Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part II of a two part pancocojams series on the hand clap rhymes "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang I Know Karate" And "Down Down Baby I Know Karate".
This post presents some text (word only) examples of late 19th century/20th century racist rhymes that influenced the non-racist hand clap rhymes "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang I Know Karate", "Down Down Baby I Know Karate", and similar rhymes.
This post also presents some non-racist examples of the hand clap rhymes "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang I Know Karate", "Down Down Baby I Know Karate", and similar rhymes.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/05/the-racist-history-of-hand-clap-rhymes.html for Part I of this pancocojams series. That post presents information about the racist history of these hand clap rhymes and hand clap rhymes with similar titles.
This post also presents information about how a much more innocent 20th century children's novel and children's movie influenced those same hand clap rhymes.
The content of this post is presented for historical, socio-cultural, folkloric, and educational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all the collectors of the rhymes that are presented in this post and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/07/examples-of-anti-asian-references-in.html for the 2013 pancocojams post entitled "Examples Of Anti-Asian References In Children's Playground Rhymes"
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WARNING-This pancocojams post contains some racist content.
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
I am against the rhymes and chants in this post that include derogatory racial or national referents being used in any way except for historical, socio-cultural, folkloric, and/or educational purposes.
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SECTION (A)
ARTICLE EXCERPT ABOUT "CHING CHONG CHINAMAN" REFERENTS
From https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/07/14/330769890/how-ching-chong-became-the-go-to-slur-for-mocking-east-asians "How 'Ching Chong' Became The Go-To Slur For Mocking East Asians" by Kat Chow, July 14, 2014
[Ching Chong] "is a slur I and many other Asian-American folks have heard
at some point in our lives. But every time I hear it, I can't help but wonder,
"How is this thing still around? And where did it even come from?"
[...]
..."ching chong" hurled as an insult at Asian
folks in the U.S. stretches back all the way to the 19th Century, where it
shows up in children's playground taunts. (Because of some mysterious force, it
just has to be this way: Kids' rhymes tend to have bleak roots that make us
want to hit that "restart-world -from-the-beginning-of-time" button.)
A book by Henry Carrington Bolton from 1886 — The Counting-Out Rhymes of Children — tersely describes this rhyme:
"Under the influence of Chinese cheap labour on the
Pacific coast, this rhyme is improved by boys brought up to believe the
'Chinese must go,' and the result is as follows: —
How do you sell your fish?
Ching, Chong, Chineeman,
ix bits a dish.
Ching, Chong, Chineeman,
Oh! that is too dear!
Ching, Chong, Chineeman,
Clear right out of here."
(And that's no typo. In the book, there was no S in
"Chineeman.")
The late 1800s were rife with "yellow peril" and
anti-Chinese sentiment. The gold rush and the railroad industry had drawn many
Chinese immigrants to the U.S. in the mid-1800s. In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion
Act was signed into law, preventing Chinese laborers from immigrating to the
States.
But even after the 20th century was off and running, the slur only got worse. Mary Paik Lee, a Korean-American writer, brings up a taunt from the early 1900s in her autobiography, one even more acidic than the rhyme Bolton recounted:
"Ching chong, Chinaman,
Sitting on a wall.
Along came a white man,
and chopped his head off."
That one doesn't even rhyme; it's just racist. (And the context is a depressing story about how Lee was greeted by her classmates with a hit on the neck.) But a young boy in John Steinbeck's 1945 book Cannery Row comes up with a rhyming variation: "Ching-Chong Chinaman sitting on a rail — 'Long came a white man an' chopped off his tail."
The term showed up again in Lee S. Roberts and J. Will
Callahan's 1917 ragtime song, "Ching Chong":
"Ching, Chong, Oh Mister Ching Chong,
You are the king of Chinatown.
Ching Chong, I love your sing-song,
When you have turned the lights all down.".
Mimicry, particularly for mocking Asian accents, is the
default pejorative mode, according to Kent Ono and Vincent Pham in their book
Asian Americans and the Media. The book points out that this form of mockery
marks Asian folks as decidedly, unequivocally foreign, that Asians and
Asian-Americans are the "other."
[...]
It's been used for more than a hundred years and doesn't seem to be slowing down."...
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SOME EXAMPLES OF RACIST RHYMES THAT INFLUENCED "CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG I CAN DO KARATE ("DOWN DOWN BABY I CAN DO KARATE" RHYMES AND SIMILAR RHYMES.
These quoted sources are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.
Source #1
From https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2005-January/045508.html "Ching-Ching Chinaman" (1897) and American Folklore Society", published by Bapopik at AOL.COM Bapopik at AOL.COM; Mon Jan 31 01:28:15 UTC 2005
"JUMP-ROPE RHYMES: A DICTIONARY
edited by Roger D. Abrahams
Published for the American Folklore SOciety by the
University of Texas Press, Austin & London, 1969
Pg. 29:
Ching, chang, Chinaman,
Chop, chop, chop,
Eating Candy at the candy shop.
...Abrahams, _SFQ_, 27 (1963), 202 [Texas].
Ching, chang, Chinaman bought a toy doll,
Washed it, dyed it, then caught a cold.
Send for the doctor; Doctor wouldn't come
Because he had a pimple on his tum-tum-tum.
...Douglas (1916), 95 [London]. "...penny doll....and
called it penny poll."
...Sutton-Smith, _WF_, 12 (1953), 21 [New Zealand].
Pg. 30:
Ching, Ching, Chinaman
Eats dead rats,
Swallows them down
Like ginger-snaps!
...Yoffie, _JAF_, 60 (1947), 49 [Missouri]"....
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Source #2
From https://libraries.udmercy.edu/archives/special-collections/cfa/index.php?field=keyword&term=ACTION-RHYME James T. Callow Computerized Folklore Archives, University of Detroiit
"CHING,CHANG CHINAMAN./ SITTING ON A FENCE./ TRYING TO MAKE A
DOLLAR
OUT OF 99 CENTS./ HE MISSED, /HE MISSED,/ HE MISSED LIKE
THIS.
THIS IS DONE WHILE JUMPING UP AND DOWN AND CROSSING FEET.
Where learned: UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT ; EAST 201"
Date learned: 03-00-1971
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Source #3
https://soc.culture.asian.american.narkive.com/NljmrMFD/sing-the-popular-ching-chong-chinaman-song - soc.culture.asian.american"Discussion: sing the popular "ching chong chinaman" song!
"Ching Chong Chinaman sitting on a fence,
Trying to make a dollar out of fifteen cents.
Along came a choo-choo train,
Knocked him in the cuckoo-brain,
And that was the end of the fifteen cents.
-z***@hotmail.com, 2005
-snip-
Pancocojams Editor's Note- For the record, I'm not z***.
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SECTION (B) - EXAMPLES OF NON-RACIST "CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG I CAN DO KARATE ("DOWN DOWN BABY I CAN DO KARATE" RHYMES AND SIMILAR RHYMES.
These examples are given in chronological order with the earliest presented example given first.* Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.
*This numbering doesn't mean that this is the earliest known example of this rhyme.
Source #1
"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Sittin on a fence
Tryin to make a dollar
out of 15 cents.
She missed, she missed, she missed like this.
She missed, she missed, she missed like this.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
I can do ka-ra-te.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!
I can hurt somebody.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!
Oops! I’m sorry."
-African American boys & girls , around ages 6-10 years,
(Duquesne, Pennsylvania), 1998, collected by Azizi Powell, 1998
(Duquesne is a city that is located near Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania.)
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Source #2
SHIMMY SHIMMY CHINA
Shimmy, Shimmy China,
I know karate.
Shimmy Shimmy China,
Oops! I’m so sorry.
Shimmy Shimmy China
Sittin on a fence
trying to make a dollar
outa 85 cents
She missed
She missed
She missed like this, like this, like this.
--Shan (12 years & Shala 9 years; Black Females) and
their brother Shep (8 years Black male) in the predominately African American
section of Garfield in Pittsburgh PA; collected by Azizi Powell, 10/1998
(Continue repeating the entire rhyme until only one player
is left. That player is the winner.)
I have also heard “65 cents” for this line instead of “85
cents”.
Play description:
"Shimmy Chimmy China" is performed with unison
chanting and rhythmical clapping in pairs, with 3 people, or in a circle with
any number of people; When performed as a partner game, players stand in front
of each other and one player turns one palm up towards the ceiling and the
other palm down towards the floor. The other partner turns the opposite palms
up and down. Each strikes the other’s palms. With three or more players, the
players hold on palm up and one palm down and strike the palms of the persons standing
next to him or her on both sides. Players also do rhythmical “scissors jumps”
on beat to the chanted words (scissors jumps are made by crossing one foot in
front of the other foot). On the last word, if a player’s right foot is not in
front of the left foot, he or she is “out”. The object of the game is to be the
last player still in the game.
I don't know if these siblings knew any girl whose name was "China". However, there was an African American girl in the elementary school that my daughter taught at (in the early 2000s whose name was "China". That name's "ch" beginning and "ah" ending fits a post 1960s African American aesthetic preference for names (particularly female names. For example, as it just so happens, read the names of the children who contributed this rhyme example.)
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Source #3
"CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG
Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang I can do karate,
Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang I can shake my body,
Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang oops I'm sorry,
Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang to side to side to side like this."
-https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/lals/research/our-research-areas/new-zealand-english/language-in-the-playground-project/publications/lip70.pdf New Zealand, ©Laurie and Winifred Bauer 2002 13
NZ Playground Language [page 20]
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Source #4
"CHOO CHOO CHARLIE
Choo Choo Charlie Sitting on a bench ...
Tryin to make a dollar outta 15 cents
he missed he missed he missed like this...
Its one of those clap games....did it when i was in 2nd or
3rd grade
-brittanie; Octoblog, December 4, 2005
-snip-
The Octoblog website (also known as Whee Blog! and other names) is no longer active.
The name "Choo Choo Charlie" probably comes from
the 1950s "Good n' Plenty television commercials which featured a little
boy pretending he was an train engineer. The title "Choo Choo Charlie" may have been used because of its alliteration, but it's interesting that it mimics the "c" alliteration of the "Ching Chang Chinaman" title for those late 19th century, early 20th century rhymes.
For what it's worth, in those commercials, "Choo Choo Charlie" was drawn as a White boy with freckles on his face.
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Source #5
CHING CHING CHINA
Ching Ching China
Sitting on a bench,
Tried to make a dollar
Out of 65 cents.
She did it, she did it
She did it like this...
(you had to jump w/ this one. first feet apart, then legs
crossed, then feet apart again (on and on) and if you landed on
"this" with your feet apart, you were a boy, and if your legs were
crossed, you were a girl :o )"
-Grace Kim, http://battery-d.livejournal.com/87113.html ;
12/17/2005
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Source #6
"chitty chitty bang bang i know karate (do karate chops)
chitty chitty bang bang i can shake my body (dance)
chitty chitty bang bang oops I’m sorry (slap your partner in
the face :P )
chitty chitty bang bang sitting on a fence, trying to make a
dollar out of fifteen cents, she missed, she missed, she missed like this (I don’t
remember what you do here)”…
-aybee77 [location New York], 07-29-2007, https://www.nappturality.com/forums/threads/81695-Clapping-Rhymes-hand-Games/page8
-snip-
nappturality.com is an online discussion forum for Black women who wear their
hair natural]
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Source #7
"DOWN DOWN BABY I CAN DO KARATE
Down down baby I can do karate.
Down down baby I can cut salami.
Down down baby I can call my mommie.
Down down baby I can shake my body.
Down down baby OOPS I'M SORRY. [hit the other persons head.]
-Shalala, December 08, 2008, https://roughdraft.typepad.com/dotmoms/2004/05/theres_a_song_i.html
-snip-
WARNING- That page has one example that includes profanity.
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Source #8
"CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG
this is one we did in school
chitty chitty bang bang
chitty chitty bang bang im sitting on a fence trying to make
a
dollar but all i can do is holler she missed she missed she
missed like this she missed she missed she missed like
this chitty chitty bang bang i can do karate chitty chitty
bang bang i can hurt somebody chitty chitty
bang bang opps im sorry"
-mariah; cocojams.com, 2/26/2009
-snip-
cocojams.com was my multi-page website that was online from January 2001-August 2014.
A lot of children and pre-teens contributed examples to that website via its easy to use online feature that didn't need an email address. This example was written in run on sentences. That writing
style is quite common with people under forty years old who text, and who write
on the internet. I think that's because speed is much more highly values than
following grammatical rules or spelling correctly.
mariah spelled the word "chitty" with an "s". I took the liberty to substitute that letter with a "c" because I want to ensure that this website is available in educational facilities which might block access because of "bad" words.
Source #9
"
Down, down baby, down by the rollercoaster
Sweet, sweet baby, too sweet, I'll let you go
Shimmy Shimmy coco pop
Shimmy shimmy down
Shimmy Shimmy coco pop
Break down, break down
Two Chinese, sitting on a bench,
Tryin' to make a dollar outta 15 cents
You miss, you miss, you miss like this
This is how me and my boy friend kiss
Like this
Looking back on it now, years later, it seems racist, but I didn't really think about it when I lived in an area that was virtually just Caucasian, even though I, myself, am hispanic."
-GUEST, Alexis, 22Dec 10. https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=100653&messages=24 " Down Down Baby-Race in Children's Rhymes"
Source #10
"Down down baby
Down by the roller coaster
Sweet sweet baby
Ill never let you go
Shimmy shimmy cocoa puff
Shimmy shimmy shine
shimmy shimmy cocoa puff
Sock it to me one more time.
Two chinese
Sitting on a bench
trying to make a dollar out of. 75 cents
she miss she miss she miss like this"
- GUEST,mandy,14 Feb 13, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=100653&messages=24 " Down Down Baby-Race in Children's Rhymes"
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Source #11
"down down baby, i can do karate
down down baby, i can call my mommy
down down baby, i can shake my body
down down baby, Oops I'm sorry!
in the last hand motion you push them. (not hard of course!)
or atleast thats how i learned it!"
-Ihaveaquestion, 2014,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi8LcuceQf4&feature=emb_logo&ab_channel=LuciBel
"Down down baby I can do karate"
[This video is no longer available]
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Source #12
"back in my day it went a little something like this:
Miss Sue (clap clap clap)
Miss Sue (clap clap clap)
Miss Sue from Alabama, her real name's Suzianna
she's sittin in a rocker, eatin Betty Crocker
watch the clock go tick tock tock tock, banana rock
tick tock tick tock banana rock
ABCD123
wash those spiders off of me
mooshka, mooshka, i see mommy
mooshka, mooshka, i know karate
mooshka, mooshka, oops i'm sorry
mooshka, mooshka, FREEZE."
-RespectMyThickness, 2015; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-svfUMX3BM
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Source #13
"CHINESE CHECKERS
Chinese checkers. I can do karate.
Chinese checkers.
I can call my mommy.
Chinese checkers.
ooh I’m sorry.
you better be sorry.
cause I’m not sorry.
itsy bitsy soda pop.
itsy bitsy ooh.
itsy bitsy soda pop.
A boy likes you.
-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svwim3MzAJ0&feature=related. This video is no longer available.
-snip-
My apologies. I didn't retrieve the publisher's name and the date of this publication. I remember this rhyme being chanted by a very young White American girl.
This is my transcription of this hand clap game video
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This concludes Part II of this two part series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
