Irene Kistler, Apr 7, 2011 -snip- Words for this rhyme: "The first elevator says stop The second elevator says stop The third elevator says
keep on going until your hands get hot"
**** Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest revision - April 21, 2026
This is Part I of two part series on the children's recreational rhyme "Elevator" (also known as "Alligator").
This post showcases video examples of "Elevator" ("Alligator") rhymes along with the words to those examples.
This post also presents an AI overview write-up about the rhyme "Elevator". (I believe that the rhyme "Alligator" is a folk processed form of the "Elevator" rhyme.)
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/04/tracing-what-will-we-do-with-baby-words.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. That post presents information about how the folk song "What'll We Do With The Baby-O" is the source of various jump rope and hand games that are the sources for the contemporary "Elevator" and "Alligator" hand games.
That post also includes word only examples of these folk songs and recreational rhymes. .
The content of this post is presented for folkloric and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are featured in these showcases examples and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube. -snip- Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/04/elevator-alligator-hand-clap-rhymes.html for the closely related pancocojams post entitled "Elevator" & "Alligator" Hand Clap Rhymes Examples & Comments From essiajay's 2025 Tik Tok Discussion Thread "Y'all Remember These Hand Games?"
**** PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE Although the mission of pancocojams is to showcases the music, dances, language practices, &
customs of African Americans and of other people of Black descent throughout
the world, this post doesn't mean to imply that only Black people play the hand game "Elevators" or its variant form "Alligators".
As documented online, children of any race or ethnicity* have performed these rhymes.
*In the United States, colloquially speaking "ethnicity" usually means "Latina"/"Latino" ("Hispanic").
I believe that "Elevators" (also known as "Alligators") hand clap rhyme and game originated in the United States among African American girls. However, that is just a guess since most hand clap/hand slap rhymes originated from that population and then extended to other populations of girls in the United States and then throughout much of the world.
As is the case with other pancocojams post on children's recreational rhymes, singing games, and chants, these examples are showcased for folkloric and socio-cultural purpose and because I like these genres of children's recreational activities.
**** INFORMATION ABOUT THE ELEVATOR HAND CLAP RHYME AND GAME
From AI Overview (retrieved on April 20, 2026 as a result of my query for information about this rhyme)
"The Elevator Hand Game (also known as "Elevators")
is a popular two-player hand-clapping game often played on school playgrounds.
It involves players reciting a specific chant while performing a synchronized
series of claps, with the goal of continuing the sequence as fast as possible
without making a mistake.
How to Play
Players face each other and perform a standard hand-clapping
motion while reciting the lyrics:
Opening Chant:
Player 1: "Elevator one says stop."
Player 2: "Elevator two says stop."
Both/Player 1: "Elevator three says keep on going till
your palms get sweaty and hot!"
Counting Phase:
Players immediately begin counting upward (e.g., from 1 to
29 or higher) while maintaining the clapping rhythm.
The Objective:
The game continues until one player messes up the words or
the clapping pattern.
Experienced players often increase the speed with each round
to make it more challenging.
Variations
While the "palms get sweaty and hot" version is
most common, some regional variations exist:
Hips Variant: Some versions change the lyrics to "keep
on going until your hips get hot".
Counting Ranges: Different groups may have different
"milestone" numbers to reach, such as counting specifically from 30
to 54 after the first set.
For visual learners, you can find various demonstrations and
video tutorials of hand-clapping games on Upparent or by searching for
"Elevator hand clap" on platforms like YouTube and TikTok -snip- I like the concise information that AI Overview gives, but don't always take their word as gospel. For instance, I don't believe their (its?) statement is credible when they when they say that a certain version of a rhyme is the most widely chanted or a certain way that a rhyme is performed is the most common way of performing that rhyme. How do they know that? If they are only using information that's found online, that information is insufficient to reach those conclusions.
** I believe that "Alligator" is a variant form of "Elevator" i.e. the rhyme "Alligator" developed as the result of folk processing such as accidentally mistaking the word "alligator" for "elevator" (or some other form of folk processing.)
** "Alligator" is played the same way as "Elevator".
** The "Elevator" and "Alligator" hand games almost certainly originated in the United States
The earliest example that I've come across for these children's recreational hand games is 2011 (as per the publishing date for the YouTube video given at the top of this pancocojams post). However, that rhyme could have been chanted and probably was chanted before that 2011 date
Like most hand games, in the United States, these hand games can be played by more than two people.(See Video #3 in this pancocojams post for one boy and two girls doing a hand clap routine for "Alligator".)
** As as of the date of this pancocojams post (April 2026), I haven't come across any online videos of four or more people playing "Elevator" or "Alligator" as hand clapping games or as hand slapping circle elimination games (such as "Stella Ella Ola" or "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky".)
**** ADDITIONAL VIDEO EXAMPLES OF THESE RHYMES
These examples are presented in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.
SHOWCASE VIDEO #2 - ELEVATOR! - The BEST Hand Clap :) | Fun Clapping Games for 2 players 👏
Podo Town English, May 11, 2023
Elevator one says STOP!
Elevator two says STOP!
Elevator three says,
Keep on going 'till your palms get sweaty and hot!
**** SHOWCASE VIDEO #4- Hand Clap Game for 2 players - Elevator
@emmaellashow, September 26, 2024
Elevator one says stop
Elevator two says stop
Elevator three says keep on going till
your hands are red and stop
[The girls do a clapping exchange while counting
out loud to 20]
No person "wins" this clapping exchange. The tempo for this example is slower than the tempo for other examples that I've come across of this rhyme. That may be because these girls are young compared with the people in other videos that I've found of this rhyme (or of the "Alligator" rhyme.
**** This concludes Part I of this pancocojams series.
On the Planet Mars where the babies smoke cigars all THE
GIRLS from France DO THE HULA HULA DANCE every stuff they take is enough to
kill a snake when the snake is dead they put mustard on his head when the
mustered dries they put diamonds in his eyes when the diamanods break it was
1948 FREEZE!! :).
**** Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents some examples of the children's recreational rhymes "There's A Place In France", "There's A Place Called Mars", & Similar Children's Recreational Rhymes that are 1970 and later.
With the exception of the showcase video, these examples are from online discussion threads in which the commenters include date (and sometimes also place) "time stamps" in their comments as to when they first chanted or heard these rhymes.
There are additional online examples of these rhymes whose commenters gave no dates for when they first chanted or heard these rhymes.
The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the girl who is featured in this showcased video and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post. .
**** PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE This particular pancocojams series on the song "Streets Of Cairo" and the rhymes "There's A Place Called France", "There's A Place Called Mars" and "In The Land Of Oz' departs from the main mission of this blog which is to provide information about and examples of African American culture and other Black cultures around the world.
Sometimes pancocojams posts focus on children's recreational rhymes, singing games, and cheers because I'm interested in those subjects, regardless of which population originated those compositions.
That said, many of the examples of children's recreational rhymes, that I focus on in this pancocojams blog were originally composed by or adapted by African Americans or other Black people throughout the world.
Furthermore, regardless of who originated or adapted them, it's likely that each of the examples of children's recreational rhymes, singing games, and cheers that have been published in this blog have been performed or are now being performed by some Black people throughout the world.
**** SOME EXAMPLES OF THESE RECREATIONAL RHYMES
These examples aren't given in chronological order.
Numbers added for referencing purposes only. 1. [This example is chanted in the showcase video in this pancocojams post.] "On the Planet Mars where the babies smoke cigars all THE GIRLS from France DO THE HULA HULA DANCE every stuff they take is enough to kill a snake when the snake is dead they put mustard on his head when the mustered dries they put diamonds in his eyes when the diamanods break it was 1948 FREEZE!! :)." -MySarahLOL, Aug 21, 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOCyNN9k4bI
** 2. I remember it this way:
There’s a place in France. Where the naked ladies dance. There’s a hole in the wall. Where the men can see it all. They don’t care. Because they wear no underwear." -MuzzBizzy, 2024, https://www.reddit.com/r/DoesAnybodyElse/comments/1ird05o/did_anybody_else_sing_theres_a_place_in_france/Did anybody else sing "There's a place in France where the naked ladies dance"? -snip- This example is followed by these two comments:
babeli, 2024 "Omg this is the most similar to what I remember. But the
ladies wore no pants"
** komparty, 2024 "This is the one I learned as a kid in the 90’s."
** 3."There's a place on Mars Where that babies smoke cigars. Where the men wear bikinis And the women drink Martinis. Every sip they take Is enough to kill a snake. When the snake is dead They put mustard on it's head.
** 4. I learned a slightly different version in 1998:
There's a place called Mars Where the ladies smoke cigars Every puff they take It's enough to kill a snake When the snake is dead They put diamonds in their head When the diamonds break It is time to bake a cake When the cake is done It is 1941 -milftails, 2024, https://www.reddit.com/r/DoesAnybodyElse/comments/1ird05o/did_anybody_else_sing_theres_a_place_in_france/Did anybody else sing "There's a place in France where the naked ladies dance"?
** 5. "There’s a place in France Where the naked ladies dance But the men don’t care Cause they don’t wear underwear
** 13. "What I remember as a grade schooler in the mid-80s in central California:
There’s a place in France where the naked ladies dance But the men don’t care cuz they don’t wear underwear There’s a hole in the wall where the boys can see it all But the king doesn’t care cuz he eats his underwear" -Joe Aguayo, December 12, 2024, https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/668780/theres-a-place-in-france-where
** 14. "In the early 80s, I heard your daughter's version in Ohio. In the mid-80s, I heard it in Colorado, and in the late 80s, I heard the same version in Maryland.
chicagoster, Jan 13, 2012
This video was uploaded from an Android phone
Amanda and Serene... "there's a place on mars" -snip-
This YouTube video isn't meant to imply that it was filmed before the 1970s. I've included this video as a representation of the tune for these recreational rhymes. That "Arabian riff"/snake charmer" tune for the "There's A Place In France", "There's A Place Called Mars" and other similar rhymes has remained consistent over decades.
I've also included this video in this post as an example of one way that these rhymes were/are played.
This video is given without any attempt to transcript these young girl's version of the rhyme they call "There's A Place On Mars". I confess that transcription is beyond my ability and the auto-generated transcript was absolutely no help at all. However, the words to this version appear to be very similar to other "There's A Place On Mars" versions, including a snake thal was killed, the roses that were put on the snake's eyes, some mustard that is put over the eyes and that eventually fades, a referent to the King of Spades, and mention of a year that ends with the number "8". (Notice that the words "fade" and "spades" are near rhymes with the number "eight", It took me a while to realize that).
The girls end their rhyme by shouting "Freeze" and making a dramatic "freeze in place" pose.
And that is that - at least for their version of that rhyme.
**** Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest Update - January 7, 2026
This is Part III of a three part pancocojams series about the late 19th century "Streets Of Cairo" song. This series also focuses on the Hoochie Coochie dance that is mentioned in that song, and the much later children's recreational rhymes that were inspired by that song.
This post presents a small compilation of pre-1970s examples of the children's recreational rhymes "There's A Place In France", There's A Place Called Mars", "In The Land Of Oz", and other similar rhymes.
Although there are LOTS of examples of these rhymes online, only a few of the examples that I have come across include a time stamp i.e. a date that the contributors mention when they chanted, read, or heard a version of that rhyme.In addition to these examples from the 1950s or from the 1960s, some of the online sources that are cited in this pancocojams compilation also include contributors' mention along with their examples from the 1970s 1980s, or 1990s. (I've not come across any online examples thus far with a time stamp from the 2000s beside for adults remembering chanting these rhymes in their childhood.)
A place stamp (the geographic location: city and/or state) where they chanted, read, or heard a version of that rhyme is usually included in these comments and in many of the other comments that are found in these online sources.
I'm most interested in archiving some examples of these rhymes before the 1990s when the internet became available to the public. I somewhat arbitrarily chose "pre-1970s" as my cut off for this compilation for these "early" examples whose contributors time stamped.
The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to those who are featured in this showcased video and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/01/examples-of-theres-place-in-france.html . for the related pancocojams post "Examples Of "There's A Place In France", "There's A Place Called Mars", & Similar Children's Recreational Rhymes (1970 & later)".
**** PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE This particular pancocojams series on the song "Streets Of Cairo" and the rhymes "There's A Place Called France", "There's A Place Called Mars" and "In The Land Of Oz' departs from the main mission of this blog which is to provide information about and examples of African American culture and other Black cultures around the world.
Sometimes pancocojams posts focus on children's recreational rhymes, singing games, and cheers because I'm interested in those subjects, regardless of which population originated those compositions.
That said, many of the examples of children's recreational rhymes, that I focus on in this pancocojams blog were originally composed by or adapted by African Americans or other Black people throughout the world.
Furthermore, regardless of who originated or adapted them, it's likely that each of the examples of children's recreational rhymes, singing games, and cheers that have been published in this blog have been performed or are now being performed by some Black people throughout the world
**** SELECTED COMMENTS FROM A REDDIT DISCUSSION THREAD ABOUT WHEN THE "ARABIAN RIFF" THAT WAS USED FOR THE SONG "CAIRO" WAS COMBINED WITH WORDS THAT WERE PERFORMED AS CHILDREN'S RECREATIONAL RHYMES
[Pancocojams Editor's Note: These comments were given as #3 and #4 of Information Source #2 in Part I of this pancocojams series.]
"Any ideas as to when the schoolyard lyrics became attached to the tune?"
** Reply artisticthrowaway123, 2024 "Good question. Once again, it was popularized and revived in America sometime after the 1893 Columbian World Exposition, and the subsequent popularity of European Orientalism in the late 19th-early 20th century. Once again, like most unpublished kids songs, these become folkloric adaptations over time, with oral lyrics passed from generation to generation, thus becoming quite hard to place the creation of these schoolyard lyrics on any particular date after 1893. There's also a lot of versions of the melody and lyrics.
[…]
Of course, the song has been in the public eye for a while, being part of the music score of a wide array of movies and cartoons, such as a few Mickey Mouse cartoons:
- The Opry House, 1929
-The Karnival Kid, 1929
-The Chain Gang, 1930
-Pioneer Days, 1930
As well as a lot of other media, not only in the realm of cartoons. Laurel and Hardy's 1933 movie Sons of the Desert has it playing in a belly dancer's scene. The Great Zigfried from 1936, a movie with 3 Academy Awards, not only plays the song in a scene, but the movie itself is centered on the 1893 Exposition. You can even hear the song in modern media, such as the famous 2017 videogame Cuphead, where it plays in the Pyramid Peril episode.
There are a lot of incredibly old songs that traverse through time in this particular manner. Another good example is "Greensleeves". That song had been registered in London around 380 years before the 1960 Brothers Four hit song."
**** EXAMPLES OF THERE'S A PLACE IN FRANCE", THERE'S A PLACE CALLED MARS", AND SIMILAR CHILDREN'S RECREATIONAL RHYMES PRIOR TO THE 1970s
These examples are given in no particular order. Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.
WARNING- Example #1, Example #8 ,and Example #20 below include derogatory references to Jewish people. I'm including those examples for the folkloric record. I particularly want to call attention to Example #8's 1936 date because it's the earliest date that I've found thus far for examples of these rhymes.
I've come across other examples online of this family of rhymes that include the same or similar lines about Jewish people. I've also read an online example of these rhymes that includes a derogatory referent to Japanese people. However, no other examples of this sub-set of these rhymes are included in this compilation because they don't include any time stamps before the 1970s. Bt "time stamps" I mean the date that the contributor learned, read, or heard them.)
1. "In Oklahoma in the 1950s it was
There's a place in France Where the alligators dance And the dance they do Was invented by a Jew And the Jew wouldn't dance So they kicked him in the pants And the pants he wore Cost a dollar ninety-four Plus tax." -GUEST,celtaddict at the library, 11 July 2007 https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=102055 "Folklore: Play Ground Hand Jives"
** 2. "Hi All,
In Brooklyn, in the late 50s and very early 60s:
All the girls in France Do the hula hula dance And the way they shake Is enough to kill a snake When the snake is dead They put roses on his head When the roses die They put 1959. (I recall doing this to hula-hooping)" -GUEST, 27 July 2007, https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=102055 "Folklore: Play Ground Hand Jives"
** 3. "I just heard the song on a commercial for Delta faucets. Glad you guys knew the song, I was trying to find the relevence in a sexy song playing while the faucet sashayed erotically around.... Because in 1950's Florida, my mother sang:
there's a place in France where the alligators dance. One didn't dance, so the shot him in the pants.
** 4. …"My sister, who's work you can see on my links, learned this
song in Girl Scout camp when we were kids in Maine. the song goes like this.
There's a place called Mars,
where the ladies smoke cigars.
Every puff they take
is enough to kill a snake.
When the snake is dead,
they put roses on its head.
When the roses die,
they put diamonds in their eyes.
When the diamonds break,
it will be 1968.
I love to hear when some one else knows this
song or a close variation (not the one about france and ladies under pants).
When I was in Houston I had people from all over New England, upstate New York
and Pennsylvania tell me they learned this song in the early 60's. Another
woman from Tennesee jumped rope to it in the late 50's. It was also known by
someone in Colorado and another from Southern California from the late 50's. A
woman from New jersey said she knew it with tulips and I think it ended in 1969." -Unknown, June 23, 2005, https://judyperez.blogspot.com/2005/06/theres-place-called-mars.html , There's a Place Called Mars...
** 5."In a jump rope song in Massachusetts in the 1960s or 70s, it
went like this:
On the planet Mars, where the ladies smoke cigars. Every
puff they take is enough to kill a snake. When the snake is dead, they put
diamonds in its head. When the diamonds break, they count up to 48.
** 6. "In suburban Atlanta, Georgia, 1960s we sang: There’s a place in France Where
the pretty women dance. One wouldn’t dance So they shot her in the pants.
there's a place called france where the naked ladies dance there's a hole in the wall where the men can see it all but the men don't care cause they're wearing underwear and the chones that they choose cost a dollar fifty two (2007)
MY MOM LEARNED: there's a place called Mars where the ladies smoke cigars and the men don't care so they eat their underwear (1969)
MY GRANDMA LEARNED: there's a place in France where the ladies wear the pants and the dance they do is enough to kill a Jew (in racist 1936)" - Lopsi on June 17, 2007, http://blogs.herald.com/dave_barrys_blog/2005/05/a_readers_plea.html [I checked this link on January 6, 2026 to see if it was still viable and it is now given with a warning that it isn't safe to visit.]
** 9. "When I was a kid in the late-60's, we all learned a ditty to
the Sol Bloom "snake charmer" song. Our version was:
"There's a place in France where the ladies wear no
pants, "And the men walk around in dirty underwear."
I have no idea if this was some commentary on French
customs, but it was the version we learned. Forty years later, my eight
year-old sings:
** 10. "1960s, South Carolina, it was horribly distorted, as I
recall:
"There's a place in France where the ladies wear the
pants And the men go 'round with their (wieners) hanging
down"
Granted, I wasn't yet 10 years old, and maybe some adult
sanitized it for us, though not much. Also, "wiener" wasn't the local
jargon for junk/johnson/package/etc. the word back then was "goobers"
but then you might get confused with chocolate peanuts." -Randy Cox @Randy Cox [United States flag], Jun 27, 2011 https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/668780/theres-a-place-in-france-where
"Sung to: unknown (Arabian sounding tune often used in cartoons) "
** 15. "For some reason, this little ditty us kids used to sing on
the playground there at ol' Karlsruhe American Elementary School popped into my
head from 1960....the tune is somewhat a middle eastern singsong, hence the
belly dancer.
** Reply "Orleans, the playground at La Chapelle elementary. The
summer of 1955, parents and Girl Scouts waiting for the buses that would take
us to camp in Germany. Buses are late, so we started playing and singing our
usual playground chants to hopscotch or jump rope games or other active games.
This was one of the songs we sang followed by, "Shake 'em, shake 'em if
you can". I guess our parents hadn't heard some of these or realized that
our ringleader was the chaplain's daughter. My mom laughed about it for years." -Patricia Dupes-Matsumoto, 2019, https://www.facebook.com/groups/bratsfilm/posts/10157137311407247/ "Brats: Our Journey Home", August 29, 2019
** 17. "I am joining this “conversation” a few years late & I
also must have sung this song many years before all of you did. When I was a
kid & sang the song we sang:
All the girls in France
Do the hula hula dance
And the way they shake it’s enough to kill a snake
When the snake is dead they put diamonds in its’ head
When the diamonds are gone they put rubies in its’ eyes
** 21. "Listen, children. Back in the 1950s/early '60s, we sang (as
best I can remember):
All the girls in France do the hula-hula dance. And
the way they shake is enough to kill a snake. When the snake is dead, they put
roses in his head. When the roses die, they put tulips in his eye. When the
tulips die, it is 1969!" (Which was way in the future!)" -SnooMaps9354, https://www.reddit.com/r/DoesAnybodyElse/comments/1ird05o/did_anybody_else_sing_theres_a_place_in_france/Did anybody else sing "There's a place in France where the naked ladies dance"?
**** This concludes Part III of this pancocojams series.
This pancocojams post presents examples of "Mikey Mouse" children's recreational rhymes that aren't a part of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhymes.
This post serves as a compilation of some examples of "Mickey Mouse" children's recreational rhymes that aren't part of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky".
This compilation includes duplicate versions of these examples from different sources.
This content is presented for folkloric, historical, socio-cultural, and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. -snip- DISCLAIMER: This pancocojams compilation isn't meant to be a comprehensive documentation of "Mickey Mouse recreational rhymes.
Please share any examples of these rhymes that you know with demographic information such as where (city, nation) and when (year/decade). Thanks in advance!
**** PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE My Analysis Of The Children's Recreational Rhyme "Mickey Mouse Built A House" "Mickey Mouse Built A House" (and similarly titled rhymes) is an English language children's recreational rhyme that appears to have initially been used as a counting out/choosing it rhyme.
Based on the number of examples of this rhyme that I've found online, it appears that "Mickey Mouse Built A House" is a rather widely known English language children's rhyme in the United States, if not elsewhere.
A sub-plot of Mickey Mouse cartoons/television skits is that Donald Duck is jealous of Mickey Mouse having the spotlight. Therefore, out of spite, Donald Duck is often depicted as messing up Mickey's plans, and in the case of most of the versions of this rhyme that I've read, he messes up Mickey's house.
The "Mickey Mouse Built A House" rhymes were chanted by children in their neighborhoods before the "Mickey Mouse Club House" American television series began airing in 2006. (The 1980s is the earliest date that I've found for these rhymes. Read that example below.) However, it's likely that the "Mickey Mouse Club House" series helped popularize these rhymes.
**** Types of Recreational Rhymes "Mickey Mouse Built A House" rhymes have been chanted as skipping (jump rope) rhymes, partner hand clap rhymes, group hand slap rhymes, and "counting out" (choosing it) elimination rhymes. These rhymes have been chanted by themselves as (independent; stand alone) verses or in combination with lines/verses of one other (and usually more than one other) recreational rhyme/s such as long forms of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky".
** Related pancocojams posts In 2022 I published a pancocojams post that compiled examples of Mickey Mouse Built A House (or similarly titled) rhymes that are included in long forms of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhymes:https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/09/mickey-mouse-built-house-rhymes-in-long.html " "Mickey Mouse Built A House" Verses In "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" Rhymes"
Most of the examples in that 2022 pancocojams post are from an online Mudcat folk music discussion thread that is entitled "Origins: Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky"https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034&messages=489&page=10&desc=yes [Note: That hyperlink is for the first page of a 10 page discussion thread that I began in 2006. As of October 26, 2025 that discussion thread is still open for comments/examples with the latest example being from April 21, 2025.
In September 2025 I published a complete reprint of that post, with some additions and corrections. Some of those additions were from that 2022 post's comment section. https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/09/mickey-mouse-built-house-verses-in-down.html "Mickey Mouse Built A House" Verses In "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" Rhymes (reprint & updates)." A few of those examples aren't from the "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" family of children's recreational rhymes. Those rhymes are also included in this October 2025 pancocojams post.
That long Reddit.com discussion thread began in 2021 and (as of October 27, 2025) it is still open for comments/examples.
Partly because these examples are similar to the rhymes that were already included in that post, at this time, I've decided not to update that post by adding additional examples of those rhymes. However, I have updated that 2022 post and that September 2025 post with a major correction about the earliest date that I've found for "Mikey Mouse Built A House" (and similarly titled) recreational rhymes. That date is 1936 as indicated in Source #1 below.
**** SOME EXAMPLES OF MICKEY MOUSE CHILDREN'S RECREATIONAL RHYMES WITH OR WITHOUT DONALD DUCK) THAT AREN'T A PART OF "DOWN BY THE HANKY PANKY" RHYMES
Mickey Mouse (He) bought a house. See 346. Mickey Mouse built a house Under an
apple tree, Mickey Mouse called his house Number twenty-three. Also found as a
jump-rope rhyme; see JRR, p. 122. Opie (1959), 111 [Dublin].
Mickey Mouse In a public house. See 355. -141 -
[Page] 346
Mickey Mouse Lived in a house. What color was it?
"Red." R-E-D spells red And you are he. Opie (1969), 59 [since 1936].
"Mickey Mouse bought a house. / What colour did he paint it?" Howard,
NYFQ, 16 (i960), 140 [Australia 1954-1955]. Ritchie (1965), 47 [Edinburgh].
Begins "Mickey Mouse / He bought a house."
Mickey Mouse made (planned) a house. See 366. 347
Mickey Mouse was in a house Wondering what to do. So he
scratched his bun-tiddly-um, Out goes you. Opie (1959), 111 [Farnham, Surrey]."
**** Source #2 [Pancocojams Editor's Note: This version of "Mickey Mouse Built A House" is included in the magazine article "LIFE : Mickey Mouse at 90: LIFE Celebrates An American Icon, published by the Editors of LIFE, 2018]
I love the chanting games kids play. Some of them have been
around for years, some are new. They are invented by children and some survive
with minimal changes for generations; others get reworked and change
rapidly. Often snippets from one chant
work their way into another.
The benefits of chanting games are hand-eye co-ordination
and memory training, but most of all friendship bonding. It's interesting to me
that they are mostly played among girls.
[…]
Counting games
These are the chants you use to count off among a group of
friends to see who will be "it".
They're variations on Eenie-Meenie-Miney-Moe.
[…]
Mickey Mouse had a house
underneath the movies
when the movie started
Mickey Mouse farted
What colour was it?
[child landed on chooses a colour, then all spell out the
colour to finish counting off]"
Mickey Mouse is a counting game with a rhyme. It is normally
played by girls and used to determine who will be it.
Details
At School 19
Players: 3
Girls
Age: 11
Counting on shoes
Mickey Mouse went to the movies:
Mickey Mouse went to the movies, when he got there mickey
mouse farted, what colour was his gas, (blue),
Mickey Mouse went to the movies, when he got there mickey
mouse farted, what colour was his gas, (pink),
Mickey Mouse went to the movies, when he got there mickey
mouse farted, what colour was his gas, (black),
Mickey Mouse went to the movies, when he got there mickey
mouse farted, what colour was his gas, (pink),
Mickey Mouse went to the movies, when he got there mickey
mouse farted, what colour was his gas, (pink).
At School 05
Players: 3
Girls
Age: 9
Mickey Mouse had a house,
What colour was it?
(Response) Red. (any colour can be chosen)
R-E-D.
Person on whose foot the last letter lands is 'It'."
**** Source #11 From http://www.inthe80s.com/rhymes.shtml "In the 80s Rhymes" "Mickey Mouse built a house and made it out of glass. Daffy Duck messed it up and made me kiss his a**" -snip- This is the way this rhyme was written on that page except that all the words were given in upper case letters.
Notice that the name "Daffy Duck"* is used instead of "Donald Duck". My guess is that the person who contributed this example to that rhyme page either mixed up the names of the two cartoon ducks or the version of that rhyme that she or he learned had the name of the wrong duck."
