Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part II of a three part pancocojams series about sources for the children's recreational rhymes Rhymes "Ooh Ah! I Wanna Piece Of Pie", "ABC It's Easy As Do Re Me", "Winston Tastes Good", & similarly titled rhymes.
This pancocojams post presents information about a short story that was written in 1938 by Richard Wright, and YouTube examples Of three music sources and a cigarette ad
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/11/part-i-short-story-excerpt-and-youtube.html for Part I of this three part pancocojams series. That post presents a timeline with additional information about the literary source, music sources, and the cigarette ad source for the "Ooh Ah! I Wanna Piece Of Pie", "ABC It's Easy As 1, 2, 3", & similarly titled rhymes.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/11/part-iii-examples-of-ooh-ah-i-wanna.html for Part III of this three part pancocojams series. That post presents some examples of fhe children's recreational rhymes "Ooh Ah! I Wanna Piece Of Pie", "ABC It's Easy As Do Re Me", "Winston Tastes Good", & similarly titled rhymes from the late 1960s to 2015.
The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, and entertainment purposes.
All copyrights belong with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are showcased in this pancocojams post and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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SOURCE TIMELINE FOR "OOH AH! I WANNA PIECE OF PIE", "ABC. iT'S EASY AS 1,2,3", "WINSTON TASTES GOOD" AND SIMILARLY TITLED CHILDREN'S RECREATIONAL RHYMES
1938- Richard Wright "Big Boy Leaves Home" short story in his book "Uncle Tom's Children"
AI Overview
"Richard Wright's short story "Big Boy Leaves Home"
is about a young Black boy whose youthful trip to a white-owned swimming hole
results in a violent confrontation with the owner, the death of two friends,
and his subsequent flight from a white mob. The story, which appears in the
collection Uncle Tom's Children, is a powerful exploration of racial prejudice,
violence, and survival in the Jim Crow South....
His protagonists, like “Big Boy,” struggle against overt
racism and racist violence in their communities, ultimately facing crises".
-snip-
Here's the rhyme example from that short story:
"Bye n bye
Ah wanna piece of pie
Pies too sweet
Ah wanna piece of meat
Meats too red
Ah wanna piece of bread
Breads too brown
Ah wanna go to town
Towns too far
Ah wanna ketch a car
Cars too fas
Ah fall n break mah ass
Ah'll understan it better bye n bye"
-snip-
This rhyme is composed of what I refer to as "trading verses". "Trading verses" is my term for verses in songs (such as "Hush Little Baby") and rhymes (such as "Ooh Ah! I Want A Piece Of Pie') when an item in a verse is found to be defective and is substituted for another item. However, that substituted item is also found to be defective and is also traded for another item. This pattern continues throughout the song or rhyme
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1940-:"Jazz song "Eep, Ipe, Wanna Piece Of Pie" (Composed) By Jerry Blaine and Artie Dann (some sources add: Nick Catamas) and recorded by Jazz pianist and vocalist Fats Waller
transcription by Jim Dixon, 21 March 2009 from https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=119521#2594206
Eep*, ipe*, wanna bowl of soup.
Eep*, ipe*, let your tongue turn.
Eep*, ipe*, easy to learn.
Eep*, ipe*, clock is on the wall.
Eep*, ipe*, sounds like doubletalk.
Eep*, ipe*, ippy ippy way.
Eep*, wop*, wop*, wop*, you do it all day."...
-snip-
Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fats_Waller for information about African American Jazz organist/pianist, composer, and vocalist Thomas Wright Fats Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943)
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1954/1955- Winston Cigarette Ad [date of first publication of "Winston Tastes Good" ad]
AI Overview
"The "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should"
slogan first appeared in print ads in September 1954. The first television ads
and sponsorships for the slogan, which included the first Winston television
ads, began in 1955.
Print: The first print ad for Winston cigarettes, using the
slogan (with the addition of "real"), appeared in The Pittsburgh
Press in September 1954. The phrase was then adapted to the now-famous wording
for subsequent ads in magazines and other outlets.
Television: Television ads, along with sponsorships, began
in 1955, when Winston became the sponsor for news and variety shows."
-snip-
Children's recreational rhymes that begin with this cigarette jingle use the same tune as the "Ooh Ah! I Wanna Piece Of Pie" rhymes, the "ABC, It's Easy As 1,2,3" rhymes, and similarly titled children's rhymes that include the Ooh Ah! I Wanna Piece Of Pie trading verses.*. However, those examples are usually titled "Winston Tastes Good" or a similar title. I've also come across some rhyme in this sub-set that substitute the candy bar "Snickers" for the [brand name] Winston cigarettes i.e. "Snickers tastes good/like a candy bar should." Based on my online searches, it appears that the "Winston Tastes Good" (or "Snickers Tastes Good" is a small sub-set of these "Ooh Ah! I Wanna Piece Of Pie" rhymes. Examples of these rhymes are found in Part III of this pancocojams series.
-snip-
An example of the Winston Tastes Good" ad is given in Part I of this pancocojams series.
1967- King Coleman- "The Boo Boo Song"
Here's my transcription of part of that song [beginning at 1:57 of the YouTube video that is showcased in Part I of this pancocojams series.]
[additional lyrics for that song at 1:57 [transcribed by
Azizi Powell from that recording]
Eee eye I wanna a piece of pie
[female singers echo each line]
Pie too sweet, I wanna a piece of meat
The meat too tough I wanna ride a bus
The bus too full I wanna ride a bull
The bull won’t play, he had this to say
He said “ooh ahh ahh ooh aah ahh ooh aah ahh ooh ooh ooh
Come on baby, come on baby, show your daddy what you can
do"...
-snip-
Thanks to GUEST, Fine Wine (2012) for referring to this video
in the Mudcat thread Lyr Req: Oh my, I want a piece of pie
http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=26926
-snip-
Lines 1-4 of this song (or very similar versions of those lines) are almost always used in children's recreational rhyme versions of "Ooh Ah! I Wanna Piece Of Pie", "ABC It's Easy As 1, 2, 3", and similarly titles rhymes. However, the line that is usually given after "...I wanna ride a bull" in those children's rhymes is "Bull too black I want my money back"...
-snip-
Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Coleman for information about American rhythm and blues singer, musician, and radio disc jockey Carlton "King" Coleman (January 20, 1932 – September 11, 2010).
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1970- The Jackson 5 - "ABC"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABC_(The_Jackson_5_song)
"ABC" is a song by American pop band the Jackson
5. It was released as a single in 1970. The song replaced the Beatles'
"Let It Be" on the number-one spot of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in
1970, and was number one on the soul singles chart for four weeks. It is the
title track to the group's second album and sold 2 million copies within the
first week of its release in the US and more than 4 million copies worldwide"...
-snip-
It appears to me that "ABC It's Easy As 1,2,3" (or "ABC, It's Easy As Do Re Me" appears to be a rather large sub-set of children's rhymes that include the "Ooh Ah! I Want A Piece Of Pie" trading rhymes.
The beginning line "ABC, it's easy as 1, 2, 3" is the only line in those "Ooh Ah! I Want A Piece Of Pie" that is from the Jackson 5's song. Another version of this line is "ABC, it's easy as "do re mi". Either version of that line is followed by another rhyming line such as "My daddy watches MTV." or "My mommy takes care of me." before those rhymes move to the "Ooh Ah! I want a piece of pie" trading rhymes.
These "ABC It's Easy As 1,2,3" (or "ABC It's Easy As Do, Re, Me") rhymes use the same tune as the other rhymes in the "Ooh Ah! I Want A Piece Of Pie" family of children rhymes. The "ABC' version that I've come across don't include the "Winston Taste Good"...(or Snickers Tastes Good" lines" (or vice versa").
Examples of these rhymes are found in Part III of this pancocojams series.
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This concludes Part II of this pancocojams series.
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