Examples Of "The Crazy Baldheaded Chinese" Song That Include Contributors' Demographic Information

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents a compilation of examples of "The Crazy Baldheaded Chinese song (and songs with similar titles/words) that I've come across online which include contributors' demographic information. This compilation also includes an example of that song that I remember from my childhood.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric purposes.

This compilation helps to document how this song was known throughout the United States,  within certain populations, and during certain periods of time.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those whose examples are included in this post.
-snip-
This post is part of an ongoing pancocojams series about this song. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/racially-derogatory-variants-of-old.html for the pancocojams post entitled "The Crazy Baldheaded Chinese' Songs" Are Racially Derogatory Variants Of The Song "Old Shoe Boots And Leggings".

Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/08/anti-chinese-songs-such-as-in-china.html for the pancocojams post entitled "Anti-Chinese Songs Such As "In China There Lived A Great Man" & "The Crazy Baldheaded Chinese": Comments From Mudcat Discussion Forum & My Opinions & Recommendations:

Click the tags below for additional examples and comments about those songs.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE:
The examples of "The Crazy Baldheaded Chinese" (and other titles) that are included in this post aren't the only examples of this song that I've come across. This sub-set are examples of this song that include demographic information. By demographic information, I mean more than general comments such as "I sang this when I was growing up".  

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WARNING: This song includes language that is considered offensive because it ridicules Chinese and (by extension) other people of East Asian origin.  

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MY STATEMENT ABOUT SONGS AND RHYMES THAT HAVE RACIST BACKGROUNDS AND ELEMENTS
I believe that folk songs such as "The Crazy Baldheaded Chinese" that have racist backgrounds and elements shouldn't be sung or chanted as is for recreational or entertainment (including nostalgic) purposes, but may be sung in their revised forms (such as changing the referent "Chinese" to a non-racial or non-nationality referent). The "Eenie Meenie Miney Mo" counting out rhyme is an example of how the racist referent in a rhyme has been successfully changed while the rhyme itself has been retained.  

I also believe that information about the racist nature of these folk songs and rhymes should be shared with older children, youth, and adults as a supplement to discussions about history, and racism, particularly about the history of anti-Chinese attitudes, actions, and songs/rhymes in the United States and elsewhere.   

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For the folkloric record, please add examples of this song that you know with demographic information in the comment section to this post. Thanks!

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EXAMPLES OF "THE CRAZY BALDHEADED CHINESE" SONG THAT INCLUDE CONTRIBUTOR'S DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
These examples are given in relative chronological order based on their collection date or their publishing date with the earliest dated example given first. The numbers are assigned for referencing purposes only.

The demographic information is written in italics. The dates with two numbers should be read as "19__" for instead "the 50s" = "1950s".

1.
"I remember the first and last verse of a children's song from my youth in Boston (Massachusetts) in the 50s. Does anybody remember the middle?

My mother told me to open the door
But I didn't wanna
I opened the dool
He fell on the floor
The crazy old man from China
-Jacob B, 18 Jan 07, Lyr Req: Crazy Old Man From China, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=98174

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2. 
"My mother she told me to open the door.
The little bald headed Chinese nese nese.
I opened the door.
He fell on the floor.
The little baldheaded Chinese nese nese.

My mother she told me to get him a drink.
The little bald headed Chinese nese nese.
I gave him a drink.
He peed in the sink.
The little bald headed Chinese nese nese.

My mother she told me to give him a dance.
The little bald headed Chinese nese nese.
I gave him a dance.
He pulled down his pants.
The little bald headed Chinese nese nese.
-Azizi Powell, (African American, mid 1950s, Atlantic City, New Jersey, 18 Jan 07, Lyr Req: Crazy Old Man From China, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=98174

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3. 
"My Mother told me to open the door
Gee I don't wanna
But I opened the door and in stepped the man,
The dirty old man from China,

My mother told me to take him to a dance
Gee I dont wanna
But I took him to a dance and he peed in his pants
The dirty old man from China

My mother told me to take him to school
Gee I don't wanna
But I took him to school and he acted like a fool
The dirty old man from China

My mother told me to take him to bed
Gee I don't wanna
But I took him to bed, and I screwed off his head
The dirty old man from China

My mother told me to bury his head
Gee I don't wanna
But I buried his head and that was the end
Of the dirty old man from China.
-Collected by Guest Lisa Null. January 2007, from her nieces who learned it in a school playground, early 1970s, in West Glover or Barton, Vermont; http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=98174, "Lyr Req: Crazy Old Man From China" 

**
4. 
"Dad used to sing this to us when I was a little. It was the 1950's. I never found out where he heard it. But he knew the lyrics backwards and forwards. He called the song "The Poor Bald Headed Chinese":

 THE POOR BALD HEADED CHINESE

My mother she told me to open the door.
The poor bald headed Chinese.
I opened the door.
He fell on the floor.
The poor bald headed Chinese.

My mother she told me to get him a drink.
The poor bald headed Chinese.
I gave him a drink.
He fell in the sink.
The poor bald headed Chinese.

My mother she told me to give him a dance.
The poor bald headed Chinese.
I gave him a dance.
He pulled down his pants.
The poor bald headed Chinese.

My mother she told me to put him to bed.
The poor bald headed Chinese.
I put him to bed.
He fell on his head.
The poor bald headed Chinese.

My mother she told me to give him a ride.
The poor bald headed Chinese.
I gave him a ride.
He fell off and died.
The poor bald headed Chinese.

My mother she told me to bury him deep.
The poor bald headed Chinese.
I buried him deep.
He stuck out his feet.
The poor bald headed Chinese.

My mother she told me to cut off his feet.
The poor bald headed Chinese.
I cut off his feet.
He laid there in peace.
The poor bald headed Chinese.
-GUEST,carol, Date: 16 Mar 07;  http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=98174, "Lyr Req: Crazy Old Man From China" 

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5.

My mother told me to take off his coat
gee I don't wanna (southern version)
I took off his coat
he smelled like a goat
that crazy old man from china
-GUEST, 27 June 07,  http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=98174, "Lyr Req: Crazy Old Man From China" 

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6. 
"I grew up in Chicago in the 60s and our song was very similar.

My mother told me to open the door
But I didn't wanna
I opened the door, he fell on the floor
Crazy Bald Headed Chinese, Chinese
Crazy Bald Headed Chinese

My mother told me to give him a fish
But I didn't wanna
I gave him a fish,he ate the dish
Crazy Blad Headed Chinese, Chinese
etc.

Lots of the same verses: gave him a drink, he ate the sink; took him to church, he ate his shirt; took him to a dance, he pulled down his pants;

Last verse: Take him for a ride, he fell out and died."...
-GUEST,cheryl s,  04 Sep 09,  http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=98174, "Lyr Req: Crazy Old Man From China" 

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7.
"Back in the 60's, we use to sing this version ... possible varied because we didn't remember the right words?!? This is what I remember now ...

My Mother told me to open the door, But I didn't wanna!
I opened the door, he fell on the floor...
The Crazy Man from China.

My mother told me to give him a drink, but I didn't wanna!
I gave him a drink, he swallowed the sink ...
The Crazy Man from China.

My Mother told me to put him to bed, but I didn't wanna!
I put him to bed, he fell on his head...
The Crazy Man from China.

My Mother told me to bury him, but I didn't wanna!
I buried him, he grew a limb...
The Crazy Man from China!"
-GUEST,Mary in Pennsylvania; 05 Nov 10;  Lyr Req: Crazy Old Man From China, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=98174 

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8.
"My mom taught it to me as a kid in the 90s.

My mother she told me to open the door
but I didn't wanna
I opened the door, he fell on the floor
the bald headed man from China

My mother, she told me to take off his coat
but I didn't wanna
I took off his coat, he smelled like a goat
the bald head man from China

My mother, she told me to take off his hat
but I didn't wanna
I took off his hat, he looked like a rat
the bald head man from China

My mother, she told me to take off his shoes
but I didn't wanna
I took off his shoes, he sang the blues
the bald head man from China

My mother, she told me to take off his pants
but I didn't wanna
I took off his pants, he started to dance
the bald head man from China

My mother, she told me to take off his shirt
but I didn't wanna
I took off his shirt, he fell in the dirt
the bald head man from China

That's all I remember. I always wondered why my mom (born in the 60s) told me to undress a bald head man from China who showed up at my door
-GUEST,betty, 20 Jan 11,  http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=98174, "Lyr Req: Crazy Old Man From China" 

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9. 
"My grandfather taught me this song back in the late 40's (it was Crazy Baldheaded Chinese). I would sing it at bedtime and it drove my parents nuts because I had to sing every verse I knew. Would take forever for me to finish - thus prolonging my bedtime. Great memory."
-GUEST,Pam A, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=98174, "Lyr Req: Crazy Old Man From China" 

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10.
"I learned it this way in the early 70's, it was definitely not to tune of Blow The Man Down. There was a girl at school who knew a lot of these types of rhymes. I can't remember her name at all. We were not best friends or anything like that.

That Silly Chinaman

My mother told me open the door, I did not, did not want to
I opened the door, he fell on the floor, that silly Chinaman
My mother told to take off his coat, I did not, did not want to
I took off this coat he smelled like a goat, that silly Chinaman
My mother told me to give him a bath, I did not, did not want to,"
-Bus Girl, 16 May 12, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=98174, "Lyr Req: Crazy Old Man From China" 

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11. 
"When I learned this in elementary school in the 60s, the tune was almost the same as "A Sailor Went to Sea, Sea, Sea."
-Nathan in Texas, 05 Marc 18, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=98174, "Lyr Req: Crazy Old Man From China" 

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12.
"I heard this song performed in concert, probably in the 1980s, as "The Dirty Old Man from Fresno." (The performer had changed it to remove the anti-Chinese slur, which I fully approved of. It doesn't really matter to the song where the old man came from--it just needs two syllables. I kind of like the idea of replacing the placename with "Nowhere.") The performer also sang the English folksong it descended from, which I remember as "Old Shoes and Leggings."
-GUEST,Anonymous, 05 Mar 18, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=98174, "Lyr Req: Crazy Old Man From China" 

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13.
"I learned a version of this song in the early 2000s in the Girl Scouts in rural Northwest Connecticut. Thinking back, the fact that they were singing this in Girl Scouts is disturbing
-GUEST,Anonymous, 27 April 22,  http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=98174, "Lyr Req: Crazy Old Man From China" 

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14.
"I was taught a version of this song in 2000-2001 in the Girl Scouts in rural northwest Connecticut. I'm Mexican-American, but the town I live in is 97% non-hispanic white. ...

My mother she told me to open the door. I did not want to. I opened the door and he fell on the floor. The crazy old man from China.

My mother she told me to give him a drink. I did not want to. I gave him a drink and he fell in the sink. The crazy old man from China.

My mother she told me to take him to town. I did not want to. I took him to town and he walked upside-down. The crazy old man from China.

My mother she told me to take him to France. I did not want to. I took him to France and he pulled down his pants. The crazy old man from China.

My mother she told me to take him to bed. I did not want to. I took him to bed and he chopped off his head. The crazy old man from China.

My mother she told me to bury him deep. I did not want to. I buried him deep and he stuck out his feet. The crazy old man from China.
- Anonymous,  April 27, 2022, http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/racially-derogatory-variants-of-old.html "The Crazy Baldheaded Chinese" Songs Are Racially Derogatory Variants Of The Song "Old Shoe Boots And Leggings"
-snip-
The commenter for Example #13 and #14 is almost certainly the same person.

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Visitor comments are welcome.

Stereotypical References To American Indians In "I Went To A Chinese Restaurant" Rhymes

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post is a continuation of this earlier post that I published about the performance of stereotypical motions while chanting versions of the contemporary English language playground rhyme "I Went To A Chinese Restaurant":
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/07/anti-asian-rhymes-i-went-to-chinese.html.

I wrote an addendum to that post about the inclusion of problematic references to American Indians in some of those playground rhymes. Here's an expanded version of those comments:

In some examples of "I Went To A Chinese Restaurant" the Chinese and Japanese referents are followed by "Indian chief". My sense is "Indian chief" is a referent to American Indians and not South Asian Indians. It's my position that the phrase "Indian chief" is also problematic since only the leaders of Indians and Africans are referred to as "chiefs". Other ethnic groups have kings, emperors, and leaders. Think about it.
Isn't that dismmissive of those populations to only refer to their leaders as "chiefs"?

While references to American Indians in some examples of "I Went To A Chinese Restaurant" aren't as glaringly stereotypical
as names such as "Ching Ching Charlie" used as referents for Asian people or the use of "squinty eye" motion to mimic the eye shape that some Asian people have, I still consider referents such as "Indian chief" to be problematic. "Indian chief" has become so familiar to English speaking people as a result of its inclusion in the very old "Tinker Tailor" or "Rich man, poor man, beggerman, thief, doctor, lawyer, Indian chief rhyme, not to mention Hollywood movies & television Westerns, that we don't give that referent much thought. However, I recall when I was a child that when that "Rich man/poor man" rhyme was chanted as a way of predicting who we would marry, "Indian chief" was considered to be just as bad a mate as "poor man" and "beggerman".

Also not as glaring but still problematic in a number of "I Went To A Chinese Restaurant" rhymes is the use of "Woo" and "How" to represent the way that American Indians talk. Furthermore, in my opinion, allusions to the stoic Indian image (who stands silently without moving with his or her arms crossed) are problematic in that they reflect and reinforce a fake, one dimensional image of American Indians.

http://www.bluecorncomics.com/stbasics.htm "The Basic Indian Stereotypes" debunks the use of the referent "Indian chief" to refer to leaders of American Indian populations:
"As James W. Loewen writes in his book Lies Across America, "Indeed, most American Indian 'chiefs' were never chiefs. Europeans projected chiefdom onto Native Americans because they
could not easily conceive of people living in a civil society without permanent formal rank. Also, making a 'chief' of a respected Native (and sometimes any Native who happened to be handy) gave a European leader an opposite with whom to deal—someone who could sell land, for instance....
-snip-
That article also includes comments debunking the Hollywood image of the American Indian war whoop.

*I'm using "American Indian" instead of "Native American", "First Nation", or any other general referent for this population. No disrespect is intended.

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TEXT EXAMPLES
Examples of ""I Went To A Chinese Restaurant" that include what I consider to be problematic references to American Indians:
Example #1:
I went to a chinise restaurant,
To get a loaf of bread-bread-bread!
They wrapped it up in a five pound note,
and this is what they said-said-said!
My name is...
Hi-low gigalo
Gigalo hi-low
Willy Willy Wonkas
You've gone bonkers
The indian chief said
HOW!
-Anonymous (Darlington, UK), http://www.topix.com/forum/who/johnny-depp/TI2G2O7A8L4CVJ8S6, Aug 25, 2008

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Example #2:
I went to a Chinese restaurant to buy a loaf of bread bread bread
The waiter asked my name and this is what I said said said:
My name is Eli Eli
I know karate
Punch in the body Oops! I'm sorry
Don't Tell my Mommy
Chinese
Japanese
Indian Chief!
-Pete (Walpole, MA), http://www.topix.com/forum/who/johnny-depp/TI2G2O7A8L4CVJ8S6, Dec 7, 2008

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Example #3:
We did "I went to a chinese restaurant to buy a loaf of bread-bread-bread.
She asked me what my name was and this is what I said-said-said. My...Name.. Is...
Ell-eye, Ell-eye, Chickle-eye,Chickle-eye,
pom-pom beauty, extra cutie
Indian chief stand still"

At the end you cross your arms and the first one to blink/move loses.
-Codi Berry, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wL_3pqqpxA, 2013
-snip-
Click http://www.hcn.org/issues/200/10426/print_view "The myth of the wooden Indian" for comments about the stereotype of the stoic Indian.

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Example #4:
I went to a Chinese restaurant to buy a loaf of bread bread bread, they wrapped it up in a five pound note, and this is what they said said said
My name is eli eli
chikali chikali
pom pom pooly
wally wally whiskey
chinese chopsticks
indians chiefs go woo woo woo woo woo
HOW!
-Simmy (Woodford Green, UK),http://www.topix.com/forum/who/johnny-depp/TI2G2O7A8L4CVJ8S6/p2

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Example #5
So cool how there are so many different versions posted.
Mine is:
I went to Chinese restaurant to buy a loaf of bread bread bread.
They asked me what my name was and this is what I said said said:
My name is L-I L-I pickali pickali pom pom beauty walla walla whiskey chinese japanese indiana CHIEF!

And when you said CHIEF! you shouted and crossed your arms over your chest...the first one to move, laugh or blink lost and everyone would just die laughing. So much fun when were little... :]
-JennxRIOT,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wL_3pqqpxA, 2010

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EDITORIAL COMMENT
I believe that the stereotypical content in playground rhymes should be documented for the folkloric record, and also for the purpose of encouraging people interested in an eradicating stereotypes to the presence of this content.

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

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

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RELATED LINKS
This post is intended as a companion post to these other pancocojams posts that examine the role of race and/or stereotypes in contemporary English language playground rhymes: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/07/examples-of-anti-asian-references-in.html "Examples Of Anti-Asian References In Children's Playground Rhymes" and http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/racialized-versions-of-i-like-coffee-i.html "Racialized Versions Of "I Like Coffee I Like Tea"

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are weclome.

"The Crazy Baldheaded Chinese" Songs Are Racially Derogatory Variants Of The Song "Old Shoe Boots And Leggings"

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision: August 15, 2023

This pancocojams post provides information about and examples of the song known as "The Crazy Baldheaded Chinese" and other similar titles. My position is that those songs are variants of the folk song "Old Shoe Boots and Leggings".

The content of this post is presented for historical and folkloric information.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. 

Hat tip to Anonymous whose April 27, 2022 comment about this song reminded me about this 2013 pancocojams post. 

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In 2004 I started a Mudcat [folk music] discussion thread about "Songs Your Parents Didn't Allow".http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=73889.

The first song that I posted to that thread was one whose title I knew as "The Little Baldheaded Chinese". Shortly after I posted the lyrics to that song, Joybell, a commenter from Australia, indicated that the song I had posted was a variant of song "Old Shoe Boots And Leggings". Prior to reading that comment, I had never heard of that song by that title or any other title.

Here's the lyrics of that song which I had somehow learned as a child but definitely not from my parents*:

My mother she told me to open the door.
The little bald headed Chinese nese nese.
I opened the door.
He fell on the floor.
The little bald-headed Chinese nese nese.

My mother she told me to get him a drink.
The little bald headed Chinese nese nese.
I gave him a drink.
He peed in the sink.
The little bald headed Chinese nese nese.

My mother she told me to give him a dance.
The little bald headed Chinese nese nese.
I gave him a dance.
He pulled down his pants.
The little bald headed Chinese nese nese.
-snip-
*Update: August 14, 2023:
I realize that I should more clearly note where and when my sisters and I somehow learned that version of "The Little Baldheaded Chinese". We sang this song without any handclapping or other movements around 1954 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. My older sister was seven, my twin sister and I were six, and our younger sister was five years old.

I have no idea how my sisters and I learned that song, but I remember we sung this song to our mother to show off  that new song we had learned. I couldn't understand why our mother told us that we weren't allowed to sing "The Little Baldheaded Chinese" anymore, but I recall her saying that the song was "nasty" without pointing out what was nasty about it. For a long time I thought that she meant that the man was "nasty" because he peed in the sink instead of going to the bathroom and peeing in the toilet.  It wasn't until I got older that I realized that my mother probably was referring to the sexual overtones of the song. However, as a young child, the sexual implications of the line about the man "pulling down his pants" went right over my head.

I don't remember my mother saying anything about the race of the man at the door.  I didn't recognize that the reference to the little baldheaded Chinese man was racist because the verses made fun of the man's actions if not his looks. I now know that "The Little Baldheaded Chinese" is a variant form of a number of anti-Chinese rhymes and songs. However, way back in 1954, the reference to Chinese went over my head. I don't think that I had never seen a Chinese person in real life at that point, except on rare occasions on the streets "downtown" or also rarely on the Atlantic City boardwalk.

-end of August 14, 2023 Update

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Here's another version of that song:

My Mother told me to open the door
Gee I don't wanna
But I opened the door and in stepped the man,
The dirty old man from China,

My mother told me to take him to a dance
Gee I dont wanna
But I took him to a dance and he peed in his pants
The dirty old man from China

My mother told me to take him to school
Gee I don't wanna
But I took him to school and he acted like a fool
The dirty old man from China

My mother told me to take him to bed
Gee I don't wanna
But I took him to bed, and I screwed off his head
The dirty old man from China

My mother told me to bury his head
Gee I don't wanna
But I buried his head and that was the end
Of the dirty old man from China.

Collected by Lisa Null from her nieces who learned it in a school playground, early 1970s, in West Glover or Barton, Ver
-http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=98174
"Lyr Req: Crazy Old Man From China" posted by Guest, Lisa Null,
January 2007

For comparison's sake, here's an American example of a song from the "Old Shoe Boots And Leggings" family:

WITH HIS OLD GRAY BEARD A SHINING
Cat. #0217 (MFH #687) - As sung by Mrs. Laura McDonald and Reba Glaze, Springdale, Arkansas on July 23, 1958

VERSE 1
There was an old man, lived over the lea
I hope, but I won't have 'im
Came over th lea, a courting with me
With his old gray beard a shining

VERSE 2
My Mother she told me, to open the door
I hope, but I won't have 'im
I opened th door, he fell on th floor
With his old gray beard a shining

VERSE 3
My Mamma she told me, to feed him some cake
I hope that I won't have 'im
I fed him some cake, he swallowed the flake
With his old gray beard a shining

VERSE 4
My Mamma she told me, to feed him some pie
I hope that I won't have 'im
I feed him some pie and he swallowed a fly
With his old gray beard a shining

VERSE 5
My Mother she told me, to put 'im to bed
I hope that I won't have him
I put 'im to bed an' I cut off his head
With his old gray beard a shining
http://maxhunter.missouristate.edu/songinformation.aspx?ID=0217
-snip-
Here's some information about that family of folk songs from http://web.spsp.net/jbealle/bullfrog/Bullfrogtext.html
Introduction:
Bullfrog Jumped: The Long and Short Histories of Songs on the CD
by Joyce Cauthen

"Bullfrog Jumped is a CD of children’s songs that were recorded across Alabama in 1947

Under a wide variety of titles, "Old Shoe Boots and Leggings" has appeared in British and American collections since the 1700s. Other titles include "The Old Man's Courtship," "Old Shoes and Leggins," "The Old Man from Over the Sea," "Old Grey Beard," "The Dottered Auld Carle," and many others. All depict, in farcical tones, a failed courtship. Early country music versions were recorded by Henry Whitter ("Overshoes and Leggins," Okeh, 1926), Uncle Eck Dunford ("Old Shoes and Leggins," Victor V-40060, 1928) and the Burnett Brothers ("Old Shoes a-Draggin'," Victor 23727, 1932).

Among the many variants, there are a few narrative strategies that commonly recur. Callie Craven's version* follows a well-known course: at the mother's insistence, a hapless suitor is offered chances at courtship; the dutiful daughter seems to have little hope of avoiding marriage; but the man spoils the courtship with his ridiculous and crude behavior.

Although there some versions by male singers, this song is chiefly a women's song"...

* Click http://www.allmusic.com/song/old-shiboots-and-leggings-mt0031668966 "Old Shoeboots and Leggings" for a brief sound file of Callie Craven singing this song. (1946)
-snip-
"The Crazy Baldheaded Chinese" songs don't have the same theme found in "Old Shoe Boats And Leggings" family of songs of a young woman's reactions to being courted by a ridiculous, crude old man. However, given the very close similarities between the structure, lyrics, and tune of "The Little Bald Headed Chinese" and the "Old Shoe Boots And Leggings" songs, it's curious that the connection between these songs doesn't appear to be documented and discussed - online, anyway. The only mention about the possible (I'd say "probable") connections between "Old Shoe Boots And Leggings" (or other titles) and "The Crazy Baldheaded Chinese" (or other titles) songs are in comments and posts that I've written.

I believe it is important to state that these "Crazy Baldheaded Chinese" songs are more than funny, risque songs.  These songs should be put in the socio-cultural context of historical and present day racism against Chinese, Japanese, and other East Asian people as reflected in mainstream American culture and other Western nations. As such, it should be recognized that this song that ridicules Chinese people can be considered anti-Chinese because they can add to the generalized disparagement of East Asian people, whether or not that is their intention. Other examples of what I consider to be anti-Chinese children's songs are "Ching Chong Chinaman", "Me Chinese Me Drink Coke", and some examples of "I Went To The Chinese Restaurant".

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Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-old-black-booger-folk-song.html for a separate pancocojams post about th song "The Old Black Booger".
"The Old Black Booger" is a song with an interesting title whose structure, lyrics, and tune clearly testify to its membership in the "Old Shoe Boots And Leggings" family. Given that song's theme of a woman being courted by a ridiculous, crude old man, I believe that the word "Black" in the song "The Old Black Booger" refers to a person of ill repute, or a physically dirty old man, and not a person of Black African descent. I believe that in part because in the Southern part of the United States, and elsewhere in that country up until fairly recently (and still among many people today), it would have been anathema for a White woman to be courted by a Black man. For those reasons, I don't think that the inclusion of the word "Black" in that song's title causes it to be categorized as a racially deregoratory song.

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OTHER RELATED LINKS
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/07/examples-of-anti-asian-references-in.html "Examples Of Anti-Asian References In Children's Playground Rhymes"

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http://maxhunter.missouristate.edu/songinformation.aspx?ID=0217 "With His Old Gray Beard a Shining"

**
http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=19426 "Penguin: The Old Man From Lee"

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Visitor comments are welcome.

Examples Of Anti-Asian References In Children's Playground Rhymes

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post provides information about and examples of the "Ching Ching Chinaman" 'family' of English language playground rhymes. Those rhymes include definite or possible Anti-Chinese references, and by extension, anti-[East] Asian references.

The examples which are the focus of this post include the verse "Ching ching Chinaman sittin on a fence/tryin to make a dollar out of 15 cents" or words that are similar to that verse. Examples of rhymes in this category include such titles (first lines) as "Ching Ching Charlie", "Choo Choo Charlie", "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", and "Shimmy Shimmy China". It's important to note that all rhyme examples with these first lines do not contain anti-Asian content.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, sociological, and cultural purposes. Unfortunately, by no means are the rhymes sampled here the only English language playground rhymes that include stereotypical Asian references. Some versions of the widely known handclap rhyme "I Went To The Chinese Restaurant" contain those images and other stereotypical racial images.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/07/anti-asian-rhymes-i-went-to-chinese.html for a companion post on this subject.

WARNING & DISCLAIMER: 

This post includes racially pejorative referents in children's recreational rhymes for folkloric, historical, and socio-cultural purposes.

I'm not promoting the performance of these versions of these rhymes and don't recommend their performance for recreational or entertainment purposes.. 

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EARLY EXAMPLES OF OF CHING CHING CHINAMAN
"Ching ching" is a form of the derogatory phrase "Ching chong". Here's information about that phrase from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ching_chong
"Ching chong is a pejorative term sometimes employed by speakers of English to mock or play on the Chinese language, people of Chinese ancestry, or other Asians who may be mistaken for Chinese that resided in Western countries. Several public commentators have characterized the term as derogatory while noting that assaults or physical intimidation of Asians are often accompanied by racial slurs or imitation Chinese.

The term "ching chong" is based on how supposedly the Chinese languages, or more specifically the Mandarin Chinese sounds to English speakers who do not speak the language and the people of Chinese ancestry that spoke them. While usually intended for ethnic Chinese, the slur has also been directed at other East Asians. Mary Paik Lee, a Korean immigrant who arrived with her family in San Francisco in 1906, writes in her autobiography that on her first day of school, girls circled and hit her, chanting:

Ching Chong, Chinaman,
Sitting on a wall.
Along came a white man,
And chopped his tail off.[3]

...In 1917, a ragtime piano song entitled "Ching Chong" was co-written by Lee S. Roberts and J. Will Callahan.[4] Its lyrics contained the following words:

"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."

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COMMENTS ABOUT OTHER TITLES OF EXAMPLES FROM THE "CHING CHONG CHINAMAN PLAYGROUND RHYME FAMILY
[revised 2/16/2015]

"Ching Chong Charlie" or "Ching Ching China"
These alliterative titles are clear adaptations of the "Ching Chong Chinaman" title/first line but with the socially correct name "Charlie" replacing the racial referent "Chinaman".

**
"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"
This title (first line) reflects the popularity of the book and the 1968 musical "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chitty_Chitty_Bang_Bang for information about this subject.

It's likely that some children changed this title (first line) or were told to change to another alliterative title (first line) because of its close similarity to the profanity word "sh&t".

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"Choo Choo Charlie"
These words continue the practice of using alliterative "ch" words for the title & lines of these rhymes. The name "Choo Choo Charlie" may have come from 1950s "Good n' Plenty candy television commercials which featured the jingle about a little boy whose nickname wa "Choo Choo Charlie" who pretended he was a train engineer. Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExSlyoVTX3I for a clip of that jingle.

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"Shimmy Shimmy China"
Shimmy Shimmy China is a variant form of the rhyme "Down Down Baby, I Can Do Karate" and that rhyme is a variant form of "Shimmy Shimmy Co Co Pa" (or similar sounding words).

Given that the martial arts "karate" originated in an Asian culture (Japan), the reference to "China" that follow that title/first line may be an example of conflating or mixing up of two Asians cultures. While the words constitute bragging about doing karate, conflating and/or mixing up two Asian cultures is still problematic.

The words "shimmy shimmy" in this title/line were undoubtedly influenced by the words of the widely known children's rhyme "Shimmy Shimmy Coco Pa". However, in the rhyme "Shimmy Shimmy China" (and not the title/line "Shimmy Shimmy Co Co Pa") those words may be a folk etymology form of the words "ching ching".

I believe that the word "China" in this alliterative title/line refers to a female and not to the Asian nation of China. In the almost entirely African American school (in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) where I collected this rhyme example, there was one female student whose name was "China".

The name "China" fits the structure and sound of many contemporary, "African" & "Arabic" sounding* African American (usually) female names in that "China" has two syllables and ends with an "ah" sound. Also, the name "China" fits the aesthetic preference for names with the "Sh" ("Ch") beginning sound.** Consequently, I think it's relatively easy for African Americans to assume that the name "China" is another multi-cultural name for a girl. Note that "Asia" is a very familiar African American female name (post 1980),

*I wrote "African" and "Arabic" in quotations because many of these names aren't traditional African or Arabic names, but are purposefully or accidentally based on or influenced by what African Americans think African/Arabic names sound (and are spelled) like.
**Examples of popular contemporary African American names which include the "sh" or "ch" sound as a prefix: For example "Shontae"/"Chantay" and as a suffix: For example: "Keisha".

These names have multiple spellings. "Shontae" is usually female, but examples can be found of males with this name. "Keisha" is a female name. Among its common variants is "Mykeisha" and "LaKeisha."

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CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLES
(These examples are presented in chronological order based on the date of their collection or their internet posting, with the oldest examples given first.)

Example #1:
Ching ching Chinaman (* Also, 'Tattletale, tattletale' *)
Sitting on a fence
Trying to make a dollar
Out of fifteen cents.
He missed, he missed like this.

Source: Abrahams (1969)
http://mudcat.org/jumprope/jumprope_display_all.cfm
This and other examples on this page are probably from Abrahams’ “Jump Rope Dictionary”. No performance instruction is given for this example other than that it's chanted while jumping rope.

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Example #2:
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.
-Black boys & girls , around ages 6-10 years, (Duquesne, Pennsylvania), 1998, collected by Azizi Powell, 1998

*Boys said "he" instead of "she".

On the words "Oops, I'm so sorry, each handclap partner pretends to slap or to punch the other one. The girls or boys lean back so that they won't be touched by the other person. While they sang the words "She missed she missed etc, the children did criss cross jumps. At the end of the rhyme if your feet weren't side by side, you were out. * Boys said "he" instead of "she". See "Ching Chong China" on this page and "Shimmy Shimmy China" for examples of very similar rhymes. (However, "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" may not have been performed the same way as these other two rhymes. Also, see my comments about the word or the name "China" that I posted below.

*I've seen children do imitative movements such as karate moves to this rhyme in videos, but not in my direct observation.

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Example #3:
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 [This website is no longer available]

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Example #4:
Shimmy Shimmy China
I can do karate
Shimmy Shimmy China
Oops I'm so sorry.
Shimmy Shimmy China
Sittin on a bench
Tryin to make a dollar
Out of 65 cents
She* missed
She* missed
She missed like this like this like this.
-various African American girls & boys; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and surrounding communities & Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 1990s

*Boys who chanted this rhyme said "he".

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Example #5:
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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WHAT "TRYIN TO MAKE A DOLLAR OUT OF 15 CENTS" MEAN IN THE CHINESE SITTIN ON THE FENCE (BENCH) CHILDREN'S PLAYGROUND RHYMES

"Ching ching China sittin on a fence
Tryin to make a dollar out of a 15 cents"

Given that playground rhymes & old songs about Chinese were almost always uncomplimentary, I sense that that "tryin to make a dollar out of 15 cents" doesn't refer to those men being resourceful in how they stretch what little money they have.

One meaning for this verse was suggested in this Mudcat discussion about American rhymes & songs that referenced Chinese people:

I haven't heard the term "Chink" in 40 years. And would not hear it without speaking up. In my childhood we recited:

Ching Ching Chinamen
Sittin' on a fence
Trying to make a dollar out fifteen cents.

Nasty little bit of racist ridicule of a foreigner trying to make sense of our money and appearing to be a cheat in the process"...
-Sinsull, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=89534, 10 Mar 06 - 01:04 PM
"Origins: Chink a Boo Man"
-snip-
*Update: 2/17/2015:
I just read a post by an Asian American blogger who wrote that "As a child, I experienced being called a “chink” and having teachers mispronounce my name and classmates taunt me with nonsensical “ching chong ding dong” sounds, just like Eddie did."...
-snip-
"Eddie" is a boy who is one of the main characters in a new ABC television series about Asian immigrants "Fresh Off The Boat". That comment strongly suggest that that pejorative referent and those offensive sing song sounds are still being used to taunt Asian children.
-end of update-
The words "being a cheat in the process" carries with it the implication that these men were scheming, gambling, or otherwise engaged in some illegal or at least some lower class activity that would enable them to increase the money that they started out with. have.

Furthermore, the "sitting in the bench (or sitting on the fence) line may imply that the men were just lazing away their time instead of engaging in legitimate work like "regular Americans" do. Therefore, this line was probably meant to be part of an insult or demeaning reference to Asians.
-snip-
In other contexts, the line "tryin to make a dollar out of 15 cents, can refer to "stretching" what little money a person has so that it can go further.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/07/2pac-keep-ya-head-up-with-lyrics_12.html for a pancocojams post about the 1993 Hip-Hop song "Keep Ya Head Up" by Tupac. That song includes the line "tryin to make a dollar out of 15 cents" which I believe, in part,has that "stretching a little bit of money so that it might go further" meaning.

Warning: Another song by Tupac also includes the line "tryin to make a dollar outta 15 cents". There also is a Hip-Hop song by another artist which has that line as its title. Unlike the "Keep Ya Head Up" song, I consider both of those songs to be inappropriate for children in part because of their sexual references/inferences.

EDITORIAL COMMENT
There are a lot of derogatory words and- in the case of Asian references-accompanying pejorative mimicking actions) in children's rhymes. It's important that children know that these words and actions are hurtful, even if the intent is not to insult, demeen, or cause anyone any hurt.

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Thanks to those whose contributed examples are featured in this post. Thanks also to those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of videos which are featured in this post.

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