Racialized Examples Of "I Like Coffee I Like Tea" Rhymes That Include The Words "I Like A Colored Boy And He Likes Me "

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision - March 19, 2026

This is Part I of a three part pancocojams series on examples of contemporary (1970s and later)  "I Like Coffee I Like Tea" children's recreational rhymes that include racial referents. These children's recreational rhymes are also known as "I Love Coffee I Love Teat" or "Down Down Baby".

Part I of this pancocojams series presents all of the examples of  "I Like Coffee, I Like Tea"  rhymes that I have come across that have contributor added demographic information (geographic location and year or decade first remembered) and that include the words "I like a Colored boy" (or "Color boy" and he likes me". 

The example given in the Addendum to this post contains no demographic information from the contributor besides her [?] screen name "GUEST, A 70's Child". 

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/03/racialized-examples-of-i-like-coffee-i_19.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. That post presents a representative sample of the versions of  "I Like Coffee, I Like Tea" that I have come across mostly online which include the words "I like a Black boy and he likes me". One example of these rhymes is presented under the date that I directly collected it. The other examples are presented in chronological order based on their online publishing dates. My editorial notes and/or contributors are included with some of these examples.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/03/racialized-examples-of-i-like-coffee-i_49.html for Part III of this pancocojams series. That post presents some examples of "I Like Coffee, I Like Tea"  ("I Love Coffee I Love Tea") rhymes that I have come across with the racial referent "White" or other racial/ethnic referents besides "Black" or "Colored" ("Color"). These examples are presented in chronological order and are given with or without demographic information such as the contributor's geographic location and the year/decade the contributor's is first chanted or heard this rhyme. 

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who contributed examples of rhymes to this compilation.

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DISCLAIMER
This compilation doesn’t mean to imply that these examples are the only versions of this rhyme that were known in those geographic locations during the dates that are given. Instead, these are the only examples of this particular sub-set of this rhyme that I’ve come across. Almost all of these examples are from online sources.

Please add to the folkloric record by sharing any examples in the discussion thread below of any confrontational racialized “I Like Coffee I Like Tea” rhymes that you know. Remember to include  demographic information (where- the city/state or country if outside of the United States where you lived when you first chanted or became aware of these rhymes), when (the year or decade when you first chanted or became aware of these rhymes) and who (your gender/race or ethnicity and/or the genders, race and/or ethnicity of those who chanted that example.

 I’m also interested in how those rhymes where performed (such as single jump rope, Double Dutch jump rope, partner hand clap rhymes etc.  Thanks in advance!  

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GENERAL OVERVIEW OF RACIALIZED EXAMPLES OF "I LIKE COFFEE I LIKE TEA" RHYMES
"I Like Coffee I Like Tea" (also given as "I Love Coffee I Love Tea",  or "Down Down Baby") are  children's confrontational racialized recreational rhymes that have similar words that fit a standard structural pattern.  

"Racialized rhymes" is my term for rhymes that include one or more referents for race or ethnicity in contrast to most early examples of these rhymes that don't include any racial/ethnic referents.

Racial confrontation is a key feature of the late 20th century and 21st century) examples that are compiled in these pancocojams post includes a person of one race (or ethnicity/nationality) threatening to get a person of their race/ethnicity to fight (beat the butt of) a person of another race (or ethnicity/nationality).

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THE EARLIEST DATE THAT I HAVE FOUND FOR A CONFRONTATIONAL RACIALIZED EXAMPLE OF "I LIKE COFFEE I LIKE TEA"
The earliest documented date for a confrontational racial example  of "I Like Coffee I Like Tea" ("I Love Coffee I Love Tea"; "Down Down Baby" rhymes that I have come across are from the 1970s in the United States. As of March 2026 I haven't found any examples of these rhymes outside of the United States..

A commenter from Virginia wrote in 2010 on a Mudcat folk music discussion thread that [she?] remembers these confrontational racialized versions of "I Like Coffee I Like Tea" rhymes from the early or mid 1970s and quotes my description of the standard pattern of these rhymes (I added italics to my description in that comment):

"Thank you so much for posting this!!! I went to an all black elementary school in Norfolk, VA in the early to mid 70's and we used the variation you described (shown below).

The confrontational action in these verses follows a consistent pattern. First, these rhymes are almost always given from a female perspective {which makes sense since the person or persons reciting these rhymes are usually girls}. Secondly, in the rhyme, a Black {or "Colored"} girl rejects the advances of a White boy. Thirdly, the girl tells the White boy that she "likes a Black boy and he likes me". And fourthly {if there is such a word}, the girl threatens to get a Black {or "Colored"} boy to "beat his {the White boy's} behind".

I have also found or received an example of this rhyme in which a {presumably} Black girl tells another girl "Step back white girl you don't shine/I'll get a black girl to beat your behind". However, I have never found or received any version of this rhyme in which a White girl or White boy initiate this confrontational encounter."
-GUEST, 09 Oct 10, Down Down Baby-Race in Children's Rhymes https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=100653
-snip-
I started that discussion thread in April 2007. That discussion thread is still open for comments as of the date of this 2026 pancocojams post. 

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WHAT THE RACIAL REFERENT "COLORED" MEANT IN THE UNITED STATES
"Colored" was a racial referent in the United States that was used until around 1960s for the population that is now (in the 2020s) referred to as "Black", "Black American"  or "African American"* .In the United States the racial referent "Colored" was often colloquially given as "Colored people".

* "African American" is a subset (a smaller population) of "Black American" as some Black people in the United States have other lineages than African Americans.  

"Colored people" didn't/doesn't have the same meaning as "people of Color". Since at least the late 20th century in the United States "People of Color" is an umbrella term that replaces the terms non-White or "minorities" and means "all races and ethnicities who aren't White."    

Some examples of the "I Like Coffee I Like tea" use the word "color" instead "colored" i.e. "I like a color boy and he likes me". 
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/03/the-history-and-uses-of-referent.html for information about "The History And Uses Of The Referent "Colored" In The United States In The 19th Century - 21th Century)"

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LIST OF CONFRONTATIONAL RACIALIZED EXAMPLES OF "I LIKE COFFEE I LIKE TEA" THAT INCLUDE THE WORDS "I LIKE  A COLORED BOY" (or "COLOR BOY"   
(with demographic information and some contributor's notes and/or some Pancocojams Editor's notes)

These examples are presented under the first letter of the state where the contributor lived when they first chanted or heard this rhyme.

These examples don't represent all of the versions of this rhyme that I've come across that include the racial referent "colored" (or the mistaken-folk processed- term "color" as I've come across other examples of these confrontational racialized rhymes (mostly online) that don't include any demographic information. 

A. B.

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C. D.

California

"I was born in the very early 80's in the San Gabriel Valley and yes a lot of Black people lived there when I was growing up. From me reading the examples I always thoughts theses were separate rhymes because for each section different movements were made.

For me the "I like coffee, I like tee" went like this

I like coffee, I like tea.
I like a Colored boy and he likes me.
So white, white boy, you don't shine.
Turn around the corner and I’ll beat your behind.

 

Then after that rhyme we did maybe this

I’m cool, I’m cool all day from number 9
Give it to me another time.
Mhmm oh/or all my babby.
Mhmm oh/or all my babby.
Mhmm Mhmm Mhmm.

 

Also, Mama mama, let's get the rhythm, down down baby were all separate and we did separate movements. I just wanted to add my version of I like coffee and I'm cool(i can't find a reference for that).

Down, down baby down down the roller coaster
sweet sweet baby I’ll never let u go
shimmy shimmy cocoa puff
shimmy shimmy pow
shimmy shimmy cocoa puff
shimmy shimmy wow"
-Anonymous, October 25, 2018 at 6:49 PM, https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/racialized-versions-of-i-like-coffee-i.html

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E. F.

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G. H.

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I. J.

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K. L

Louisiana

"I'm young but in New Orleans 1990s-2000s I always heard:

Oh gosh he's crazy, oh gosh he's crazy
Take a piece take a plum take a piece of bubblegum
No piece no plum, no piece of bubblegum
I like coffee, I like tea
I like the colored and he likes me.
So smack that white boy, he don't shine.

(it could be step back white boy, I think I heard both)

I'll throw him round the corner and i'll beat his behind
Last night and the night before.
I met my boyfriend at the candy store.
He bought me ice cream he bought me cake.
He brought me home with a stomach ache.
I said Mama, mama, I feel sick
Call the doctor, quick, quick, quick
Doctor, doctor, if I die
I'll close my eyes and count to five
I said 1-2-3-4-5
I'm Alive!
See that house on top of that hill
That's where me and my boyfriend live.
Cook that chicken
Burn that rice
Come on baby let's shoot some DICE!
~T, August 25, 2013 at 2:46 PM https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/racialized-versions-of-i-like-coffee-i.html

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"I like coffee
I like tea
I like the colored boy
And he likes me.
So stop that white boy
Me don't shine
I'm going to give that boy
A kick in the behind.
Last night, the night before
I met my boyfriend at the candy store.
He brought me ice cream
He bought me tea
He brought me home [Hesitates, looks at me through lowered eyes.]
And he try my gate.
I said "Mama Mama I feel sick.
Call the doctor quick quick quick/
Doctor Doctor, will I die?
Close your eyes and count to five.
1-2-3-4-5.
See that house on top of the hill?

That's where me and my boyfriend live.

Cook that chicken. Eat that rice.

Come on baby, let's shoot some ...

Let's shoot...wait. Let's shoot some dice."
--fifth & six grade African American girls at John Dibert Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana, collected by Jeanne Pitre Soileau & included in her book Yo' Mama, Mary Mack, and Boudreaux and Thibodeaux: Louisiana Children's Folklore and Play (October 2018)
-snip-
I believe that the words in brackets refers to the action of a girl or the girls who shared this version with the author. The girl/girls hesitated and lowered her/their head because this part of the rhyme was risque.
 
The author (who is White) wrote that her mother remembered chanting this much shorter version of that rhyme in the 1920s (New Orleans, Louisiana)

"I love coffee
I love tea.
I love the boys
And they love me."
-snip-
Soileau also wrote that in the early 1950s she and her White friends jumped rope and chanted that same version her mother chanted.

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M. N.

Michigan

"Hello! I was singing this song and I wanted to learn where exactly it came from and I didn't know that it had so much history! I grew up in Detroit and was born in the year 2000 and the version I grew up with seem to have some mixtures of the examples you provided. The version I grew up with:

I like coffee, I like tea
I like the colored boy and he likes me.
So step back white boy you don't shine,
Cause I'll get the colored boy to beat yo behind.
Last night, and the night before
I met my boyfriend at the candy store.
He bought me ice cream he bought me cake,
He brought me home with a belly-ache.
I said "Mama, Mama I feel sick
Call the doctor quick,quick,quick".
Doctor Doctor shall I die?
Just close your eyes and count to 5.
I said a 1-2-3-4-5, I'm alive.
See that house n top of that hill?
That's where me and my baby gonna live.
Scoop the ice cream cut the cake,
Come on baby let's celebrate!

And sometimes, there'll be a weird ending at the end (which to me doesn't seem to match the flow of the rhyme) that goes:

That's not all, that's not all
My baby drinking alcohol.

 

Overall, this was a very interesting post, got to learn something new today. :)
-Anonymous, January 26, 2019 at 5:36 PM ,https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/racialized-versions-of-i-like-coffee-i.html, 

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New York

"Down, down baby
Down, down the roller coaster
Sweet, sweet baby
I'll never let you go
Chimey chimey cocoa pop
Chimey, chimey pow
Chimey, chimey cocoa pop
Chimey, chimey pop
I like coffee, I like tea
I like a colored boy and he likes me
So lets here the rhythm of the hands, (clap, clap) 2x
Let hear the rhythm of the feet (stomp, stomp) 2x
Let's hear the rhythm of the head (ding dong) 2x
Let's hear the rhythm of the hot dog
Let's hear the rhythm of the hot dog
Put em all together and what do you get
(Clap clap, stomp stomp), ding dong, hot Dog!"
-Yasmin Hernadez; 2004; memories of New York City {Latino/ African American neighborhood in the 1980s; www.cocojams.com [This was the name of my multi-page cultural website that was online from 2001-2014.]

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O. P.

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Q. R.

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S. T

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U. V.

Virginia

"I learned Version of Down Down Baby in virginia in the 90's

Down down baby, down by the rollercoaster
Sweet sweet baby, mama never let you go
Shimmy shimmy coca pop, shimmy shimmy pow!

I like coffee, I like tea,
I like a color boy and he likes me
So step back white boy, you don't shine
I'll get the color boy to beat yo' behind

Let get the rhythm of the hands (clap, clap)
We've got the rhythm of the hands (clap, clap)
Let's get the rhythm of the feet (stomp,stomp)
We've got the rhythm of the feet (stomp, stomp

Lets get the rhythm of the head DING-DONG
(move head side to side)
We've got the rhythm of the head DING-DONG (move head side to side)

Let's get the rhythm of the HOT-DOG
(move body around)
We've got the of the HOT-DOG
(move body around)

Put all together and and what do you get....
clap, clap, stomp, stomp, ding-dong, hot-dog
Say them all backwards and what do you get....
hot-dog, ding-dong, stomp, stomp, clap, clap!"
-GUEST,Down Down baby, 30 May 07, Folklore: Do kids still do clapping rhymes?https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=63097&threadid=63097

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W. X

Washington  (state)

"Down down baby / colored boy version was sang on the school yard at my elementary school in 1977 during double dutch at recess. I never understood the colored reference (iknew what it meant but not how it came to be, bc no one had ever used that term), I was only in 3rd grade, but it seems that it was taught to the younger generation. Oaklake elementary, Seattle"
-Anonymous, March 12, 2013 at 8:59 AM, pancocojams

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".I learned a version of Down down baby that went like this:

own down baby, down by the roller coasters
Sweet sweet baby, I'll never let you go
Shimmy shimmy coco pop
Shimmy shimmy rye
Shimmy shimmy coco pop
Don't make me cry
I like coffee, I like tea
I like the ??? boys, and they like me.

 

Now as I sang this to my daughter, I could not for the life of me remember what the adjective on "boys" was. Having read a bit about the rhyme on your site and on Mudcat, I am now pretty sure that the missing word was "colored". Now, I am white and the little girls who taught me the rhyme were mostly white, and this being the late 80s, in liberal Seattle, I don't think we had any idea what "colored" meant. My guess is that when I grew up and learned about the term and our country's history of racism, I mentally blocked out the "racist" term from my memory of the rhyme. Interesting.

-Emma M; (Greenlake Elementary School; Seattle Washington, late 1980s) ; May 10, 2010; Cocojams.com handclap rhymes[cocojams.com was the name of my multipage cultural website. That website was online from 2001-2014.]
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor Note:

I exchanged several emails with Emma M. She confirmed that the version of this rhyme she remembers stopped after the last line given above. As part of my response to Emma's email, I wrote that the referent "Colored boy" isn't inherently racist. I also wrote that since "Colored" hasn't been used since the 1960s as a referent for African Americans, if any young African American (or if anyone else) used that phrase now, it's very likely that they don't know what it means. That goes double for the phrase "I like a color boy". Children who chant those lines may have been doing so from rote memory, vocalizing the rhythmic utterances without thinking about what the words they are saying really mean.

Emma responded to that email by writing "I agree with you that the term "colored" isn't inherently racist, but as soon as I learned about it, I certainly I would have perceived its use in the modern era by a bunch of little white girls as, at the very least, very embarrassing, if not outright racist."
-snip-
Emma also shared with me that she had talked with another (White) female friend of hers who went to another Seattle school at the same time as she did, and who also remembered saying the line "I like a colored boy" with the "Down Down Baby" rhyme. Emma also wrote that "the 1980s there was bussing and [Seattle] schools were fairly well integrated."

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Y. Z

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ADDENDUM
"The version I grew up on was a little more sexual than violent....

I like coffee,
I like tea,
I like the colored boy and he likes me,
So step back white boy you don't shine,
I'll get the colored boy to beat yo behind,
Last night, the night before,
I met my boyfriend at the candy store,
He bought me ice cream, he bought me cake,
He brought me home with a stomach ache,
Mama, mama, I feel sick,
Call the dictor quiick, quick, quick!
Doctor, doctor will I die?
Close your eyes and count to five,
1,2,3,4,5
See that house on top of the hill,
That's where me and my boyfriend live,
Take some chicken, fry the bread,
Come on baby let's get in the bed,
Come on baby let's do it again ahhh.."
-GUEST, A 70's Child, 13 Oct 07, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4300 ,  Children's Street Songs

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This concludes Part I of this three part pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Pancocojams Compilation Of Double Dutch Rhymes -Part II (I -Z)

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision- August 8, 2025

This is Part II of a two part series that provides an alphabetized list of text (word only) examples of Double Dutch rhymes ot Double Dutch rhymes that have been chanted in the United States. I'm referring to this compilation as the pancocojams (Azizi Powell) compilation of Double Dutch rhymes)

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/04/pancocojams-compilation-of-double-dutch.html for Part I (Numbers- H) of this pancoocjams series.*

The content of this post is presented for folkloric purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
*For some reason, this post doesn't show up in my comprehensive list of published pancocojams post. However, that link is still active (meaning that post is still available.)

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
This is a partial listing of the English language recreational Double Dutch rhymes that have been chanted and/or still are chanted in the United States. "Recreational Double Dutch" is sometimes referred to as "street Double Dutch".

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"Double Dutch" is a sub-category of children's jump rope recreational play. 1973 (New York City) marks the beginning of Double Dutch as a recreational sport. One of the key differences between recreational Double Dutch and the sport  of Double Dutch is that chantng rhymes/singing songs while jumping isn't a part of the Double Dutch sport.

Many of the rhymes (also known as "songs" or "ditties") that are chanted for single rope jumping are also chanted for Double Dutch (and vice versa).  Since at least the 1970s, many jump rope rhymes have been chanted as hand clap rhymes. For that reason, the words for a number of  Double Dutch rhymes are the same as or very similar to rhymes that are most often performed while playing hand clap games.

Most of the examples in this pancocojams compilation of Double Dutch rhymes are from Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling edited by Anna R. Beresin or from a chapter that Anna R. Beresin wrote that is included in a book on children's recreational play. At few other examples are from other books. All of these rhymes were collected from African American children/pre-teens.  

The other examples of Double Dutch rhymes in this compilation are from various YouTube discussion threads or other internet websites in which the commenters/contributors specifically refer to jumping Double Dutch, and not those rhymes examples that are mentioned in connection with "jumping (skipping) rope".

It's likely that most - if not all- of the YouTube commenters are African Americans because they have self-identified as such, and/or based on their knowledge of a rhyme that is only associated or most often associated with African Americans who play Double Dutch that is or was since at least the 1940s or 1950s) most often considered a "Black girls' game. vity game since at least the 1940s or 1950s).

The commenters from other discussion threads or internet sites have either self-identified as Black (African American) or can be assumed to be Black based on the title of the discussion thread, and/or based on the fact that those discussion threads are geared to (or for) Black people or specifically to (or for) Black women. For example, all of the participants in the Greekchat.com discussion threads that are quoted in this compilation are members of 

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Click the Double Dutch rhyme tag below for additional pancocojams posts about Double Dutch. Those posts may include more information about playing Double Dutch and more information about one or more of the rhymes that are included in this compilation.

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EXAMPLES: I - Z  
These examples are presented in alphabetical order based on the first number or the first letter of the first letter of the first word. The source (i.e. book, direct collection, or website) is given below the example along with demographic information and/or comments.

Comments or a brief excerpt from the cited source may be given with some of these examples. A brief editorial comment from me may also follow a specific example. 

I, J
ICE CREAM CHERRY ON TOP  (Example #1)
"Ice cream, ice cream cherry on top, how many boyfriends do you got?"
-Sweetpea43, Aug, 12, 2020, https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/double-dutch-jump-rope-rhymes.3807765/ Double Dutch rhymes? 

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ICE CREAM CHERRY ON TOP
 “Ice cream, ice cream / Cherry on top / How many boyfriends does (NAME) got / 1, 2, 3, 4…"
-Shireal Carrol, October 29, 2020, https://www.essence.com/news/flashback-fridays-double-dutch/ Flashback Fridays: Double Dutch

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IN THE DARK DARK WORLD
In the dark, dark world,

-from The Jump Rope Book & the Jump Rope Paperback by Elizabeth Loredo (Author), Martha Cooper, quoted in "Self, Other, and Jump Rope Community: The Triumphs of African American Women", 2007 Georgia Southern University dissertation, by Wynnetta Ann Scott-Simmons https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?There is a dark, dark country.

In the dark, dark country,

There is a dark, dark wood.

In the dark, dark wood

There is a dark, dark house.

In the dark, dark, house

There is a man trying to fix the fuse!
--The Jump Rope Book & the Jump Rope Paperback by Elizabeth Loredo (Author), Martha Cooper, quoted in "Self, Other, and Jump Rope Community: The Triumphs of African American Women", 2007 Georgia Southern University dissertation, by Wynnetta Ann Scott-Simmons https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1507&context=etd
-snip-
The jump rhyme examples in this dissertation are from African American female Wynnetta Ann Scott-Simmons and three of her African American school girlfriends' memories of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the 1960s.

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IN [YOUR TOWN'S NAME]
In (your town's name)

There is a school,

In that school

There is a class,

In that class,

There is a desk,

In that desk,

There is a book,

In that book,

There is a picture,

In that picture,

There is a ghost!
-The Jump Rope Book & the Jump Rope Paperback by Elizabeth Loredo (Author), Martha Cooper, quoted in "Self, Other, and Jump Rope Community: The Triumphs of African American Women", 2007 Georgia Southern University dissertation, by Wynnetta Ann Scott-Simmons https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1507&context=etd

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I WAS STANDING ON THE CORNER
I was standing on the corner,

Not doing any harm.

Along came the policeman

Who took me by the arm.

He took me round the corner,

And he rang a little bell.

Along came a police car

And took me to my cell

I woke up in the morning

And looked up at the wall

The cooties and the bedbugs

Were playing a game of ball

The score was six to nothing

The bedbugs were ahead

The cooties hit a homerun

And knocked me out of bed.
-The Jump Rope Book & the Jump Rope Paperback by Elizabeth Loredo (Author), Martha Cooper, quoted in "Self, Other, and Jump Rope Community: The Triumphs of African American Women", 2007 Georgia Southern University dissertation, by Wynnetta Ann Scott-Simmons https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1507&context=etd

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I WON'T GO TO MACY'S
I won't go to Macy's any more, more, more,

There's a great big policeman at the door, door, door.

He grabs you by the collar,

And makes you pay a dollar.

I won't go to Macy's any more, more, more.
-The Jump Rope Book & the Jump Rope Paperback by Elizabeth Loredo (Author), Martha Cooper, quoted in "Self, Other, and Jump Rope Community: The Triumphs of African American Women", 2007 Georgia Southern University dissertation, by Wynnetta Ann Scott-Simmons https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1507&context=etd

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J I GYPSY
"When we were jumping rope we used to go through all the numbers first 2-4-6-8-10, 1-0 2-0 3-0 etc. and then bust out this rhyme:

J-I gypsy
where she been
she been around the world and back home again
she's a lover undercover
get down with ya mama
so spell your name on 1 foot (then she did it)
now spell your name on 2 feet (then she did it)

or

J-I gypsy
Muhammad Ali
Where on earth could her lover be?
I don't think anybody got further than that or either I forget the rest.
- Symphony08 (Location: Illinois), 03-26-2003, 
http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=31403&page=3, "Old School Chants"

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JACK BE NIMBLE
Jack be nimble
Jack be quick
Jack hoofed up over the candlestick
Foot, hop, around the side
Un huh, that girl from
North Philly
She don’t take no stuff
From nobody
She’s up
She’s down
She’s all around
-African American girls playing Double Dutch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling, edited by Anna R. Beresin, page 96 , collected in 1992

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JUMP SHAMADOR
Good Morning to you Joseph

Good Morning to you too.

What is your intention?

I want to be a doctor

You canít be a doctor.

I will be a doctor!

Well, Jump shamador my darling,

Jump shamador my dear.
-The Jump Rope Book & the Jump Rope Paperback by Elizabeth Loredo (Author), Martha Cooper, quoted in "Self, Other, and Jump Rope Community: The Triumphs of African American Women", 2007 Georgia Southern University dissertation, by Wynnetta Ann Scott-Simmons https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1507&context=etd

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K, L

KINGS AND QUEENS AND PARTNERS TOO
Kings and Queens and partners too,

Here are the things that you must do;

Stand at ease,

Bend your knees

Salute to the east,

Bow to the west,

Shake to the one,

That you like best.
-The Jump Rope Book & the Jump Rope Paperback by Elizabeth Loredo (Author), Martha Cooper, quoted in "Self, Other, and Jump Rope Community: The Triumphs of African American Women", 2007 Georgia Southern University dissertation, by Wynnetta Ann Scott-Simmons https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1507&context=etd

****

KITTY KAT BAR
kitty Kat Bar
Gonna be on time
Cause the school bell rings
At a quarter to nine
Don’t be late
At a quarter to eight
1, 2, 3 oh 9
Late, late, late, late
1, 2, 3, oh 9

(Repeats until a jumper enters the rope)
-African American girls playing Double Dutch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling edited by Anna R. Beresin, page 95, collected in 1992

****
M, N

MINI SKIRT
Look at that girl with the mini skirt
You mess with her
Get your feelings hurt
She knows karate
From the front to the back
Foot, she’s all that
Hop, she’s all that
Bounce, she’s all that
--African American girls playing Double Dutch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling edited by Anna R. Beresin, page 93, collected in 1999

****
MISS MARY MACK
Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack,

All dressed in black, black, black,

With silver buttons, buttons, buttons,

All down her back, back, back.

She went upstairs to make her bed,

She made a mistake and bumped her head;

She went downstairs to wash the dishes,

She made a mistake and washed her wishes;

She went outside to hang her clothes,

She made a mistake and hung her nose 
-The Jump Rope Book & the Jump Rope Paperback by Elizabeth Loredo (Author), Martha Cooper, quoted in "Self, Other, and Jump Rope Community: The Triumphs of African American Women", 2007 Georgia Southern University dissertation, by Wynnetta Ann Scott-Simmons https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1507&context=etd

****

MOTHER RAN THE BUTCHER SHOP
Mother ran the butcher shop,

Father cut the meat.

I was just their little kid,

Running cross the street.

How many times do I cross?

One, two, three
-The Jump Rope Book & the Jump Rope Paperback by Elizabeth Loredo (Author), Martha Cooper, quoted in "Self, Other, and Jump Rope Community: The Triumphs of African American Women", 2007 Georgia Southern University dissertation, by Wynnetta Ann Scott-Simmons https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1507&context=etd

****
MY MOTHER AND YOUR MOTHER (were hanging the clothes) 
"My mother and your mother where hanging the clothes. My mother punched your mother right in the nose" What color was the Blood Red, R E D another color then spell....I Don't know the rest...
-IAmTazzie. Aug 12, 2011, https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/dbl-dutch.323634/ Dbl Dutch

****
NIKE 
Nike Nike
Who can do the Nike? 
Foot to the N-I-K-E 
Hop to the N-I-K-E
Walk to the N-I-K-E
Bounce to the N-I-K-E
Turn to the N-I-K-E
Criss to the N-I-K-E
-African American girls playing Double Dutch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling edited by Anna R. Beresin, page 66, collected in 1992, 2004)
-snip-
NIKE is pronounced NI (rhymes with "why") + key
-snip-
"Nike" is a popular brand of athlete shoes. 

****

O, P

OBADIAH JUMPED IN THE FIRE 
Obadiah jumped into the fire.
The fire was hot so he jumped in the pot.
The pot was black, so he jumped in a sack.
The sack was full, so he jumped in a pool.
The pool was wet, so he jumped in a net.
The net was fishy, so he jumped in a dishy.
The dishy was hard, so he jumped in the yard.
The yard was yuk, so he jumped in a truck.
The truck was loud, so he jumped in a cloud.
The cloud flew away, so he jumped in the hay.
The hay was just right, so he stayed there all night.
-Joy Cowley, Story Chest: Small Read Together Books - Obadiah Stage 1 (Story Chest S.) [quoted in https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=72705 "Obadiah (jumped in the fire)
-snip-
There are many versions of this rhyme which is also given as Old Aunt Mariah Jumped In The Fire" (given directly below) and other names. Two examples are given in Part I of this series.

****
OLD AUNT MARIAH JUMPED IN THE FIRE
Old Aunt Mariah, jumped in the fire
Fire too hot, jumped in the pot
Pot too black, jumped in the crack
Crack too shallow, jumped in the tallow
Tallow too soft, jumped in the loft
Loft too high, jumped in the sky
Sky too blue, jumped in canoe
Canoe too rotten, jumped in the cotton
Cotton so white she stayed there all night!
-masato sakurai, 05 Feb 05, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=72705 Old man 'badiah/Jumped in the fire quoting Mrs Wiley, March 23, 2004, 
https://www.tagsrwc.com/chitchat/archive/2004_03_29.html

****

OLIVER TWIST
Oliver Twist, he canít do this,

So whatís the use of trying?

Number One: Touch your tongue.

Number Two: Touch your shoe.

Number Three: Bend your knee.

Number Four: Touch the floor.

Number Five: Wave good-bye.

Number Six: Do the splits.

Good-bye, Oliver Twist.
-The Jump Rope Book & the Jump Rope Paperback by Elizabeth Loredo (Author), Martha Cooper, quoted in "Self, Other, and Jump Rope Community: The Triumphs of African American Women", 2007 Georgia Southern University dissertation, by Wynnetta Ann Scott-Simmons https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1507&context=etd

****

ON A MOUNTAIN STANDS A LADY
On a mountain stands a lady.

Who she is, I do not know.

All she wants is gold and silver.

All she wants is Big Fat Joe.

So jump in - - -

And jump out, - - -

On a mountain stands a lady
-he Jump Rope Book & the Jump Rope Paperback by Elizabeth Loredo (Author), Martha Cooper, quoted in "Self, Other, and Jump Rope Community: The Triumphs of African American Women", 2007 Georgia Southern University dissertation, by Wynnetta Ann Scott-Simmons https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?

****

Q, R

REEBOK [title]
REEBOK

R-E-E

B-O-K

Do your footsies the Reebok way

R-E-E

B-O-K

Do your hopsies the Reebok way

R-E-E

B-O-K

Do your footsies the Reebok way

R-E-E

B-O-K

Do your walksies the Reebok way

R-E-E

B-O-K

Do your bouncies the Reebok way

R-E-E

B-O-K

Do your turnsies the Reebok way

R-E-E

B-O-K

Do your crisses the Reebok way
-African American girls playing Double Dutch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling edited by Anna R. Beresin, page 66, collected in 1992, 2004)
-snip-
"Reebok" is a popular brand of athlete shoes. It was (is?) a national sponsor of double dutch competitions

****
S, T

SHABADOOBA ONE
I’ve been told been / When a boy meets a girl / You take a trip around the world / Shabadooba dop one, Shabadooba two, two, Shababooda three— and your aim was to get up to 100…
-Cassie Owens, May 30, 2016, "Philly Girls Jump: How mothers are working to keep Double Dutch alive", https://billypenn.com/2016/05/30/philly-girls-jump-how-mothers-are-working-to-keep-double-dutch-alive/

****
SOUL TRAIN COMES ON CHANNEL FIVE
..."Kids these days just don't know the fun we had playing outside when we were younger.
Did we have TVs...Yes. Game consoles...Sure! However, although a different world, Mario Bros and Sonic The Hedgehog were entertaining, there was nothing like the competition of seeing who could last the longest doing dance steps, while singing "Soul Train Comes On Channel Five" between two clothes lines that doubled as disciplinary tools (If you know, you know.)

[...]     

After the song was chosen, and my favorite was "Big Mack" (again, if you know you know), then it was time to get the party started"...
-Dr. Ebony White, April 26, 2020, https://www.drebonywhite.com/blog/2016/9/12/lorem-ipsum-dolor-sit-amet-3-xgt35 Double Dutch, April 26, 2020
-snip-
It was time to get the party started" means that it was time to actually begin jumping Double Dutch. 

I haven't found the words to (or any other reference for) the song/rhyme "Soul Train Comes On Channel Five".
 
The word “Mack” in “Big Mack” is probably a folk processed form of the word “Mac”(if not a misspelling of that word”). Read examples of "Big Mac" in Part I of this compilation.

****.
TEACHER NEARLY HAD A FIT
Teacher nearly had a fit

When I learned the alphabet.

Seems I wasnít very bright ñ

I could never get it right.

I always got stuck after

A, B, C, D…
-The Jump Rope Book & the Jump Rope Paperback by Elizabeth Loredo (Author), Martha Cooper, quoted in "Self, Other, and Jump Rope Community: The Triumphs of African American Women", 2007 Georgia Southern University dissertation, by Wynnetta Ann Scott-Simmons https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1507&context=etd

****
TRAVEL 
"I still remember the words to the Travel ditty. The way it worked was you had to run clear through the turning rope without jumping or touching the rope. As you run through, your rope turners (and everyone else playing) would sing Tra-vel.; Once everyone traveled, the lyrics became: Travel in and out. This meant that you jumped in, skipped rope for one or two beats and then you exited on the next beat (without letting the rope trip you up on the way out.) On the jumper’s next go, the song continues, with a new command for the jumpers each try (Travel in/Cross your legs/Turn around/And out). [end of quote] www.debbierigaud.com Travel In and Out"
-snip-
This paragraph was quoted by Zapatos, August 12, 2011 in quoted in https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/dbl-dutch.323634/  Dbl Duth.

I haven't found the "Travel In And Out" post, but in her website, Debbie Rigaud describes herself as a Black woman of  Haitian descent who grew up in New Jersey.Zapatos, Aug 12, 2011
-snip-
"Travel" is also mentioned in this discussion thread: https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/dbl-dutch.323634/ however, the commenters couldn't remember how it was played.

****
U, V

****

W, X

****

Y, Z

ZEROOOOOO------ ZEROOOOO----- ZIG ZIG god no higher!!!!!!


Game rules:
3 Jumps/turn per person
1 do over
you have to turn for your jumps
-Mellie York, Aug, 12, 2020, https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/double-dutch-jump-rope-rhymes.3807765/ Double Dutch Jump Rope Rhymes

****
This concludes Part II of this two part pancocojams series.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

"Juice Juice, Let's Knock Some Boots" & Four Other Recreational Double Dutch Rhymes

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Update: August 7, 2025

This is Part III of a four part pancocojams series on recreational (street, old school) Double Dutch, with an emphasis on Double Dutch (jump rope) rhymes.

Part III showcases text (word only) examples of five recreational Double Dutch rhymes and provides comments about those examples, including suggesting probably Hip Hop sources for some of those rhymes.

The words to these rhymes are from Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling, by Anna R. Beresin (Univ. Press of Mississippi, May 27, 2011).

Comments about the source of certain of these jump rope rhymes and explanations about the meanings of some of the topical references in those rhymes are also included in this post.

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/speculation-about-when-why-recreational.html for Part I of this series. Part I presents my thoughts about the reasons for the demise of recreational Double Dutch with or without chanted rhymes. Part I also includes an excerpt from an online article that provides a general overview about recreational Double Dutch, with emphasis on the years that girls were involved in this activity.

In addition, Part I also showcases four YouTube videos of recreational or competitive sports Double Dutch. A video of Malcolm Mclaren's 1983 song "Double Dutch" is also featured in this post, particularly for its visual documentation of Double Dutch sports teams more than for its South African sourced music. Selected comments about Double Dutch from those videos' discussion threads are also included in this post.

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/excerpt-about-recreational-double-dutch.html for Part II of this series. Part II features an excerpt from the chapter "Double Dutch And Double Cameras: Studying The Transmission Of Culture In An Urban School" by Ann Richman Beresin. This chapter is part of the 1999 book Children's Folklore: A SourceBook edited by Brian Sutton-Smith, Jay Mechling, Thomas W. Johnson, and Felicia McMahon (Utah State University Press, originally published in 1995).

In addition, Part II showcases the 1985/1986 McDonald Double Dutch commercial (which is also featured in Part I) as well as two YouTube videos of "Big Mac" performed as a two person and as a four person hand clap game.

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/references-to-double-dutch-jump-rope-in.html for Part IV of this video. Part IV provides a partial time line of references to Double Dutch in American and British television shows, movies, commercials, and recorded songs.

This post also showcases one of this commercials: Coca Cola Double Dutch.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Anna R. Beresin for documenting and sharing these examples. Thanks to all those who contributed the Double Dutch rhymes and other examples of children's rhymes that are included in that book. Thanks also to all others who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
This is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on Double Dutch (jump rope) and jump roping rope in general, particular as those activities relate to African American females.

Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/08/criminal-minded-double-dutch-jump-rope.html for the closely related pancocojams post "Criminal Minded" Double Dutch Jump Rope Rhymes (Information, Examples, Comments, & A Video)".
 
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SOURCE MATERIAL FOR THE DOUBLE DUTCH RHYMES THAT ARE FEATURED IN THIS POST
The words to these rhymes are from Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling, by Anna R. Beresin (Univ. Press of Mississippi, May 27, 2011).

Here's an excerpt about this book from https://books.google.com/books?id=Wsm-IE3srh4C&dq=Boom+Boom+Tangle&source=gbs_navlinks_s
..."The author [Anna R. Beresin] videotaped and recorded children of the Mill School in Philadelphia from 1991 to 2004 and asked them to offer comments as they watched themselves at play. These sessions in Recess Battles raise questions about adult power and the changing frames of class, race, ethnicity, and gender. The grown-ups’ clear misunderstanding of the complexity of children’s play is contrasted with the richness of the children’s folk traditions."...
-snip-
Anne R. Beresin is also the author of the chapter on Double Dutch that is featured in Part II of this pancocojams series.

****
SELECTED EXAMPLES OF DOUBLE DUTCH RHYMES
The words to these examples are from https://books.google.com/books?id=Wsm-IE3srh4C&pg=PA91&lpg=PA91&dq=Boom+Boom+Tangle&source=bl&ots=mYDeDwycGK& "Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling"

These examples are given in alphabetical order and are given without the underlining that was given in the original text for words that are emphasized during the girls' jumping.

Comments about each rhyme are given under that rhyme.

I.
BIG MAC
Big Mac
Fillet Of Fish
Quarter Pounder
French fries
Ice* Coke
Sundae and apple pie
-snip-
*"Ice Coke" is often chanted as "Icy Coke" in hand clap rhymes.

As mentioned in Part II of this series, the rhyme "Big Mac" is very widely performed as a hand clap rhyme in the United States and my sense is that very few children know that it was ever a jump rope rhyme. Instead of the title "Big Mac", I believe that the title "Welcome To McDonalds" is the one that is most often used for this hand clap. That title comes from the introductory words for that hand clap rhyme: "Welcome to McDonalds/may I take your order".

One contributing factor to the popularity of the "Big Mac" jump rope rhyme was probably the fact that it was featured in a 1985 McDonald commercial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo5DbV0ZKAI.

For some reason, in the hand clap version the line "and the dish ran away with the spoon" is frequently added to the end of that rhyme.

****
II.
BOOM BOOM TANGLE
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Yo Kenya [jumper’s name] yo
Let me see you do the
MC Hammer she said
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang

Yo Kenya yo
Let me see you do the
Bobbie Brown she said
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang

Yo Kenya yo
Let me see you do the
Heavy D she said
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang

Yo Kenya yo
Let me see you do the
Roger Rabbit she said
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang

Yo Kenya yo
Let me see you do the
The Butterfly she said
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang

Yo Kenya yo
Let me see you do the
The Honky Tonk she said
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang


(1992, 1999)
"When an artist’s name was sung -M.C. Hammer, Bobbie Brown, Heavy D-the girls imitated the artist’s style, moves, gestures. The artists are mixed in with a reference to a movie character, Roger Rabbit, and the butterfly, a creature famous for changing his body"

[page 91, 92 in "Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling"]
-snip-
Here are some friendly corrections to Anna R. Beresin's explanations for the let me see you do the" portion of this jump rope rhyme: 

"MC. Hammer" and "Heavy D" were rappers

"Bobby Brown" was an R&B singer

"Roger Rabbit" was an animated movie character but in African American girls' texts "Roger Rabbit" was the name of a Hip Hop/ R&B dance

"the Butterfly" was the name of a Reggae dance that was very popular with African Americans.
(There are lots of references to "doing the Butterfly" in contemporary (1990s) African American girls' recreational rhymes and cheers).

"the Honky Tonk" was probably the name of a R&B/Hip Hop dance that was popular at that time in the Philadelphia area (although I'm not familiar with that dance).

Also, I wonder if Ms. Beresin meant the following by her transcription:
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Yo Kenya [jumper’s name] yo
Let me see you do the
MC Hammer
she [meaning Kenya said]:
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang

Yo [another girl's name] yo
Let me see you do the
Bobbie Brown
she [meaning the girl who is named above] said:
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
-snip-
And so on, with each "Yo" ___ "yo" being the name or nickname of another girl in the group.

"Yo" here means "Hey".

It's possible that my interpretation of this rhyme is colored by my interest in foot stomping cheers. However, this rhyme meets the characteristics of those cheers, including the beginning lines "Boom boom tangle".

****
III.
D.I.S.H. CHOICE
D.I.S.H. choice, do your footsies
D.I.S.H. choice, up the ladder
D.I.S.H. choice do your hopsies
D.I.S.H. choice do your turnsies
1, 2, and 3, and a 1, 2, and 3
Hop, 1, 2, and 3
Jump, 1, 2, and 3

{At choice* the jumper can do "what she wants")

(1992, 1999)
-snip-

[page 94 in "Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling"]
-snip-
[Added August 7, 2017]

Here's some information about and another example of the rhyme "D.I.S.H. CHOICE":
"Some Jump Rope Rimes From South Philadelphia" by Roger D. Abrahams in Keystone Folklore Quarterly, Volume 8, Spring Issue 1963, edited by Simon Bronner

page 5
"In the game with two “enders”, there are three standard ways of turning the ropes, “single”, double Dutch”, “Irish or “double Irish” (the same as double-dutch only underhanded and much more difficult). The most common types are the counting games...

[...]


Page 8
D. I.S. H. Choice
This is a jump that allows you to pick which way you want the rope turned. “D” stand for “Double Dutch”, “I” for “Irish”, “S” for single turn, “H” for “hop”, and “choice” is for any of the previous four.
The one you miss on is the one you must do.

D.I. S. H choice
D.I. S. H choice
D.I. S. H choice
H O P, hop
1, 2, 3"

****
IV.
HEY DJ
Hey DJ let's sing that song
Keep a footin'
All night long
Hey DJ let's sing that song
Keep a hoppin'
All night long
Hey DJ let's sing that song
Keep a turnin'
All night long
Hey DJ let's sing that song
Keep a clappin'
All night long
(1992)

The body had to show "endurance" all night long and it had to show style and "get loose". Jumpers had to be disciplined "on time", and flexible ("Do it right").
-snip-
[page 94 in "Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling"]
-snip-
The Double Dutch rhyme "Hey DJ" undoubtedly has its source in the hit 1984 Hip Hop record with that same title.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hey_DJ
"Hey! DJ" is a song by The World's Famous Supreme Team. Writing is credited to Larry Price (Sedivine the Mastermind) & Ronald Larkins Jr. (Just Allah the Superstar) and it was produced by Stephen Hague. Released on 12" in 1984 on Island Records, there were three mixes included.[1] The song refers with small lyric parts to McLaren & Supreme Team's previous hit, "Buffalo Gals", which the group featured on. "Hey DJ" peaked at number fifteen on the US soul chart.[2]

Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5D1bgGetRY for a video of that song which includes the words "Keep em dancing all night."

By the way, the word "a" in this example and in most African American vernacular examples is pronounced "ah".

****
V. BOOTS
Juice Juice, gotta get loose
We came here to knock some boots 
Foot oh yeah oh yeah
Hop oh yeah oh yeah
BOUNCE oh yeah oh yeah
(1992)
-snip-
Page 95, chapter: Lessons From Old School Rhymes in "Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling"

****
SOURCE FOR THE DOUBLE DUTCH RHYME "JUICE JUICE KNOCK SOME BOOTS"
The African American girls' Double Dutch rhyme "Juice Juice Knock Some Boots" has its source in a Hip Hop record which was popular during the late 1980s/early 1990s.

From https://raphiphop.tuneforums.com/thread_view.php?threadID=476
Posted: 07/06/06 02:29 PM
Author: nittigr
Location: USA-GA
Late 80's/poss Early 90's Hip-Hop/Rap Song....
"There was a song out that may have been called 'Knock some boots' or 'We came here to knock some boots'. Does anyone remember this song or know who sang it? Thanks!"

**
Posted: 12/12/06
Author: njoy2day
Location: Philadelphia

[Reply]
Late 80's/poss Early 90's Hip-Hop/Rap Song....
"The song you're looking for is entitled Knock Some Boots by Sam the Beast. "Feel that juice, time to get loose...we came here to knock some boots." He also made, Knock, Knock. "Knock, knock..who's there...knock,knock who's there...Sam I am." A guy named Scooter that works at a music store in Delaware can get it for you if you're interested. I was on the same quest myself!"

**
Posted: 04/02/08 08:28 PM
Author: nittigr
Location: USA-GA

[Reply]

Late 80's/poss Early 90's Hip-Hop/Rap Song....
"YES>>>YES>>> thats the song by Sam the Beast! I know this reply is late...but I just got another reply from this recently so I thought I'd better leave a response so everyone knows."

Thank you!
-snip-
Note there were other rap songs that were mentioned in that discussion that had the title “knocking boots” including Candyman ‘s "Knockin' Boots".
-snip-
"Knocking boots" is (was) an African American Vernacular English term that means/meant "having sex".

****
This concludes Part III of this four part pancocojams series on recreational Double Dutch.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Excerpt About Recreational Double Dutch From The 1999 Book "Children's Folklore: A SourceBook"

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a four part pancocojams series on recreational (street, old school) Double Dutch, with an emphasis on Double Dutch (jump rope) rhymes.

Part II features an excerpt from the chapter "Double Dutch And Double Cameras: Studying The Transmission Of Culture In An Urban School" by Ann Richman Beresina. This chapter is part of the 1999 book Children's Folklore: A SourceBook edited by Brian Sutton-Smith, Jay Mechling, Thomas W. Johnson, and Felicia McMahon (Utah State University Press, originally published in 1995).

In addition, Part II showcases the 1985/1986 McDonald Double Dutch commercial (which is also featured in Part I) as well as two YouTube videos of "Big Mac" performed as a two person and as a four person hand clap game.

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/speculation-about-when-why-recreational.html for Part I of this series. Part I presents my thoughts about the reasons for the demise of recreational Double Dutch with or without chanted rhymes. Part I also includes an excerpt from an online article that provides a general overview about recreational Double Dutch, with emphasis on the years that girls were involved in this activity.

In addition, Part I also showcases four YouTube videos of recreational or competitive sports Double Dutch. A video of Malcolm Mclaren's 1983 song "Double Dutch" is also featured in this post, particularly for its visual documentation of Double Dutch sports teams more than for its South African sourced music. Selected comments about Double Dutch from those videos' discussion threads are also included in this post.

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/juice-juice-lets-knock-some-boots-four.html for Part III of this pancocojams series. Part III showcases text (word only) examples of five recreational Double Dutch rhymes and provides comments about those examples, including suggesting probably Hip Hop sources for some of those rhymes.

The words to these rhymes are from Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling, by Anna R. Beresin (Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2010).

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/references-to-double-dutch-jump-rope-in.html for Part IV of this video. Part IV provides a partial time line of references to Double Dutch in American and British television shows, movies, commercials, and recorded songs.

This post also showcases one of this commercials: Coca Cola Double Dutch.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Ann Richman Beresin, the author of the excerpt of Children's Folklore: A SourceBook that is quoted in this post. Thanks to all those who contributed the Double Dutch rhymes and other examples of children's rhymes that are included in that book.
-snip-
This is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on Double Dutch (jump rope) and jump roping rope in general, particularly as those activities relate to African American females.

Also, click the tags below to find other posts in this series.

****
EXCERPT:
Chapter 4: Double Dutch And Double Cameras: Studying The Transmission of Culture In An Urban Shool Yard" by Ann Richman Beresin in the 1999 book Children's Folklore: A Sourcebook edited by Brian Sutton-Smith, Jay Mechling, Thomas W. Johnson, Felicia McMahon (Utah State University Press)

http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1059&context=usupress_pubs

[page 79]
..."Several games were studied in this larger exploration of the folklore of the 1991-92 Mill School yard [Philadelphia Pennsylvania], including the games of the third- through fifth-grade boys. This paper, however, will serve as a window to the specific game worlds of the double dutch players. (For a complete view of the larger study, which includes handball, folk basketball, hopscotch, step dancing, and play fighting, see Beresin 1993.) Double dutch was perhaps the chief peer-led activity for African American girls at the Mill School, and provided a performance focus for a mobile audience of both girls and boys in the school yard.

DOUBLE DUTCH
A fast-paced, polyrhythmic jump-rope style, double dutch utilizes two ropes, typically turned inwards, egg beater fashion, by two girls who have "the ends," while a single jumper executes specific steps to a specific song or chant. It is almost exclusively an African American girls' tradition in urban Pennsylvania, and has been virtually ignored in the jump-rope literature. There has been so little written on double dutch in the folklore literature, and in the collections of African American folklore, that it could even have been said to be skipped over.

[page 80]
Singing game and street game collections like those of the Opies have described larger game traditions but excluded rope singing. American children's folklore, as in the works of Bronner and Knapp and Knapp, have homogenized the ethnicity of their young experts and have given us only single rope traditions; the African American collections of general folklore have rarely even mentioned the lore of young girls (Kochman 1972; Jackson 1967; Whitten and Szwed 1982). With the exception of Jones's and Hawes's Step It Down (1972) and Black Girls at Play (1975) by Bauman, Eckhardt, and Brady, the games of African American girls have been rendered practically invisible, and these collections have examined only the stepping and clapping forms. Abrahams's Jump-Rope Rhymes: A Dictionary (1969), a text called "the most thorough recent compilation of these (jump rope) rhymes for English-speaking children" (Schwartzman 1978, 36), lists a handful of articles relevant to double dutch, but, with the exception of his own useful 1963 article, all deal with it only in passing.

Even when only a single rope was available-it was typically one brought by a child from home-it was utilized in the style and steps of double dutch. Two girls hold the ends and turn for the girl who is jumping, and often it is expected that one must turn for someone before getting the chance to jump. Occasionally the "double Irish" or "double orange" style of rope turning was observed; that is the term for the turning of the ropes outward, egg beater style. This method was considered more difficult and sometimes occurred by accident when the turners changed direction. More typically, there would be two turners rapidly turning the rope inward, left, right, left, right, swaying rhythmically to the slapping beat as the rope brushed the ground. The jumper would dance the steps associated with the song or rhyme, and a group of singers, ranging from the turners to nonparticipants to would-be participants, would dance a minimal version of the game in place. This was considered both a fun thing to do while you await your turn, as well as a chance to practice the sequence.

The game was competitive, with jumpers vying to be the one who could not only stay in the ropes the longest but could progress the furthest in the particular rhyme. Someone would shout"She got foot" or "She got turn." And one would often hear the cry of "Saved!" or "Saved by one!" meaning that the person shouting had progressed farther than the jumper who had just tripped on the turning rope. Steps were parodied, styles imitated, and occasionally corrected in order to ensure that the jumper did the job
right. Turners could be accused of turning too rapidly, or of intentionally "flicking" the rope to make it more difficult, and high-status jumpers,usually the more skilled fifth and sixth graders, claimed first jumps, while the younger, less experienced players would be the turners. The chance

[page 81]

to jump first, and if one was skilled, stay in the spotlight, was often called long before the game started, in the hallway, in the classroom, or at the end of one round for the round the next recess

[A diagram entitled "Double Dutch Style" is included here.]

Immigrant Chinese and Haitian girls, representing a small minority of this officially racially desegregated school, also occasionally did individual, single jump rope. Two Chinese girls sometimes jumped in two parallel ropes and, in their own ropes, looped circles around each other, sort of a couple
dance while jumping. The Haitian girls sometimes jumped with a second girl in the same small rope, either face to face or back to front. Regardless of form or ethnicity, jump rope was almost always competitive, either by endurance, elaborateness of steps, or frequency of turns.

The European American girls would often be observers of the double dutch games, and on only rare occasions do individual ropes themselves. When they did so they would compete to see which of them could jump the
most times. They would not sing or chant, just count the number of continuous jumping steps. One girl was up to 230 and still jumping. Unlike the African American girls, who stayed in one place or rotated their positions slightly to be out of the bright sun, or the immigrant girls, who stayed in one place with their individual ropes, the European American girls did a running jump rope step and would, one at a time, run around the entire yard counting. Like their hand-clap games, which were also done to numbers or
counting, the European American girls had clearly distilled their games and no longer had an active jump-rope singing tradition at this school. The singing jump rope game, and for that matter the singing hand-clapping game, had become predominantly an African American tradition.

[page 82]

Many double dutch songs included the same sequence of steps or commands: foot, bounce, hop, turn, criss (crossing), clap, with "foot" or "footin" being the basic right, left, right, left running step over the quickly turning ropes. "Bounce" involved a lighter touch of the foot while doing the running step; "hop" a one-footed airborne step. "Turning" and "crissing" involved the most skill and only the most advanced jumpers were able to do those steps. Taisha, a particularly graceful fifth grader, was known to add
turns to all of her steps, in every sequence, just for the challenge of it.

THEMES OF THE JUMP-ROPE TEXTS
Much like the world of themes found in the children's riddling studied by John McDowell (1979), the recorded texts of the rope games were spheres of the African American girls' culture. There were "1,2,3 Halleluya" and "Hey, D. J., let's sing that song," and "Boom Boom Tangle"-a rhyme about rap artists. Plus there were "All in Together," "Hey Consolation, Where Have You Been," "Girlscout, Girlscout, Do Your Duty," "Juice Juice, Let's Knock Some Boots," "D-I-S-H Choice, Do Your Footsies," "Challenge, Challenge
1,2,3," and "Kitty Cat Come, Gonna Be on Time, Cause the School Bell Rings at A Quarter to Nine." But these themes, the ones of religion, region, pop music, of group entry and exit, schooling, and even of plain step display in menu form, were out-shouted by "Big Mac," a commercial for the
McDonald's Corporation.

As Cheyna, a fourth-grade African American girl had said, "Want to hear my favorite?" (Snap fingers on down beat. Accented syllables are capitalized)
Big MAC, Fillet FISH, Quarter POUNDer, French FRIES, Ice COKE,
Milk SHAKE, Foot
Fillet FISH, Quarter POUNDer, French FRIES, Ice COKE, Milk
SHAKE,
BOUNCE
Fillet FISH, Quarter POUNDer, French FRIES, Ice COKE, Milk
Shake,
HOP
Fillet FISH, Quarter POUNDer, French FRIES, Ice COKE, Milk
Shake,
TURN
Fillet FISH, Quarter POUNDer, French FRIES, Ice COKE, Milk
Shake,
CRISS

[page 83]

Big Mac appeared in twenty-three out of fifty-six live unrequested recordings of double dutch chants, closely followed by a follow-the-Ieader game, "Challenge Challenge, One, Two, Three." This contrasted with the rest of the active repetoire, of which two or three versions were recorded of each. First observed in mid-October, "Big Mac," and its occasional partner "Challenge Challenge," were the only chants jumped at recess until February. Most of the other rhymes did not appear at all until April. "Big Mac" represented forty percent of all the songs sung for double dutch, with "Challenge Challenge" representing thirty percent.The remainder totaled three to six percent, tallying another thirty percent. "Big Mac" was therefore not only the first jump-rope rhyme to appear in the school yard and not only the most
frequently jumped, but, as we will see, also the one used for learning how to play the game of double dutch itself.

Collectors of jump-rope games have typically emphasized the antiquity of the games and rhymes, in part because of the archive methodology available, as discussed, and in part because of the inherent romance in finding things old. Paradoxically, the most significant rhyme for the players of this game was the newest one, invented by the McDonald's Corporation as a menu chant. Again and again the local jump-rope experts-the third, fourth-, and fifth-grade girls-claimed that the "Big Mac" rhyme was commercial and
approximately ten years old, but that the game was learned from their mothers and sisters. The dating of this particular chant was confirmed by the national public-relations office of the McDonald's Corporation, which indicated that the menu chants are periodically placed in local papers as part of a contest. It is significant that McDonald's has been a national sponsor of double dutch competitions since the late 1970s and that the only other long commercial text that emerged was in an interview setting: This was
"R-E-E-B-O-K do your footsies the Reebok way." Reebok is also a national sponsor of double dutch competitions.All of the new attempts at double dutch recorded in the school yard were done to the "Big Mac" rhyme. When Isha, a fifth-grade expert jumper, was asked what was the easiest rhyme, she answered, "Challenge Challenge," because "you just had to imitate what was done before you." When asked why the younger girls and the ones new to double dutch started with "Big Mac," she answered, "Because they don't have nothing else." Commercial culture is, for the kids of the school yard, the most basic of common culture. The commercial is easily learned: It's short, it's quick, and it's "fun in the mouth." Children who are bused in from all sections of the city know it, and children from all economic levels have access to it. It may have been introduced by the corporate-sponsored leagues and ad campaigns and may be a future classic example of the "invention of tradition" (Hobsbawm and Ranger 1983), but it would not have continued if it did not serve some function.....

[more excerpt text added to this post as of August 4, 2017]

The sound bytes of "Big Mac" may well serve to speed up the ritualization of entry into the game in a recess period that allows only fifteen minutes for play in this city.

In an environment where raw materials are inaccessible and consistently removed from the play time, it appears that the African American children from poorer neighborhoods, rich with oral traditions, are teaching non-African American children what can be done, as Isha says, "when you don't hanve nothing else". This is especially true of the play of girls, which is especially repressed in the school yard by the institution of school itself. Here it is commercial culture that is the common denominator, both within the ethnic tradition and across ethnic traditions.

One of the most relevant texts on this topic is Newell's 1883 book Games And Songs Of American Children. His essays "The Inventiveness Of Children" and "The Conservatism Of Children" address the dynamics inherent in the play study, the idea of play being both traditional and transitional, and the idea that children reconstruct and reinvent performances relevant to their complex lives. The key word is "relevant". Valuable things are reused, recycled and retold. And, as we will see, the repetition of the commercial rhyme may be fixed, but the variation and frequency of the game can be found in the foot work. In a sense, the folklorist begins with the text, but cannot stop there."...
-end of text added to this post on August 4, 2017
-snip-
The words given in italics in brackets were added by me for informational purposes or to note the exclusion of a diagram that is part of that chapter.

[Explanation added August 4, 2017] "European American" in this excerpt means the same thing as "White American". Note that although Europeans are traditionally White, there were/are people who were/are born in Europe who aren't White.
-end of this addition-

The term "step dancing" and "stepping" in this chapter might be the same performance art that I refer to as "foot stomping cheers". I doubt that those terms refer to historically Black Greek letter fraternity and sorority steppin'.

The words given in capital letters (except for "foot") in the "Big Mac" example are movement instructions. "Criss" is probably the same movement what is commonly known known as "criss cross" ("crossing one foot over another.)

With regard to the rhyme "Big Mac": That rhyme is very widely performed as a hand clap rhyme in the United States and my sense is that very few children know that it was ever a jump rope rhyme. Instead of the title "Big Mac", I believe that the title "Welcome To McDonalds" is the one that is most often used for this hand clap. That title comes from the introductory words for that hand clap rhyme: "Welcome to McDonalds/may I take your order".

For some reason, in the hand clap version the line "and the dish ran away with the spoon" is frequently added to the end of that rhyme.

The words for some of the Double Dutch rhymes that are mentioned in this chapter excerpt are given in Part III of this pancocojams series.

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS

Video Example #1: VINTAGE 80'S MCDONALD'S DOUBLE DUTCH COMMERCIAL [1985/1986]



-snip-
This video featured the world champion Fantastic Four double-dutch team. Unfortunately, as a result of this commercial, that team was disqualified from competing any longer in Double Dutch sport competitions, a consequence I gather the team wasn't aware of before agreeing to be featured in this ad

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Video Example #2: Mcdonalds hand game



Barbym1991 Published on May 15, 2009

old hand game my mom and aunt taught us!! Enjoy!

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Video Example #3: McDonald's Hand Clap Game




Vinnie Kandis, Published on Nov 1, 2015
-snip-
In this example, "Big Mac" is combined with other stand alone rhymes.

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This concludes Part II of this four part pancocojams series on recreational Double Dutch.

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