TEXT ANALYSIS: "DOWN BY THE BANKS OF THE HANKY PANKY"

Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky

Uploaded by starstar156 on May 13, 2010

This was right after I lost...(oh darn it, I lost the game... :( :P ) & we were on a break at championships
oh & no one really knows who won...either Shanen or Stephanie...
& thanks to Kayla for singing for us ;D

****
"Text Analysis" is an ongoing Cocojams.com series that provides text analysis of selected playground rhymes, and other songs from oral traditions.

This Text Analysis page focuses on the sources and folkloric development of the children's rhyme "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky".

The majority of the examples that I used for this analysis can be found in this Mudcat Discussion Forum thread that I started in August 2006 http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034&messages=361 Origins: Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky. My conclusions about this rhyme are also gleaned from studying the text, comments, and performance activities of numerous examples of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" (and similar names) that have been posted since 2006 on http://www.cocojams.com/content/handclap-jump-rope-and-elastics-rhymes, on several other Mudcat.com threads, and on other websites.

My online research also included watching multiple YouTube videos & reading those videos' viewer comments threads. It should be noted that the primary focus of my folkloric research is African American oral traditions-meaning that at least some of the sources of those traditions are from African Americans and/or at least some of those compositions are or have been sung and/or performed by African Americans. "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhymes meet these criteria on a number of different levels. That said, like many African Americans, and like many African American performance arts & products, past and present examples of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" are actually of mixed racial (meaning Black/non-Black) origin.

This page is only a summation of my research on the sources and meanings of the children's rhyme "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" (also known here as the "Hanky Panky rhyme") and does not address the subject of the sociological implications or meanings of these rhymes/rhyme performances.

This information is posted for folkloric, research, educational, and entertainment purposes.

CONTACT INFORMATION
Feedback, and other examples of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" are very welcome. Please email comments and/or examples to cocojams17@yahoo.com

Your email address is never posted or shared.

Or if you are on Facebook, you can send me a private message there. My name there is cocojams jambalayah. Thanks!

Azizi Powell, Founder/Editor, Cocojams.com
Lastest update: January 17, 2012

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OVERVIEW
"Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" (DBB) is a huge family of English language playground rhymes that contains multiple variants. By at least the late 1970s, DBB appears to have been used first as a song, and later as a partner clapping game. The late 1980s saw the development of a number of short versions of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" being used as a mildly competitive circle group hand clap game. Those games were and still are favored not only by children but also by teens and adults as fun, stress relievers. The short forms of DPP have distinct patterns that is evidenced by text analysis. The short forms also have a distinctive tune which is evidenced by observation of YouTube videos.

See one example at the beginning of this page and other examples on this page.

The late 1980s also saw the introduction of long forms of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" which combined verses of other handclap rhymes, and, often - but not always - features the newly composed rhyme "Coca Cola Came To Town" (or "Coca Cola Went To Town") . Some versions of the long form of Down By The Banks use a tune that is similar to "Yankee Doodle Came To Town", the song that "Coca Cola Came To Town is based on. Other versions of the long form of DBB use a tune that is similar to the military cadence "Sound Off" or the long form just uses a basic chant cadence.

In many long forms of DBB, lines from "Coca Cola Came To Town" are used in combination with references to Pop singer Michael Jackson. Specifically, these "Michael Jackson" sub-sets of "Down By The Banks of the Hanky Panky" refer directly or indirectly to the hair on fire accident which Michael Jackson had while he was filming a commercial for Pepsi Cola. Because many of those examples are homophobic, they rarely are published outside the Internet, though numerous versions of those rhymes can be found on text based websites on contemporary rhymes (such as Cocojams). It's worth noting that I've not yet found any video examples of the long form of Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky. Here's a video of a young boy chanting "Coca Cola Went To Town":

coca cola went to town

Uploaded by benny6789012345 on May 8, 2010

-snip-

An example of "I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag", a handclap rhyme that is often found in "Michael Jackson" versions of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" is found below in the section titled "Long Form".

The long versions of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" are usually partner, three, or four person clapping games instead of the circle group clapping games like the short forms of DBB.

STRUCTURE
"Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhyme can be divided into the short form (basic form) and the long form of the rhyme.

SHORT FORM

The short form of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" (also given here as the "Hanky Panky rhyme") is composed of four lines (two rhyming couplets) in the AABB format.

Down by the banks of the Hanky Panky
Where the bull frog jumps from bank to banky
With an eep ipe op opps
He missed the lily and he went kerplop

-snip-

This first line often contains an alternative spelling of "hanky panky" or other nouns are used instead of "Hanky Panky". Also, another adverb may be used instead of "down by". For instance, a common version of the first line is "Down by The Riverside Hanky Panky". Unless I am reading into the examples, it appears to me that in most cases, the noun appears to be a place name. However, I've found a few examples in which "hanky panky" appears to be used as a verb-for instance, "Down by the banks where there's hanky panky".

The first two lines of the short form are much more stable than the third & fourth line. A common folk processed form of the second line is "where the bulldogs jump from bank to banky".

The third line is the most has "unstable" of all of the lines. An alternative "basic" version of the third line is “With an eep oops ipe ops”. The numerous folk processed versions of "eep ipe op" include "east side west side", "eesh meesh sun shee" ; "eece meece"; "EIOU"; AEIOU"; "eeps ops soda pops"; "ee ahs lollipop"; "snap crackle pop", "hip hop soda pop", "hip hop don't stop", and many more.

The fourth line of the short form usually ends with an with an onomatopoetic word such as "KerPlop!". "Kerplunk" , "Boom!"or "Stop"! When the elimination hand slap game is played, that onomatopoetic word is the signal to slap hands in order to get a person out. A tag line such as "1,2,3,4, 5, Your Out!" may be added after the fourth line of the short form. If so, the end of that line is when the elimination hand slap occurs.

down by the banks of the hanky-panky

Uploaded by sordidaffairs on Feb 11, 2008

hand slap games on train

-snip-

It's important to emphasize that all of the thousands of variant short examples of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" are derived from folk processed forms of this basic short form rhyme.

LONG FORM
The long form of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" includes all four of the lines of the short form or the first two lines of the short form in combination with one or more than one other independent playground rhyme (or a verse or verses from other playground rhyme/s). The short form pf the Hanky Panky rhyme is usually, but not always, found in the beginning of the long form rhyme. The short form may also be repeated at the end of the long form of that rhyme.

A large number of playground rhymes are found in combination with the "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" short form. Most of those verses can be categorized as handclap rhymes, although one contemporary choosing it rhyme - "Mickey Mouse Built A House"- is also found with relative frequency. There usually are no segue words or phrases between the end of one independent rhyme and the beginning of another.

One large sub-category of long form Hanky Panky rhymes mention Pop singer/songwriter Michael Jackson. For that reason, I refer to those rhymes as "Michael Jackson" versions of the Hanky Panky rhyme. A Michael Jackson version of the Hanky Panky rhyme usually includes the short form of that rhyme and a version of the rhyme "Coca Cola Came To Town" or "Michael Jackson Went To (or "Came To") Town".
There are actually two different versions of "Coca Cola (Michael Jackson) Came To Town". The words to the less frequently found version are closer to the "Yankee Doodle Came To Town (Riding On A Pony) song than the other one.

Another very common rhyme that is found in Michael Jackson versions of the Hanky Panky rhyme is "I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag". "Coca Cola (or Michael Jackson) Came To Town" and "I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag" can be found together (often with other rhymes) in long form versions of the Hanky Panky rhyme. When both of those rhymes are found together, "I Pledge Allegiance" is almost always given first.

Although the lines in "Coca Cola (Michael Jackson Came To Town", "I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag", and other hand clap/counting out rhymes used in long form Hanky Panky rhymes can be given in different orders, they are usually given in set order. The same is true for the short form of the Hanky Panky rhyme. For instance, the rhyme "I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag" is often given as just two lines:

I pledge allegiance to the flag
Michael Jackson makes me gag *

(or some word that rhymes with "gag").

It's very rare that those lines are given as

Michael Jackson makes me gag
I pledge allegiance to the flag.

More information about "I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag" and "Coca Cola Came To Town" is found in the section of this page entitled "In The Eighties, Nineties, and Now" . Examples of those two rhymes are found throughout this page.

An example of I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag is found at 1:40 to 2:10 in this video:

Hand Clapping Games by Av5a and Rya2n

Uploaded by Av5aandRya2n on Jun 25, 2010

Here are three hand clapping games:

NUMBERED TEXT ANALYSIS
I have found that numbering each line of long form playground rhymes, whether they be "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhymes or rhymes from any other playground family, helps to identify the various independent rhymes that make up that example. Here's an example of numbered line analysis (nla) of a long form of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" .

1.Loser loser double loser
2.as if whatever, get the picture DUH!
3.brick wall water fall
4.girl you think you know it all
5.but you don't, i do
6.so MMMMM with that attitude!
7.piece punch captain crunch
8.i got something you can't touch
9.so bang bang
10.choo choo train
11.wind me up i'll do my thing!
12.reices peices, 7 up
13.mess with me...
14.i'll mess you up!
15.Down in the banks of hanky pank
16.bull frogs jump from bank to bank
17.saying beep bop beep bop bop
18.skittle dittle cornel pop
19.i pleade alligence to the flag
20.michael jackson makes me gag
21.he used to play with little toys, now he plays with little boys
22.coca-cola came to town
23.dr. peper knocked him down
24.pepsi-cola picked him up
25.know were drinking 7 up
26.7 up had no caffine
27.now were drinking gasoline
28.gasoline got the flu
29.now were drinking mountain dew
30.mountain dew fell off the mountain
31.now were drinking from the fountain
32.fountain broke...
33.NOW WERE DRINKING PLAIN, OLD COKE!!!
-Guest; http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034#2860382 ;Origin: Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky Rhymes (Hereafter known as Origin: "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky"); April 29, 2008

Structural Analysis (Names of Hand Clap Rhymes Found In This Example)
1-2: "Loser Loser" rhyme
3-8: "Brickwall Waterfall"
9-14: "Bang Bang Choo Choo Train"
15-18: "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" (folk processed short form)
19-21: "I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag"
22-33: "Coca Cola Came To Town"

PERFORMANCE
"Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" is perfomed as a non-competitive hand clap rhyme (with two, three, or four persons facing each other and exchanging hand claps in a set routine) or as a lightly competitive group hand slap rhyme very similar to "Stella Ella Ola" and "Quack Diddly Oso".

Here is one performance description from Guest, handgamelover; : "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" May 9, 2010
"...players form a circle with their left hand under the left player's right hand and their right hand on the right players left hand. players would circle clockwise,using their right hand to clap the next player's left hand in turn. on the word 'OUT',the player about to be clapped tries to pull their hand out. if they succeed, nobody gets out and the game continues. if they are clapped, they are out, the two surrounding players link the circle back together,and then the game continues.

final round:
when only 2 players remain, they hold right hands and put their left hands out in alignment with the right hands.they swing their right hands to smack the left hands in turn. on the word 'OUT',the person about to be smacked tries to pull their hand out if they succeed,a new round takes place. if not,the remaining player wins!"

Note: All hand slap game descriptions aren't the same, particularly with regard to the "final round". However, the above description is very similar to how I played a similar hand slap game ("Slap Billeoso" a variant form of "Stella Ela Ola" in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, African American girls and boys, ages 6-12 years and adults; 1998-2010) and this is how I've seen it and Quack Diddly Oso played (same demographics). Note: Fwiw, I have never seen "Down By The Hanky Panky" played as either a hand clap game or as a hand slap game. I have only collected three examples of that rhyme from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (one long form and two short forms). It's my sense that this rhyme is not that well known among African Americans in the East Liberty/Garfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh that is my principle collection site, and I don't think that the Hanky Panky hand slap game is played by children, teens, or young adults of either gender. Also for what it's worth, the hand slap games "Strolla Ola Ola", "Slap Billeola", and "Quack Diddly Oso" are played by girls and boys ages 6-12 in that neighborhood, and not by persons older than that as is shown in the videos on this page. These are mostly adult initiated games that boys will play along especially if there are other boys doing so, I would not be surprised if the hand slap performance of those games by teens and by yound adults is mostly limited to those who are Anglo-American.

Other descriptions of the handslap performance activity are given below in the section entitled Long Form Examples.

TUNE
The short form of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhyme uses the tune of the song "Three Little Fishes" (Itty Bitty Poo). It should be noted that this is not the same tune as the song "The Foolish Frog" (see the section on Sources for information about that song).

The long form rhyme uses the sing song somewhat monotone tune that is common to many hand clap rhymes. Unfortunately, given my lack of musical background, I'm unable to describe this tune better.

The tempo of the short form (and possibly also the long form) may increase with each repeated rendition of the rhyme.

Examples of the long form tune are found in the videos embedded on this page.

PROVENANCE (SOURCES)
The Hanky Panky rhyme is derived from a song entitled "The Foolish Frog". According to my research, the earliest dates for the short form and the long form of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky rhyme is probably the late 1970s or the early 1980s. References to specific historical occurances (Coca Cola company's misstep in changing the formula of Coke and Michael Jackson's hair catching on fire during the filming of a Pepsi Cola commercial) establish the earliest dates of a considerable portion of long form Hanky Panky examples.

This is how all that hanky panky started.

In The Beginning

Here is a story.
(Story it is)

This story comes from a song. That one song became many songs. The songs are the same. The songs are different.

Those who sang these songs are no longer here. But we still can hear their words.

Listen! Listen! Let’s get right down to the real nitty gritty.
Are you ready? Then let’s go.

This is the frog’s song.
This is what we know. The frog went a' courtin’. Then he swam in the pond and met a bad end. Or maybe he didn’t go a'courtin at all but instead just fell in a well. Or maybe he just jumped in the well, or was put in the well or was pushed in the well by who knows who or who knows why. Some say that the frog wasn’t in a well at all. Instead the frog was in a pond, or in a lake, or down by the meadow or down by the riverside jumping from bank to bank for who knows why. Maybe he had nothing better to do.

***
The English language children's rhyme "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky" is a contemporary, heavily folk processed member of the "frog in well" family of rhymes/songs.

"A Frog He Would A-Wooing Go." G Major. Standard. One part. The air for this song (which Horace M. Belden believes is the most widely known song in the English language) first appears in Thomas Ravenscroft's "Melismata" (1611). It is an early version of the song ("Froggie Went A-Courtin'") famous in British and American traditional folklore and folksong, of which the earliest appearence was in Wedderburn's "Complaynt of Scotland" (1549) where it is called "The frog cam to the myl dur." Another early version is found in a broadside text of 1580, called "A moste Strange weddinge of the ffrogge and the mowse" (Rollins). See also the extensive note on this tune and text in Cazden's (et al, 1982) Catskill Mountain (New York) collected "Missie Mouse." Chappell (Popular Music of the Olden Times), Vol. 1, 1859; pg. 142.

http://www.bluegrassmessengers.com/kemo-kimo--version-1-1854-original-ly...

-snip-

Multiple versions of Frog Went A Courtin can be found on the Froggy Central website http://home.earthlink.net/~highying/froggy/froggy.html.

Probably the most well known example of that rhyme in 2011 is the (Burl Ives version) of "Frog Went A' Courtin".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXhO0fitW7A
loaded by rockthejukeboxvideo on Sep 30, 2009
includes lyrics to Burl Ives version of Frog Went A Courtin

Way Down Yonder, A Long Long Time Ago

“Frog In Well” floating verses are included in a number of 19th century minstel songs, and later in that century in vaudeville/music hall songs. I've reluctantly concluded that whether that specific minstrel song or other minstrel songs originally derived from White black faced minstrels or from enslaved or free/d African Americans and was later taken up and folk processed by African Americans is usually impossible to determine.

Song titles include ”Frog Went A Courting”; “Keemo Kimo”, “Sing Song Kitty” (or “Sing Song Polly”) and “King Kong Kitchie”. Frog in the well floating verses were also included in such African American social songs or minstrel songs including “Raise A Rukus Tonight", "Jenny Git Your Hoe Cake Done" and “Aint Gonna Rain No More”. Click http://www.cocojams.com/content/african-american-secular-slave-songs for examples of Raise A Rukus Tonight and other 19th African American social songs.

It should be noted that "King Kong Kitchie" is documented to have been sung prior to the King Kong (gorilla monster) movies. Yet those very well known monster movies-along with the "King Kong Kitchie" song have undoubtedly greatly influenced the retention of the "king kong" phrase in contemporary "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhymes. The phrase "ding dong" in some contemporary examples of the Hanky Panky Rhyme are partly influenced by the onomatopoeic phrase for the sound that bells are proported to make, and partly used as a phrase that rhymes with "king kong". Another rhyming phrase for "king kong" is "donkey kong". That phrase is derived from the once popular late 20th century "Donkey Kong" video game.

Any competent research on the origin of the Hanky Panky rhyme must acknowledge the importance of the 1896 vaudeville song “May Irwin’s Frog Song”. The title and text of this song clearly places it as a member of the "frog in the well" songs. Vaudeville actress/singer May Irwin (1862-1938) was a much loved White celebrity who was best known for singing "coon songs". "Coon songs" were compositions that were based on fragments of African American non-religious songs, or imitative of African American non-religious (social) songs. The words and music for “May Irwin’s Frog Song” are credited to Charles E. Trevathan, who later admitted in court during a copyright battle that he had heard the song performed by Mama Lou, a Black woman singing at Babe Connors's St. Louis, Missouri brothel.

Lyrics of the May Irwin Frog Song can be found at
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/dukesm:@field(DOCID+@lit(ncdhasm.b0656))
Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920 (from Duke University)

Fortunately,almost the exact same lyrics to the "May Irwin Frog Song" were sung in 1952 by Calyso Blind Blake (who isn't the same person as the famous Bluesman with the same name)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHj0LB5-lkQ
upoaded by folkgrassboy on Jul 30, 2008

Summary from folkgrassboy:
Featured on Volume 2 of his Art Records releases. Calypso from the Bahamas.
-snip-

The lyrics to that song are included in that video summation. Here's an excerpt of those lyrics:

Away down yonder in Yankety Yank
A bullfrog jumped from bank to bank
Cause there wasn't nothin' else to do;
He stubbed his to and in he fell
An' de neighbors all say that he went to...well,
'Cause he hadn't nothin' else to do...

-snip-

Here's that video [sound file]:

-snip-

It's remarkable how much the text of that and other 19th century "frog in the well" songs also influenced the text of the basic Hanky Panky rhyme. Here is a fragment of a song or songs that was included in American Negro folk-songs By Newman Ivey White

from 1905, 1909,1913, 1925 various sources cited:
Banjo goes “Ker-blank Ker-blank”
Spring frog holler, “Yankete yank”
Bull frog jump from bank to bank
And skinned his nose on a hick’ry plank.

page 244
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=WCuuV-kRe70C&pg=PA248&lpg=PA248&dq=D...

Not That Very Long Ago
There's no doubt that Pete Seeger's (and his father's) version of "The Foolish Frog" helped popularize the "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhyme. However, as shown by the above documentation, the Seegers weren't the original composers of "The Foolish Frog" song. But the Seegers' added to that very old song by making up the story about the gathering at the country store and, significantly, indicating that the store owner handed out free Coca Colas and soda crackers to keep the farmer & others singing. The reference to "Coca Cola" was changed to "soda pop" in the short animated version of his "Foolish Frog" story. The Coca Cola/soda pop references in Seeger's "Foolish Frog" was later to be quite significant as it tied that song to the "Coca Cola Came To Town" rhyme-but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Here's a video of Pete Seeger's "Foolish Frog"

uploaded by daironin | November 15, 2008

The text of Pete Seeger's "Foolish Frog" can be found at http://www.peteseeger.net/The%20Foolish%20Frog.htm

It should be noted that Seeger's "Foolish Frog" song -which is dated from the late 1950s] begins with the line "Way Down Yonder On The Yankety Yank". "Yankety Yank" became "Hanky Pank" in part because the phrase "hanky pank" became more widely known as a result of the song "My Baby Does The Hanky Panky" and the movie "Hanky Panky". Also, I've not found any documentation that Seeger's "Foolish Frog" was performed in any way other than as a song. Several commenters noted that they learned it in school in the 1970s as a round.

It also should be noted that Seeger's "Foolish Frog" (and May Irwin's/Blind Blake's "Foolish Frog") isn't the same tune as is used in the hand slap game of Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky. (By hand slap I mean the lightly competitive circle game which is one performance activity done while chanting Hanky Panky rhymes. Another performance activity is a two, three or four person hand clap routine.) The tune that is used for the hand slap game is that of the song "Three Little Fishes" (Itty Bitty Poo). That song is probably based on either the 16th century or 1870 poem "Over In The Meadow". Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over_In_The_Meadow for information about the poem "Over The Meadow". Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=541HKD8alfg for a 1939 sound file of The Smoothies singin "Three Little Fishes".

-snip-

The musical technique of "eefing" (eephing) is another very important influence on the words to "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky", To quote from a Wikipedia article on this vocal technique

“Eefing (also written eeephing, eephing, eeefing, eefin [or eefn' and doubtless other ways) is an Appalachian (United States) vocal technique similar to [the Hip Hop vocal technique of] beatboxing, but nearly a century older. Jennifer Sharpe describes it as "a kind of hiccupping, rhythmic wheeze that started in rural Tennessee more than 100 years ago…Singer Joe Perkins had a minor 1963 hit "Little Eeefin' Annie", (76 on the Billboard chart, featuring eefer Jimmie Riddle, whom Sharpe calls "the acknowledged master of the genre." Riddle later brought eefing to national visibility on the [American] television series Hee Haw."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eefing

Fats Waller’s “Eeps Ipe I Want A Piece Of Pie” was recorded two decades before “Little Eefin Annie”. I'm not sure whether this song actually includes eephing or some other musical technique. However, this 1940 song clearly influenced the "eep ip oop” line of the basic Hanky Panky rhyme [see above]. Fats Waller's song also clearly influenced the words to two other well known playground rhymes "Oh My I Want A Piece Of Pie" and "Take A Peach Take A Plum".

Here's an excerpt of that song:

EEP, IPE, WANNA PIECE OF PIE [performed by Fats Waller]
By Jerry Blaine and Artie Dann (some sources add: Nick Catamas)
J. R. LaFleur & Son Ltd., 1940.

First verses:
Eep, ipe, wanna piece of pie.
Eep, ipe, wanna bowl of soup.
Eep, ipe, let your tongue turn.
Eep, ipe, easy to learn.
Eep, ipe, clock is on the wall.
Eep, ipe, sounds like doubletalk.
Eep, ipe, ippy ippy way.
Eep, wop, wop, wop, you do it all day.

-snip-

Here’s the last verse of the 1963 "Little Eefin Annie" song:

They used to laugh at Annie
Because she eeefed that way
It took at least an hour
To hear what she had to say
But things aren't what they used to be
Nobody's laughin' now
'Cause everybody's Eeefin'
And Annie showed us how, we all go:
Eeef, Ife, Eeef, Oofe, Eeef, Ife, Eeef, Oofe
Eeef, Ife, Eeef, Oofe, Eeef, Ife, Eeef, Oofe
Whoo, Eeef!
Eeef, Ife, Eeef, Oofe, Eeef, Ife, Eeef, Oofe
Come on, Eeef!

http://www.angelfire.com/tn2/bobloyce/eeef.html "Little Eeefin' Annie" b/w "Uncle Eeef"

-snip-

The 1962 "Jet Screamer" episode of the American television animated series The Jetsons probably was also a significant influence on the Hanky Panky "eep ip op" lyrics.

“Eep Opp Ork Ah Ah!" -[a] Silly sounding rock and roll song performed on episode "A Date With Jet Screamer" of the cartoon series The Jetsons/ABC/1962-64. On this particular tale, pop star "Jet Screamer" holds a contest and offers himself as first prize. Judy Jetson wants desperately to meet him and so she a writes a song for the contest. But her father George hates Jet Screamer and tampers with her song lyrics by using a funny sounding phrase "Eep Opp Ork" that his son Elroy uses to communicate in code with his friends. Luckily, Judy's song wins and Jet Screamer performs his new song "Eep Opp Ork Ah-Ah!" to rave reviews at the Swivel Lounge where his TV show is taped. Actually, the phrase "Eep Opp Ork" (per Elroy) really means "Meet Me Tonight."

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=eep%20op%20ork%20ah%20ah

-snip-

Hat tip to Jim Dixon for hippin me to the vocal technique of eephing. Click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=119521 Eephing (type of vocal technique or 'mouth music') for more information on this technque.

-snip-

In The Eighties, Nineties, and Now
As an added short note about changes to the earlier words of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky", the line "Hey Mr. Willie" also found as "Hey Mr. Willie Anna" are folk processed forms of "He missed the lily and [he went kerplop]. This form probably first dates from the mid to late 1980s.

One interesting aspect of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" is the use of short form of this rhyme as a competitive hand slap game by teens and young adults. Ths hand slap game is played similarly to "Stella Ella Ola" and "Quack Diddly Oso". Click http://www.cocojams.com/content/handclap-jump-rope-and-elastics-rhymes and http://www.cocojams.com/content/handclap-jump-rope-and-elastics-rhymes-2 for examples, performance instructions, and videos of all of these rhymes.

The long form versions of "Down By The Hanky Panky" rhyme combines one or more handclap rhyme/s to a usually folk processed version of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky". The long forms of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" appear usually be performed as hand clap rhymes and not hand slap rhymes. Many of these long form versions of the Hanky Panky rhyme include some mention of the then King Of Pop-singer, songwriter, dancer Michael Jackson(August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009).

Most of these "Michael Jackson" versions of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" provide (probably unrecognized by their chanters') commentary on two real life events in 1984. The first event was the soda marketing war - particularly when Coca Cola capitulated to public demands and brought back “plain ole coke”. The second was when Michael Jackson's hair caught on fire while he was singing an adaptation of his hit song Billie Jean during the taping of a Pepsi Cola commercial.

The only connection between these two events is that they both include a reference to a well known brand of carbonated soda. It’s ironical that the overwhelming majority of the Hanky Panky Rhymes rhymes that I have collected (which are representative of other examples online that mention Michael Jackson) cites "Coca Cola" as the soda that did harm to Michael Jackson (“burned his butt”; messed him up”; brought him down”) rather than the rival brand name "Pepsi Cola". The rhyme "Coca Cola Came To Town", a parody of Yankee Doodle Came To Town" documents this soda war and often ends with the phrase "now we're back to plain ole coke" or "now we're back to drinking coke".

Here's some information about that misstep by the Coca Cola company:
"On April 23, 1985, Coca-Cola, amid much publicity, attempted to change the formula of the drink with "New Coke". Follow-up taste tests revealed that most consumers preferred the taste of New Coke to both Coke and Pepsi, but Coca-Cola management was unprepared for the public's nostalgia for the old drink, leading to a backlash. The company gave in to protests and returned to a variation of the old formula, under the name Coca-Cola Classic on July 10, 1985."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca-Cola

Here's an example of the "Coca Cola Came To Town" rhyme"
coco-cola went 2 town, diet pepsi knocked him down, dr.pepper fixed him up, & now we're drinking 7-up, 7-up got the flew, now we're drinking mountain dew, mountain dew fell off a mountain, now we're drinking from a fountain, fountain broke, now we're drinking cherry coke, cherry coke lost the cherry, now we're drinking logan berry, logan berry said " oh deer " now we're drinking root beer, root beer...what a joke, now we're back 2 plane old coke

thts wot we used to sing
-m3ganCbrnrd (viewer comment); http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6Cw-Awwm_M&feature=related Coca Cola went to town rhyme (lyrics) ; October 2010

-snip-
Cick http://www.cocojams.com/content/handclap-jump-rope-and-elastics-rhymes for additional examples of "Coca Cola Came To Town".

"Michael Jackson Came To Town" is a variant form of the "Coca Cola Came To Town" rhyme. An example of that verse is found below.

The rhyme "I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag" provides commentary about Michael Jackson. That title is usually the first line of that rhyme. The second line of that rhyme is "Michael Jackson makes me gag". Other common versions of that second line give the word "fag" as a rhyme for "flag". A number of other rhyming or near rhyming words are used in this rhyme. (sings so bad, sucks so bad, is a rat, is a brag, is my dad). Some examples of "I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag" reference child sexual abuse allegations that were leveled against Michael Jackson (he used to play with little toys/now he plays with little boys). Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jackson for information on the hair on fire incident.

"Coca Cola Came To Town" is found as an independent rhyme. However, I've not found any independent examples of "I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag". That rhyme is usually given with "Michael Jackson versions" of the Hanky Panky rhyme. I have no way of verifying this, but I think it's likely that both "Coca Cola Came Town" and "I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag" may have been lifted by teens from the acts of televised comic/s.I think it's likely that these two rhymes (and the two version of Michael Jackson Came To Town", one being a closer in tune and words to "Yankee Doodle" than the other) probably were composed very soon after the other. Judging from the fact that there are independ versions of "Coca Cola Came To Town", I think that Coca Cola Came To Town probably predates "I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag". However, "I Pledge Allegiance" certainly wasn't composed before the Michael Jackson's hair burning accident in June 1984 and "Coca Cola Came To Town" was almost certainly composed after the return of "classic Coke" to the public marketplace in 1985.

It's interesting to note that since Michael Jackson's death in June 2009, some long form examples of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" have referenced other music celebrities who are known for being eccentric or otherwise have difficult reputations with general public (Lady Gaga; Miley Cyrus). Also, I've found several examples of this rhyme in which someone else (mama) or something else (such as the chanter's school) replaces references to Michael Jackson.(for instance "makes me gag" or has a burnt butt" ("butt" in these Hanky Panky examples being a representation of the whole person and not just a part of the body).

LONG FORM EXAMPLES OF "DOWN BY THE BANKS OF THE HANKY PANKY":

Editor: By "long form", I mean examples that include a (usually folk processed) short form of the Hanky Panky rhyme and one or more other rhymes. I've found no long form examples of Hanky Panky rhymes in off-line publications, very few examples of the short form of the rhyme, and no mention of the circle elimination hand slap game . This further points out to me that those who REALLY want to know what type of English language rhymes children are chanting will look to the internet and not published books.

My sense is that at least half of the Hanky Panky rhymes that I've found online are long forms of that rhyme. All of the long form rhymes don't mention Michael Jackson but most do. For that reason, most of the small number of examples I've posted on this page are "Michael Jackson versions".

The first three examples include the basic form of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" in combination with the contemporary choosing it rhyme "Mickey Mouse Built A House". These versions are posted to show how even examples pf Hanky Panky rhymes that are combined with the same independent rhyme can be quite different. This should not be taken to mean that that is the only version or the most frequent version of independent rhymes that are found in combination with "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky".

Version #1 ; no mention of Michael Jackson or any other celebrity

down by the banks of the hanky panky
wear the bull frogs jump form bakn to bany
where hip hops soda pops
hey mr. willy and he went kerplop
here comes noah walking in the dark
he stepped on a hammer and he built an ark
animals came by two by two
a hungry hippo and a kangaroo
-socalgal89; Octoblog; June 16, 2005 [website no longer viable]

Version #2; no mention of Michael Jackson or any other celebrity
[Note the cute folk etymology of the name "Noah" given in italics]

I learned it like down by the banks of the hanky panky where the bull frogs jump from bank to banky singing eep ips obs oobs with a do sckadali and a ding ding dong. no one no one in the dark. find someone to build the arc. two by two by two by two. a big fat monkey and a kangaroo. mikey mouse, had a house, donald duck, blue it up. who's gonna pay for the consequences? Y-O-U spells you.
i learned it this way after i moved, before it was totally different
CottonCandywootwoot; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC8INeM0w5A : April 2011

Version #3, no mention of Michael Jackson or another celebrity

Stay down
Stay down
Stay down, down, down.
Donal duck say hanky pank
Say bull dog, bull dog hanky pank
Say fe fi fo thumb
listen to the bull dog
mickey mouse build house
Donald duck mess up
who will pay the con-se-quen-ces?
and re-spons-ibil-ities?
y-o-u and
you
are
out!
Guest, Origins: Down By The Banks Of The Hank Panky; October 10, 2010

Version #4, no Michael Jackson or other celebrity references
Down by the river to the hanky pank
No bulldog jumps from bank to bank
Old lady said ding dong
Your mama smell like king kong
Your daddy smell like donkey kong
Eastside
Westide
Ding
Dang
Dong
Guest, Tre’ (St Louis, Missouri); Origin: Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky
Rhymes, February 10, 2009

Editor: This could be considered a short form version of the rhyme with a tag ending except it doesn't have even a folk processed form of the "eep ipes op" line.
Note the "bulldog" folk etymology in this and in other versions.

Version #5, various independent rhymes

Take a peach take a plumb take a piece of bubble gum
No peach no plumb just a piece of bubble gum
Oche Iche, I want a piece of pie
The Pie to sweet
i want a piece of meat
the meat to rough
i wanna ride the bus
the bus to full
i wanna ride the bull
the bull to black
i want my money back
my money to green
i want a jelly bean
the jelly bean to white
goodnight sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite
if they do get a shoe an beat the black and blue
down by the river with the hangy pangy
where the bulldog jumped from bang to bang
there set a
A
E
I
O
U
That's all there set a
A
E
I
O
U
Listen to the beat
-R.S.; Octoblog ; November 7, 2003 [This website is no longer active]

Version #6, various independent rhymes

I remember a version from the 90s in the Tampa Bay area, FL. It went like this:

A group of girls would sit (or stand) in a circle, their left hand under the right hand of the person to their left. The leader would start off by clapping her right hand to the right hand of the person to the her, they would do the same to the person on their left, etc. Clapping would start slow and then build speed to match the words. The person caught at the end of the rhyme would have to clap the next person's hand. If they were fast enough, the person to their left was out. If the person to their left was faster and removed their right hand in time, the last person would end up slapping their own left hand and would be out.

Down by the banks of the hanky-pank
A bullfrog leaps from bank to bank
Singin' E-I-O-U
Your momma stinks and so do you
Ping pong, ding dong
Daddy smells like King Kong
On his feet and on his toes
Your daddy wears
Pink
Pan-
ty
HOSE!

(Where "hose" was the word that would get you out.)

The person out would drop behind, the circle would close up and the whole thing would start again until there was only one person left - who was usually acknowledged as the fastest.
-Guest, Tampa Bay, Florida; Origin: Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky: January 2, 2011

Version #7, no mention of Michael Jackson or another celebrity

I'm not really sure how it goes; I was actually looking for the words myself. I heard some classmates (I'm in 8th grade) singing it a few days ago and I haven't seen their version up here yet. They played it by sitting down in a circle, palms facing upwards, and slapping each others hands. When it got to the last word the last person to get hit would be out.
As for where this version "comes from", I'm in Missouri but the girl that was singing just moved from California.
Alright, well I'll give it my best to get it right:

Down by the banks of the hanky panky
Where the bullfrog jumps from banky banky
Singing eeps ipes opes opps
[a line that ends in kerplop]
See that house over the hill
That's where me and Garfield chill
Smell that chicken smell that rice
[then there's a line about shooting dice]
[And it ends in something that counts down from 10-1]
-Guest, Curtis, Origin: Down By the Banks Of The Hanky Panky; December 19, 2008

Version #8, no mention of Michael Jackson or another celebrity

Down by the river and the hanky pank
Where the bullfrog jumps from bank to bank
Goin’ “Ee Ei Oh U
Your mama smells and so do you
Ping pong ding dong
Your daddy smells like king kong!”
Teacher teacher comb my hair,
Polka dotted underwear
Not too big Not too small
Just the size of city hall!

[I am white. This was taught to me by a Hispanic girl. This is a hand slap game.
-Liz; Cocojams: Handclap rhymes; September 24, 2008

Version #9, mentions Michael Jackson
In school we go

"down by the banks of the hanky panky where the bull frogs jump from bank to banky saiy eep op eep bop bop skittle dittle kernal pop! I pladge allegiance to the flag, mj makes me gag. coca-cola has caffiene,now we're talkin' jellybeans,jelly beans are out of sight,now we're on a can of sprite, a cans of sprite r out of sight! Now we're back to down by the banks of the hanky panky where the bull frogs jump from bank to banky saiy eep op eep bop bop skittle dittle kernal pop!
- 58barbiegirl (viewer comment); 2010

Uploaded by erwunia on May 5, 2007
Real men play clapping games.

Version #10, mentions Michael Jackson

its down by the banks with the hanky banks where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank like eeps,ipps,opps,oops chilly willie ding dong i plege alingence to the flag micheal jackson make me gag coke cola burns me up now were talkin seaven up seaven up has no cafeen now were talkin billy jean billy jean is out of sight now were talkin dynomite dynomight blew up the school now were talkin really cool 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
-sarahwentloco; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC8INeM0w5A ; May 2011

Uploaded by eeschmidt on Sep 14, 2006
1st Hand Clapping Game we're teaching the kids

Version #11, mentions Michael Jackson

down by the banks of the Hanky Panky
where the bull frogs jump from bank to banky
With the epps
ipps
ohpps
opps
chilly willy ding dong
your mother smells like king kong
micheal jackson came to town
coke cola shot him down
docter pepper brought him up
now were talkin 7up
7up with no caffine
now were takin billie jean
bille jean is out of sight
now were takin' dinamite
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
boom!
-Guest, Alicia; Origins: Down By The Banks Of The Hank Panky; January 6, 2010

[Note the rhyming phrases "ding dong" and "king kong" in reference to the comments above about the 19th century song "King Kong Kitchie"]

Version #12, mentions Michael Jackson

How come nobody remembers the yanky doodle rhyme at the end? I was born in '84 and grew up in the early nineties and in Atlanta we did it like this:
Down by the river of the hanky panky
where the bullforogs jump from bank to bank
singing eep, ipe, oop, opps
Chillie willy ding dong
Play a game of ping pong
I pledge alligence to the flag
Michael Jackson is a fad (we didn't even know what fag meant growing up let alone say it)
Coca-cola burned him up
Now He's drinking 7-up
7-up has no caffine
now we're singin' "Billie Jean"
"Billie Jean" is out of style
Now we're singing Bobbie Brown
Bobbie Brown is not a song... I forgot what came next as everything goes hazy from here
but then it went into this:
Michael Jackson went to town, riding on a pony
stuck a feather in his hat and called it macoroni
Girl Scout, Girl Scout,
Do your duty,
Don't forget to wash your booty (or tooti if we were naughty... tooti was our slang for vagina)
Boy Scout Boy Scout
Do your trick
don't forget to wash your...

Oh and we didn't jump rope to this, we did the circle hand clap like a few other people said.
-Guest, CutiefromGA; Origins: Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky; December 5, 2008

Version #13, mentions Michael Jackson

one i remember was in second grade and a group of girls usually would get in a circle and play a clapping game and at the end of the song the last person that got clapped was out until there was only one person left.

down by the river where theres hanky panky
and the bull frogs jump from bank to bank
saying eeps ipes opes oops
chilly willy ding dong
your mama smells like king kong
pledge allegience to the flag
michael jackson is a fag
coca cola's burning up
now we're talking 7up
7up has no caffeine
now we're talking billy jean
billy jean saw his sister walking down the street singing do-a-ditty-ditty-dum-ditty-do. do-a-ditty-ditty-dum-ditty-do.
icky picky ponky daddy had a donkey
donkey died, daddy cried
icky picky ponky!
- Guest, guest, katy , Origin: Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky; April 23, 2008

Version #14, a "Michael Jackson version" that includes the "used to play with little toys/now he plays with little boys" line.

down by the river of the hankey pankey where the bullfrogs jump from bank to. i said A-E-I-O-U. i pledge allegeience to the flag. Michel Jackson makes me gag. he used to play with litle toys now he plays with little boys! Dr. Pepper threw up now i'm drinkin 7-Up. 7-Up caught the flu now i'm drinkin Mountain Dew. Mountain Dew fell iff the mountain now i'm drinkin from the fountain. fountian broke now i'm drinkin plain old COKE!!!
- Guest, me; Origin: Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky ; May 22; 2007

Version #15, a version that substitutes Michael Jordan for Michael Jackson, probably as a result of folk processing.

Here is the one
I know:

Down by the banks of the hanky Panky
where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank
with an a e i o u
Michael jordan went to town
coca cola shot him down
Mountain dew shot him up
now were talkin 7 up
7 up has no cafene
now were talkin billie jean
billie jean went down the street singin
doo a dilly dilly dum dilly do
singin do a dilly dily dum dilly do
-Guest, Jenny, Origin: Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky; April 9, 2008

Version #16, a "Michael Jackson version" that comments on substitution of another celebrity of that deceased singer

We used to do this all the time at school and at camp, sometimes we freshmen still do it before gym class starts when we're all sitting around. You sit in a circle with your left hand on top of someone else's right and your right hand under someone else's left, and you go in a circle smacking each other's hands as you sing the song:

Down by the banks of the hanky panky
where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
Singing eep, op, eep-op-op
bubblegum and soda pop
I pledge allegiance to the flag
Michael Jackson is a fag
Coca-cola brought him up
Now we're drinking 7-up
7-up has no caffeine
Now we're wearing Levi jeans
Levi jeans are out of style
Now we're talking for a while
skiddle diddle piddle bop
bubblegum and soda POP!

and whoever's hand is hit on the last 'pop' is out. Then you repeat the song getting faster and faster until somebody finally wins.

Sadly we really did and still do sing the line about Michael Jackson being a fag. In elementary and middle school we also had a similar rhyme ("I pledge allegiance to the flag and Michael Jackson is a fag. He used to play with little toys but now he plays with little boys.") and I can remember saying it at a very young age, before I had any idea what a 'fag' was. It was meant to be innocent and not offensive to anybody. Also, since Michael Jackson's death (may he R.I.P.) many people have substituted Lady Gaga or Miley Cyrus for Michael Jackson or changed that line to "Michael Jackson makes me gag". My particular group of friends has done both ("Lady Gaga makes me gag") and I think it's kind of a nice modern version of the song.
-Guest, guest Mandi, age 14, Origins: Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky; December 24, 2010

Version #17, substitutes "school" for Michael Jackson

itsdown by the bay where the hanky panky where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky said a ee ah ee papa skittle diddle kernal pop, i pledge a llegience to the flag, my school makes me wanna gag,7 up cought the flu now were drinking mountain dew,mountain dew fell off the mountain,now were drinking from the fountain,fountain broke,broke a pipe,now were drtinking sticky sprite,skicky sprite fell out of style now were drinking aple cider,aple cider stayed to long, now were drinking plain old coke
- julia908 (viewer comment) ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2CSWmfiNKM June 2010

Uploaded by 3kaylasue on Jul 28, 2009
random game we played when we were boredddd

Version #18, substitutes "Miley Cyrus for Michael Jackson

Down by the banks of the hanky panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
Singing Eeep Op Eeep Op
Skiddle diddle eep op op
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
I pledge allegiance to the flag
Miley Cyrus makes me gag
Miley Cyrus came to town, Coca Cola shot her down
Dr. Pepper drink it up, now we're drinking 7-Up
7-Up has no caffeine, now we're drinking gasoline
Gasoline ran out of fuel, now we're drinking Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew fell off the Mountain, now we're drinking from the fountain
Fountain broke, now we're drinking PLAIN-OLD-DIET-COKE
-Guest, Origin: Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky; March 20, 2011

Version #19, adds other items besides brands of soda pop and gasoline to the list of things mentioned in the "trading rhyme"

I learned it as "Down by the banks of the hanky pank, where the bull frogs jump from bank to bank, saying ees, ise, opps, oops. East side dally ding-dong. Pledge allegiance to the the flag, Michael Jackson is a fag [I didn't know what this word was when I was 5...]. Coca-cola burned his butt, now he's drinking 7-up. 7-up has no caffeine, now he's drinking gasoline. Gasoline has no flavor, no he's eating Life Savors."
-xeCh0x; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC8INeM0w5A ; 2010

Editor: Adding other items besides soda pop and gasoline to these trading rhymes appears to be a relatively new revision to the Hanky Panky rhyme (maybe one or two years old)

Version #20, substitutes "mama" for Michael Jackson

hey guys and girls none of these are correct its

Down by the banks of the hanky panky
where the bullfrogs jump from bank to bank
saying e i skiddle diddle
mama drinking cocola cocola burnt her butt
now shes drinking 7-up
7-up as no caffeine now shes drinking gasoline.

DUH PP*
-Guest;jessica keziah; Origin Of Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky, Mudcat; January 22, 2011

*This text speak means "Duh people." as in why didn't you know this is the only right version of that rhyme

[Although you and I know that there's no such thing as a right version of a children's rhyme, There's only earlier versions and later versions, and examples that stick close to those earlier versions, and folk processed versions that are created because of misremembering, or mishearing.]

-snip-

Pin bends
Story ends.

UPDATE 11/5/2011

Here's what I consider to be an interesting online comment which echoes my (previous) last comment on this page.

"Having grown up in central Indiana and also having a scouting background and working with kids myself, this is the version that I've always seen played, which has three verses, though the second verse tends to get omitted fairly often, and sometimes we only use the first verse...

Down by the banks of the hanky panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
With an eeps! Ipes! Opes! Oops!
And an oop flop a dilly and an oop flop flop

Pepsi cola came to town
Coco cola shot him down
Dr pepper fixed him up
And now we all drink 7up

Pepsi cola ginger ale
Ginger ale ginger ale ginger ale ginger ale
Pepsi cola ginger ale
7up 7up 7up you're out

The game is played in a circle with everyone sitting with their palms up, left hand under and right hand over the person's next to them. A leader is chosen to start the hand slap, which is passed around the circle. When the song ends, the person it stops on is out, and the person to their left becomes the new leader. When it gets down to two people, they join hands and move their arms in a saw-like motion until the song ends. Whoever has their arm extended wins!

The other ways I've seen online are neat, too, and though I still have a soft spot for the version I learned as a kid, I'm guessing the original third line of the rhyme dealt with a frog hopping and then the original fourth line (which I'm guessing was probably the last line) dealt with a lillypad and a kerplop!

Since children's songs like this are passed down by word of mouth, and children mishear and misspeak lyrics all the time, I don't think the original version is out there anymore, though that one post about the Pasquotanky might be pretty close, since hanky panky is easier to say and remember. However, even that could have been changed to fit the location of the children singing it at the time, so it's probable that the only original words to the song were "the bull frogs jumped from bank to banky". Whether the original was "down by the banks of the" or "down by the river of" is still up for debate. Other words could fit there and make sense, too, such as shore or bed instead of banks or river, so even those two could be changed versions of the original, though I think it's more likely that it was river instead of banks first, since banks appear twice more in the second line, and it would be easier to remember for a child if all the things pertaining to water were the same word. Chances are that if it was indeed originally "down by the river of", there was probably no "the" after the word "of" because rhythmically, the word "the" wouldn't fit as well before the name of the river.

Despite all this, do I intend to sing it any differently from what I always have? Nope! While most of the other ways are really neat, I've got a bit of sentimentality for the one I grew up with, so that's the one I'm sticking to.

I hope everyone has an awesome day!
Over and out,
Sarah "

http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034&messages=378#3250593 -Guest Sarah; Origins: Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky ; 11/4/2011

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