Little Sally Ann
Category: Ring (Circle)Game
Song
Source:
Azizi Powell memories, Atlantic City: New Jersey, 1950s
“Little Sally Ann” is a game song that I
played as a young child growing up in the 1950s in Atlantic City, New
Jersey. “Little Sally
Ann” has the same tune as the more commonly known song “Little Sally
Walker” (also known as “Little Sally Water”).
Until I came to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I had never heard anyone
sing “Little Sally Walker, sittin in a saucer” etc.
Atlantic City, New Jersey is located by the ocean and has sandy
beaches. So our version makes
alot of sense. It certainly makes more
sense to me than "Little Sally Walker sittin in a saucer."
"Little Sally Ann" was played by young
girls and young boys . However, this game song's words "a weepin and a
wailin (or "a cryin") for a nice young man" reveal its origin as a dating
game for pre-teen and teenage girls and boys. I remember
playing this game by making a circle, and holding hands with the person
on
either side. One person crouched
inside the middle of the circle as the other children moved clockwise around the circle. On the words “Rise, Sally, rise”, the person inside the
circle stood
up, covered her (his) eyes with one hand and turned around, pointing at
different members of the circle with the other hand.
The person that was pointed to at the end of the song becomes
the next person to be in the center of the circle and the entire game is
repeated.
Cheryl Warren Mattox's book, "Shake It To The One That You Love The Best"
(Nashville, JTG, 1989, 8) has a verse: "Put your hands on your hips and
let your backbone slip, fly to the east,, fly to the west, fly to the one
that you love the best." This version of the rhyme then continues
with "Shake it to the east" etc. I like this version, but don't
remember ever playing "Little Sally Ann" like that.
Share the Black game songs, rhymes, and chants that your remember with
CocoJams!!
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