"Who Dare"- The 19th Century Black American Source For The 20th Century United States Hand Clap Rhymes "Bobo Ski Otten Totten"

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest update- May 28, 2026

This pancocojams post presents a 19th century Black American song entitled "Who Dare" that is an early source for the 20th century hand clap rhyme "Bobo Ski Otten Totten" (and similar titles).

This post also includes my editorial notes about that 19th century song.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the unknown creator of the 1845 song entitled "Who Dare". Thanks also to Ben Zimmer whose comment in Donna Richoux's 2005 post about this rhyme led me to a 1845 book on Google books that includes an African American song with the words "otten totten".

[Update: April 13, 2026: The link to that post now has a warning about malware when visiting that site.] 

Thanks also to all the publishers of that 1845 song and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/05/examples-of-bobo-ski-otten-wotten.html for as 2026 pancocojams post "Examples Of "Bobo Ski Otten Wotten" Rhymes (Or Similar Titles) With Decade & City/State Demographics"

Also, click the "Bobo Ski Otten Totten" tag below for more pancocojams posts about that rhyme.

****
WARNING - This pancocojams post includes forms of what is commonly called "the n word".

That word is usually given with amended spelling in this blog. However, I decided to retain the original spelling because this song appears to be difficult to find and I want to preserve it as it is originally written in that 19th century book.

****
THE 2005 ONLINE COMMENT THAT LED ME  TO A 1845 BLACK AMERICAN SONG WHICH INCLUDES THE WORDS 'OTTEN TOTTEN"

Update April 13, 2026- The link to narkive:English.com "What is this thing" has a Warning message that visiting that site leads to malware.

Quote from 2023
"Ben Zimmer- 2023

For a "negro melody" using "otten dotten" from the _Knickerbocker_

magazine of 1845, see Google Book Search:

http://books.google.com/books?q=otten-dotten

Also, http://books.google.com/books?q=oaten-doaten includes this chant that appears in "The Magic Journey" by John Nichols (1978.  Here's an excerpt from that book:
" "Ish biddley oaten doten, sis boom bah;
boomalaka booomalaka, rah rah rah!"

This of course is highly reminiscent of the cheer in "Super Rabbit"
(Chuck Jones, 1943):

Bricka-bracka, firecracka,
Sis boom bah!
Bugs Bunny, Bugs Bunny,
Rah rah rah!

But now we're getting off course."

****
"WHO DARE"
From https://www.google.com/books
"The Popular National Songster And Lucy Neal And Dan Tucker's Delight: Containing A Choice Collection Of The Most Admired, Patriotic, Comic, Irish, Negro & Sentimental Songs;

published by Perry, John B

Date: 1845

Publication Place: Philadelphia

SKU b00481

"PAGE 155 

 WHO DARE

Come all you jolly niggars
To you the truth I tell, ah
Neber lib wid white folks
For de neber use you well, ah
     -Dingee, I otten totten 
      Ballio otten dotten
      Dingee I otten dotten ,
      WHO DARE?

Cold frosty mornin
Niggar bery good
ah ! With he axe on his shoulder ,
He go to cut the wood ,
…..-ah ! Dingee , & c   .

Come home to breakfast
Get something to eat
An de set before him
A little stinkin meet, ah!
----Dingee, & c

156

Den at noontide come,
He come home to dine, ah!
And dey take em in de corn field
And sweet thirty-nine, ah!
----Dingee, &c.

Den de night come on.
An dey cum home to supper, ah!
And dey nock down an break down,
An hop ober Juber., ah!
----Dingee ,&c

Den a little cold pancake,
an a little hog fat, ah!
An dey grumble like de debil
If you can eat too much of dat, ah!
----Dingee,& c.

Den massa he tell him
For to go to bed, ah!
He up wid a broom-stick
And hit him ober de head, ah!
---Dingee, &c.

Den dey go up stairs
An he take off he shoe, ah!
An he cut off de back
Like oder niggas do, ah!
----Dingee, &c

Go down to momo Dinah’s
Why yu tink we do, ah!
We play upon de banjo
And dance a jig a bou, ah!
---Dingee, & c."
-snip-
I used italics for the words "otten totten" words for highlighting purposes only.

These words in italics serve as the chorus to this song. 

****
ANOTHER PUBLISHED REFERENCE TO THIS COMPOSITION
"The Knickerbocker: Or, New-York Monthly Magazine

books.google.com › books

Charles Fenno Hoffman, ‎Timothy Flint, ‎Lewis Gaylord Clark · 1845

Found inside – Page 339

... otten dotten , balli ' otten dotten , Dingee I otten , who dar ' ? Come home to breakfast , get somethin ' to eat - ah ; And dey set down before him a little nasty meat - ah ; Den at noon poor nigger , he come home to dine - ah , And ..."

****
PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES

Part #1- Explanation about the song's format

The chorus of this song begins with the words "Dingee, I otten totten" 

The symbol "&" and letter "c" is a no longer used way of writing etc.(etcetera).

****
Part #2- Pancocojams Editor's Note- My Idea About The Overall Meaning Of The Song "Who Dare"
The 19th century song "Who Dare" was published in the "Negro Songs" section of John B. Perry's 1845 book The Popular National Songster And Lucy Neal And Dan Tucker's Delight: Containing A Choice Collection Of The Most Admired, Patriotic, Comic, Irish, Negro & Sentimental Songs.  

That song was composed by a Black man (name unknown) who could have been enslaved. "Who Dare" provides social commentary about the mistreatment that Black people experienced from White people prior to the United States Civil War. That song serves as an example to other Black people during that time (and afterwards) to voice what they feel about their mistreatment by White people. 

"Who Dare" provides social commentary from the perspective of an enslaved Black American man who dares to "tell it like it is" i.e. to speak "truth to power" about the hardship and injustice that Black men were experiencing at the hands of White men. The singer states that he is going to tell the truth and then gives examples about how badly a Black man was mistreated who had done nothing to deserve such mistreatment. Perhaps to hide its serious message or perhaps to share one way that Black people had of coping with the difficult situations that they experienced, the Black man who is told to stay inside sneaks out of the back of the house and goes to Mama Dinah's to play the banjo and dance

The song "Who Dare" also implores Black people to circumvent those unjust conditions even iif it's only in small ways such as sneaking out at night to play music and dance.

Here's the chorus of the song "Who Dare" *
"Dingee, I otten totten 
Ballio otten dotten
Dingee I otten dotten
WHO DARE?"
-end of quote-

My position is that the Black man who composed this 19th century "protest song' purposely used vernacular "Pig Latin-like" words to hide their meaning from White people. "Pig Latin is not a true language. It's a coded way of speaking based on English".https://lighthouseonline.com/blog-en/what-is-pig-latin/

* The 20th & 21st century hand clap rhyme & hand slapping rhyme "Bo Bo Ski ten Totten" (and similar titles) is a folk processed form of the chorus of the song "Who Dare"

****

Part #3 -My guesses about the meanings of certain words in this song

"Who dare' - The title for this song "Who Dare" is repeated in the chorus. The composer of this song dares [has the courage to]  sing about how life really is for Black people during the 1840s. He also calls upon other Black people to be daring (i.e. to be courageous in spite of the consequences).This song "Who Dare" is a call for Black people to dare to be strong in the face of the "double trouble" that is their lives.

**

"Niggar bery good" - The Black man is very good (meaning, he's not doing anything wrong)

**
"Neber lib wid white folks" - Stay away from White people; Don't involve yourself with White people

**
For de neber use you well" - because they never treat you well 

**
"Dingee, I otten totten 

Ballio otten dotten"
-end of quote-

My position is that the Black man who composed this 19th century "protest song' purposely used vernacular "Pig Latin-like" words to hide their meaning from White people. "Pig Latin is not a true language. It's a coded way of speaking based on English"."https://lighthouseonline.com/blog-en/what-is-pig-latin/
-snip-
The word "Dingee" may be a form of the word "dingy" meaning "dirty". However, that word might have been understood by Black people during those times (or made up by that composer for the purpose of that song) to be a substitute for the referent "Black people".

The words " I otten totten" might be a "pig latin"-like form of the words "I ought to tell you".

The word 'ballio" may be another pig latin-like word that is based on the French word "battre" meaning "fight". (Assuming that the Black composer was from Louisiana where a number of Black people spoke a form of French.)


- "A little stinkin meet" = a little stinking meat

-"And dey take em in de corn field

 And sweet thirty-nine, ah!" = and they take him to the corn field an lash him with a whip

-"And dey nock down an break down", - and they knock down and break down (throw on the ground)

-"An hop ober Juber., ah!" - and jump all over Juber (a generalized term for "Juba"- meaning "a Black man"

-Den massa he tell him 
For to go to bed, ah!" - Then master (the White man who owned the enslaved man" told him to go to bed ("retire for the night")

-"He up wid a broom-stick 
And hit him ober de head, ah!" -  He (the White man) picked up a broom and hit him on his head

-"Den dey go up stairs" =The White men who beat the Black man live upstairs from him.

-"An he take off he shoe, ah!" = He took off his shoes so that he could sneak away without being heard 

-An he cut off de back

Like oder niggas do, ah!" - "He snuck out the back of the building like other Black men are known to do".

-"Momo Dinah" = Mama Dinah ("Dinah" being a generalized name for a Black woman).

-"And dance a jig a bou, ah!"= "jog" =dance; a "bou" = I believe that "jig a bou' in this song is an early source for the word "jigaboo" which became a derogatory referent for Black people.

My guess is that "bou" is a folk processed form of the French word "beau' meaning "good"; handsome", or as a descriptor of a dance- to dance fancy, to dance well/skillfully. (This French influence is in keeping with my earlier reference to the possibility that this song's composer was Black French. 

****

AN EXAMPLE OF A YOUTUBE VIDEO OF A 21st CENTURY VERSION OF THIS RHYME 

Bo Bo Ski Watten! With Subtitles! 

published by sisterearthification, Jul 28, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aj07ESavLZ8 

"Miss Julie and Miss Katie in their fabulous performance of Bo Bo Ski Watten!!  Now with subtitles!!  There are many different versions but this is the one that was most familiar to them from their childhoods!!"
-snip-
Here are the words from the video’s transcript (and the video’s sub-titles)

"Bo bo see otten totten Nay nay I am boom boom boom

Itty bitty otten totten Bo bo see otten totten

Bo bo see otten totten Boom boom boom"

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome. 

An Example Of "Izzle" Language & African American Vernacular English In A Popular 2006 McDonald's YouTube Video Clip (performed by Todrick Hall)

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision - August 7, 2023 [title change and added content]

This post showcases an example of a popular, customer composed video clip enactment of a man placing an order at a McDonald's [fast food restaurant] drive in. That clip includes a form of secret language that is created by using the "izzle" suffix. That clip also includes some African American Vernacular English (AAVE) words and phrases.

Todrick Hall is the composer and the performer of the rap that is performed in that video clip. Hall went on to achieve Broadway and television celebrity status. Information about Todrick Hall is included in this pancocojams post. 

This post includes the lyrics to this McDonalds drive through rap and information about the secret language that is created by using the "izzle" suffix. In addition, this post presents my analysis of examples of African American Vernacular English in that ad.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, linguistic, and entertainment purposes.

Thank to Todrick Hall who composed & performed this rap. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

****
INFORMATION ABOUT TODRICK HALL
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todrick_Hall
"Todrick Hall (born April 4, 1985) is an American singer, choreographer, and YouTuber. He gained national attention on the ninth season of the televised singing competition American Idol. Following this, he amassed a huge following on YouTube with viral videos including original songs, parodies, and skits. A documentary series about his video-making process titled Todrick aired on MTV in 2015.

Starting with season eight, Hall became a resident choreographer and occasional judge on RuPaul's Drag Race.[3][4] From 2016 to 2017, Hall starred as Lola in Kinky Boots on Broadway. Later in 2017, he began appearances as Billy Flynn in Chicago on Broadway and the West End.

Hall has released four studio albums, including the visual albums Straight Outta Oz (2016) and Forbidden (2018). In 2020, he released an EP, Quarantine Queen, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic featuring "Mask, Gloves, Soap, Scrub", and was the international host of Global Pride 2020

[...]

[Todrick Hall] joined the video-sharing platform YouTube in May 2006, and made over 300 videos in the next five years.[9][14][1] His first video, filmed while still living in Texas, was "a hilarious clip of him singing his order to a McDonald's drive-through speaker (complete with backup singers)".[9][19] The video has since received over ten million views."...

****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE LANGUAGE THAT IS CREATED BY USING THE IZZLE SUFFIX
From https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/-izzle
"Etymology

Popularized by rap artist Snoop Dogg, but first put to record by Frankie Smith's 1981 "Double Dutch Bus"[1] is from a style of cant (esoteric slang) used by African American pimps and jive hustlers of the 1970s. The “-iz, -izzle, -izzo, -ilz” speak (which also uses an infix -iz-), similar in some ways to Pig Latin, was developed by African Americans around the period of the Harlem Renaissance, with hotspots of the speak in Oakland, New York City, and Philadelphia. It was partially developed as young African American girls improvised chants and nursery rhymes while jumping rope, with the -iz dialect serving to add syllables when necessary to maintain the rhythm. A similar -iz dialect has also been used by carnies (carnival workers).

Suffix

-izzle

(slang) Forms hip-hop-sounding words, which replaces the word with the first sound of the word followed by -izzle."
-snip-
Read an explanation below about the words ending in "izzle" that are included in Todrick Hall's McDonalds rap.

****

SHOWCASE VIDEOS

 Example #1: McDonald's Rap with Lyrics!!!



carfreak0801 Uploaded on May 11, 2008

PLEASE WATCH!!! This is the McDonald's Rap with lyrics. It took me a long time to put this together so please watch this.
The song and lyrics were from camneedsthis and Pictures were from Google.

****
Example #2: McDonalds drive thru rap

megha963, Published on Apr 19, 2013

That was so cool to listen !
-snip-
Another video was previously featured, but is no longer available.

Here are a few comments from this video's discussion thread:
[written in response to a comment that the singer was a professional]
Kagami Shinami, 2015
"+michelle martinez its todrickhall"

**
Reply
JStar101567, 2015
"he is not a professional but he has a tv show now he was on American idol his name is Todrick Hall"

**
Queenynel Gibson, 2015
"He auditioned for American idol a few years back. But he's sorta an celebrity now."

****
LYRICS: MCDONALD RAP
Boom, Boom Boom Big Mac
Boom, Boom Boom Big Mac(said throughout song for beat)

I need a double cheeseburger and hold the lettuce
Don't be frontin' son no seeds on a bun
We be up in this drive thru
Order for two
I gots a craving for a number nine like my shoe
We need some chicken up in here
In this dizzle
For rizzle my nizzle
Extra salt on the frizzle
Dr. Pepper my brother
Another for your mother
Double double super size
And don't forget the FRIES......................
Crispy
-lilf96, https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080409142644AA0xN9D, Mcdonalds rap lyrics?, 2009

****
EXPLANATIONS ABOUT SOME OF THE WORDS AND PHRASES IN THIS RAP
(These words/phrases are assigned numbers for referencing purposes.)

1. "Don't be frontin' son" = Don't pretend like you are going to do something but actually aren't going to do it.
-snip-
Read other definitions of "frontin", my comment about the possible origin of that slang word in the Addendum #1 of this post. That Addendum also contains my comments the use of "son" in the line "Don't be frontin' son".

2. We be up in this drive thru = We're at [or "We're in"] this drive-through [line].
-snip-
"Up in here" is also sometimes given as "all up in here".

In those usages, "all up" [in here] are intensifiers that both convey the same meaning as the word "really".
From http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-582760.html Peremensoe, 10-22-2010, 09:58 PM
...[quoting] "up" as an intensifier is also seen in "up in my face" which describes a situation in which a person has confronted you on a particular issue (perhaps, without justification). It means exactly the same thing as saying a person "got in your face" about the subject, just more so.

Right. Up means active, aroused, energized, focused, like starting up an engine. You put your guard up. If somebody bothers you, you may get either your dander or your ire up.

Being in somebody's face is confrontational, but up in somebody's face is flat-out asking for a fight. Being in a nightclub means you're there, but up in the club means you're really on the scene."

3. I gots a craving for a number nine like my shoe = I have a craving for the item that is listed as number 9, that number being the same as my shoe size.

4. We need some chicken up in here = "up in here" means "right here"

5. In this dizzle /For rizzle my nizzle/Extra salt on the frizzle" = in this [?]*, for real, my [n word], extra salt on the [French] fries

* A commenter on one of the many video viewer comment threads for this rap wrote that "dizzle " was supposed to be "hizzle" which would be "izzle" talk for "house" (even though the person rapping wasn't actually in a house.)

7. Dr. Pepper my brother = ordering a Dr. Pepper carbonated drink; the use of the "my brother" referent is to show a congenial familiarity with another man (who isn't actually part of your family). "Bro", "brutha" and "sister", "sis", "sistah" are also used for the same purpose. While these family referents used to used by Black people as references to other Black people only, they are now used by any person as a sign of familiarity toward any other person regardless of their race or ethnicity.

8. Another for your mother - I wonder if this line originally was "another for my mother". "For your mother" (meaning another [Dr. Pepper] for the mother of the McDonalds worker sounds to me like its too close to the "Your Mama" ("Yo Mama" dozens put down/insult game.
-snip-
Also, "Double double super size" probably refers to a super sized double [ham]burger

****
ADDENDUM #1
Here are some definitions of the African American slang word "frontin" from
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=frontin

1. "frontin
to pretend or act like somethin or someone your not.

Quit Frontin man you know yo ass aint got a job! "
by Juicy August 05, 2004
-snip-
Note: The form of African American Vernacular English in which a person is referred to by saying "your ass" or "your butt". Another example: A mother or father saying to her or his child "Get your butt down here".

**
2. frontin
"to put on a false disguise usually to impress others

Why you frontin man? we all know you live with yo mamma!

by irish kiwi from samoa October 07, 2003
-snip-
In this example, the word "yo" means "your".

****
3. frontin'

Verb. To put up a false facade. See frontin

Yo, check out backstreet over there frontin in his hyundizzay.

by 50 cent crack dealer July 15, 2003
-snip-
In this example, the word "yo" means something like "Hey".

"Backstreet" appears to be a put down nickname for a man.

"hyundizzay" is the Hyundai car with that brand name spelled with izzay gibberish talk.
-snip-
My guess is that the slang word "frontin" was coined in the 1950s or earlier to mean acting like something you're not because of the custom in poor African American neighborhoods of using a small, rundown business (known as a "storefront") as a façade for a legitimate "mom *& pop" store which sold food items, milk, candy, toiletries etc.) when that place was actually being used as a center for "numbers running" or other illegal gambling operation.

****
The word "son" in the line "Don't be frontin' son" (from the McDonald's rap showcased above) probably just conveys familiarity to someone younger than the speaker. However, in 2009 Ed Lover, the host of the American television show Yo! MTV Raps "created a series on YouTube titled "C’mon, Son!" in which he criticized the errant acts of celebrities." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Lover

The word "son" in "C'mon son" means that the person addressed is acting foolishly or has said something foolish like a child, or someone young would do. Since Ed Lover popularized "C'mon son" it has been used as a commentary on something stupid or foolish a male or a female has said or done. That saying means "Really, you should know better than to say [or do] that."

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitors' comments are welcome.