Nursery Rhymes, Clapping Games, Jump Rope ditties
 

I find this whole genre of activities fascinating and nostalgic. Did you play these when you were little? What do you remember?

Cinderella
Dressed in yella
Went to meet her handsome fella.
On the way her undies busted
How many people were disgusted?
1, 2, 3, 4 . . . (found in Wikipedia)

I remember:

Take me Out to the Ball Game (clapping game)
Not last night but the night before, 24 robbers . . . (jump rope game)
Mary Mack!

. . . and, how come boys didn't do this stuff? I mean--do boys have an equivalent?

besides dodgeball? ;)

The East End (where my family were from) was replete with off-colour ditties, and we sang them as children, not really knowing they weren't quite suitable.

We had nursery rhymes and skipping games of course, but if I list all the ones I remember we'll be here ages. Better to tell you some you might not hear elsewhere!

We used to sing "When we go down hopping" - East End families used to go and pick hops in Kent as a working holiday, my Dad went once but doesn't remember it, his older brothers did. I've made the rhymes below Cellar-specific, they were often about family - we used to sing about Nanny Doyle. There were no set verses, just numbers and what you could make them rhyme with.

When we go down hopping
We knock at number one
See the Mercenary
Polishing his gun
With an e-i-o, e-i-o, e-i-e-i-o!

When we go down hopping we knock at number too
See old Lumberjimus
Farting on the loo
With an e-i-o, e-i-o, e-i-e-i-o!
etc etc

And:

All of a sudden, a dirty great puddin'
Come flying through the air
Aimed at my brother, it hit my poor Mother
and knocked her off the chair
Now
Ain't it a pity, she's only one titty
To bash against the wall.....

don't ask - I have no idea!

wow! that's very cool, thanks, SG!

I learned a different version of that one...

Cinderella
Dressed in yella
Went upstairs to kiss a fella
Made a mistake
And kissed a snake
How many doctors did it take?
1, 2, 3...

My favourite clapping game:

I had the scarlet fever
I had it very bad
They wrapped me in a blanket
And put me in a van
The van was very shakey
It nearly shook me out
And when I got to the hospital
I heard the children shout
"Oh Mummy, oh Daddy
Please take me away
I've been here for a year or more
And now they make me scrub the floor
Here comes Doctor Cannister
Sliding down the bannister
Half way down he splits his pants
And now he's doing the can-can dance!"
(at this point you stop clapping and stand doing the can-can)

Heh, I'd forgotten about that until today.

anyone know the jumping rhyme that starts, "Seashells, cockleshells . . . " ?

[clapping game]

I asked my mother for fifty cents
To see an elephant jump the fence
He jumped so high
He touched the sky
And never came back 'til the 4th of July

[jump rope song]

Johnny by the ocean
Johnny by the sea
Johnny broke a milk bottle
And blamed it on me!
I told Ma
Ma told Pa
Johnny got a whippin' so
Ha! Ha! Ha!
How many whippin's did Johnny get?

[then the jumper would jump fast - hot peppers! - counting up as high as possible before tangling feet and falling down]

On top of spaghetti
All covered with cheese
I lost my poor meatball
When somebody sneezed

It rolled off the table
And onto the floor
And then my poor meatball
Rolled out of the door.

And another version:

On top of ?????
All covered with sand
I shot my dear teacher
With a red rubber band.

I shot her with pleasure
I shot her with pride
I couldn't have missed her
She's forty feet wide.

did you do jumping/clapping to On top of Spaghetti? We just sang it.

I may have jumped or clapped, on occasion.Don't look at me like I didn't jump and clap. I jumped and clapped a LOT. ;)

Finally remembered all the words to another clapping song:

Down by the river Swanee, Swanee
There sat my boyfriend Johnny, Johnny
Teeth knocked out and hair peroxide-d
Tell by the moon that he's crossed eye-d
Ruffles on his underwear
Flapping in the breezes
Can't you hear
Knocking of his knees-es
Once he's gone he'll never come home
But I love him just the same.

amazing oral history stuff, really. Here's the rolling pin one:

Not last night but the night before,*
24 robbers came knocking at our door
As I went out to let them in,
They hit me over the head with a rolling pin!
1, 2, 3, 4 . . .

*to this day, whenever I hear that phrase in conversation (and it comes up more than you'd think) my brain fills in the rest of the rhyme.

As I was walking down the street one bright and sunny day,
I came upon a billboard that stood along the way.
The sign was torn and tattered from the storm the night before,
The wind and rain had done its work and this is what I saw.

Smoke Coca-Cola cigarettes, chew Wrigley's spearmint beer,
Ken-L-Ration dog food makes your complexion clear.
Simonize your baby with a Hershey's candy bar,
And Texaco's the beauty cream that's used by all the stars.

So, take your next vacation in a brand new Fridgidaire,
Learn to play piano in your winter underwear,
Doctors say that babies should smoke until they're 3,
And people over 65 should bathe in Lipton Tea.

That is brilliant!

I'm trying to remember all of this clapping song:

10 little angels, all dressed white
Tryin' to get to heaven on the end of a kite
but the kite string broke and down they all fell
Instead of goin' to heaven they all went to...

(this is where you cut in with the next verse so as not to actually say "hell")

I remember:

...all dressed in red
trying to get to heaven on the end of thread
but the thread string broke and down they all
fell, instead...blah blah blah

anyone else remember more lines.

and did you jump or clap to that, UT? ;)

as I was saying, what did guys do? perhaps they're not as oral as girls.

hmm.

Oh er... rode the bus to it, sorry.

Everything else ppl was postin' put me in mind of the camp songs.

oh, that reminds me:

HELL - o Operator
This is _______ (can't remember)
If you're good you go to heaven,
If you're bad you go to HELL
-O operator, etc.

This one involved a lot of clapping, arm waving and gang sign throwing... my best friend taught me in 2nd grade.

See, see my playmate,
Come out and play with me
And bring your dollies three
Climb up my apple tree
Holler down my rain barrel
Slide down my cellar door
And we'll be jolly friends
Forever evermore.

2. Oh no my playmate
I can't come play with you
My dollies have the flu
Boo hoo boo hoo
Can't holler down rain barrels
Or slide down a cellar door
But well be jolly friends
Forever evermore.


3. Say, say, my playmate
Don't come and play with me
Don't bring your dollies three
Cut down my apple tree
Fall off my rainbow,
Into my cellar door
And we'll be enemies
Forever evermore.

4. Say, say my enemy.
Come out and fight with me.
And bring your Bulldogs three.
Climb up my sticker tree.
Slide down my lightning.
Into my dungeon door
And we'll be jolly enemies
Forever evermore.

5. Say say old enemy
Come out and fight with me
And bring your BB gun
And we'll have lots of fun
I'll scratch your eyes out
And make you bleed to death
And we'll be jolly enemies
Forever evermore.

6. Oh little enemy,
I cannot fight with you,
My mommy said not too
Boo hoo hoo hoo
I can't scratch your eyes out
And make you bleed to death
But we'll be jolly enemies
Forever evermore.

Camp songs are a whole 'nother animal! They deserve their own thread.

http://cellar.org/showthread.php?t=1...ight=camp+song

and hey, Jinx -- that one's even got a Cellar in it!

It rolled in the garden
And under a bush
And then my poor meatball
was nothing but MUSH!!

(Mebbe someday I'll find the video of me singing that one as a little girl and post it here for you all)

Annnnd thanks to cloud for reminding me of this one

Hello operator
Give me number 9
If you disconnect me
I'll kick your ______

Behind the kitchen counter
There was a piece of glass
Miss Susie sat upon it
And broke her little

Ask me no more questions,
Tell me no more lies
The boys are in the meadow
Zipping up their

flies are in the meadows
bees are in the grass
....and then I can't remember

OOH I remembered more

Cross down when Johnny was one
He learned to suck his thumb
Thumb sucker, thumb sucker
half past one

Cross down when Johnny was two
He learned to tie his shoe
Shoe tie-er, shoe tie-er
half past two

Cross down when Johnny was three
He learned to climb a tree
Tree climber, tree climber
half past three

Cross down when Johnny was four
He learned to shut the door
Door shutting, door shutting
half past four

Cross down when Johnny was five
He learned to swim and dive
Swim and dive, swim and dive
half past five

Cross down when Johnny was six
he learned to pick up sticks
picking up, picking up
half past six

Cross down when Johnny was seven
He learned to pray to heaven
pray johnny, pray johnny
half past seven

Cross down when Johnny was eight
He learned to ______
______, ________
half past eight

Cross down when Johnny was nine,
He learned to ______
_____,_____
half past nine

Cross down when Johnny was 10
He learned to say THE END!!

-_-_-_-_-_-

Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack
All Dressed in Black, Black, Black
With silver buttons, buttons buttons
All down her back, back, back
She asked her mother, mother, mother
for fifteen cents, cents, cents
To see the elephants, elephants, elephants
Jump over the fence, fence, fence
He jumped so high, high, high
He touched the sky, sky, sky
and never came back, back, back
till the fourth of july, ly, ly

-_-_-_-_-_-
This one was super super complex...only the most l33t of the females could accomplish all the hand waggling and clapping on time...although I did join their ranks, I was not among the best, cause I'd always forget the end of it...which is why I can't remember the rest of this (very long) clapping game.

Down Down baby
Down by the Roller coaster
Sweet Sweet baby
I'll never let you go

Shimmy Shimmy cocoa puffs
Shimmy Shimmy Reowr
Shimmy Shimmy cocoa puffs
Shimmy Shimmy Reowr

(about eleventy hundred more verses that I can't remember)

Edit: it was bugging me so I googled it...you can see the massive number of versions/whatnot for yerself
http://www.beachnet.com/~jeanettem/chants.html#COASTER

Edit Edit: MY version, was the second one on the list...notice all the head waggling...and at the end...repeat BACKWARDS lol

One more I remembered on my own:

We must, we must
We must increase our bust
The bigger the better
the tighter the sweater
the boys like us better
so we must
we must
we must increase our bust
-_-_-_-_-_-
Ones we played that the website reminded me of:

A sailor went to sea sea sea
to see what he could see see see
and all that he could see see see
was the bottom of the deep blue sea sea sea
-_-_-_-_-_-
Sea shells, cockle shells
Evie Ivy Over
My dog's name is Rover
He died in last October
How many doctors did it take?
1, 2, 3, 4.....
-_-_-_-_-_-
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,
Turn around (turn around)
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,
Touch the ground (touch the ground)
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,
Tie your shoe (hit your shoe)
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,
How old are you?
1-2-3-4........... (etc)
-_-_-_-_-_-
Strawberry shortcake, blueberry pie,
Who's gonna be my lucky guy?
A-B-C-D (Keep on repeating the letters of the alphabet until you mess up, and say you mess up on R, then, your "lucky guy's" name will start with R (Richard, Ronald..etc))

Will we go on a date?
Yes, no, maybe so, yes, no.....

Oh goodness I forgot Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear!

That site reminded me of a skipping rope chant, although their version was different
This is for three people - two turning the rope and one skipping

Had a little racing car
Number forty nine
Going round the coooooooor-ner! (person jumps out and runs around to jump back in)
And I Put On My Brakes! (on brakes you step on the rope)
Travelling the miles, counting out the smiles
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc (faster and faster until you trip)

For a double rope game
One person skipping, joined by another, who then jumps out
Names given as an example

Vote, vote, vote for dear old Sundae
Here comes Shawnee at the door (have a banana)
Shawnee is the one, who likes a bit of fun
So we don't want Sundae ant more (chuck her out!)

The above has simple words, but as it's a double rope game with multiple skippers it can get a bit hairy
You get shouted at if you break the rhythm!

You reminded me of another double jump rope game, same deal with a second jumper going in to knock the first out at the end:

Down the Mississippi,
The mighty Mississippi
Where the
Boats
Go
PUSH!