Children's Camp Songs

CHILDREN'S CAMP SONGS

This page contains selected examples, videos, and comments about English language songs that are sung by children in summer camps. Usually, there are many different versions of the same camp song, and no one version is more correct than any other. However, there are versions of camp songs which are closer in their lyrics to the earlier versions of these compositions-before they were latched unto by camp counselors.

I'm interested in tracing the sources of certain camp songs. I'm interested in posting multiple versions of rhymes and songs as a way of documenting how those compositions change or stay the same over a period of time, or within different populations at the same time within the same city, state, or nation. Please join me in this project!

Miss Azizi Powell, Founder / Editor
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Latest revision: February 17, 2013

INTERNET SOURCES OF SONGS THAT ARE FEATURED ON THIS PAGE
Some of the songs featured on this page are from my childhood memories, and/or from my collection efforts (mostly among African Americans in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1990s to date).

Some examples of songs and rhymes that are posted on Cocojams have been sent in by this site's visitors. Information is posted below about how you can send in examples for possible posting on this site. My thanks to all those who have sent in examples to Cocojams!

Most of the examples featured on this page are reposted from other websites.

Cocojams includes rhyme examples from other websites to help ensure that these examples are preserved and to help demonstrate how the words and performance activities of specific rhyme examples may vary over time and within certain populations. Hyperlinks to the source website are always posted on this page with every example that is from another website. If I am asked to remove examples featured here from any source, I will do so.

My thanks to all of the websites from which examples are reposted!

Click http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=82053&messages=34 for a page on dialogue chants such as "Knock Knock/Who's There", "You remind me of a man/What man" and "Where's my money/ In Your Pocket". These chants appear to usually be said without any accompanying activity. Children may learn them in camps, but it appears that they are passed on from adults to their children and/or grandchildren.

INTERNET SOURCES OF VIDEOS
Video examples of many of the rhymes featured on this page are posted below a version of those rhymes. I've also posted additional playground rhymes/chants videos at the end of this page. New videos are added periodically. Hyperlinks & citations are provided with each video.

All videos embedded on Cocojams .com are from http://www.youtube.com/ . Videos are posted on this site for educational, entertainment, aesthetic, historical, and folkloric purposes. All rights to these videos remain with their respectful owners.

I sincerely thank all the video uploaders whose videos I have reposted on Cocojams.com. I also sincerely thank YouTube.com for helping to make these videos available to the general public. If an uploader of a video sends a request to cocojams17@yahoo.com for me to remove his or her video from Cocojams.com, I will do so. Please note that links to YouTube videos or to other online resources may not remain viable. Please also be aware that comments posted on YouTube viewer comments threads may not be suitable for children.

SENDING IN EXAMPLES OF RHYMES
Please send examples of English language children's camp songs to cocojams17@yahoo.com for possible posting on this page.

Examples are posted for their creative, folkloric value.

Your email address is never posted or shared.

Or if you are on facebook, visit me at cocojams jambalayah, and befriend me, or send me a private message!

Please be aware that by sharing your examples or comments with me, you are giving me permission to include it in a book or in any other off-line publication.

Although it is not required, please include information about how this rhyme is performed. Also, for the sake of folkloric research, please include the following demographical information: where you learned the rhyme (please include the city & state if within the USA, and the nation, if outside the USA); when you learned this rhyme {year or decade such as 2008, the 1990s, or the mid 1970s); and who performed this rhyme (age, gender, race/ethnicity).

Thanks to all those who have sent in examples for possible posting on Cocojams! Special thanks to all those who remember to include performance information and demographical information (particularly location, and when the rhyme was performed) along with the text of the rhyme itself.

HOW THE SONGS ARE PRESENTED
Examples of songs, rhymes & cheers are almost always posted the way that readers send them to this website or the way that they were posted on another website, One exception that I make to this rule is that I convert examples in written in capital letters to lower case letters with what I believe as the beginning letter in the first line retaining its capital letter. Another important exception to this rule is that I never spell out what is called the "n word", replacing some letters with asterisks.

Some of these examples may have typos and other accidental spelling errors or may have text messaging, slang, or otherwise purposely misspelled words & phrases. Many of these examples are written without any capitalization at the beginning of a line or punctuation mark at the end of line. Posting examples written this way may result in difficulty understanding the examples. However, I believe that it is important to keep the examples' original form for authenticity's sake and as a means of showcasing the examples' "flavor".

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EXAMPLES OF CHILDREN'S CAMP SONGS
(Posted in alphabetical and chronological order)

A, B
AH BOOM BOOM CHICKA BOOM (Version #1)
Leader : I Saida Boom Chica Boom!
Group: I Saida Boom Chica Boom!
Leader : I Saida Boom Chica Boom-om!
Group: I saida Boom Chica Boom-om!
Leader: I Said A Boom Chica Rocka Chica Rocka Chica Boom!
Group: I Said A Boom Chica Rocka Chica Rocka Chica Boom!
Leader: Un-Hun
Group: Un-Hun
Leader: Oh-Yeah
Group: Oh-Yeah
Leader: One More Time
Group: One More Time
-various sources; including TPM memories of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; mid 1980s

Editor:
"Ah Boom Chicka Boom" is a call & response chant that has no accompanying movements. But, I wanted to include it on Cocojams, and so I posted it in this section.

Instruction: The group leader lead the group in saying this chant in different voices (for instance, slower or faster, or louder, or with a voice made to sound as though the words are spoken underwater, or "in a regular voice"). Usually, the leader will arbitrarily select a new style of saying these lines or will instruct the group to say them a different way each time he or she repeats the chant The leader repeats the chant as many times as he or she likes. To designate that it's the last rendition, the group leader may start that chant with the words "No More Times.”

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A BOOM BOOM CHICKA BOOM (Version #2)
I said a Boom Chicka Boom
I said a Boom Chicka Chicka Boom
I said a Boom Chicka Rocka Chicka Rocka Boom
Alright Okay Now were gonna do it
her way (then you point)

(yeah not a clapping game but still something popular in Michigan)
-Guest,Aryana, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=63097 Do kids still do clapping rhymes?, June 19. 2008

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AH BOOM CHICK A BOOM (Version #3)
i said a boom chick a boom
she said a boom chick a boom
i said a boom boom chicka boom
she said a boomboom chicka boom
i said a boom yo momma boom yo daddy boom yo granny too
she said a boom yo momma boom yo daddy boom yo granny too
i said hey hey
she said a hey hey
and a one moe time
and a one moe time
and its brianna turn (just pick the next person)
and it's brianna turn
-arlisa c; 11/12/2009

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ALICE THE CAMEL
Alice’s camel has five humps
Alice’s camel has five humps
Alice’s camel has five humps
So go Alice go
Bump bump bump bump.

(repeat with four, three, two and one humps)

Alice’s camel has no humps
Alice’s camel has no humps
Alice’s camel has no humps
So Alice’s camel is a horse
- http://www.ultimatecampresource.com/site/camp-activity/alice-the-camel.html

****
A PIZZA HUT (Version #1)
I remember my lad singing the following words to the same tune [as “Ah Ram Sam Sam”]

a pizza hut a pizza hut
kentucky fried chicken and a a pizza hut

a pizza hut a pizza hut
kentucky fried chicken and a a pizza hut

McDonalds, McDonalds,
kentucky fried chicken and a a pizza hut

McDonalds, McDonalds,
kentucky fried chicken and a a pizza hut
-PennyBlack; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=67001; a ram sam sam; February 15, 2004

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A PIZZA HUT (Version #2)
[Kentucky fried chicken and a pizza hut,
Mc Donalds, Mc Donalds

Luck Skywalker and a Jabba the hut
Dath Vader, darth vader

A luck sky chiken and a Pizza the hut
Mc Vader Mc Vader
-mandi (a college freshman); http://blog.oftheoctopuses.com/000518.php; April 26, 2006

****
A PIZZA HUT (Version #3)
a pizza hut
a pizza hut
Kentucky fried chicken and
a pizza hut

mcdonalds
mcdonalds

kentucky fried chicken and
a pizza hut

it even comes with actions!!!
-miraclem; http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080426225540AA5Rj0d; 9/2008

****
A PIZZA HUT (Version #4)
A Pizza Hut, a Pizza Hut
Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut
A Pizza Hut, a Pizza Hut
Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut
McDonald's, McDonald's
Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut

A Burger King, a Burger King
Long John Silvers and a Burger King
A Burger King, a Burger King
Long John Silvers and a Burger King
Red Lobster, Red Lobster
Long John Silvers and a Burger King

A Dairy Queen, a Dairy Queen
Chucky Cheese and a Dairy Queen
A Dairy Queen, a Dairy Queen
Chucky Cheese and a Dairy Queen
Roy Rogers, Roy Rogers
Chucky Cheese and a Dairy Queen

Actions:
Pizza Hut: Make shape of hut in air
Kentucky Fried Chicken: Flap elbows up and down
McDonalds: Put hands on top of head for arches
Burger King: Put hands on head with fingers up to make crown
Long John Silvers: Mimic sword play
Red Lobster: Hold up arms and bring fingers down on thumbs like lobster claws
Dairy Queen: Mimic milking a cow
Chucky Cheese: Mimic throwing a pizza in air
Roy Rogers: Mimic riding a horse.
- http://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/song/song-1260.asp [retrieved 3/16/2010]

C, D
COCA COLA CAME TO TOWN
(To the same tune as "I'm a little hunk of tin")

Sing the verses as a "repeat-after-me" song

Coca-Cola came to town
Diet Pepsi shot him down
Doctor Pepper picked him up
Now they all drink Seven-Up

(Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, crash - Beep-beep,
Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, crash - Beep-beep,
Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, crash - Beep-beep,
Honk-honk - WHEEE! - crash -Beep-beep)

Superman flying through the air,
Floating around without a care
Looking for his Lois Lane -
Is it a bird, or is it a plane?

or

Superman flying through the air,
In his sexy underwear.
Looking for his Lois Lane -
Is it a bird, or is it a plane?

(Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, crash - Beep-beep,
Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, crash - Beep-beep,
Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, crash - Beep-beep,
Honk-honk - WHEEE! - crash -Beep-beep)

Romeo and Juliet,
On a balcony they met.
Romeo said to Juliet
"You're the cutest girl that I've seen yet!"

(Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, crash - Beep-beep,
Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, crash - Beep-beep,
Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, crash - Beep-beep,
Honk-honk - WHEEE! - crash -Beep-beep)

Jaws was swimming in the sea,
Caught a diver for his tea:
Chopped him up into little chunks
Then spat out his swimming trunks.

(Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, crash - Beep-beep,
Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, crash - Beep-beep,
Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, crash - Beep-beep,
Honk-honk - WHEEE! - crash -Beep-beep)

In the cinema in the dark
Watching "Raiders of the Lost Ark,"
By the girls he is adored
Harrison Ford, oh Harrison Ford.

(Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, crash - Beep-beep,
Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, crash - Beep-beep,
Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, crash - Beep-beep,
Honk-honk - WHEEE! - crash -Beep-beep)

Birdy, birdy, in the sky
Dropped a present from on high.
Looks like chocolate, tastes it too,
Oh my gosh, it's birdy poo

(Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, crash - Beep-beep,
Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, crash - Beep-beep,
Honk-honk, rattle-rattle, crash - Beep-beep,
Honk-honk - WHEEE! - crash -Beep-beep
- http://songs-with-music.freeservers.com/coca-cola.html

-snip-
This site indicates that it is a collection of traditional Guide, Scout, and Campfire songs.
"I'm A Little Hunk Of Tin" has a similar tune to "Mama Mama Can't You See" handclap rhyme. Click http://cocojams.com/content/handclap-jump-rope-and-elastics-rhymes-2 to find text and video examples of "Mama Mama Can't You See" handclap rhyme

E, F
FATHER ABRAHAM
Father Abraham had seven sons.
Seven sons had Father Abraham.
I am one of them, and so are you.
So let's just praise the Lord.
With the [elongate the word "with"]
Right arm. [start moving right hand to right shoulder and keep it moving and QUICKLY start the next verse]

Father Abraham had seven sons.
Seven sons had Father Abraham.
I am one of them, and so are you.
So let's just praise the Lord.
With the [elongate the word "with"]
Right arm, left arm. [while still keeping your movements of your body parts from the above verses, add the left hand to the left shoulder and keep it moving and QUICKLY start the next verse]

Continue the same pattern right leg, left leg, nod your head, stick out your tongue, turn around, sit down
-Lillian Taylor Camp, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, mid 1980s, early 1990s

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FROGGY (version #1)
[Choose a caller. The caller says the line and the group repeats after him or her and does the same movements as the caller. Caller starts a clapping pattern, clapping her hands and then her knees. The group then does the same pattern with the caller. The caller then begins the call and response song
Dog!
Dog Cat!
Dog Cat Mouse!
FROGGY!
Itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, itty bitty froggy.
Jump, jump, jump little froggy. [the caller jumps forward several times to the beat].
Fleas and spiders oh so delicious. [makes wiggling motion with fingers on the word
spider; rubs stomach on the word "delicious"]

Ribbet Ribbet Ribbet, Ribbet, Ribbet Crow! [starts jumping backwards on the
word "ribbet until you're back in your
original stop]

[Repeat the song from the beginning, each time a differnt way, for instance faster, slower, louder or softer']
-Lillian Taylor Camp, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, mid 1980s, 1990s.

Editor: This is a movement song that is guaranteed to be a winner for children of all ages. I love it when teens and adults join in to play this with children.

****.
FLEA FLY FLOW (CUMALA VISTA)
Click Click http://cocojams.com/content/flea-fly-flow-cumala-vista-sources-and-examp... examples & videos of "Flea Fly Flow" songs.

****
FROGGY (version #1)
Dog,
Dog, cat
Dog, cat, mouse,
Froggies!!
Itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny little bitty froggies.
Swim, swim, swim little froggies
Bugs and flies are scrumdiddlyicious,
Froggies!

Action
This a repeat after me and do as I do song

Alternately slap thighs and clap hands

Repeat, each time faster,,
After final repetition (warp speed), jump straight to "Froggies"! (Wave hands in the air)

Comment: Got this from Big Horn at Camp Tahosa, Colorado
-http://www.scoutorama.com/song/song_display.cfm?song_id=1026 (retrieved February 13, 2011)

G. H
GIGALO
(This title of this game is also given as Gigalo)
Gigalo-o
Gig Gig a lo-o

My hands up high
My feet down low
And this is the way I gigalo (do a dance or some other movement)

Her (His) hands up high
Her (His) feet down low
And this is the way she (he) gigalos (group does the exact same dance or some other movement)
-various sources, posted 12/3/2011

Here's two videos of that game:

jigalo

Uploaded by meljohnvideoshare on Jul 14, 2008
...mmm...some of hte games we play...

**
shows us how you gigolo!

Uploaded by yfcsharmel on Sep 9, 2008

Yfc camp september 5-7 2008.

Click http://www.cocojams.com/content/childrens-rhyme-gigalo-examples-probable... for a post on this rhyme/cheer. Also click http://www.cocojams.com/content/foot-stomping-cheers-0 to find examples of "Gigalo" . Those cheers include the lines "my hands up high/ my feet down low/ and this is the way I gigalo". Examples of a closely related rhyme "High Low Jackalo" can be found on http://www.cocojams.com/content/handclap-jump-rope-and-elastics-rhymes

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GIRL SCOUT CAMP
Girl scout camp, girl scout camp,
the water that they give you, they say it’s mighty fine
but when you take a sip of it it tastes like turpentine!
Oh, I don’t wanna go to girl scout camp!
Gee Mom, I wanna go back where the water flows, Gee Mom, I wanna go hooooome.

Add verses like:
the toilets that they give you, they say they’re mighty fine
but you sit upon them, it chops off your behind

There were more verses but I don’t remember them.
- Emily; http://kateharding.net/2009/10/02/miss-lucy-had-friday-fluff/ Shapely Pose; October 3, 2009

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HERE WE GO ZODIAC (also known as) HERE WE GO ZOODIO
ok the zodiac thing I did at camp but it had more words.

Here comes zodiac zodiac zodiac here comes zodiac all night long
here comes sally walking down the alley here comes sally all night long
here comes another one just like the other one here comes another one all night long.
I looked out yonder and what do I see? A big fat man from tennesse. I bet ya five dollars that ya can't do this, I bet ya five dollars that ya can't do that.
to the front to the back to the side side side. to the front to the back to the side side side. You lean wayyyyyy back, you got a hump on your back, you lean way back you got a hump on your back. Do the camel walk.
-Guest; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=31226&messages=27 Children's singing games; February 28. 2006

and I think it repeated. We did it as a square dance. I'm not sure if the first part is quie right but the rest should be. Has anyone heard of this?

-snip-
I remember doing this partner movement game when I was a child growing up in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the 1950s.

Visit http://www.cocojams.com/content/childrens-rhymes-cheers Children's Game Songs and Movement Rhymes for text examples of this singing game. Here is one of the videos of this song that is posted on that page:

Here's a Tube video of this game in which people stand in parallel lines and two people dance down the aisle created by those lines. This is the same kind of dance form that was popularized by the American television show "Soul Train":

Zoodio

JustTheFam
August 02, 2009

I, J
I'M A LITTLE PIECE OF TIN (Example #1)
I'm a little piece of tin.
Nobody knows what shape I'm in.
Got four wheels and a running board.
I'm not a chevy and I'm not a Ford
Honk Honk rattle rattle rattle crash beep beep
Honk Honk rattle rattle rattle crash beep beep
Honk Honk
-PlayAlongSongs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUJRky8ARB0&feature=related , Jun 28, 2011

-snip-

This song is also known as "I'm A Little Hunk Of Tin". Some examples of "I'm A Nut" and "Coca Cola Came To Town" (camp versions) include this song.
Here's that video:

I'm A Little Piece of Tin

Uploaded by PlayAlongSongs on Jun 28, 2011

This is a song about a car that has been a campfire favorite for years. It has silly and simple motions that are sung and performed slowly at first, then sped up verse by verse until the song is sung as fast as possible. The fun really starts when ending the song. Everyone needs to end on "Honk, honk!" However, if someone accidently continues to sing "Rattle, rattle..." then everyone has to sing the song over again. This continues until everyone ends on "Honk, honk!"

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I'M A LITTLE HUNK OF TIN (Example #2)
The Countdown Kids - I'm A Little Hunk Of Tin

- Uploaded by Ruurd1111 on Sep 1, 2011

From the album: 50 Silly songs
I'm a little hunk of tin,
nobody knows what shape I'm in.
I've got four wheels and a running board.
I'm not a chevy I'm a Ford.
Hunk hunk rattle rattle crash crash beep beep 4x

****
I'M A NUT
Editor: "I'm A Nut" is most often performed with accompanying movements rather than a handclap rhyme. However, a poster to the online blues/folk music forum Mudcat shared this memory of "I'm A Nut" : "I learned it on the school playground in the 1940s. We did a clapping hands thing to the cadence."-Giac; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=25514&messages=22 ; September 18, 2000

I'M A NUT (Version #1)
I Have been doing a kid's song for years that goes "I'm a little acorn round laying on the cold cold ground everybody steps on me that is why I'm cracked you see, I'm a nut" etc. does any one know who wrote this little ditty? or anything else about it?
-Charcloth; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=25514&messages=22 Info On I'm A Nut; September 18, 2000

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THE NUT SONG Version #2)
I'm a little acorn brown,
Lying on the cold, cold ground
Everybody steps on me
That is why I'm cracked you see

I'm a nut tch tch (sort of a clicky noise)
I'm a nut tch tch
I'm a nut I'm a nut I'm a nut tch tch

Took myself to the movie show
Sat myself in the very first row
Wrapped my arms around my waist
When I got fresh I slapped my face

Chorus

I can sing and I can dance
I wear ruffles on my...
sorry, boys, guess again
I wear ruffles on my dress

chorus
-Guest. rabbitrunning
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=25514&messages=22 Info On I'm A Nut; September 18, 2000

Here's a video of children doing movements to a portion of "I'm A Nut"

trippetta23 | November 15, 2008
I'm a nut!

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I'M A NUT (Version #3 & Version #4)
Thirty Years ago we sang the I'm a nut verse followed by.

I'm a little hunk of tin
Nobody knows what shape I'm in
Got four wheels and a running board
Just a little Model Ford

Honk, Honk, Rattle, Rattle, Rattle, Crash, Beep, Beep, 3x Honk Honk! 3x

This summer at Crossroads Outdoor Ministries I learnt this version

I'M A NUT (Version #5)
Unknown

I'm a little acorn round, lying on the dusty ground
Everybody steps on me
So I'm a little cracked you see
Chorus
I'm a nut.You're a nut
You're a nut. You're a nut. You're a nut.

Called myself up on the phone
Just to hear my golden tone
Asked myself out on a date
Better be ready by half past eight

Go to the movies hold my hand
Tell myself that I am grand
Put my arms around my waist
If I get fresh I'll slap my face.

Coca cola came to town
Pepsi cola shot 'em down
Dr. Pepper fixed him up
Now we all drink 7up

Seven up got the flu
Now we all drink Mt. Dew
Mt. Dew went up the mountain
Now we all drink from a fountain.

The car verse is in the Camp Loowit songbook data base under Pile of Tin. www.backyardgardener.com/loowit. ANd as I'm a Little Hunk of Tin in BoyScout Songs @ http://cac.psu.edu/~jxm181/songs. The last two seem to be more recent.

When the entire male staff stood up and taught this with motions, the grownups laughed til we cried. They looked great.
- Tinker; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=25514&messages=22 Info On I'm A Nut; September 19, 2000

-snip-
An example of "Coca Cola Came To Town" that is similar to this on is found above.

Also, note that "Coca Cola Came To Town" (or similar titles) are independent (stand alone) rhymes that are often included in other rhymes such as "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky", and "I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag". For multiple examples of those rhymes,click http://www.cocojams.com/content/handclap-jump-rope-and-elastics-rhymes

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I'M A NUT IN A HUT
I learned this hand clap from girls that I worked with at a summer camp in Inkster, MI (suburb of Detroit) in 2002: I'm a nut in a hut I stole my momma's pocket book so what (whatcha gonna do, kick my butt?) I'm craaazy I'm foooolish I'm crazy, I'm foolish I'm crazy, I'm foolish I'm C-O-O-L, cool don't you move ~While spelling out cool (C-O-O-L), you use your hand to form the letters, and afterwards fold your arms (and look tough!), stare at each other, and whoever moves first (like a staring contest) loses.
-Emily; 12/26/2007

****
IT AIN'T GONNA RAIN NO MORE (Version #1)
It ain't gonna rain no more, no more
chorus is:

It ain't gonna rain no more! So how in the heck, can I wash my neck, cause it ain't gonna rain no more!

one verse :
Peanut sittin' on a rail road track, his heart was all a flutter, along came a train, roaring down the track, Toot toot, Peanut Butter

another verse:

Froggy sitting on lillie Pad, looking up at the sky, the lillie pad broke,and he fell in got water in his eye.

remembered more than I thought I would, the chorus is sung first and in between each verse. If I remember more I will let you know. We sang it as children in Florida.
- Akauk [email deleted]; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=2392 words to it ain't going to rain no more; July 27, 1997

Editor:
This song probably originated among 19th century African Americans. Click http://www.cocojams.com/content/african-american-secular-slave-songs to find an early version of this song.

****
IT AIN'T GONNA RAIN NO MO (Version #2)
Extra Verses - Repeat Chorus after Each Verse
By Wendell Hall

1. Oh, the butterfly flits on wings of gold, the June-bug wings of flame.
The bedbug has no wings at all, but he gets there just the same.

2. Oh, a bullfrog sittin' on a lily pad, lookin' up at the skies.
The lily pad broke and the frog fell in, got water all in his eyes.

3. Oh, a black and white animal out in the woods. Says, "Ain't that little cat pretty?"
I went right over to pick it up, but it wasn't that kind of a kitty.

4. Oh, a man lay down by a sewer, and by the sewer he died.
Now, at the coroner's re-quest, they called it sewer-side.

5. Here's a verse 'bout a man and a trombone. The words to it are few.
He blew, he blew, he blew, he blew, he blooey, blooey, blue.

6. Oh, I saw a sign in a hardware store: "Boy wanted, sixteen years."
Now, that's too long to wait for a boy. It brings eyes to my tears.

7. Possum up a 'simmon tree, rabbit on the ground.
Rabbit say: "You old son-of-a-gun, shake them 'simmons down."

8. Got a li'l ol' dog whose name is Jack. I wish they'd bring him back.
He chases the big hogs over the fence and the little ones through the crack.

9. Now, Mary had a little lamb. It had a sooty foot.
In little Mary's bread and jam, his sooty foot he put.

10. A peanut sittin' on a railroad track, its heart was all a-flutter.
The train came roarin' round a curve. Toot, toot! Peanut butter.

11. I know a Swedish waitress. Her maiden name was Schwartz.
Good gosh! the gal was homely like a dishpan full of warts.

12. The fox he has a bushy tail. The possum's tail is bare.
The rabbit has no tail at all, but only a tuft of hair.

13. Now, I sat down in the garden. A bee came buzzin' round,
So I stood up and let the bee sit where I sat down.

14. Oh, I've got a gal with big blue eyes and the sweetest ruby lips,
But she ain't got no more pepper than a garter snake has hips.

15. A bare-headed man, bewildered, says to me, "Where am I at?"
Now, I don't think that's what he meant. He meant, "Where is my hat?"

16. Got a redhead gal in Chicago. Got a letter from her today.
Here's what she said: "My hair was red, but now you've turned it gray."

17. Get away from my front window. Quit knockin' at my front door,
'Cause I've got another sweetie and I can't use you no mo'.

18. Oh, the air was full of raindrops and the street was full of hims.
They stood around like tree trunks a-lookin' at the limbs.

19. She was happy till she met him, then she left him all alone,
'Cause the big ox slipped and his trousers ripped and he broke his collarbone.

20. Oh, they tell me that a graveyard is a dawg-gone lonesome place.
They pull you down into a hole and throw mud in your face.

21. I'm headin' down toward the levee. I got me a rock and a rope.
Now, if those dawg-gone blues don't leave, gonna slip right off the slope.

22. Oh, the rain was rainin' pitchforks, poor old horse out in the wet.
I bought some corn and it wasn't long 'fore the horse had his cornet.

23. A bald-headed man in a restaurant said, "Waitress, my cocoa's cool."
The waitress yelled, "If your cocoa's cold, put on your hat, you fool!"

24. A redheaded music maker, I'm just a southern boy,
A wand'ring minstrel roamin' round, a-try'n' to spread joy.
- posted in http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=2392 words to it ain't going to rain no more by Jim Dixon, May 19, 2005

Editor:
Other verses are also posted in that same comment. In a subsequent comment in that same thread on that same date from Ritchie "It should be noted that Wendall Hall's popular versions (first in 1923) were adapted from traditional sources."
end of quote

"Traditional" is a word that is open to interpetation. My sense is that in this context, this word mean "African American".

Here's a 1949 film clip of this song:

manhatin | April 03, 2008

****
IT AIN'T GONNA RAIN NO MO (Version #3)
[Traditional Lyrics)

Chorus:
Oh, it ain't gonna rain no more, no more
It ain't gonna rain no more
It ain't gonna hail and it ain't gonna snow
if it ain't gonna rain no more

Oh, it ain't gonna rain no more, no more
It ain't gonna rain no more
How in the heck can I wash around my neck
if it ain't gonna rain no more?

Bake those biscuits good and brown
It ain't gonna rain no more
Swing your partner round and round
It ain't gonna rain no more

Bullfrog sitting on a lily pad
He looked up at the sky
The lily pad broke and the frog fell in
He got water all in his eye

Oh, it ain't gonna rain no more, no more
It ain't gonna rain no more
How do you suppose
The Old Man knows
It ain't gonna rain no more?
- http://www.songsforteaching.com/folk/ohitaintgonnarainnomorenomore.htm

Editor:
This comment was included on that page:
This song is included in rPhil Rosenthal's Turkey in the Straw: Bluegrass Songs for Children

****
IT AIN'T GONNA RAIN NO MORE (Version #4)
My father was born in NYC in 1909, the son of Jewish immigrants from Byelrus. His older sister was born in Byelrus, and he was his parents' first child born in the United States. He also had four younger sisters. They lived in East New York, Brooklyn. I was born in Brooklyn, in 1942, and grew up in East Flatbush. When I was a little girl, in the 1940's, my father used to sing this song to my brother and me. He said he learned it in the streets when he was young.

A raymo, a rymo, it ain't gonna rain no more,
It rained last night and the night before,
and it ain't gonna rain no more.

A skinny old maid she took a bath
and she did not tell a soul,
she forgot to put the stopper in
and she fell right through the hole.

The boy stood on the burning deck
his feet was full of blisters,
he jumped up on his grandpa's neck
and he pulled out all his whiskers.

A raymo, a rymo, it ain't gonna rain no more,
it rained last night and the night before,
and it ain't gonna rain no more.
-MerlePsyA; 8/24/2011

****
I WOKE UP SUNDAY MORNING

Editor: "I Woke Up Sunday Morning" is a humorous children's song that probably has its source in the song "Ain't Gonna Rain No More" which is a parody of the African American spiritual "Aint Gonna Grieve, My Lord, No More".

"I Woke Up Sunday Morning" isn't a school yard taunt, but I REALLY wanted to add it to Cocojams, and I couldn't figure out where else it would kinda fit. Some camps have taken up this song and have given it names like "Catch A Wiffer Woffer". Examples of this song are posted here although they may not share the same name.

"I Woke Up Sunday Morning" has the same tune as "Miss Susie Had A Steamboat" and "Miss Lucy Had A Baby". Those last two rhymes share a common source in the usually very risque "Bang Bang Lulu" family of rhymes. Most of the examples posted below are from pre-1950s recollections.

Note: In a comment on http://kilowan.wordpress.com/2006/09/02/skeeters-and-the-bed-bugs/ I wrote that some verses from "I Woke Up Sunday Morning" have their source in a very old African American song "Aint Gonna Rain No More". I believe that there is quite a bit of documentation (including the use of the phrase "Aint Gonna Rain No More" in some "I Woke Up Sunday Morning" versions) to substantiate that position. However, I incorrectly also wrote that "Aint Gonna Rain No More" had its source in another African American song "Aint Gonna Grieve No More". I apologize for my error.

Click http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=2392 for information and examples of Aint Gonna Rain No More. Also click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=75082 for more information on Aint Gonna Grieve No More.

I WOKE UP SUNDAY MORNING (Version #1)
I've never been to Harvard
I've never been to Yale
The only place I've ever been
Is the good old county jail.

I woke up there one morning
And looked up on the wall
The cooties and the bedbugs
Were playing a game of ball.

The score was six to nothing
The bedbugs were ahead
The cooties hit a home run
And knocked me out of bed.

learned from my mom - no idea on the attribution.
-Chocolate Pi ; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=312&messages=23 Roaches and Bedbugs? ; June 1, 2000

Editor: Subsequent comments from Chocolate Pi indicate that she or he was a college student when this example was posted on Mudcat Discussion Forum.

****
I WOKE UP SUNDAY MORNING (Version #2)
I was standing on the corner not doing any harm
When along came a copper and he took me by the arm.
He took me round the corner and rang a little bell.
Along came the ding-dong a-driving like hell.

Seven o'clock in the morning, I looked upon the wall.
The roaches and the bedbugs were having a game of ball.
The score was seven to nothing and the roaches were ahead,
When the bedbugs hit a hone run that knocked me out of bed.

Eight o'clock in the morning, the jailer comes around
And brings you bread and butter that weighs half a pound.
The coffee's like tobacco juice. The bread is hard and stale;
And that's the way they treat the bums at the Whaley Avenue jail.

I learned this about 1936 in New Haven, CT which accounts for the line Whaley Avenue jail. This is where the town jail still is. There appeared to be several variations of this song all over the country...
-Guest Allan; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=312&messages=23 Roaches and Bedbugs? ; June 1, 2000

Editor:
"I was standing on the corner not doing any harm/along came a policeman who took me by the arm" is a floating verse that is found in a number of African American folk rhymes, One example of this rhyme/song is included in the now classic 1922 book Negro Folk Rhymes, Wise & Otherwise that was edited by Thomas W. Talley, who was an African American chemistry professor at Fisk University.

****
I WOKE UP SUNDAY MORNING (Version #3)
Bedbugs and cooties verse was sung as part of "Portland County Jail" by the fellow I learned it from in the Kansas wheat fields, about 1945. He sang it thusly:

I woke up the other night
And there upon the wall,
The bedbugs and the cooties
Were having a game of ball.
The score was one to nothing,
The cooties were ahead,
When a bedbug hit a homerun
And knocked me out of bed.

I recall seeing a very similar verse in Gardner & Chickering's Ballads and Songs of Southern Michigan, collected from a young lad in a youth detention facility. Great place to swap songs!
-Sandy Paton; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=312&messages=23 Roaches and Bedbugs? ; June 1, 2000

****
I WOKE UP SUNDAY MORNING (Version #4)
Recited in a sing/song voice.
Oh I work up Sunday morning
I looked up on the wall.
I saw a gang of roaches
playin a game of basketball.

The score was nine to nothing.
The roaches had the lead.
I went and got my roach spray
And sprayed them 1, 2, 3.

You better stop them roaches
crawlin up my wall.
Feed them chicken & rice
and some day they’ll be
shootin dice.
- Miss Crystal (African American female, mid 30s, Summer school Program Director Duquesne, Pennsylvania); July 2002; collected by Azizi Powell

Editor:
I collected this version of "I Woke Up Sunday Morning" during a previously approved rhyme gathering visit to a summer day camp.Although the children (mostly African American, ages 5-12 years) had enthusiastically joined in when one of their classmates began a hand clapping 'song' , they were completely silent when Miss Cystal recited this rhyme. They later joined in with another song that Miss Crystal led [Miss Mary Mack], so it wasn't that they were put off by her authority. It seemed to me that they just were not at all familiar with "I Woke Up Sunday Morning".

In answer to my question,Miss Crystal said "I Woke Up Sunday Morning" wasn't a handclap rhyme and it wasn't a jump rope rhyme. She said that "she had learned it when she was growing up and "People just sung it".

Incidentally, right after she shared this song, Miss Crystal sang another song that I wasn't familiar with (though I know it now). That song which had the same tune was "The Preacher went down to the celler to pray/he got drunk and he stayed all day". Miss Crystal just repeated those words again much faster and ended the song there. The children also sat silently through that song as they had done for the "I Woke Up Sunday Morning" song. I don't believe that they had ever heard either of those songs, and neither had I. I now know that those songs are both floating verses of the parody of what was originally the African American spiritual "Aint Gonna Grieve, My Lord, No More".

****
BEDBUG SONG (Version #5)
This version was sung among the residents of Beech Bluff, Tennessee in the 1920's and 30's, as recalled by Franklin Mainord and recorded by Judy Mainord-Malone

Woke up this morning,
Looked upon the wall
'Skeeter' and the bedbug
Having a game of ball
Score was one to nothin'
The Skeeter was ahead
Bedbug knocked a homerun
And I rolled out of bed

Ain't gonna rain
Ain't gonna rain
Ain't gonna rain no more
How in the world can the old folks tell?
It ain't gonna rain no more
How in the heck
Can I wash my neck,
If it ain't gonna rain no more?

Bullfrog sitting on a lilly pad,
Looked up in the sky
The lilly pad broke,
The frog fell in
Got water in his eyes

I wished I was a bar of soap
In Mary's bathtub
EVERYTIME Mary took a bath -
O where I'd get to rub!

Ain't gonna rain
Ain't gonna rain
Ain't gonna rain no more
How in the world can the old folks tell?
It ain't gonna rain no more
How in the heck
can I wash my neck,
If it ain't gonna rain no more?
- http://home.swipnet.se/roland/bedbugs.html/thread.cfm?threadid= bedbugs and roaches (retrieved on February 13, 2011)

****
I DON'T WANT NO MORE OF THIS ARMY LIFE (Version # 6)
This version was popular during World War II

Five o'clock in the morning
and I gaced up on the wall
Bedbugs and the roaches
were having a game of ball

Score was six to nothing
and the bedbugs were ahead
The roaches hit a homer
and knocked me outta bed

I don't want no more of this army life
Gee, Mom, I wanna go home
No, I don't want to more of this army life
Gee, Mom, I wanna go...
Oh boy, do I wanna go...
Gee, Mom, I wanna go home
- http://home.swipnet.se/roland/bedbugs.html/thread.cfm?threadid= bedbugs and roaches (retrieved on February 13, 2011)

Editor: Click the link provided above for more versions of this song. Here's an excerpt from the comments written by the editor of that page:

"The verses are included in the song "I don't want no more of this army life" which was popular during World War II. This comic description of army life was sung by Bugs Bunny in a Warner Brothers cartoon film durning the war years. Additionally, these popular verses occur in several other songs which appear to be younger than the others as they are built up from bits and pieces taken from a number of sources. Below are a few of the folk songs in which contain verses similar to the one that Mary recalls. "

****
I WOKE UP MONDAY MORNING (Version #7)
I woke up Monday morning and there upon the wall the skeeters and the bed bugs were playing a game of ball.

The score was 19-20, the skeeters were ahead, the bed bugs hit a homerun and knocked me out of bed.

Singing, eany meany meany miny mo, boom boom boom catch a bed bug bed bug by his toe, boom boom boom if he hollers hollers, let him go, eany meany meany miny mo
- http://www.ultimatecampresource.com/site/camp-activity/bed-bug-song.html
retrieved on February 13, 2011)

****
SKEETERS AND THE BEDBUGS (Version #8)
I woke up Sunday morning
And looked up on the wall
The skeeters and the bedbugs
Were playing a game of ball

The score was ten to nothing
The skeeters were a head
The bed bugs hit a home run
And knocked me out of bed

Singing eenie meenie and a miney moe
Catch a whipper whopper by his toe
And if he hollers, hollers, hollers
Don’t let him go
Singing eenie, meenie and a miney moe.
-Larken; http://kilowan.wordpress.com/2006/09/02/skeeters-and-the-bed-bugs/ (retrieved February 13, 2011

Editor: Here's a comment by the person who posted this song:
"On a personal note, I remember singing this song on the way to camp many summers as a camper. I don’t remember all of the words to the other verses, but this song will always remind me of the anticipation in the last moments before a week at camp.

SKEETERS AND THE BEDBUGS (Version #9)
i sing this song at camp every year:

one morning when i woke up
i looked upon my wall
the skeeters and the bed bugs
were playing a game of ball

the score was 9 to 20
the skeeters were ahead
the bed bugs hit a home run and knocked me out of bed

singin eenie meenie meenie miney moe
catch a bed bug bed bug by it’s toe
and if he hollers hollers hollers
let him go
singin eenie meenie meenie miney moe

i went down stairs for breakfast
i ordered ham and eggs
i at so many eggs
that they all ran down my legs

singin eenie meenie meenie miney moe
catch a bed bug bed bug by it’s toe
and if he hollers hollers hollers
let him go
singin eenie meenie meenie miney moe

I went upstair to get dressed
i opened up my door.
my tuttie lu underwear
was dancing on the floor

singin eenie meenie meenie miney moe
catch a bed bug bed bug by it’s toe
and if he hollers hollers hollers
let him go
singin eenie meenie meenie miney moe

i fell into a the gutter
i layed there ’til i died
some people call it murder
i call it sewer-cide

singin eenie meenie meenie miney moe
catch a bed bug bed bug by it’s toe
and if he hollers hollers hollers
let him go
singin eenie meenie meenie miney moe
- drake; http://kilowan.wordpress.com/2006/09/02/skeeters-and-the-bed-bugs/ May 11, 2008 (retrieved February 13, 2011

****
SKEETERS AND THE BEDBUGS (Version #10)
ok, i got this from elementary school. my version is similar to the rest, but i remember it distinctly.

i woke up monday morning and there upon my wall
the skeeters and the bed bugs were playing a game of ball.
the score was 2 to nothing, the skeeters were ahead
the bedbugs hit a home run, and knocked me outta bed

i’m singing eener meener and a miner mo
catch a whipper snapper by his toe
and if he hollers hollers hollers don’t let him go
i’m singing eener meener and a miner mo

i went down stairs for breakfast,
i ordered ham and eggs
i ate so many pickles
the juice ran down my legs

-im singing-

my mother is a russian
my father is a spy
and i’m the little big mouth
who told the fbi

-im singing-

(and of course we went through every day of the week)
-anne ;
http://kilowan.wordpress.com/2006/09/02/skeeters-and-the-bed-bugs/ June 22, 2008 (retrieved February 13, 2011)

****
SKEETERS AND THE BEDBUGS (Version #11)
Here is my Dad’s version

I woke up one morning and looked upon the wall
The skeeters and bedbugs were having a game of ball
The score was 6 to nothing
The skeeters were a head
The bedbugs hit a home run
and knocked me out of bed

Oh hambone oh hambone
It ain’t gonna rain no more
It rained last night the night before
It ain’t gonna rain no more

A rich man rides a taxi
A poor man ride a train
A hobo walks the railroad track
and gets there just the same

Oh hambone oh hambone
It ain’t gonna rain no more
It rained last night the night before
It ain’t gonna rain no more

A rich girl uses cold cream
A poor girl uses lard
but my girl uses axel grease
and rubs it twice as hard

Oh hambone oh hambone
It ain’t gonna rain no more
It rained last night the night before
It ain’t gonna rain no more
- Tracy ; http://kilowan.wordpress.com/2006/09/02/skeeters-and-the-bed-bugs/ July 30, 2009 (retrieved February 13, 2011)

****
JUMP IN THE CAR
This is sort of a chant, sort of a song, sort of a circle game, played in the same way as "Little Sally Walker," with girls taking turns dancing in the middle of the circle.

Jump in the car,
Step on the gas,
Move to the side,
And let (name) pass!

[girl named goes to the middle of the circle, makes up dance moves]
I said . . .
Ooh, ahh, look at those dance moves!
Ooh, ahh, ain't they so pretty!
Ooh, ahh, betcha wanna do it!
Ooh, ahh, but ya can't do it!

STOP! Jump back [girl joins the rest of the girls to make up the circle]
Do the cabbage patch!
Hammer on down
Do the Charlie Brown!

(. . . and it repeats, over and over and over . . . )

-Cari B, 25, played with 5th grade girls at camp just outside of L.A . . . mostly white and hispanic girls, but I learned he song from a white female coworker from Connecticut.

Editor:
Thanks, Cari for remembering to include demographical information. This information helps folklorist note the continuity and changes in songs & rhymes over periods of time and within specific populations.

Click http://www.cocojams.com/content/foot-stomping-cheers-0
to find a very similar example of this rhyme that the contributor titled "Get On Down"

K, L

M, N

O, P
OH, CHESTER
(to the tune of "Yankee Doodle"; words and music "traditional")

Oh, Chester, have you heard about Harry?
Just got back from the army.
I hear he knows how to wear his clothes.
Hip-hip-hooray for the army!

Oh, [thump chest], have you heard about Harry?
Just got back from the army.
I hear he knows how to wear his clothes.
Hip-hip-hooray for the army!

Oh, [thump chest], have [point] heard about Harry?
Just got back from the army.
I hear he knows how to wear his clothes.
Hip-hip-hooray for the army!

Oh, [thump chest], have [point] [cup ear] about Harry?
Just got back from the army.
I hear he knows how to wear his clothes.
Hip-hip-hooray for the army!

Oh, [thump chest], have [point] [cup ear] about [pull hair]?
Just got back from the army.
I hear he knows how to wear his clothes.
Hip-hip-hooray for the army!

Oh, [thump chest], have [point] [cup ear] about [pull hair]?
Just got [slap back] from the [slap arm, then point to yourself]
I hear he knows how to wear his clothes.
Hip-hip-hooray for the army!

Oh, [thump chest], have [point] [cup ear] about [pull hair]?
Just got [slap back] from the [slap arm, then point to yourself]
I [cup ear] he [touch nose] how to wear his clothes.
Hip-hip-hooray for the army!

Oh, [thump chest], have [point] [cup ear] about [pull hair]?
Just got [slap back] from the [slap arm, then point to yourself]
I [cup ear] he [touch nose] how to [gesture up & down your body w/both hands]
Hip-hip-hooray for the army!

Oh, [thump chest], have [point] [cup ear] about [pull hair]?
Just got [slap back] from the [slap arm, then point to yourself]
I [cup ear] he [touch nose] how to [gesture up & down your body w/both hands]
[slap each hip in turn]- hooray for the [slap arm, then point to yourself]!
- http://kristinhall.org/songbook/Motions/OhChester.html

Editor:
I recall hearing my children sing this song and perform the actions to it. The tune that they learned at camp was not the same as "Yankee Doodle". One difference was that it was considerably slower and reminds me of the tune for "Playmate" (come out and play with me).

Q, R

S, T
SARISPONDA (Version #1)
in girl scouts we sang this Sarisponda...
and called it a spinning song--
but i cannot find any other info about it..

Sarisponda, Sarisponda, Sarisponda, ret set set,
Sarisponda, Sarisponda, Sarisponda, ret set set,
Ador ay o, ador ay boom de o,
Ador ay boom de ret set set,
Ah say pah say O

Hey! boom da boom da boom da boom da
- open mike ;
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=95981 Lyr Req: Camp Song 'adoreo'; October 26, 2006

****
SARAH SPONDA (Version #2)
Does anyone remember Sarah Sponda? It was more like a game, and I remember it from Girl Scouts. You sit in a circle and you pass something, like a stone or something, from your right to your left hand then to the person next to you, while singing:

Sarah Sponda, Sarah Sponda
Sarah Sponda rat-tat-tat
Sarah Sponda, Sarah Sponda
Saraha Sponda rat-tat-tat
A dor-ray-oh
A dor-ray-boom-day-oh
A dor-ray-boom-day rat-tat-tat
A-say-pah-say-oh!

And whoever had the object at the end was “out,” which mean that with fewer and fewer people, we always tried to sing it as fast as we could to not get “out.” Oh, memories :)

I grew up in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh, and graduated high school in 96, if that helps :)
- Ethyl ; http://kateharding.net/2009/10/02/miss-lucy-had-friday-fluff/ Shapely Pose; October 2, 2009

Editor:
I've lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania since 1969. I've raised two daughters and thress son there, and have facilitated a lot of programs with (mostly African American) children. And I've never heard of this song before reading it on those sites that have been cited here. This goes to show you that children living in the same city don't necessarily know the same songs & rhymes, especially when those songs/rhymes are taught in summer camps. I also think that there are some racial variables to which songs & rhymes children in the same city are familiar with.

****
TARZAN (Version #1)
Tarzan
Tarzan,
Was swinging from a rubber band,

Crashed into a frying pan,
Now Tarzan Has a tan.

Jane,
Was flying in an areoplane,
Crashed into a freeway lane,
Now Jane has a pain,
Now Tarzan has a tan.

Cheeta,
Was dancing to the beata,
Crashed into the streeta,
Now Cheeta is Velveta,
Now Jane has a pain,
Now Tarzan has a tan.

Tiff,
Was going out wih Biff,
Tiff took a whif of Biff,
Now Tiff doesn´t like Biff,
Now cheeta is Velveta,
Now Jane has a pain,
Now Tarzan has a tan.

Shamu,
Was swimming in the ocean blue,
Crashed into a red canoe,
Now Shamu´s gonna sue,
Now Tiff doesn´t like Biff,
Now cheeta is Velveta,
Now Jane has a pain,
Now Tarzan has a tan.
- Camp song; http://campwildcat.org/pages/custompage.asp?id=47 Wildcat Camp [retrieved February 10, 2011

Editor:
Tarzan and Jane are characters from the Tarzan series of books, television shows, and movies. "Cheeta" is Tarzan's pet monkey. "Biff and Tiff" are characters in the Miami Linguistic Reader Series. Click http://www.amazon.com/Biff-Tiff-Miami-Linguistic-Readers/dp/0669137588 for more information about that series. "Shamu" is a whale that performs at the American amusement park "Sea World".

This is not only a "repeat after me" song, but it's a cumulative song which helps reinforce memory skills.

****
TARZAN (Version #2)
This is a repeat after me song
[From this point on, the group begins repeating everything the caller or leader says and does throughout the entire song]
Tarzan!
Swingin from a rubber band,
Tarzan!
Smacked into a frying pan,
Ooh, that's bad.

Jane!
Cruisin in a jet plane.
Jane!
Smacked into a traffic light.
Ooh, that hurts.

Cheeta!
Dancin on a pizza.
Cheeta!
Burned his little feeta.
Ooh, that's bad.

Chelsea!*
Dancin on a pizza.
Chelsea
Fell in love with cheeta
Ooh, that's great!
Now Chelsea's got a date.
And Cheeta's got a mate.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87_Y4tNcu3w&feature=related

* In the video, Chelsea is a camp counselor who adds some motions of her own on the verses that mention her. The name is posted in italics because it can be changed for another name.

Editor:
It's interesting that "call & response" songs are now called "repeat after me" songs.

A number of commenters to this video's viewer comment thread indicated that the version that they learned of this song was much different from this version. Here are three comments from that video's viewer comment thread:

**
we sang this song but diif...its ohh that hurtts...and not the dancing on the pizza part...how do u dance on a pizzas.....wow...the endings so dif. .
-xxamazinANNAbananaxx September 2010

**
for the cheetah part we say cheetah fell in love with rita - rita was an alligator- oh that's bad- now poor cheetah is meetah! thats the song
-lilmisstaylorlautner; July, 2010

**
Why are all you camp experts hating on this camp's style of Tarzan? Everyone can sing the song the way they want. People are so quick to say something negative instead of embracing the differences that exists in all things. Stop being a bunch of haters and sing the darn song the way you see fit for you and allow these campers to do the same. GEEZE!!
-sahexylaura November 2010

Here's that video:

Camp Songs - Tarzan

hcycamp | July 02, 2009
Henderson County YMCA Camp Songs! These are the way we sing our songs everyone sings them differently. We all know when reading songs on the internet its kind of difficult to get the tune down so our camp has decided to help!

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THE MUSIC MAN ( Version #1)
I am the music man.
I come from down your way. And I can play .
What an you play?
I play piano.
Pi-ah- pi-ah pi -ahno pi-ahno pi-ahno
Pi-ah- pi-ah pi -ahno
pi-ah-pi-ahno.

I am the music man.
I come from down your way. And I can play
What do you play?
The saxophone.
Sax-o- sax-o saxophone.
Saxophone Saxopnone
Sax-o Saxo saxophone.
sax-o saxophone.
Pi-ah- pi-ah pi -ahno pi-ahno pi-ahno
Pi-ah- pi-ah pi -ahno
pi-ah-pi-ahno.

I am the music man.
I come from down your way. And I can play the big bass drum
What do you play?
Big bass Big bass Big bass drum
Big Bass drum Big bass drum
Big bass Big bass big bass drum
Big bass big bass drum.
Sax-o- sax-o saxophone.
Saxophone Saxopnone
Sax-o Saxo saxophone.
sax-o saxophone.
Pi-ah- pi-ah pi -ahno pi-ahno pi-ahno
Pi-ah- pi-ah pi -ahno
pi-ah-pi-ahno.
-Jangiankotla ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YViTTwA2IK4&feature=related; April 15, 2009

Here's a video of this song:

Editor: My children attended Lillian Taylor Camp (LTC) some ways outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the mid and late 1980s. My daughter was also a camp counselor there in early 1990s. Most of the counselors and children who attended the camp were African American. One of the songs that they learned at the camp was "I Am A Music Man". Their rendition of the song was very much like the text and tempo of this song (as per the video). However, one difference in the two versions was that the LTC version was "I come from far away instead of "I come from down your way".

There are also significant differences in how they words are enunciated (disregarding the language accent in the video.

LTC's rendition was
I am a MUSIC ma-an.
I come from far away-a.
What do you play-a?"

Version #1's rendition was:
I AM a music man, I come from far away. [The second sentence said right after the first and without any elongation of the word "man"].

I maintain that it's the elongation of the words that add to the rhythmic nature (the soulfulness?) of the LTC version. And I believe that song would not have been as well accepted if it had been sung without those rhythmic enhancers.

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THE MUSIC MAN (Version #2)
Since I was in high school, I've known a song that goes like this:
I am a fine musician, I practice every day
And people come from miles around, just to hear me play
My piccolo, my piccolo, they love to hear my piccolo
Tweedle-deedle-deedle, Tweedle-deedle-deedle,
Tweedle-deedle-deedle, dee, dee, dee.

and then a trombone, bass drum, trumpet, and what have you - always running down the list of sounds at the end of every verse, singing one on top of another as a true band should do.
I heard a rendition of this song in German within the last month or so - I suspect it was at an open sing in DC - does anybody have the German lyrics, or any other versions of this song?

I heard a 20-yr-old camp counselor sing something similar last week, but I didn't catch the whole thing:
I am a Musikaner, I come from German-land....
And that's all I recall. Can anybody come up with the German, or with any more English versions?
- Joe Offer; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=10179 I am a Fine Musician - German song? ;April 7, 1999

Editor: Click the above link to find a German version of that song.

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THE MUSIC MAN (Version #3)
(Traditional)

I've recorded another variant of theis song on my childrens' CD - Seamus Kennedy Gets On Everybody's Nerves,which I learned in Ireland many years ago. I also get the kids to act out playing the instruments, accordion, trombone, fiddle, tuba, bagpipes, etc. There's one bit of silliness in the last verse: a lawn-sprinkler.

I think this was originally an old German folk song, and I used to sing it years ago with
friends at parties. The insruments here are only a quarter of the ones we would do. You can add your own intstruments to the list. They don't have to be MUSICAL instruments, you know. I mean there's a Lawn Sprinkler in this one! Thanks to my friend Ed Miller for bringing it back to my memory.

I am the music man, and I can play,
What can you play?
(Repeat after each verse)

I can play the accordion:
In and in and in and out, in and out, in and out.
In and in and in and out, in and in and out.

The trombone: Back and back and back and forth, etc..

The fiddle: Up and up and up and down, etc.

The tuba: Oom-pah, oom-pah, oom-pah-pah, etc.,

The bagpipes: Huff and huff and huff and puff, etc.,

The snare -drum: Rat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat, etc

The piano: The pia-, pia-, pia-no, etc.,

The lawn sprinkler: Tsch, tsch, tsch, tsch, tsch, etc.
- Seamus Kennedy ; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=10179 I am a Fine Musician - German song? ; December, 2, 2002

Here's a sound file version of this song:

65 | August 03, 2010
Eurodance 2006

Editor:
Continuing my comparison of the rendition of the majority African American Lillian Taylor Camp (LTC) and videos of this song, i think that the second video with its imitation of the instruments and the nonsense verse would have been even less acceptable to those African American campers than video #1. I also think the fast tempo of the second video just goes to show you that just because a song's video is fast doesn't mean that the song is percussive, or rhythmically appealing to certain populations. My sense is that this rendition would not be appealing to African American children. But, of course, I could be wrong about this. I would probably say the first video would be the closest in appeal to African American music aesthetics, but I think it's still quite far from meeting what I think is that learned aesthetic perference.

Note: I hasten to say that all African Americans don't have the same aesthetic tastes in music. Yet, I believe that there are certain preferences that cultures encourage. And my experiences show me that most African American encourage and prefer rhythm, and percussion. If the song (even the camp song) aren't rhythmic, percussive, danceable, then those songs will probably not be that appealing to African American children.

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THE MUSIC MAN (Version #4)
"The Music Man" (Roud 17774) is a popular cumulative folksong among children, rugby players and Hash House Harriers.

Peter Kennedy published a song called "The German Musicianer" in "Folk Songs of Britain and Northern Ireland" (1975). It has some similarities with this song. Even earlier, "The Wonderful Musician", written by Walter Greenaway, was published in 1871. The chorus begins: "A big drum, a kettle drum, the fiddle, flute, and piccolo, piano, harp, harmonium and many more beside". The song is also known in Germany as "Ich bin ein Musikante".

For each verse the participants act out different instruments with specific actions. Some of the actions for the adult version can be rude or crude. They may also attempt to imitate the sound of each instrument.

It is sometimes performed in cabaret with the audience challenging the artistes to ever more extravagant - and difficult - renditions of, for example, the flugelhorn.

Each verse begins with the following chorus lines, divided between the lead singer ("The Music Man") and the audience:

The Music Man: "I am the music man, I come from far away, and I can play!"
Audience: "What can you play?"
Each verse features a specific instrument with accompanying actions. After each verse, singers sing the previous verses in reverse order before singing the main chorus lines again. The song proceeds thus:

Chorus
Singer: Everybody clap your hands in the air and follow the Music Man!
Singer:I am the music man, I come from far away, and I can play!
Audience: What can you play?
Piano
The Music Man: "I play the piano!"
Sing "Pia-pia-pia-no, pia-no, pia-no; pia-pia-pia-no, pia-pia-no" to the tune
Actions: act out playing chords on a piano
Follow with chorus
Trombone
The Music Man: "I play the trombone!"
Sing "oomp-pa-oomp-pa-ooomp-pa-paaaa, oomp-pa-paaaa, oomp-pa-paaa; oomp-pa-oomp-pa-oomp-pa-paaaa, oomp-pa-oomp-pa-pa" to the tune
Actions: mime playing trombone
Follow with piano and chorus
Bagpipes
The Music Man: "I play the bagpipes!"
Sing "Scotland the Brave"
Actions: mime playing bagpipes
Follow with trombone, piano, and chorus
Call and response section
The Music Man: "Whoawhooaa!"
Audience: "Whoawhooaa!"
The Music Man: "Yeeaah-yeah-yeah-yeah"
Audience: "Yeeaah-yeah-yeah-yeah"
The Music Man: "Oggy oggy oggy!"
Audience: "Oi oi oi!"
The Music Man: "Oggy oggy oggy!"
Audience: "Oi oi oi!" ..."
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Music_Man_(song) (retrieved February 13, 2011)

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THEY'RE ALWAYS IN THE WAY
My mother who is 95 sings this camp song from the ‘20s (it may be a chorus) :

They’re always in the way.
The cow eats them for hay,
He eats his whiskers in his sleep.
He thinks he’s eating shredded wheat,
They’re always in the way.

This was sung in the Poconos in Pennsylvania. All the children where white girls from the Philadelphia area.
-Molla D. ; May 22, 2011

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THE WISHY WASHY WASHER WOMAN
Waaaay down in the valley
Where nobody goes.
There's a wishy washy washer women washing her clothes.
She goes "Ooh Ahh, Ooh Ahh" (accompanied by extending your arms forward and back with your fist balled up ; also can be done moving your hips right to left to the beat )
And that's how the washer women washes her clothes.
Wallyacha agootchie gootchie gootchie
Wallyacha agootchie gootchie gootchie
And that's how the wish washy washer woman washes her clothes.
-Various Internet sites, including http://bussongs.com/songs/the_wishy_washy_washer_woman.php ; posted by editor March 15, 2011

Editor:
"The Wishy Washy Washer Woman" his song has multiple verses with accompanying actions. Add other lines that describe what the wishy washy washer woman does. You can also add funny lines with an end word that rhymes with "goes". For instance:
2. Drying her clothes
3. Folding her clothes
4. Picking her nose

The first line is often given as "Down In The Jungle Where Nobody Goes". That is the first line to a now classic African American adult toast (poem) called "The Signifying Monkey".

The song "Three Little Fishes" is the tune that is used for "The Wishy Washy Washer Woman". That same tune is used for the widely known handclap and handslap game "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky".

Here's a video of The Wishy Washy Washer Woman

Uploaded by greenghoulie on May 12, 2006

The "Wishy Washy Washer Woman" is a very popular camp song. This is Bryan Vitale and I (Pete Vigeant) performing it for http://games.greenghoulie.com. For more information, other songs and games, see the site! Thanks!

-snip-
Here's several viewer comments about that video:

Thanks for that. I learned that she was in a jungle not a valley, but I like your spin on it
-MadTurtleSmith. 2009

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I thought she was in a jungle and you have a chorus where you spin around and go "wadliacha, a gochie goochie goochie wadliecha a goochie goochie goochie wadleiacha a googiche gogochie goochie and thats how the washer women" Yaddy yaddy ya . But still you're version is cool :)
-singactplaychrissy; 2009

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Me and my sister and cousin keeps on singing this song.We made new verses for things .I love this video.
-geetrane 1; 2009

-snip-
Here's another video of The Wishy Washy Washer Woman that has different verses:

Uploaded by hcycamp on Jul 2, 2009

Henderson County YMCA Camp Songs! These are the way we sing our songs everyone sings them differently. These are guides for anyone who sings camp songs! We all know when reading songs on the internet its kind of difficult to get the tune down so our camp has decided to help! If you have any request let us know! We know a ton more these are Just what we consider the less known songs.

U, V

W, X
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE *
A song we sang at a girl’s camp in Maine (in the 50s) while hiking: (The camp was on Lake Kezar, the children were white girls, mostly from the middle Atlantic states.

Oh, it’s not the pack that you carry on your back
Or the aching in your shoulder,
And it’s surely not the horse’s easy trot
That makes you feel your bones are growing older,
And it’s not the gale on the upward trail
That carries away your smile.
Mujekeewis whispers
It couldn’t be the blisters,
It’s the last long mile.

Mujekeewis travels everywhere to mountains far and near
We hike along the dusty trail
With many a lusty cheer, singing,
Oh boy, oh joy,
Where do we go from here?
Where do we go from here, boys?
Where do we go from here?
-Molla D.; May 22, 2011

* No title was given for this song. I "named" it "Where Do We Go From Here" because that title seemed to fit.

I appreciate Molla providing demographical information for this camp song as well as for the camp song "There Always In The Way" that is posted above. Information about where, when, and who (including age, gender, and race) sung songs or performed rhymes may be useful for folklorists and others who research children's songs.

Y, Z
YO MAMA DON'T WEAR NO DRAWERS
Click http://www.cocojams.com/content/schoolyard-taunts for examples of this song that includes "pre-dozens" taunting lines.

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