (or, less often him) to do, the center person stands in front of one person forming the circle, and does a dance or performs a movement (such as jumping jacks, or poses dramatically and then "freezes"). The center person might arbitrarily select the person who she or he stands in front of or that person (or "partner") might be selected on purpose.

After the center person does her dance/movement, her partner does the exact same dance/movement. During these performances, the rest of the people forming the ring continue to sing and clap (and in some renditions also stomp their feet) to the beat. However, they don't attempt to do the actions performed by the center person and her partner. In some renditions of those games, the game immediately begins again with the partner as the new center person. In other renditions, the center person and her partner switch places two times before that partner becomes the new center person and the game begins again."

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Excerpt #4
From https://cocojams2.blogspot.com/2014/11/african-american-singing-games-movement.html African American Singing Games & Movement Rhymes (A-L), Wednesday, November 5, 2014

[Regarding "Green Sally Up"]
From my experiences, my guess is that this game is rarely if ever played anymore in the United States. I attempted to teach it to children (mostly African American girls ages 5-12 years old) who participated in the Alafia Children's Ensemble game song groups that I held at two sites in the Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania area from 1998-2006. However, I ended up creating a new circle singing game "Green Color Up" that emphasized and reinforced children's color recognition. I call that game "Green Color Up". This game is loosely based on "Green Sally Up". People (hopefully of all ages) form a large circle without holding hands. A designated person randomly calls out a color, beginning with the color "green". Those who are wearing that color (based on their shirt, pants, skirt, or dress) quickly come into the center of the circle. The song tells them to "raise their hands" (They wave their hands back and forth to the rhythm). The people who aren't wearing that color are told to fold their arms (which they do. often with some Hip Hop attitude and stance). The designated person then randomly calls out another color. Unless they are also wearing that color, the people in the center quickly exit, and people forming the circle who are wearing that color quickly enter the center of the circle. This game "worked" very well every time we played it for that Alafia group or when I taught it during my game song group special performances.

Click the link given above for lyrics and play instructions for "Green Color Up" (Unfortunately, I have no videos of that game, Nor do I have any videos of the Alafia Children's Ensemble groups. :o("
-snip-
This description of "Green Color Up" is briefer than the one that is given in that post.

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Excerpt #5
From https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/08/let-your-right-foot-slip-origin.html

[Regarding "Little Sally Walker" (was walking down the street)
..."my sense is that since at least the 1960s, the version of "Little Sally Walker" which contains the "put your hand on your hips/and let your backbone slip" verse isn't well known among either African American (particularly African Americans outside the South). Also, since at least the early 2000s, An updated version of this rhyme which I call "Little Sally Walker (Was Walking Down The Street)" appears to be much more popular in the United States than any other version of that game song. I believe that this updated version originated among African American children & then spread to other American children and also to teens, and young adults where it is used as a stress reducing group activity."

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