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FOOT STOMPING CHEERS
This
page is contains examples, and comments about foot stomping cheers.
A
description of "foot stomping cheers" is provided in the overview below.
click here to submit
examples and/or commentary about foot stomping cheers.
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Although it is not required, please include information about how this
cheer is performed. Also, for the sake of folkloric research, please include the
following demographical information: where you learned the cheer {please
include the city & state if within the USA, and the nation, if outside the USA};
when you learned this cheer {year or decade such as 2008, the 1990s, or
the mid 1970s}; and who performed this cheer {ages, genders,
races/ethnicities}. Thanks!
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Examples of rhymes & cheers are
almost always posted the way that readers send them to this website. Some of
these examples have typos and other accidental spelling errors or 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. This free flowing writing style appears
to be the prevailing informal way that many youth and young adults write on the
Internet. Posting examples written this way may result in difficulty
understanding the examples. However, I believe that posting examples in their
original form preserves the examples' flavor & authenticity. I apologize to
those persons who have difficulty understanding these examples.
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I reserve the right not to post
examples of rhymes on this page that are exactly the same as a previously posted
example. I also reserve the right not to post examples of cheer that I feel
don't meet the standards of this website.
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Overview of Foot Stomping Cheers
(c)
Azizi Powell, last edited 4/29/2008
"Foot stomping cheers" is the term
I use for formulaic, usually rhyming chants that are
composed in a distinctive call
& response pattern & performed in a distinctive way. These rhyming chants are
recited by two or more girls* who perform syncopated, synchronized, percussive
routines. From my research in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area from 1985 to
date, it
appears that 6-12 years is the average age of grils who perform foot stomping
cheers.
Some girls enjoy performing foot
stomping cheers because this can be a good way to pass the time, because they
like pretending to be a cheerleader, and/or because they like showing off their
chanting, steppin', and dancing ability. While they chant memorized lines,
performers create 4/4 beats by stomping one foot, and then alternating that foot
stomp with a individual handclap. In some cheer routines, sometimes an
individual chest or thigh body pat may alternate with the bass sounding foot
stomp instead of the handclap.
All of these motions are made in
a metronome fashion throughout the entire chant.
* Of course, boys may also chant foot stomping cheers and perform foot stomping
routines. But because this activity is usually done by girls, I'm referring to
girls throughout this essay.
My observations have been that two or more girls-usually no more than six or
seven girls-will gather together to “do cheers” in the same way that girls
informally convene in the school yard during recess, or on the sidewalk outside
a girl’s house to do handclaps or to jump rope. I have also known girls to
perform foot stomping cheers on more formal occasions such as during school
assembly programs, during summer camp programs, and during community competitive
talent shows. To my knowledge, there are no formal, adult sponsored foot
stomping organizations. Nor am I aware of any formal foot stomping cheers
competitions such as occurs in the league that has been organized around what
used to be girls’ informal jump rope & chanting activity of Double Dutch. In
contrast to formal Double Dutch groups, girls who perform foot stomping cheers
don’t have group names, wear "regular clothes" and not uniforms, and don’t have
any group colors.
My observations have been that
most foot stomping cheers use this beat
pattern: "stomp clap/ stomp stomp/ clap. Another beat pattern is "stomp stomp
clap/ stomp stomp clap." These foot stomping routines consist of alternating
bass sounding foot stomps with hand claps {clapping your own hands} or body pats
{patting or slapping your thigh or your chest}. Children's foot stomping
routines are very similar to the basic movements of stepping {steppin}, a
performance art form that was created by Black Greek letter fraternities &
sororities. See this wikipedia article for more information on stepping:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepping_%28African-American%29
Besides the performers themselves,
only two things are needed in order to perform foot stomping cheers-a hard
surface to stomp on {like a wooden or concrete floor or a sidewalk}, and hard
soled shoes or boots to do the stomping. There are no partners in foot stomping
cheer routines, and there is rarely any touching between one person and another
person. In some ways, foot stomping cheer routines are like R&B line dances such
as The Electric Slide and The Cleveland Shuffle {to name two line dances that
people may know}. However, unlike line dances, drill team performances, or the
performance of cheerleader cheers, girls who perform foot stomping cheers rarely
move from their starting place. And if they do move from that place, {for
instance, if they make a sliding motion from side to side}, they usually quickly
return to their starting place.
Before starting to chant the words to
the cheer, it's customary for group to first do a series of foot stomps.
This is done to ensure that
every member of the group is "on beat".
I've seen a girl who is acting
as the leader of a foot stomping group start the steppin' movements, and say
something like "Kick that beat!". Interestingly enough, I've not heard any girl
say "Ready, set, go!" However, saying "Kick that beat! serves the same function.
The actual chant doesn't begin until all group members are "on beat" and the
movements of all group members are "in synch" {synchronized} with each other.
Once the cheer starts, the beat and the chanting are supposed to continue in a
metronome-like manner throughout the entire cheer performance. There
aren't supposed to be any hesitation or breaks in the chanting or foot stomping
routine.
If one member messes up, then
theoretically the entire cheer has to start all over again. That’s why foot
stomping performers need to practice a lot. They must memorize the words to the
cheers so that they can say them without hesitation. And they must also know how
to do the foot stomping routine, so that they can perform it without stopping at
any time during the entire cheer.
From my observations of foot
stomping cheer performances in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, usually girls
stand in horizontal lines while performing foot stomping cheers. However, I've
also seen certain cheers that are only performed in a vertical line. And one
Cocojams' reader remembers performing a cheer in a circle {See L-O-V-E, version
#2 on this page that was sent in by Erica}.
If standing in a horizontal line is the most common formation for the
performance of foot stomping cheers, that may be because this formation is the
best way for an audience to see each performer "do her thing". According
to my observations, girls stood in line in random order {in other words, soloist
#1 didn't necessarily stand next to soloist #2 and so forth}. Also, I don't
recall soloists stepping forward when it was their turn to be the soloist.
However, in 2005, I saw soloists do that. But that may have been because they
were showing me some cheers on a stage, and it is standard for a soloist in a
choir, for instance, to stand in front. On the occasions when I saw the soloists
move to the front, most of the time, they just stepped forward, and didn't move
to the center of the stage in front of the other girls in the line. When their
soloist turn ended, the girls just stepped back to the place in line that they
had before. If you perform foot stomping cheers now, or remember doing them when
you were younger, for the purpose of folkloric documentation, I'd love to know
how you did them, including whether you stood in a circle, a semi circle, a
horizontal line, a vertical line etc.
In my opinion, there is a very close connection between cheerleader cheers and
foot stomping cheers. It's my theory that foot stomping cheers originated as an
adaptation of dance style cheerleader cheers so that those cheers could be used
as a leisure time activity apart from organized sports. The two types of cheers
certainly appear to borrow from each other. The main
difference between these two types of cheers is the signature feature of foot
stomping cheers-the group/consecutive soloist text pattern.
Usually call & response songs have one soloist (lead singer) throughout
the whole song. The soloist sings or chants something and then the rest of the
group repeats the soloist’s words or briefly sings something else. However, foot
stomping cheers use what I have termed the group/consecutive soloist form
of call & response.
Foot stomping cheers begin with
lines spoken by the entire group {or everybody in the group except for a
designated soloist}. The spoken words of the cheer then alternate between a
designated soloist and the rest of the group. That rendition of the cheer "ends"
with either the soloist's lines or with lines spoken by the soloist and the rest
of the group. However, the cheer immediately starts again with the next
designated soloist. With foot stomping cheers, the
performance of any cheer isn't over until every member of the group gets one
turn as soloist for that particular cheer.
When the person has had her turn as soloist, she chants with the group
again and the next soloist has her turn. The order of soloists is determined
before the cheer starts. One method of deciding the order of soloist is that the
fastest person to call out “first”, “second”, “third” etc gets those positions.
Given the time constraints that
they face during an actual game or during half-time when they perform longer
cheer, a group/consecutive soloist
pattern would be impossible for sports team cheerleaders to perform. Since girls
perform foot stomping cheers as an
informal leisure time activity, they don't have those same time constraints.
Some cheers are repeated word for word by each new soloists {with the exception of personalized information
such as the soloist's name}. However, for some other cheers, there are what
appears to be a limited number of rhyming words or rhyming lines that the next
soloist can use as a substitute for certain lines that have already been
recited. For instance, see the example "Call Reputation" that is posted below.
Regardless of which number soloist a girl is, instead of saying "{My name is}
and " I'm number one/ my reputation has just begun", she could say "I'm number
one/my reputation is having fun". Or she could say "I'm number 2, kickin it with Scooby
Do" or she could say
"I'm
number 9, kickin it with Ginuwine" etc.
Although there are no costumes, a stage, settings, props, or make-up, foot
stomping cheers routines are theatric performances.
Performers are supposed to look
directly at their imagined or real audiences.
Performers are also expected to speak the lines with
a confident, regularly pitched speaking voice. The speaker’s tone and body
language are supposed to match her spoken words. For instance, girls performing
"confrontation style cheers" are supposed to chant their lines with "genuine"
in-your face-attitude. With the exception of "dance
style foot stomping cheers", while performing foot stomping cheers, the girls'
facial expression is usually stern, and coolly disdainful, but not angry.
{"Cool" here is used to evoke its Black slang meaning of not loosing your cool
in confrontations with an adversary}.
As a result of my collection efforts, both through direct observation {mostly in
the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania region, 1985 to date} and through the Internet
{mostly this website}, it seems that "foot stomping cheers" originated with and
are still most closely associated with African American girls. I've found a small number of foot stomping cheers in
two books about
African American children’s rhymes. However, these examples were either placed in the generic
category of "playground rhymes" or they were erroneously categorized as
"handclap rhymes". In both cases, no editorial comments or performance
instructions were included with these examples.
What handclap rhymes and foot stomping cheers
have in common is that they are both rhymes that are chanted by children, they
are both usually considered to be girls' leisure time activities, and they are
both usually performed by two or more children. However, there are significant
differences between the textual composition of handclap rhymes and the textual
composition of stomping cheers. In addition, there are major differences between
the performance of handclap rhymes and the performance of foot stomping cheers.
To simplify, handclap rhymes emphasize the beat pattern that is created by
patting the palm of another person's hand with the palm of your hand. In
contrast, foot stomping cheers emphasize the beat pattern that is created
by stomping your foot on the ground, clapping your own hands, and patting your
chest, or thigh. Furthermore, handclap rhymes are chanted in unison while
foot stomping cheers are chanted in a modified call & response pattern that
I refer to as group/consecutive soloist.
Few foot stomping cheers are
written down or otherwise recorded. Most of them have a short life
span. As time passes, the cheers may be significantly changed or may be
completely forgotten.
The earliest reference that I
have found for children's foot stomping cheers is in the notes to the 1978 record
Old Mother Hippletoe:
Rural and Urban Children’s Songs New World.
{Band
3; NW291 Mono,1978, Anthology of American Music, Inc.;
Record notes: Kate Rinzler}. These notes provide four examples of
cheers that were performed by
African American pre-teen girls in the early to mid 1970s,
Washington, DC. According to those notes, early performances of foot
stomping cheers were a mix of gymnastic movements such as splits, flips and
cartwheels and drill team-like rhythmic movements that emphasized the percussive
sound the foot makes when it hits the ground. Since the 1980s, these foot
stomping cheers (sometimes called “steps” by their performers) appear to rarely
include gymnastic moves.
Foot stomping cheers are supposed to be performed for fun.
Being good at steppin is one way that younger girls get to interact as
equals with older girls. For instance, if a six or a seven year old girl becomes known as
being a good stepper, she may be picked to be part of a spontaneously created
group over a twelve year old girl who is known to forget the words to cheers, or
who is known to "go off beat". Girls earn status by being good at
doing foot stomping cheers. But girls can also lose status if they mess up
during the performance of cheer routines.
I've found these informal
grouping of girls have little tolerance for anyone who "messes up the beat", or
who doesn't know the [right] words. I've noticed that most times if a girl
doesn't know the words, she will step out of the line and sit out a particular
"performance" of a cheer she doesn't know, rather than risk "messing up".
In my experience, when girls informally perform foot stomping cheers
around other children their age, the other children are involved in other play
activities, and therefore aren't an "audience" per se. However, it's my sense
that part of the reason why girls perform these cheers is to impress other
children, particularly boys. My observation has been that in informal settings,
in the school yard, on sidewalks in front of a girl's home, boys either don't
watch these cheer performances, or pretend that they aren't watching, as it's
not cool for boys that age to show such interest in girls' play or girls
themselves. However, that doesn't mean that girls aren't aware that boys are in
the vicinity and therefore may be watching their cheer performances.
Given the fact that many cheer performers are pre-teen girls, and also given the
fact that many girls that age are interested in impressing boys, I suspect that
whenever these cheers are performed, older elementary school age girls and
pre-teen girls are hyper-vigilant to the fact that other people, but especially
boys may be watching them. Girls who perform these same cheers or different
cheers as part of another group rarely acknowledge another group's performance.
Yet, they take note of how well or how poorly that entire group or individuals
in that group did. And if an individual in a group does particularly well, girls
from other groups might try to recruit her to do cheers with their group.
As is the standard practice at any formal occasion, at the end of performances
of cheers during school assemblies, the audience applauds the group.
Knowing how to perform foot stomps and doing them well is a way that younger
girls can receive affirmation & self-esteem boosts from older females. At
less formal occasions such as community sponsored programs, audiences of teens &
adults-particularly females-are more likely to show their approval of a cheer
performance during that performance by spontaneously applauding and
giving affirmations of approval {"shout outs" such as “Yeah!"; "You go, girl!"
; "Kick that beat!}". Of course, after the cheer performance ends,
females and other members of those audience applaud the performance, and may
also continue to verbalize their approval of that group, or a member or members
of that group.
In addition to giving "props" {proper respect through shout outs} to performers
they know, it's my sense that people applaud and give particular verbal approval
to a soloist who takes risks. Especially when the cheer is a repetition of the
same lines, except for the substitution of personal information such as the
girl's name, nickname, and favorite activity, a soloist who "changes up" the
line slightly or does something slightly different without interfering with
the beat of the cheer, is said to "add her own flava {flavor} to the mix" A
girl may also get special attention for really "being in character" and saying
her soloist lines well. A soloist may also gain approval and status by
substituting another rhyming line as long as that line still fits the beat and
the theme of the rhyme. Another way that a soloist may receive special verbal
affirmations is by doing a familiar body gesture such as the hand motion that
means "Don't even go there".
The custom of audience members giving shout out to specific members of a foot
stomping cheer group suggests that there could be an element of competition
within foot stomping groups as well as among other foot stomping groups.
Although the group is a unit, during her turn as soloist, each girl not only
tries to shine, she tries to "outshine" the other members of her group. I
suspect that this desire to do as well as or better than other members of one's
group is also a factor even during the times when the girls are saying the
group lines and not the soloist lines.
Foot stomping cheer performances and the cheers themselves are art forms and
a window into the world of certain populations of elementary school age, and
pre-adolescent girls. That's why I believe it is so important to collect,
preserve, and study these cheers. Of course, it's also great to exchange
examples of cheers & other rhymes with other people. And foot stomping cheers
are also fun to perform and fun to watch being performed!
****
With very rare exceptions, I post examples of
cheers & rhymes the way that they are sent to me. Some of these examples contain
purposely misspelled words and are written in free flowing style, without any
capitalization at the beginning of a line or punctuation mark at the end of
line. This appears to be the "standard" informal way that many children,
teenagers, and young adults write on the Internet. This text messaging style
often contains typos and
other accidental spelling errors. I'm aware that posting these examples
this way means that some people may find some portions of these examples
difficult to understand. However, I believe that posting examples in their
original form means that I'm preserving the examples' flavor & authenticity. I
apologize to those who may have difficulty understanding these examples.
In some instances, my editorial comment below specific examples may include
information that may be useful in clarifying the meaning of these typos or
purposely misspelled words.
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Examples Of & Comments About Foot Stomping
Cheers:
[Examples are listed in alphabetical
order, The newest postings are indicated by their dates.]
Numbers
1,2,3,4,5
{Version #2}
1,2,3,4,5 my names (say your name)and i say hi
6,7,8,9,10 back it up and meet my friend {as many friends as you have say}
1,2,3,4,5 my names (say your name) and i say hi 6,7,8,9,10 back it up and thats
the end
-Alexa; 12/30/2006
Editor:
Note that the soloist maintains the step beat while moving backward but still
facing frontward. This is different than the movement done in example #1 at the
end of the soloist's line. However, in 2006 I saw some children in Pittsburgh do
it this way.
****
1,2,3,4,5
{Version #1}
Entire Group: 1,2,3,4,5
Soloist #1: My name is
Jackie and I say hi
Entire Group: 6,7,8,9,10
Soloist #1: I’m gonna step
aside to meet my friend
Entire Group: 1,2,3,4,5
Soloist #2: My name is
Shadaya and I’m here to say hi.
Entire Group: 6,7,8,9,10
Soloist #2: I’m gonna step
aside to meet my friend.
Entire Group: 1,2,3,4,5
Soloist #3: My name is
Marquis and I’d like to say hi.
Entire Group: 6,7,8,9,10
Soloist #3: I’m gonna step
aside to meet my friend
(Repeat the entire chant until everyone has introduced themselves, and then say
this)
Entire Group: 1,2,3,4,5
We are Alafia ** and we’re here to say hi
6,7,8,9,10
We’re gonna step together cause that’s the end.
* child says her or his name or nickname
** group says its name or the name of their neighborhood, or school
-Alafia Children's Ensemble, Pittsburgh, PA, 1998
Editor:
Alafia Children's Ensemble was an after-school performance group that I founded
in 1997. The group performed contemporary cheers and traditional, adapted, and
original African American game songs.
Jackie {a 10 year old female} introduced this cheer to me {and to some members
of the group who didn't know it}. Here's how this cheer is done:
A group of girls and boys form a vertical line and start “stepping” (i.e.
performing the following foot pattern “Stomp stomp clap; stomp stomp clap”.)
After making sure that everyone has the beat (everyone is doing the chant
correctly), the entire group begins to chant in an alternating call & response
pattern. When the first soloist ends his or her solo chant (“I’m gonna step
aside to meet my friend), he or she gestures to the next person in line and then
moves to the side, forming a 2nd vertical line to the right of the first line.
When the second person in the first line is finished saying his solo chant (“I’m
gonna step aside etc”), she {or he} forms a 3rd vertical line to the left of the
first. There are now three vertical lines. Each time a performer finishes as
soloist, she or he moves to the front of either the 2nd or 3rd line. When one
performer moves to the front of the 2nd line, the next performer moves to the
front of the 3rd line. The performers who have had a turn as soloist continue
chanting and doing the step pattern, but they are now moving backwards in their
individual lines. This pattern continues until every person has had a turn as
the soloist. At that point, the group chants the name of their group and the 2nd
and 3rd line merges into the 1st line. Sometimes the cheer ends with the
performers bowing while they say “this is the end”.
A,B
A Bulldog
a bulldog , a bulldog say what a bulldog a bulldog my name is candace yeah and
i'm here to show u how i get down 1. she shack [shake] it don't break it and den
she roll it control it den she pop it don't stop it. a bulldog a bulldog
-candace; 5/4/2006
Editor:
I placed this cheer on this page because I have seen almost the exact same cheer performed by a group of
African American girls in Braddock, Pennsylvania {located near
Pittsburgh, PA 1997-1999}. I also collected an example of this cheer in 2007
from two African American girls from Baldwin, PA {a suburb of Pittsburgh}.
Given my observations of that rhyme, I am convinced that this is an example of a
foot stomping cheer because it [probably] adheres to the signature pattern of
these types of cheers:
1 Each girl takes a turn being the soloist.
2 Everyone in the group says the first line "a bulldog. a bulldog.-say what-a
bulldog. a bulldog
3. The first member of the 'group' says the soloist line "my name is Candace"
4. The rest of the group says "yeah"
5. The soloist continues with the line "and I'm here to show you how to get
down"'
6. The soloist says " I [shake] it don't break it and den [then] I roll it
control it, then I pop it. don't stop it." -[this line is omitted from the
example but it may be indicated by the number 1.]
7. The rest of the group says "she shake it don't break it and den she roll it
control it den she pop it don't stop it.
8. The entire group says: "a bulldog. a bulldog"
The group then repeats this pattern with the next
soloist who -of course- says her name or nickname instead of Candace's name. The
lines to this cheer are quite fixed.* However, the soloist might add the word
"first" to the line " I shake it, don't break it".
After the second soloist ends, the rhyme is repeated again. This continues
until everyone member of that informal group has had one turn as the soloist.
I've noticed that there are small amount of standard lines that can be used in
certain cheers as a substitute for a line another group member has said.
However, it is very important that the words to foot stomping cheers are
memorized before the cheer is performed. Once the beat starts, no one has time
to think about what to say. If one person doing a cheer forgets the words
to that cheer, or if that person tried to add words to a line, not only would
she mess up her own performance of the beat, but, because this is a synchronized
performance, she would mess things up for the entire group.
The other reason why the words to these cheers are fixed is that each member of
the group has to have a turn as the soloist with that particular cheer. If a
girl added lines to the cheer, she would be accused of trying to show off and
trying to 'hog' the spotlight.
Note: I use "girl" in describing children who do foot stomping cheers since
this
is usually an activity performed by girls. But boys certainly can perform
these cheers. Whether they do so is another matter.
****
Angels Go Swinging
Group: Angels go swinging angels go swinging! angels go swinging, Angels go
Swinging! Solo:My name is Katy I'm number 1 my reputation has just begun so if
you see me just step aside 'cause me and my man don't take no jive Group: Uh,
you thank (think) you bad Solo: Bad enough to make you mad Group, Uh, you thank
you cool Solo: Cool enough to go to high school Group: Uh, you thank you fine
Solo: Fine enough to MO, fine enough to Macho (not really sure what this line
means or if we were even saying it right) fine enough to hula hoop, fine enough
to kick yo' duke Everyone: say what, say what say what say what say what
-Joi; 3/23/2008; Birmingham, Alabama; 1990s
Editor:
Joi, thanks so much for that example! This cheer appears to be a variant form of
the cheer/handclap rhyme "Hollywood Goes Swingin". See examples of that cheer on
this page. I'm wondering if "Angels" is the name that your group selected
for themselves or whether "Angels" is part of the name of your school or your
school's athletic teams. What I find so interesting is that this cheer and
others like it have circulated throughout the USA {and other places?}.
Btw, Joi, I'm wondering if "fine enough to MO, fine enough to macho" means to
be "macho" {the "MO" may be just as a rhyming clip-meaning part- of the
subsequent word "macho" . In the complimentary sense of the Spanish word "macho"
means a man who is manly, strong, attractive, well built, virile {meaning
physically strong & sexually potent} man. What is also implied in this
complimentary use of "macho" is that a macho man is also considered to be
physical attractive. In the context of this cheer, girls may be extending the
adjective "macho" to females. If so, they're saying that they are strong {in the
"I don't take no stuff from anybody" sense of that word}, physically attractive,
and sexy. The 1978 hit R&B song "Macho Man" by The Village People, popularized
the word "macho" among many non-Spanish speaking Americans. The chorus of
the song is "Macho macho man/I wanna be a macho man/macho macho man/I wanna be a
macho". Here's a link to a YouTube video of that song:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=761ImkDnNq8 ; Also, here's a link to
information about that song:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macho_Man_(song)
Also, Joi, I think that "hula hoop" in the line "fine enough to hula hoop"
is an alliterative phrase that doesn't really mean anything but does emphasize
the fact that the girl is saying that she is fine enough to do whatever
she has to do. However, that phrase may be connected to the cheer "Hula Hula/who
think I'm bad." See examples of that cheer below on this page. The line "fine
enough to kick your duke" may specifically mean "fine enough to kick you in your
face" or just "fine enough to beat you up".
****
Bang Bang Chu Chu Train {Version #3}
bang bang chu chu train it really goes like this in new york-(1 person) bang
bang chuchu train let me see u do ur thing (2 person) i cant (1 person) why not
(2 person) my back aches my belts to tight and my booty is shakin from left to
right left right left, left right left
-m&m; 10/7/2006
Editor:
M&M, thank you for remembering to include information the state {or city?} where
you live. Including that information helps me and others get a sense of how
widely known specific cheers are.
****
Reeses Peanut Butter Cup {Bang Bang Choo Choo Train; Version #2}
This is a song we always sang on the school bus when we went on class trips. It
was during the mid- late 1990s in New Jersey. "Reeses Peanut Butter Cup" the
group sings: Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Mess with me I'll beat you up Bang bang
choo choo train Watch [a person's name] do her thing. the person answers: I
can't group: Why not? person: Just can't! group: Why not? person: My back's
achin' My bra's too tight My booty shakes from left to right group: From the
left To
the right To the left, right, left, right... and then it starts over and the
group picks a new person.
-Katie; 9/18/2006
Editor:
Thanks, Katie for sending in that example. Thanks, also for explaining how you
and your friends did this cheer and where {on the school bus during class
trips}. In my opinion, "Reeses peanuts butter cup” serves as an introduction
line. The actual cheer starts after that line. The "reese pieces" line is a clip
from a very popular children’s rhyme "Brick wall Water Fall". That taunting
rhyme appears to be usually performed as a two partner handclap routine. Visit
Cocojams' School Yard Taunts page for multiple examples of Bang Bang Choo Choo
Train & Brick Wall Water Fall".
****
Bang, Bang Choo Choo Train {Version #1}
Group- Bang, Bang Choo Choo Train.
Watch Indonesia do her thang.
Soloist #1- I can’t.
Group- Why not?
Soloist #1 - I can’t.
Group- Why not?
Soloist #1 Because my back is achin.
My bra’s too tight.
My hips keep movin’ from the left to the right
Group - Her back is achin.
Her bra’s too tight.
Her hips keep movin from the left to the right.
(Repeat chant with the next soloist who gives her name or nickname. The cheer
continues with this pattern until everyone has had one chance as soloist.)
-African American girls ages 7-12 years; Duquesne, Pennsylvania, {Alafia
Children's Ensemble}, 10/1997; collected by Azizi Powell. 10/97; also known by
children in Alafia group in Pittsburgh, PA {11/2001 onward}
Note: the word "train" is pronounced like “trang” to rhyme with "thang" {“Thang”
is the hip-hop pronunciation for "thing"}.
Editor:
This chant was performed by girls ages 5-12 years old who were members of Alafia
Children’s Ensemble, a cultural group for children ages 5-12 years that I
conducted in the Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania area from 1997-2006. The purpose of "Alafia" was to
provide opportunities for girls and boys to explore the creative and performing
arts potential of traditional, adapted, and contemporary {including originally
composed} African American children's rhymes & game songs. The rhymes were
performed to the accompaniment of foot stomps, hand claps, Djembe {West African} drum,
and an electric piano. "Show & Tell" was an important portion of the program.
At that time, children were encouraged to share with the group examples of rhymes
or cheers that they know. Needless to say, I used these opportunities to collect a number of
rhymes and cheers, including "Bang Bang Choo Choo Train".
The girls who shared this chant said that they learned it from other girls, and
that they had known it for a while. These girls were not at all embarrassed to
mention the word “bra” in front of the women and men (staff, and relatives) or
the elementary school aged boys that were present at our rehearsal. I must
confess that I was more embarrassed than they were. After all, most of the girls
who were reciting this chant were too young to even wear a bra! For the purposes
of our community performances, for the sake of political correctness, I toyed
with idea of changing the word “bra” to “skirt”. I finally decided to
leave that word alone. However, I admit that when we performed for church social
events, I didn't include this chant in our program :o} .
See examples of "Bang Bang Choo Choo Train" on Cocojam's Cheerleading Cheers
page and on Cocojams'School Yard Taunting Rhymes page.
C,D
Call Reputation
this is a saying call reputation my name is yonnqa i'm number one my
reputation has just begun so if you see me step a side cause i don't take no jive oh
think she cool correction baby i no i'm cool i no karate i no kunfu you miss
with me i co it on you rasasol o dazzo o ox2
-yaya ; 2/23/2007
Editor:
yaya, I've heard cheers like this before, but I'm not sure what rasasol dasso o
ox2 means. I'd love it if you'd write in to explain. And does the cheer start
with "My name is ___ or does it start with the words "Call reputation"? Thanks!
****
Cheerleader {Version #3}
All:
Cheer.
Leader.
Roll.
Call.
Are you ready?
Soloist #1: Shayla.
They call me Rosa.
Soloist #2: Shana.
They call me Poo.
Soloist #3: Shana.
They call me Shay.
Soloist #4: Jamie.
They call me Jay Jay.
Soloist #5: Jackie.
They call me HaJack (HighJack?).
All:
Cheer.
Leader.
Zodiac signs.
Soloist #1: Aquarius.
That’s a dog.
Soloist #2: Cancer.
That’s a crab.
Soloist #3: Leo.
That’s a lion.
Soloist #4: Scorpio.
That’s a spider.
Soloist #5: Scorpio.
That’s a spider.
All: Cheer.
Leader.
Phone.
Numbers.
Are you ready?
Soloist #1: 348-5110.
Group: Always busy.
Soloist #2: 348-4554.
Group: Always busy.
Soloist #3 348-3322
Group: Always busy.
Soloist #4: 348-5779
Group: Always busy.
Soloist #5 348-4285
Group: Always busy.
-Shayla, Shana, Shana, Jamie, and
Jackie {African American females about 10 years-12 years old}, Braddock, PA;
1985; collected by Azizi Powell, 1985 {transcription of audio tape recording}
Editor:
This version of Cheerleader uses the same stompstomp clap. stomp stomp clap” beat as
versions #1 & version #2. As is the case with the other versions, the
girls stood in a horizontal line. The girls started the cheer a couple of times
before every girl “got the beat”. Once everyone was “on beat” the chant
began.
The Braddock version of Cheer Leader continued the cheer by the group returning
to the Cheer Leader refrain, and then announcing another subject, this time “Zodiac
signs”. However, (arbitrarily?) for this subject, the group doesn’t add
“Are you ready”. Instead, they move right to the individual chants.
One after another the girls respond to the announced subject by stating their
astrological sun sign and its symbol. Note, for the record, the girls gave the
wrong information about the astrological symbol for Aquarius and Scorpio. The
symbol for Aquarius is the water bearer and the symbol for Scorpio is the
scorpion and/or the eagle. However, in my opinion, that erroneous information
was and is actually quite immaterial to the aesthetic and folkloric richness of
this example.
After the "verse" on astrological signs, the girls repeated the cheer leader
refrain, and announced a new subject “telephone numbers”. After announcing that
subject, the girls added “Are you ready?”
However, this time the pattern changes. After each girl provided her
telephone number (which are changed here in the interest of confidentiality),
the group responded with the phrase “Always busy”. This inferred that the girl
was
very popular because she was always talking on the telephone. It should be
noted that this cheer was performed before the days of the “call waiting”
telephone feature that allows people to receive another telephone call when they
are already talking to a previous caller. Because of this feature, busy
signals are largely a thing of the past. Note also that this cheer was
performed before phone
numbers in Pittsburgh and its surrounding area included area codes. And that's a
good thing, since putting those 3 number area codes in
front of the 7 digit telephone number would probably have messed up the beat.
Presumably, the Braddock group of girls had performed this cheer together
before, and knew what subjects to expect, and in which order to expect them.
In order to maintain the steady beat, it would seem to me that the subjects and
their order had to have been decided before the cheer begins. Also, the girls had to know without hesitation their responses to the subject
matter. For instance, they each had to know their astrological sun sign before
the cheer started}. In this performance, some members of the group had ended the
cheer with the “zodiac sign” portion. But a couple of the girls reminded the
others about the “telephone number” section.
Though it is probable that
each time these girls performed this cheer, they used the same categories, it's
interesting to note that this cheer has an open ended format. That format would
lend itself to the addition of new categories, and/or the substitution of one
category for another. However, if that were the case, prior to starting the
cheer, the group would have had to decide which categories were to be part of
the cheer and when those categories would be introduced. To decide this after
the cheer had started would disrupt the flow of the recitation and completely
mess up the beat.
It's possible that this cheer could have any number of additional subjects,
hence my earlier comment about it “approaching” an open-ended format.
This cheer is similar to the
Bring It On II movie's cheer "Shabooya Roll Call". See a version of that
cheer on Cocojam's Cheerleading Cheers page. It's possible that this cheer could
have been one of the sources for that cheer. See additional versions of
"Cheerleader" on this page.
Back in the mid to late 1980s, I got the impression that "Cheerleader Roll Call"
foot stomping cheers were very widely known in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania among urban African
American girls ages 6-12 years old.
I'm curious to know if any one remembers these cheers. If so, I'd love it if you would send in
the version you remember. Along with the example, please also include some or
all of this demographical information: when you remember these cheers {decade and
not just how old you were unless you say how old you are now}; where you were
{city/state or nation if outside of the USA}; what gender performed these cheers
{girls only; girls & boys; or boys only}; and what race of ethnicity the
children were who performed these cheers {such as Black, White, Latino}.
Thanks!!
****
Cheerleader
{Version #2}
All
Cheerleader,
Roll call!
Soloist #1 My name is Keisha.
They call me Key Key.
And when they call me,
they go
All
Boom, Boom,
Ah Boom, Boom!
All
Cheerleader,
Roll Call!
Soloist # 2 My name's Jozita.
They call me Cocoa.
And when they call me,
they go
All
Boom, Boom
Ah Boom, Boom!
-T.M.P., memories
of Pittsburgh, PA; early to mid 1980s
****
Cheerleader {Version #1}
All Cheerleader
Roll Call
Soloist #1
Yolanda
They call me Lannie
Group
Hey Hey
Soloist #2
Erica
They call me Ree Ree
Group
Hey Hey
Soloist #3 Ebony
They call me Ebony
Group
Hey Hey
Soloist #4
Melissa
They call me
Missy
Group
Hey Hey
{The cheer continues in this pattern until everyone says their name and nickname.
If the girl [or boy] doesn't have a nickname, the first name is repeated}.
-T.M.P., memories of Pittsburgh, PA; early to mid 1980s
Editor:
A "roll call" is a list of names for members of a class or group. When the
teacher “does the roll”, she calls out a student’s name, and the student
whose name is called responds by saying “Here” or "Present."
This foot stomping cheer was {is?} performed by the girls standing in a horizontal
line. The girls say the words to the cheer while they perform a bass sounding stomp stomp clap/
stomp stomp clap beat. {"Clap" means to clap your hands. There are no partners
in foot stomping cheers. Actually, there usually is no physical touching of anyone else.}
****
Disco
{Version #2}
Disco 2x [repeat two times]
Reeses pieces reeses my pieces (say sombodies name) what you ganna do when they
come for you (the person who's name was said says) i'm gonna step aside disco
roll my eyes disco stomp my feet disco and do the hilltoe ah ha and do the
hilltoe.
-Ciera S.; Age 10; Pittsburgh, PA; 5/16/06
Editor:
This cheer has similar lines as the Version #1. The words "Reese Pieces" are
probably a clip from the widely known handclap rhyme "Brick Wall Water Fall".
"Hilltoe" is probably a referent to a current R&B dance "The heel-toe."
****
Disco
{Version #1}
disco (stomp stomp stomp stomp clap)
(group) d-i-s-c-o thats the way we disco (group) d-i-s-c-o thats the way we disco
(group) hey samantha (solo) what (group) sammy (solo) huh huh (group)what you gonna
do when they come for you (solo) im gonna roll my eyes (group) disco (solo) stomp
my feet (group) disco (solo) talk my stuff (group) disco (solo) and do my freaky
nasty (group) what what!? (group) and do my freaky nasty (repeat till everyone has
a turn)
-samantag1993; 6/29/05
Editor:
The line "What you gonna do when they come for you" sounds like the
lyric of the R&B
song "Bad boy bad boy what ya gonna do when they come for you".
****
Dynomite
[Editor: Becky H mentions the cheer "Giggalo" that she also sent in to
Cocojams. "Giggalo" is posted on this page under "G".]
And this is another one from back then, even though, now I realize, the words
are I'll say "risqué" for a young girl to say. Dynomite is just like "Giggalo"
except the wording toward the end is different. Dynomite Dynomite Dy, dy-nomite
Dynomite Dy, dy-nomite Hey {girl's name} {girl responds}Yeah Are you ready?
{girl responds}To what? To dy {girl responds}Dy what? Dynomite {girl responds}
Well... My hands up high My bra too tight Between my legs, I dynomite I turn
around And touch the ground And get back up And break it down
-Becky H.; 5/1/2006
E,F
G,H
Get Down {Version #2}
QuartQuart hey (insert a name) Hey what?(2*)show me how to get down.No
way show me how to get down okay. Hands up high feet down low this is how I
rodeo. (repeat but at the end say ) hands up high feet down low this is how I
drop it low. drop it low drop drop it low.
-QuartQuart; 4/23/2006
Editor:
QuartQuart, thanks
for sending in this example.
See "Get Down, Version #1" below for another example of this foot stomping
cheer.
****
Get Down
{Version #1}
All
I saida D-O-W-N
That’s the way we get down
D-O-W-N
That’s the way we get down
Group
Hey, Danielle. {insert 1st girl's name}
Danielle
What?
Group
Show us how you get down.
Danielle
No way.
Group
Show us how you get down
Soloist
Okay.
I said D-O-W-N
And that’s the way
That’s the way.
That’s the way
I get down.
Group
She saida
D-O-W-N
And that’s the way
That’s the way.
That’s the way
she gets down.
{Repeat the entire cheer with next soloist who says her name. This continues
from the beginning until everyone has had a turn as soloist}
-T. M. P.; memories of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, late 1980s, early to mid
1990s; Collected by
Azizi Powell
Editor:
When the soloist says "that's the way I get down", she does some fancy step or
dance movement. When the group says "That's the way she gets down", they are
doing the same step or movement as the soloist. Each soloist tries to do
something different from the dance or steps that other people ahead of her have
done.
I'd love to know if this cheer is still being done nowadays.
See Cocojams' Cheerleader page for a similar cheer.
****
Get On Down
I was reading some of these examples and I remember doing alot of them being
that im only 17...sooo heres one that i remember playing around 95'-96'...
Jump in the car Jump in the Car (CLAP 3X) Step on the gas (CLAP 3X) Move to the
side, and let (name) pass Eh-Hey, Ooh Ahh Lookin at Lady, Ooh-Ahh Aint she fine,
Ooh Ahh Betta not touch her, Ooh-Ahh Cuz She'll blow your mind! Turn around
(CLAP 3X) Touch the ground (CLAP 3X) i said a get a get a get a get on down Say
what!? A get a get a get a get on down
Here's the setup of the game: the kids who are playing have to stand in two
lines like soul train... when they say "jump in the car" everyone jumps once
then claps..."step on the gas" everyone stretches out their right foot and
stomps it down...."move to the side"...everyone moves back...and let (NAME)
pass" the first person in the line goes down the middle and does a dance while
the other kids say "ooh ah lookin at lady, ooh ahh aint she fine, ooh ahh betta
not touch her, ooh ahh cuz she'll blow your mind. ...when they say "turn around"
the girl in the line turns..."touch the ground" the same girl touches the
ground...then " i said a get a get a get a get on down" the girl has to get down
as low as she can...when the person in the middle is done, the next person goes.
-MeLLi ; 5/12/2007
Editor:
Thanks MeLLi for sending in that cheer! Thanks also for including your age and
the years you remember doing this cheer and the performance instructions. I'm
wondering where you learned this {what city/state}. Also, was this only played
by girls? I'm also curious if you pronounced the "a" in that series of a get a
get on down" was pronounced as "ah". Also, do you know if kids are still saying
and doing this cheer now where you live?
****
Jig Aloo {Version #9 of Gigalo}
this is a cheer i heard once. me an mi friends do it to be silly! {1} Hey
______? {2} Hey what? {1} You ready? {2} For what? {1} To jig! {2} Jig what?!
{1} ALOOOOOO! {BOTH} My back aches my bra's too tight my hips shake from left to
right, my hands up high my feet down low and this is how i jigalo! {while
clapping hands} JIG ALOO JIG ALOO JIG ALOO JIGALOOOO!
-Leslie ; 11/28/2007
****
Gigaloo {Version #8}
Hey Kolika [person] hey what? are u ready? to what? to Gig.. Gig what? ALOO
READY GO My hand are high my feet are low and this is how i gigaloo.. [clap]GIGALOO
GIG GIG ALLO SAY WHAT? GIG ALOOO GIG GIG ALLOOO
-Kimalea ; 11/13/2007
****
Gigalo {Version #7}
Gigolo, Gig-Gig-Olooo, Gigolo, Gig-Gig-olo Hey [team member]! [girl picked
answers] Hey WHAT? Show us how you gigolo! [girl picked] My hands up high, my
feet down low, and this is how i gigolo. [does a dance]
-Jane; 8/23/2007
****
Jigalow {Version #6 of Gigalo}
my friend taught me this. my hands up high my knees down low but this the way i
jigalow the sky is blue the grass is green and this the way I do my thing your
daddy cook your momma bake but this the way my booty shake
-No name; 2/15/2007
****
Gigalo {Version #5}
gigalo we have our hands up high feet down low thats the way we gig-alo. gig
alo o gig gig alo o gi alo o gig gig alo the sky is blue the grass is green
thats the way we do our thing turn around touch the ground get back up and break
it down.gig alo o gig gig alo o gi alo o gig gig alo o
-erika; 10/26/2006
****
Giggalo {Version #4}
I was just browsing this site, and one of the choices that caught my eye was
the "foot stomping cheers". Me still being in my last teenage year, I clearly
remember doing them. As I was reading, the ones posted are some I've never heard
of, but I wanted to share those that I did know. I did some of these in about
1995 or 96.
[Words to Giggalo]:
Giggalo Gigg-alo gigg, gigg-alo gigg-alo gigg, gigg-alo Hey {girl's name} {girl
responds}Yeah Are you ready? {girl responds}To what? To gigg {girl responds}Gigg
what? Giggalo {girl responds} Well... My hands up high My feet down low And this
the way I giggalo {girl will do dance} I turn around And touch the ground And
get back up and break it down.
- Becky H.; 5/1/2006
Editor:
Thanks, Becky for including demographical information about when you remembered
doing this cheer. Such information helps develop a sense of the length of time a
cheer has been "out there" and what changes may have been made to that cheer. It
certainly seems that Gigalo is one of the few cheers from the mid to late 1980s
{if not before} that is still being done.
****
Gigolo {Version #2}
Gig-olo-o
Gig-Gig-olo-o
Gig-olo-o
Gig-gig-olo-o
Group: Hey [girls name]
Girl: Yeah!
Group: Hey [girls name]
Girl: Yeah
Group: Are you ready to Gigolo?
Girl: Well, my hands up high, my feet down low and thats the way I gigolo (does
dance/motion of her own)
Group: Well, her hands up high, her feet down low and thats the way she gigolos
(group repeats the unique dance/motion)
(Repeat with a new girl and new dance/motion.)
-flojaune G {African American female college student; memories of Pittsburgh,
PA; 2000}; email to Azizi Powell; 2005
Editor:
Thanks,
Flojaune! Flojaune described this as "a handclap/foot stomping cheer".
I also received the same version of this cheer from Tonya T., 28 year old;
African American female; {Crawfordville Ga; 2005} Thanks, Tonya!
****
Gigalo {Version #1}
All: Gig ah lo-o
Gig gig a lo-o
Gig ah lo-o
Gig gig a lo-o
Group: Hey, Kayla
Kayla: What?
Group: Are you ready to gig?
Kayla: Gig what?
Group: Gigalo
Kayla : My hands up high
My feet down low
And this is the way
I gig a lo *
Group: Her hands up high
Her feet down low
And this is the way she gigalos
{repeat from the beginning with the next soloist, and continue until everyone in
the group has a turn as soloist}
-TMP, remembrance of mid to late 1980s, Pittsburgh, PA
* The soloist briefly does a fancy step routine. When it is the rest
of the group’s turn, she continues to do that step and the rest of the group
also does that same routine. The expectation is that each girl will do a
different step when she is the soloist.
Editor:
I first saw "Gigalo" performed in the late 1980s
{from Pittsburgh, PA}. The performers were my daughter and her friends.
They were elementary school age to
middle school age. Gigalo is one of the few foot stomping cheers from the
1980s that I still see being performed today {in 2007}. I should note that
the neighborhood where I saw this cheer being performed in the 1980s and in the
2000s are the same {Pittsburgh's East Liberty/Garfield section}. The words of the
cheer that I first collected in 1980 remained the same in 2000s. However, unlike
the performances I saw in the 1980s & in the 1990s, in some of the 2000s
performances of this cheer and other cheers the girl whose turn it was to be
soloist moved up from the horizontal line to stand facing the audience in front
of the rest of the girls. These performances were usually in informal
after-school settings when I visited by school teacher daughter {my original
source for this rhyme} and asked her students and other children if they could
show me any handclap or foot stomping 'songs' they know.
I should note that I'm not sure how to spell the word "gigalo". It actually is
pronounced more like "Jig ah low". But I got into the practice of spelling it "gigalo".
I'm not sure if the examples that which are featured here adopted my spelling or
if that was the spelling that the people sending in the example would have used
anyway. This is one of the problems with transcribing from the oral tradition,
and then posting the example on the Internet.
See Cocojams' Handclap Rhyme page for examples of "High Low Piccalo, a handclap
rhyme that has the same "hands up high/feet down low" words as "Gigalo".
****
Give It To Me
give it to me (this is a stomp and cheer) give it to me 1 time (stomp
,clap) 2 times (stomp stomp clap) 3 times (stomp stomp clap stomp) again (stomp
stomp clap stomp) break it down now (stomp clap stomp stomp clap stomp stomp
clap stomp.... stomp clap (repeat once more)
-erika; 10/26/2006
****
Hey My Name Is ___
we sing this when we do warm up running before a field hockey game person:hey
my name is katie and you kno what i got?? group:uh huh?? person: i got a team
thats hotter than hot group:uh huh?? person: good d(defense) and offense too.
group: uh huh uh huh. person: were gunna kick the whoopsies outta you!!!! then
take turn until the whole group is finished
-kate: 11/23/2006
Editor:
Kate, thanks for sending this cheer in. It's great!! I've posted this example
on the foot stomping cheer page even though I'm not sure if it is recited while
doing foot stomps. In this example, the group voice isn't the first voice to be
heard. However, this example seems to meet the other criteria for what I refer
to as "foot stomping cheers"- a soloist exchanges comments with the group and
the entire cheer is repeated until everyone in the group has a turn as soloist.
****
Hollywood, {Version #2}
Here's a handclap called hollywood!
(person 1) My name is (your name) im number one my reputation's just begun so
turn around and touch the ground get back up and break it down
(person 2) you think you're bad
(1) b-a-d i know im bad
(2) you tink you're cool
(1) cool enough to rule the school
(2) you think your fine
(1) fine fine blow your mind mind take em up take em back give the man a heart
attack
(2) you think you're hott
(1) hott anough to blow your pot!
That's it....there's clapping and all but its too hard to explain on this...good
luck!
-DC; 12/9/2005 ;
http://blog.oftheoctopuses.com/000518.php
****
Hollywood Goes
Swinging {version #1}
All:
Hollywood goes swinging.
Swinging for the good times.
Swinging for the bad times
Soloist #1
My name is Ebony.
(And) I’m cool and the gang.
You mess with me
and I’ll do my thang.
My sign is Libra
and that’s alright
cause all Libra’s
are out of sight.
All:
Hey you,
check it out!
You! You!
Check it out!
-snip-
-TMP, Pittsburgh, PA, mid 1980s; Collected by Azizi Powell, 1996
Instructions:
Repeat cheer with next soloist who gives her astrological sun sign.
The cheer continues until everyone has had one turn as the soloist.
Editor:
The group members decide the order of soloists by the fastest ones to shout out
1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc then form a line in that order and begin stepping for a short
while before they begin reciting the cheer {to make sure that everyone is
on-beat}
My daughter recited this cheer for me when she was 23 years old. She remembered
performing it when she was around 12 or 13 years old in 1985-1986. My daughter
also recalls hearing girls perform this cheer when she was a counselor for
Kingsley summer camp, (Pittsburgh, PA), 1989 and1990.
****
Hula Hula
{Version #2}
Group Hula Hula.
Who think they bad?
Soloist #1
I do.
Group Hula
Hula.
Who think they bad?
Soloist #1
I do.
Well, I think I’m bad cause
Keisha’s my name
and love is my game.
I got this boy on my mind
and Lord knows he’s fine.
I
got his name on my shirt
and don’t call it dirt.
Group Ooh,
she thinks she’s bad.
Soloist #1 Correction, baby I KNOW I’m
bad.
Group Ooh,
she thinks she’s fine.
Soloist #1 Fine enough to blow YOUR
mind.
-TMP.; Pittsburgh, PA, mid.1980s;
Collected by Azizi Powell,1992
Hula Hula’s" beat is stomp clap;
stomp stomp clap.
The cheer continues without any break in the chanting or the stepping until
everyone has had one turn as soloist.
Editor:
The words to "Hula Hula” can demonstrate how
cheers can help children reinforce their self-esteem.
When the group asks “Who thinks they bad?”, a soloist quickly says “I do”.
“Bad” is an African American slang term for “good.” To use another outdated African American slang phrase, someone who
is “bad” is "all that and ah bag of chips".
My theory is that the word
"hula" in this rhyme may be a form of the word "hello"
as pronounced in a Black or White Southern American dialect. Or "hula"
could be a "corrupted" version of the Spanish word "hola" that means "hello". In
either of these two cases, the children
are saying "Hello, hello, who thinks they're bad?"
In the context of this rhyme, I think that it's doubtful that the word "hula" refers to
“hula hoops” or to the Hawaiian
dance of that name. "Hula hoops' are wide plastic
circular tubes that are still seen in 2004 but were really popular toys in
the 1970s and 1980s. Children and adults can have lots of fun trying
to keep hula hoops spinning around their waist, arms, necks or legs.
But, as the word is used in that rhyme, referring to hula hoops or the
hula dance, makes no sense.
It's possible that the word "hula"
may just been used because it sounds good. However,
that begs the question why "hula" was used and not some other word.
When the group says “and when I
twist like this”, they are doing a hip shaking motion.
And when they say “I break down like a worm”, they are really
showing off their best (and sexiest) dancing skills. At this time, the
girls don't have to do the same dance, or they don't have to do the same
dance the same way. When the cheer begins with the next soloist, they will
all return right back to the synchronized step.
****
Hula Hula
{Version #1}
Hula hula
Now who thinks they bad
Hula hula
Now who thinks they bad
I think I’m bad
‘Cause Acie my name
And toys is my game
Take a sip of my potion
And dance in slow motion
Uh-huh
She thinks she bad
Baby baby don’t make me mad
Un-huh
She thinks she cool
Baby baby don’t act a fool
Uh-huh
She think she sweet
Sweetest person you ever meet
Uh-huh
She thinks she fine
Baby baby I’ll blow you mind
-Barbara Michels and Bettye
Whites, editors:
Apple On A
Stick, The Folklore of Black Children;
;
(New York, Coward-McCann, p 13; 1983).
The editors indicate that
the rhymes in this book were collected in Houston, Texas. However, no
information is provided about how this rhyme {or any other rhyme in
that collection} was performed. Yet, the pattern of this example fits the
mold of a foot stomping cheer {one person responds several times to
a question that another person or persons makes and that person or persons
responds back to her}. Of course, the Pittsburgh example of "Hula Hula",
that starts the same and has similar lines, presents the strongest case
that this is the Houston example of "Hula Hula" is what I refer to as a
foot stomping cheer. Of course, just because the text of these two
examples are so very much alike doesn't meant that the performance
activity has to have been the same. For instance, the Houston example
could have been recited while doing handclaps or while jumping rope
instead of while doing a foot stomping routine. Or all three of these
performance activities could have been used by different populations of
children-in different cities, or within the same city but in different
neighborhoods. Unless someone documents the way/s that a rhyme is
performed by children in a specific place at a specific time {say, the
1980s, or early 200os}, there's no guaranteed way of knowing this
information. Speaking of which, I've been trying, without any success, to
get in touch with the editors of that book. If they or anyone who they
know is reading this, please, contact me through this website's Contact
Page {by hitting the click on submit hyperlink}. Thanks!!
I saw "Hula Hula" perform by my daughter and her
friends, and other African American girls in the mid 1980s in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. But I don't know how
widespread the rhyme is {or was} in that city.. I'm also unsure if this rhyme
is still performed in Houston, Texas, and how widespread it is {or was}
there. If you know this cheer/rhyme or any cheer or rhyme that is
similar to it, please send it in to Cocojams, and please include where,
when, and how it was performed! Thanks!!
See "My name is___", sent in by kelly on 9/25/2006 and posted on the
Cheerleader Cheer page for a version of this foot stomping cheer
****
Hump De Dump
{Version #2 of Humpty Danda}
I am a cheerleading coach in Ga, I moved here from Pittsburgh (East
Liberty) when I was about 10. We used to do all of the street cheers that
you have listed back during the mid 80's, they brought back wonderful
memories and that is something that I do not remember the girls from down
south doing once we got here. I remember one called "Humpty de Dump"- hump
de dump, hump, hump, de dump, - my name is is___, de dump, hump, hump, de
dump- and if you watch me, de dup, hump, hump, de dump,-I'll show you you
I'm cool, de dump, hump, hump, de dump. (Then you do your dance)
-Tia; 8/25/05
Editor:
In reviewing this page on 4/23/2008, I noticed that I inadvertently failed
to acknowledge Tia's inclusion of demographical information with her
submission of this cheer. Thanks, Tia. And I hope you or someone you know
still visits Cocojams, because I have a question for you: Are you saying
that you learned "Hump De Dump" in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania or in Georgia?
And if you learned this cheer in Georgia, could you please indicate
which part of Georgia this was? Thanks, again!
****
Hump De Danda
{For the record, I'm posting this cheer on 4/23/2008 some time
after
the version that Tia sent in on 8/25/05. It's possible that Tia's version was from the
same section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that my daughter's version comes
from. Note the similarities & differences between these two
versions}
Entire Group:
Hump De Danda
Hump Hump De Danda
Hump De Danda
Hump HumpDe Danda
Soloist #1: (Well) My name is Toya.
Group: De Danda, Hump
Hump De Danda
Soloist #1: I ’m super cool.
Group: De Danda Hump,
Hump De Danda
Soloist #1: You mess with me
Group: De Danda Hump,
Hump De Danda
Soloist #1: and you’re a fool.
Group: De Danda Hump,
Hump De Danda
Soloist #1: I’m goin down
Group: De Danda
Hump, Hump De Danda
Soloist #1: to touch the ground.
Group: De Danda,
Hump, Hump De Danda
Soloist #1: I’m comin up
Group: De Danda,
Hump Hump De Danda
Soloist #1: to mess you up.
Entire Group:
Humpty Dumpty
sat on ah wall
Humpty Dumpty
had a great fall.
Oosh, ain’t that funky now.
Oosh, aint that funky now.
Oosh, ain’t that, Oosh ain’t that
Oosh, ain’t that funky now.
(Repeat the entire cheer with the next soloist)
I,J
Roll Call {Version #8 of Introduce Yourself}
All: Chick – boom Ah Ah chick a boom roll call
First Person: Hey Sonji
Second Person: Yeah baby
First Person: Hey sonjie
Second Person: Yeah baby
First Person: Introduce your self
Second Person: Right on
First Person: Introduce your self
Second Person: Right on my name is sonji
First Person: Check
Second Person: I like to sing
First Person: Check
Second Person: And when I sing
First Person: Check
Second Person: I do my thing
All: OOOOHHHH roll call Chick a boom, ah ah chick a boom roll call
Then each person is “called” one at a time. They make up a rhyme about
what they like and the cheer repeats itself {African American Late 70’s –
early 80’s Elkhart Indiana}
-Sonjala A. ; 3/15/2008
Editor:
Sonjala, thanks for sending in this cheer. Thanks also for including
demographical information {when you and your friends recited this cheer;
your city & state; and your race}. Thanks also for explaining how you
performed this cheer. Cocojams readers, be sure to check out another cheer
that Sonjala sent in that is posted on this page in the "T" category.
Also, see the cheer "Ah Boom Chicka Boom" that is posted on this page.
****
Introduce Yourself
{Versions #8}
"Hey girl, hey you, introduce yourself. Introduce yourself."
Then each individual girl says a rhyme about themselves, like,
"My name is Joan (group says "check") I'm from AC ("check") I come to say
("check") Don't mess with me ("Check it out")
-Joan C.; from Atlantic City, New Jersey, late 1970s; Black, Latino, and White
girls at Catholic High School; electronic message to Azizi
Powell; 2/11/2007; So far, this is the earliest example of a foot stomping cheer
that I've collected. If anyone remembers doing these kinds of cheers in
the 1970s, please send in those examples, with demographical information!
****
Introduce Yourself
{Versions #7}
sorta funny/lame but cool: (i a line, first person says) Hey you! (last
person) Hey, what? (first) Introduce yaslelf (last) no way (first)
introduce yorself! (last) I'm (insert name) (whole line/group) What, what!
(last) I'm (insert name again) (last person moves to the front of the line
and now they are the first) (first) Hey you! ect. go through until
everyone has introduced theirselfs doesnt work well with like cheers or
soemthing but at like assembalies or council presentations or whatever !
-me! ; 3/19/2007
****
Introduce Yourself
{Versions #6}
group: Hey (name) individual: yeah group: introduce yourself individual: no way
group: introduce yourself ind.: ok... my name is (name) group: yeah ind.: and i
am proud group: yeah ind.: thats why i cheer group: yeah ind.: so very loud, so
check me out - Janice, {San Francisco, CA} 10/11/2006
Editor:
Thanks, Janice for including demographical information. I'm assuming that the
date you included means that you just said this cheer or heard it said. Is that
right?
I'd love to hear from anyone who knew this cheer before the Bring It
On movie.
****
Introduce Yourself {Version #5}
hey gigi hey what hey gigi hey introudce your self i can't why not because my
back is aching skirt is to tight you got my booty shaking from the left to the
right
-gigi; 2/14/2007
****
Introduce Yourself
{Versions #3 & #4}
the "introduce yourself" beat is from bring
it on: all or nothing -_- she didnt make it up theres also two others...one is
"my name camille you get three wishes to see me shake it and im delicious" and
"my name is leti i like to party and when i shake it the boys say ayy mami" and
"my name kerisha get out my face and when i shake it its like a earthquake"
- tess; 10/11/2006
Editor:
Thanks for that information, Tess. I just saw Bring It On-All Or Nothing
and I noticed how the cheerleaders did this Introduce Yourself cheer. For those
who haven't seen the movie, Kerisha was the name of one of the cheerleaders in
the urban school that the lead character {Brittany} attended. Technically, since
the cheerleaders in that movie didn't do any foot stomp routine while saying
this cheer, I guess this example could be on the cheerleading cheer page.
However, since I've seen it performed as a foot stomping cheer, I've placed it
on this page.
Also see "Shapuya Roll Call" on this page for another version of this Introduce
yourself cheer that comes from that same movie.
****
Introduce Yourself {Version #2}
{I hope its good}
hey (name) hey what introduce yourself, no way, introduce yourself ok 1 2 3 4 5
my name is (name) and i say hi 6 7 8 9 10 back it up and meet my friend Hey
(name) hey what introduce yourself no way introduce yourself ok 1 2 3 4 5 my
name is (name) and i say hi 6 7 8 9 10 back it up and meet my friend hey (name)
hey what introduce yourself no way introduce yourself ok shaboo ya sha sha
shaboo ya roll call my name is (name) i cheer so strong and so when i shake you
better bring it on shaboo ya sha sha shaboo ya break it down now
-tiffany; 9/28/2006
Editor:
Tiffany, thanks for sending in that version of "Introduce Yourself". I love it!
I'm curious whether this cheer is done now or is it something you remember from
when you were younger. And do {did?} you and your friends use the Stomp Stomp
Clap; Stomp Stomp Clap” beat with this cheer like my daughter & her friends did?
{see version #1}. Also, I'd be interested in knowing if it is performed by
cheerleaders or with girls who are doing cheers informally. Of course, as a
means of documenting how widely known this cheer is, I'd really love to know
where {what city/state you are from. If you could send me that information, it
would be great! Thanks again
****
Introduce Yourself {Version #1}
Group
Hey, Shaquala!
Soloist #1 Yo! *
Group
Innn-TRO-duce yourself. **
Soloist #1 No way.
Group
Innn-TRO-duce yourself. **
Soloist #1 Okay.
My name is Shaquala.
Group
Hey! Hey!
Soloist #1 They call me Quala.
Group
Hey! Hey!
Soloist #1 My sign is Aries
Group
Hey! Hey!
Soloist #1 I like to dance
Group
Hey! Hey!
Soloist #1 I wanna be a dancer
for the rest of my life.
-TMP; Pittsburgh, PA mid 1980s; collected by Azizi Powell, 1997
{Repeat the entire cheer from the beginning with the next soloist. Each
soloist substitutes her identifying information for the same categories {name,
nickname, astrological sign, what she likes to do}. The cheer continues until
every member of the group has had one turn as soloist}.
* When the African American interjection "Yo!" was dropped from usage in the
late 1980s, the soloist's part was changed to “What?”; These words were spoken
in a scornful "what you botherin me for" tone, and not in a questioning manner.
** the word "introduce" was elongated so that it was pronounced
"innn-TRO-duce". The word "yourself" was said in a fast clipped manner.
Editor:
“Introduce Yourself” is a cheer that my daughter remembers performing when she
was about 10 years old. She said that she learned it from other girls. This
cheer uses the standard beat used by most foot stomping cheers:
“Stomp Stomp Clap; Stomp Stomp Clap.”
Introduction style foot stomping cheers are those whose primary purpose is to
introduce the girls to an often non-existent audience. In every introduction
cheer that I have collected the soloists give their first names and usually
provide some other information about themselves such as their nicknames,
astrological signs, their favorite color, their favorite sport, their
boyfriend's name, their boyfriend's astrological sign, and/or the athlete team
the girl is a cheerleader for {or wishes she was a cheerleader for}.
The group
usually determines the order of the soloists by the first persons to say "First!
Second! Third! etc. This order of soloist usually remains for all the cheers
that this "group" does during that particular time. The group also has to
determine which categories, and the order of these informational items prior to
starting the cheer. Any attempt to change the order of these categories or add
new categories once the cheer has begun would be met with charges that the
soloist is “saying it {the cheer} wrong”.
I've found that if a girl doesn't know a particular cheer, she will usually "sit
out" that cheer {meaning, move away from the girls performing it} and watch the
performance until she "knows" the cheer. To do otherwise is to court disfavor
from the other girls since one person who says or does a cheer wrong or who
hesitates on the words or movement routine will "mess up" the cheer for the
entire group.
Technically speaking, a “program” of street cheers would begin with an
Introduction cheer. However, since these cheers are mainly performed on
sidewalks and playgrounds “just for fun”, the girls start with whichever cheer
they decide on {or a strong figure in their usually informal "group" decides for
them}. Therefore, introduction cheers may actually be "done" during the
beginning, middle or end of their “program”. And sometimes the girls choose not
to do any Introduction cheers at all.
****
Jump In Jump Out
{Version #4}
ALL: jump in jump out turn yo self around jump in jump out
introduce yo self..... 1 PERSON: my name (insert girls name) ALL: yeah 1 PERSON:
i like to (say what u like to do) ALL: yeah 1 PERSON: and im gone (what ever you
like to do) ALL: yeah 1 PERSON: for the rest of my life ALL: for the rest of her
life (go again with a different person)
-Shay; 5/14/2007
****
Editor:
I think that "I'm gone" here means "I'm gonna" {for example "I'm gonna be a
dancer"}
****
Jump In Jump Out
{Version #3}
Jump in jump out introduce yo self (2x) my name is Shakyra (yea) i go to school
(yea) im not the teacher (yea) i kno the rules (yea kno them rules)
keep on doing
it to everybody had a turn
-Shakyra P; 5/8/2007
****
Jump In Jump Out
{Version #2}
I remember this from a show i watched:
jump in jump out turn yourself around. jump in jump out introduce yourself my
name is keisysha. what.i'm nine huh. and i'm so fine everyday of my life.
everyday of her life.and you go on until everyone gets a turn. and don't forget
to rhyme. have fun. but i wish i new more but i'm only 12. bye and keep sending
chants.
-db, 3/08/2006
****
Jump In Jump Out
{Version #1}
All
Jump in, Jump out
And turn yourself about
Jump in, Jump out
And turn yourself about
Soloist #1: My name is Kadiyah
Group: Yeah
Soloist #1 I like to dance, dance.
I want to be a dancer all the rest of my life.
Group All the rest of her life.
All:
Jump in, Jump out
And turn yourself about
Jump in, Jump out
And turn yourself about
Soloist #2 My name is Ebony
Group: Yeah
Soloist #1 I like to cheer, cheer
I want to be a cheerleader all the rest of my life.
Group: All the rest of her life.
{Repeat cheer from the beginning with the next soloist and continue until
every member of the group has had on turn as soloist; presumably the soloist
would substitute different verb/noun {sing/singer;
act/actress/teach/teacher} but actually more than one soloist can say the
same thing, usually dance/dance; sing/singer}
-TMP; (African American female}, memories of early/middle 1980’s
Pittsburgh, PA)
Editor:
I transcribed this cheer from my daughter in 1995. She remembers her friends
jumping front wards on the words "jump in" and jumping back in the words "jump
out". And of course they turned around to the beat on the words "turn yourself
about". On the other words they did a foot stomp routine to a stompstomp clap
stompstomp clap beat.
K,L
La Chu Chu
Editor: Kanna H sent in this example with
performance instructions mixed in with the words. To make the words of the cheer easier to read, I'm
posting the cheer by itself and the example of the cheer along with the
instructions Kanna H. sent in. The instructions are written in brackets.
la chu chu
la chu chu
la chu chu
bang bang!!
~repeat~
now watch me
now watch me
now watch me do my thang
I said-a popcorn,
cherry pop
ladi dadi shake my body
tutti fruity shake my booty
we're going down
down to the ground
we're commin up
like hot stuff
don't push me down
down to the ground
we're commin up
to kick some butt
-snip-
Here's the example as Kanna H. sent it:
It's called La Chu chu [on your toes] la chu chu [flat heels and clap]
[on your toes] la chu chu [flat heels and clap] [on your toes] la chu chu [flat
heels and clap] bang bang!! [gun hands to the right and left flat heel right
pointed toes] ~repeat~ [on your toes] now watch me [flat heels and clap] [on
your toes] now watch me [flat heels and clap] [on your toes] now watch me do my
thang I said-a popcorn,[right hand left shoulder] cherry pop[left hand
right shoulder] ladi[right hand left side of waist] dadi[left hand right side of
waist] shake my body tutti[right
hand to left hip backside] fruity[left hand to left hip backside] shake my booty
we're going down[clap], down to the ground [clap] we're commin up[clap] like hot
stuff [hot pose] don't push me down[clap] ,down to the ground[clap] we're commin
up[clap] to [right kick] kick some butt
Editor:
Thanks Kanna for sending this example and remembering to include performance
instructions. I posted La Chu chu on the foot stomping cheer page because it
read like it might be performed that way {with the group saying the first part,
and then a soloist taking turns saying the part that begins with "now watch me".
I'd love to know if this is how you and your friends do this cheer. Also, I'd
love to know where you live {what state, if in the United States or what other
country}. Btw, this cheer reminds me of "Bang Bang Choo Choo Train" {perhaps
that's where "Chu chu" came from. This cheer also reminds me of "You Aint Goin
No Where" which is found in the "Y" section of this page. Also by the way, the "ladi
dadi" phrase probably comes from the 1985 rap song by Slick Rick called La-Di-Da-Di
{"lah-dee dah-dee"} The most often quoted part of that song is:
La-di-da-di, we like to party
We don't cause trouble, we don't bother
nobody
We're, just some men that's on the mic
And when we rock upon the mic we rock the
mic RIGHT
http://www.lyricsdownload.com/slick-rick-ladidadi-lyrics.html
****
Let Me Tell You
GROUP: 5,6,7,8!!!! Well, Let me tell you!!!! About This Girl!!!! Her name Is
{your name here} Taquina!!!! TAQUINA: Well, My name is Taquina and I'm da
bomb!!!! GROUP: Ooh!!!! She think she bad!!!! TAQUINA: I know I'm rad!!!! GROUP:
Ooh!!!! She think she cook!!!! TAQUINA: Watch me while I pop my collar!!!!
-courtney; 5/21/2007
Editor:
Thanks, Courtney for sending in that example. It's possible that "I' know I'm
rad" in that
response from "Taquina" may be a typo for "bad" [African
American slang for "good"]. But it may not, since 'rad' is also a slang
word. Also, I'm
wondering if the word "cook" in the sentence "She think she cook" is a typo for
"cool". But I left both of these as you wrote them. In addition, I'm wondering
if "watch me while I pop my collar" means that
the girl is loosing up her clothes, getting ready to fight. Is that what that
line means? Also, I'm assuming that after that line, the cheer goes back to the
beginning with a new soloist. I'm curious to know if other soloists say the same
exact line or can they say other lines another line {and if so, what other lines
can they say?}. I'm also interested in gathering some demographical information
about this cheer: When, was this cheer performed {meaning is it done now, or do
you remember it from, say the 1990s}; Where was this cheer performed {what
city/state or nation if outside of the USA?} And who does this cheer {Is it done
by only girls? What are their ages? And what are their races?}.
Does anyone else know a cheer like this? If so, please send in your version to
Cocojams!
****
Let's Have a Little Fun
Good cheers... here's one of my schools called Let's Have a Little Fun- Let's
have a little fun (oo ah) The *name of team* are number one (oo ah) We don't
take no jive (oo ah) So get down low and slap me five (oo ah) So check us, check
check us out (oo ah) So check us, check check us out (oo ah) What you see is
what you get And you ain't seen nothing yet Hey you, check us out Hey you, check
us out (clap clap) Check us out!
-Megan; 11/3/2007
Editor:
Megan, thanks for sending in this example. And thanks for the compliment
regarding the cheers that other folks sent in to Cocojams and the cheers that
I've posted on this website from other collection activities. I posted your
example on the Foot Stomping Cheers page because it "sounds" to me like that
type of cheer. Foot stomping cheers are repeated over and over again so
different people can have a turn as soloist. I'd love to know if this is
how you and your friends perform "Let's Have Some Fun".
****
London Bridges
London Bridges how come everytime (yourname)come around my londay londay
londay bridge wanna go down l ike london london london wanna go down like london
we going down like (then the next person in line goes)
-Breana; 12/22/2006
Editor:
I figure that this rhyme is repeated by the next person in line who says her {or
his} name. However, I'm not sure if this is a foot stomping cheer, or a handclap
rhyme, or a cheerleader cheer, or some other type of rhyme that is recited with
a game.
I hope that Breana or someone else familiar with this rhyme writes in to let me
know what kind of rhyme this is. Thanks!
****
L-O-V-E {Version #2}
I am a 25 year old African American woman from Eastern North Carolina. The
section on the chant L-O-V-E caught my attention we used to do this when I
was younger. We would stand in a circle and we would clap our hands and stomp
our feet sort of tapping out the words L-O-V-E. Group: L-O-V-E, L-O-V-E, L-O-V,
L-O-V, L-O-V-E First Person: Erica's my name love is my game I got this boy on
my mind he's looking real fine he calls me his girl his number one pearl Then
you move on to the next person and they repeat the same thing only with their
name in place.
-Erica; 1/3/2008
Editor:
Erica, thanks for sending in that version of L.O.V.E. Thanks also for including
demographical information {your race, gender, and geographical location.} I also
appreciate the fact that you included information about how you and your friends
performed this chant. You mentioned that you did this chant when you were
younger. I'd love to know what year/s that was {for instance, was it when you
were 7-12 years?}. I'm curious about this information because I'm trying to pin
down the years these kinds of chants were first performed. Any other information
and examples you can think of will be greatly app |
