Showing posts with label Double Dutch rhymes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Double Dutch rhymes. Show all posts

"Brand Names" In Jump Rope & Hand Clap Rhymes

"Brand Names" In Jump Rope & Hand Clap Rhymes
Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a two part pancocojams series on commercialized children's jump rope and hand clap rhymes.

Part II provides an alphabetized list of selected examples of children's jump rope (or ball bouncing) and/or hand clap rhymes that include a brand name for a product, store, or television channel.

Additional examples in this collection include parodies and other children's recreational rhymes that are chanted without any accompanying activity.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/08/commercialized-childrens-jump-rope-hand.html for Part I of this series. Part I features an excerpt from Chapter 4: "Double Dutch And Double Cameras: Studying The Transmission of Culture In An Urban Shool Yard" by Ann Richman Beresin in the 1999 book Children's Folklore: A Sourcebook and an excerpt of Chapter 4 "Nike, Nike, Who Can Do The Nike: New Commercialization and Scripted Exploitation" in the 2010 book Recess Battle: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling by Anna R. Beresin.

My comments about the status of the commercialized rhymes that the researcher/writer showcased are given in the Addendum to this post.

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The content of this post is presented for folkloric and recreational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who contributed examples that are included in this collection. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
This is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on Double Dutch (jump rope) and jump roping rope in general, particularly as those activities relate to African American females.

Click the tags below to find other posts in this series.
-snip-
DISCLAIMER: This post isn't meant to be a compilation of all the brand names for jump rope and hand clapping rhymes or for any other type of children's recreational rhyme that is included in this particular compilation.

If you know of any additional examples, particularly examples from other "rhyme families" than those that are now included in this compilation, or any other examples that you consider distinctive, please share them in the comment section below. Thanks!

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES
These examples are given in alphabetical order based on what I believe is the most often used title for that rhyme.

The titles are capitalized.

Although most of these rhymes have countless versions, I've usually only included one or two examples in this collection. Numbers that are assigned by me for multiple examples of a specific rhyme are given with no particular order and no intended preference.

[updated August 8, 2017] The brand names are written in italics the first time that they appear in each rhyme.

Hyperlinks or book sources for the source of these versions are included after the entry along with any demographic information (geographical location/dates) that is available for those versions.

The dates that are given with some of these examples are either the dates that the contributor remembers performing or hearing the rhymes, the dates that the researcher collected the rhymes, or the dates that the particular example was published.

The performance activity/activities are given in brackets after each entry. If not physical activity is performed when that rhyme is sung.

The underlined portions of the some double dutch rhymes are as they were given in Recess Battle: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling by Anna R. Beresin (University Press of Mississippi, Jackson; 2010) [hereafter given as Recess Battles. These underlined words or syllables represent the accented beat of the rhyme.

Here's some information about the movement commands that are included in the double dutch rhymes:
from Recess Battle, page 64:

"Many traditional double-dutch songs list specific steps in order, and the commercial ones utilize the old formulas well:

footsies - two basic running steps with one small two-footed bounce
hopsies - one foot hopping
bouncies - two footed small jumps
turnsies - a complete rotation while inside the two turning ropes
walksies - basic running step
criss - crossing both legs repeated while jumping"
-snip-
Note: Recess Battles examples were from African American girls in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

**
I've included brief comments after some of these examples.

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EXAMPLES OF "BRAND NAME" HAND CLAP AND JUMP ROPE RHYMES

A, B,
ABC IT'S AS EASY AS 1, 2, 3
ABC it's easy as 1,2,3,
My momma takes care of me (or it can be my momma sings do,re,mi)
My papa watched MTV,
My granny says:
Ooh, aaah, I wanna piece of pie.
Pie too sweet, i wanna piece of meat.
Meat too ruff I wanna ride a bus.
Bus too full, I wanna ride a bull.
Bull too black I want my money back.
Money back too green, I wanna a Lima bean.
Lima bean not cooked, I wanna read a book.
Book not read I want to go to bed.
Bed not made I want some lemonade
Lemonade too sour I wanna take a shower.
Shower too cool, I wanna go to school.
School too dumb, I wanna suck my thumb.
Thumb too dirty, I wanna ride a birdie.
Birdie too slow and that's all I know so close your eyes and count to ten, Whoever messes up starts all over again.....
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
No one messed up so that's the end!
-https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-lyrics-to-the-ABC-hand-game, Joy Ahmed, no year given; [hand clap rhyme]
-snip-
This rhyme may be known as "Ooh Ahh I Wanna Piece Of Pie". There are countless versions. Some versions may refer to "BET" (Black Entertainment Television) instead of "MTV". A version of this rhyme that includes a parody of an old "Winston" cigarette commercial is given in the "O,P," section below.

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A PIZZA HUT
A Pizza Hut (make a square in the air)
A Pizza Hut
Kentucky Fried Chicken (flap your arms like you're doing the chicken dance)
And a Pizza Hut
A Pizza Hut
A Pizza Hut,
Kentucky Fried Chicken
And a Pizza Hut

McDonalds McDonalds (use two hands-make an "M" in the air, starting in the middle)
Kentucky Fried Chicken
And a Pizza Hut
Mc Donald's, Mc Donald's,
Kentucky Fried Chicken
And a Pizza Hut

A Jabba the Hut
A Jabba the Hut
Luke Skywalker
And a Jabba the Hut
A Jabba the Hut
A Jabba the Hut
Luke Skywalker
And a Jabba the Hut
Darth Vader Darth Vader
Luke Skywalker
And a Jabba the Hut
Darth Vader Darth Vader
Luke Skywalker
And a Jabba the Hut

A Burger King (mime eating a burger)
A Burger King,
A Taco Bell (mime ringing a bell)
And a Burger King
A Burger King
A Burger King,
A Taco Bell
And a Burger King
Red Lobster, Red Lobster, (make claws)
A Taco Bell
And a Burger King
Red Lobster, Red Lobster,
A Taco Bell
And a Burger King
-https://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/pizza-hut.html
-snip-
I'm including this example even though I think it's most often sung as a imitative motion camp song. It's possible that some children might recite it as a hand clap or a jump rope game.

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BIG MAC [Version 1]
Big Mac*, Filet o' Fish
Quarter Pounder Frenchie Fries
Icee Coke, milk shake foot

Filet o' Fish
Quarter Pounder Frenchie Fries
Icee Coke, milk shake bounce

Filet o' Fish
Quarter Pounder Frenchie Fries
Icee Coke, milk shake hop

Filet o' Fish
Quarter Pounder Frenchie Fries
Icee Coke, milk shake turn

Filet o' Fish
Quarter Pounder Frenchie Fries
Icee Coke, milk shake criss

Filet o' Fish
Quarter Pounder Frenchie Fries
Icee Coke, milk shake walk
Recess battles, (1991, 1992, 1999, 2004), [double dutch jump rope rhyme]
-snip-
*I've written "Big Mac" in italics as its name represents the McDonalds Corporation.

Four hand clap versions of "Big Mac" are given in the "Welcome To McDonalds" entry given below

**
BIG MAC (Version 2)
Big Mac, Filet o' Fish shake and fries
She's a mean mama honey and that's no lie
Together
McDonald's got footsies play that beat
McDonald's got hopsies.
Recess battles, (1992, 1999), [double dutch jump rope rhyme]

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BAZOOKA ZOOKA BUBBLE GUM
My mom gave me a penny
She said to buy a henny
But I didn't buy no henny
Instead, I bought BUBBLE GUM
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA BUBBLE GUM

My mom gave me a nickel
She said to buy a pickle
But I didn't buy no pickle
Instead, I bought BUBBLE GUM
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA BUBBLE GUM

My mom gave me a dime
She said to buy a lime
But I didn't buy no lime
Instead , I bought BUBBLE GUM
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA BUBBLE GUM

My mom gave me a quarter
She said to buy some water
But I didn't buy no water
Instead, I bought BUBBLE GUM
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA BUBBLE GUM

My mom gave me a dollar
She said to buy a collar
But I didn't buy no collar
Instead, I bought BUBBLE GUM
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA BUBBLE GUM

My mom gave me a five
She said to stay alive
But I didn't stay alive
Instead, I choked on BUBBLE GUM
BAZOOKA, ZOOKA BUBBLE GUM

i learned that one in elementary school... not sure how i remembered it! have fun... whoever needs this
-i know hand games! ; http://blog.oftheoctopuses.com/; 12/22/2005 [website no longer accessible]; [hand clap rhyme?]

**
BRICK WALL WATERFALL (Version #1)
Brick Wall Waterfall
Girl, you think you got it all.
ou don't. I do.
So BOOM with that attitude.
Peace Punch Captain Crunch.
I got something you can't touch.
Bang Bang Choo Choo Train
Wind me up I do my thang.
Reeses pieces 7 Up
Mess with me I'll kick your butt.
Elbow elbow, wrist wrist.
Shut up girl,
You just got dissed.
-from https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/01/brickwall-waterfall-examples-analysis.html "Brickwall Waterfall" (Examples & Analysis) [hand clap rhyme]

**
BRICK WALL WATERFALL (Version #2)
brick wall waterfall
girl you think you got it all
you dont i do
so boom with that attitude
yo momma yo dadda
yo bald headed grandma
she 99 she think she fine
she goin out with frankinstien
shes hip shes fat
she needs a tictac
not a tic not a tac
but the whole six pack
sorry to be mean
but she needs some listerene
not a sip not a swallow
but the whole dang bottle oh!!!!!!!
-ash; Cocojams.com. 10/26/2007
-snip-
Cocojams.com was the name of my cultural website. After almost 15 years, I voluntarily closed that website in October 2014. some of the reader submitted children's rhymes and cheers material can be found on pancocojams and some can be found on my other blog "cocojams2".

When Cocojams.com was active (until 2014), the "Brickwall Waterfall" (either separately or in combination with "Bang Bang Choo Choo Train") was by far the hand clap rhyme that was most often submitted to that site by children, preteens, and teens.

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C, D
CHALLENGE CHALLENGE/BIG MAC/HEY CONSOLATION Medley
(Challenge is a competitive follow-the-leader game)

Challenge, challenge
1,2,3,4,5,6,7.8, 9, 10

Big Mac, Filet o� Fish foot
And bounce
And hop
And turn
And walk
And criss

Hey consolation
Where have you been?
Around the corner, and back again
Stole my money
Knocked my honey
Papa�s go the hiccups
Mama�s got the ice
So come on baby
Let�s slice that ice

2, 4, 6, 8, 10 hop
2,4,6,8,10 turn
2, 4, 6, 8, 10 criss
2,4,6,8,10 turn walk
Recess battles, (1991, 1992, 1999, 2004)[double dutch jump rope rhyme]

**
COCA COLA CAME TO TOWN (Version #1)
this is what ne and my friends say

Coca Cola came to town
diet Pepsi shot him down
Dr pepper fixed him up
now we're drinking 7up

7up has got the flu
now were drinking mountain dew

mountain dew fell down a mountain
bow we're drinking from the fountain

oh no the fountains broke
now we're drinking cherry coke

cherry coke is so laat year
now we're drinking ginger beer

ginger beer got in a fight
now we're drinking ice cold sprite

ice cold sprite is out of date
now we're drinking lemonade

lemonades starting to fade
now were drinking power ade

power ade played hard to get
now we're drinking turbo jet

turbo jet fell in a lake
now we're drinking chocolate shake

chocolate shake thought it was banta
now we're drinking orange Fanta

orange Fanta got hit by a tree
now were drinking boiling tea

boiling tea was caught by her
now were drinking sparkling water

sparkling water got shot by cupid
now we're feeling very stupid

all these drinks were so so bad
now we're feeling very sad
Victoria Robertson, 2016; discussion thread for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6Cw-Awwm_M [hand clap rhyme]
-snip-
"Coca Cola Came To Town" rhymes document and reflect the 1980s Coke vs Pepsi "Cola Wars". Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cola_wars for more information about the advertisement battle between these two soda brands.

**
COCA COLA CAME TO TOWN (Version #2)
Ours always was:
Coca Cola went to town, Pepsi Cola knocked him down. Dr. Pepper helped him up, now we're drinking Seven Up. Seven Up caught the flu, now we're drinking Mountain Dew. Mountain Dew fell off the mountain, now we're drinking from the fountain. Fountain broke, now we're back to plain old Coke, turned to mush, now we're drinking Orange Crush, Orange Slush disappeared now we're drinking Root Beer, I tried and tried with all my might but I just can't find the......SPRITE!
lol. When we said Sprite you had to tag someone or something xD
Haven't heard that in years hahahahaha

I still don't understand how Coke can just turn to mush, but whatever. lol. I was probably 5 haha
-anonymous, http://www.amirite.com/260398-coca-cola-came-to-town-pepsi-cola-knocked-him-down-dr-pepper-fixed-him-up-now-were-drinking [partner hand clap rhyme, or competitive group hand slap rhyme?]
-snip-
"Coca Cola" and "Coke" are the same brand of carbonated soda (pop).

Another example of "Coca Cola came to town" is given below in the entry for "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky".

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COMET (Version #1)
Comet, it makes your teeth turn green.
Comet, it tastes like gasoline.
Comet, it makes you vomit.
So drink some Comet, and vomit, today!
-http://www.topix.com/forum/city/huntsville-oh/TFIPIRQI91LHJ5DI9, Detroit, Michican, [parody of a commercial, recited without any other performance activity]
-snip-
information given on that site: (sung to the tune "Colonel Bogey March" theme from
the movie "Bridge on the River Kwaii")

"Submitter comment: Matthew only recently learned this song, and thought is
was new. When he tried to teach it to his older cousin,
Joshua, who lives in the Chicago area, Josh had already heard of it."

**
COMET (Version #2)
We used to sing
Comet, will make your father mean
Comet, will make your mother scream
Comet, will make you vomit
So get some Comet, and vomit, today
-Mickey527, Feb 22, 2010, https://www.disboards.com/threads/comet-parody-anyone.2403629/ [parody of a commercial, recited without any other performance activity]

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CRIMINAL MINDED [Version 1]
Criminal minded, you've been blinded
Looking for a shoe like mine, can't find it

Mine cost more
Yours cost less
Mine Footlocker
Yours Payless

So criminal minded
Foot, you got it
So criminal minded
Foot, you got it
So criminal minded
Hop, you got it
So criminal minded
Walk, you got it
So criminal minded
Criss, you got it
Recess battles, (2004) [double dutch jump rope rhyme]
-snip-
"Criminal minded you've been blinded/ "lookin for a style and you can't find it" are beginning lyrics of a 1987 KRS_One rap song.

**
CRIMINAL MINDED [Version 2]
Criminal minded, you've been blinded
Looking for a shoe like mine, can't find it

Mine cost more
Yours cost less
Mine Footlocker
Yours Payless

Do your footsies, 1, 2, and three
And your hopsies, 1, 2, and three
And your bouncies, 1, 2, and three
And your walksies, 1, 2, and three
And your turnsies, 1, 2, and three
And your crisses, 1, 2, and three
Recess battles, (1999) [double dutch jump rope rhyme]

**
DOWN BY THE BANKS Of The HANKY PANKY (Version #1)
Down by the banks of the hanky panky.
Where the bullfrog jumps from bank to bank. Say As Es Is Os ees I did it.
Bing Bong your daddy smells like King Kong.
I pledge allegiance to the flag
Michael Jackson makes me gag.
Coca-cola burnt him up
Now we're talkin 7 up
7 up has no caffeine
Now we're talking Billy Jean
Billy jean went out of style.
Now we're talking Bobby Brown.
B-o-b-b-y B-r-o-w-n went out of town
GUEST,amy in Kentucky, http://awe.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034&messages=263, Origins: Down By The , May 14, 2001
-snip-
There are numerous examples of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" partner hand clap rhymes or group (competitive) hand slap rhymes.

This particular version documents the actual event that occurred in 1984 when Pop Star Michael Jackson suffered serious burns on his head while filming a soft drink commercial. Ironically, given the Cola Wars, although many examples of this rhyme that I've found say that "Coca Cola burnt him up", Michael Jackson was actually filming an ad for Pepsi Cola.

Some examples of this rhyme have the line "Michael Jackson is a [derogatory term for homosexuals that rhymes with "gag"], reflecting some rumors that were widely spread about that celebrity.

**
DOWN BY THE BANKS Of The HANKY PANKY (Version #2)
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, http://awe.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=94034&messages=263, Origins: Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky, March 20, 2012
-snip-
This example is part of the HUGE family of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" rhymes. it combined with an example from the somewhat smaller rhyme family "Cola Cola Came To Town". Two examples of that rhyme are given above.

Most of the "I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag" rhymes mention Michael Jackson. However, since that Pop artist's sudden death in June 2009, I've found a few other examples of this rhyme that substitute another celebrity's name for Michael Jackson. It appears to me that the celebrity who is named in this insult rhyme is usually someone who is disliked by fans of a particular music genre.

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DREAM LOVER (Version #1)
Dream lover, where are you?
Upstairs on the toilet stool.
What are doing way up there?
Washing out my underwear.
How did you get them so clean.
With a bottle of listerine.
-http://mudcat.org/jumprope/jumprope_display_all.cfm; Source: Abrahams (1969) [dump rope rhyme; parody of 1959 Pop song with that title]

**
[added August 7, 2017]

DREAM LOVER (Version #2)

(This is a parody of a rock and roll hit of 1958.)

Dream lover, where are you?
Upstairs on the toilet stool.
What are doing way up there?
Washing out my underwear.
How did you get them so clean.
With a bottle of Listerine.
Where'd you get that Listerine>
From a can of pork and beans.
Where'd you get that pork and beans?
From the city of New Orleans.
How'd you get way down there?
'Cause I killed a polar bear.
Why you kill the polar bear?
'Cause he dirtied my underwear.
I want a dream lover.
Never have to dream alone.
- Keystone Folklore Quarterly, Volume 8, Simon Bronner
Spring Issue 1963
Page 15 [Google books)

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E, F
FIRECRACKER FIRECRACKER
Firecracker, firecracker, oh, oh, oh.
Firecracker, firecracker, oh, oh, oh.
Boys have got the muscles.
Teachers got the brains.
Girls have got the sexy legs,
And we won the games.
If you want to take motion,
Take it slow.
This is how the motion goes:
Pepsicola, CocaCola, Royal Crown.
You've got to hypnotize her.
Boom dorizer,
Knock 'em down.
-Burkhard Leuschner, 1980, http://mudcat.org/jumprope/jumprope_display_all.cfm' [jump rope rhyme]
-Snip-
Here's the comment from the contributor of this version:
"I was on holiday in France, Bourgogne, at a castle with an
English landlady, whose two nieces were visiting with her.
Katy and Miranda, Chateau Leveault, 11 August 1980 *)
-snip-
Contemporary versions of "Firecracker, Firecracker" are also performed as a children's cheerleader cheer or as a hand clap rhyme.

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G, H
GIVE ME A BREAK (KIT KAT BAR RHYME)
Give me a break
Give me a break
Break me off a piece of that kit kat bar

That chocolate crispy taste is gonna make your day
And whereever you go
You hear the people say

Give me a break
Give me a break
Break me off a piece of that
KIT KAT BAR!
-pittypassion, 2008; https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081204205947AARvcYx [hand clap rhyme based on the late 1989s Kit Kat candy's commercial jingle]

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I, J
I WON'T GO TO MACY'S
I won't go to Macy's (* A big store in New York *)
Anymore, more, more.
There's a big fat policeman
At the door, door, door.
He takes me by the collar.
He makes me pay a dollar.
I won't go to Macy's
Anymore, more, more.

Source: Abrahams (1969)
-http://mudcat.org/jumprope/jumprope_display_all.cfm
[jump rope rhyme]; The most widely known contemporary versions of this rhyme are known performed as partner hand clap games with the name "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico".
-snip-
Here's some information about this rhyme from the Folk song index:
http://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/OpGap478.html
"DESCRIPTION: "I won't/don't go to school/Granny's/Macy's any more, more, more, There's a big fat teacher/copper/policeman at the door, door, door" who takes me by the hair/collar and sits me in a chair/makes me pay a dollar...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1935 (Howard)
KEYWORDS: playparty hair police
FOUND IN: Britain(England(North,South)) US(MA,SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Opie-Game, p. 478, ("I'm not going to school any more, more, more") (2 texts)
ADDITIONAL: Dorothy Mills Howard, "The Rhythms of Ball-Bouncing and Ball-Bouncing Rhymes" in The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. LXII, No. 244 (Apr 1949 (available online by JSTOR)), #6 p. 168 ("I won't go to Macy's any more, more, more") (1 text)
RECORDINGS:
Mabel Hillery, Janie Hunter and her grandchildren, "I Want To Go To Mexico" (on JohnsIsland1)
NOTES: Opie-Game has "not going to school" as a clapping game and separates it on that basis from a ball-bounce "don't go to Grannie's" which derives from "I won't go to Macy's." Macy's, as Opie-Game notes, is a famous department store in New York City. "

****
I HATE BOSCO
I hate Bosco
It's not the drink for me
My mommy put it in my milk
To try to poison me
One day I fooled Mommy
I put some in her tea
And now I have no mommy
To try to poison me!
-Remember, Cookeville, Tennessee, Jun 19, 2010, http://www.topix.com/forum/city/huntsville-oh/TFIPIRQI91LHJ5DI9 [parody of a commercial, recited without any other performance activity]

**
I'M CONCHITA BANANA
I'm Conchita Banana
And I'm here to say
How to get rid of your teacher
The easy way
Put a banana on the floor
and watch your teacher
slide out the door.

Down, down, down, the stairs she goes
Where she lands know one knows
And while she's gone, the kids have fun
Drinking, whiskey, beer, and rum
- http://www.topix.com/forum/city/huntsville-oh/TFIPIRQI91LHJ5DI9 Detroit, Michigan, no date recorded, [teacher taunt, parody of a commercial; recited without any other performance activity]

****
K, L
An example of the "Kit Kat bar" rhyme is found under the title "Give Me A Break".

****
M, N
MCDONALD'S IS YOUR KIND OF PLACE (Example #1)
McDonald's is your kind of place.
They serve you rattlesnakes,
French fries between your toes,
Hamburgers up your nose.
The last time that I was there
They served me underwear.
McDonald's is your kind of place.
-NightWing; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=87050 Lyr Req: Kid's Parodies; 10/11/2004 [parody recited without physical activity?]

**
MCDONALD'S IS YOUR KIND OF PLACE (Example #2)
McDonalds is your kind of place!
Hamburgers in your face!
French Fries? up your nose!
Pickles between your toes!
And don't forget those lousy shakes!
They're made from polluted lakes!
McDonalds is your kind of place!

**
MISS SUE (Version #1)
back in my day it went a little something like this:

Miss Sue (clap clap clap)
Miss Sue (clap clap clap)
Miss Sue from Alabama, her real name's Suzianna
she's sittin in a rocker, eatin Betty Crocker
watch the clock go tick tock tock tock, banana rock
tick tock tick tock banana rock
ABCD123
wash those spiders off of me
mooshka, mooshka, i see mommy
mooshka, mooshka, i know karate
mooshka, mooshka, oops i'm sorry
mooshka, mooshka, FREEZE.?
-RespectMyThickness, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-svfUMX3BM [hand clap rhyme]
-snip-
Betty Crocker is a fictitious woman who helped market cook books. She is (was?) especially known for her recipes for cakes, cookies, pies and other baked goods..

The screen name "RespectMyThickness" was accompanied by a photograph of a Black woman. In African American Vernacular English, "thick" means a person (usually a female) who is "heavy set". "Thick" doesn't have the negative connotations of "fat".

**
MISS SUE (Version #2)
Miss Sue
Miss Sue from Alabama
Her name was Suzianna
Sitting in a rocker
eating Betty Crocker
Watching the clock go
Tick Tock
Tick all around go
Tick Tock
Tick all around
A-B-C-D-E-F-G
Gotta wash that stain right out of me
Gotta Boom-shot
Gotta Boom-shot
Gotta crick in my side
Gotta crick in my side
Salt and pepper said "DO NOT MOVE"
(alternate ending)
Salt and pepper said" DO NOT MOVE,
FIRST ONE TO MOVE IS A BLACK-EYED-PEA
SECOND ONE TO MOVE IS A BEAUTY QUEEN
-Dani (White American, Southern USA), http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=63097 "Folklore: Do kid still do clapping rhymes?", September 22, 2003

**
MY MOTHER AND YOUR MOTHER (LIVE ACROSS THE STREET) (Version #1)
my mother your mother live across the street 18,19 blueberry street every night they had a fight and this is want they said tonight boy's are rotten made out of cotton girls are sexy made out of Pepsi boy's go to Jupiter to get more stupider girls go to college to get more knowledge............. that's all I know????
-Jah'Niyah Brock, 2016; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0KMFSj-FrQ Fun hand games "The summary of this 2011 video by two young African American women reads in part "old school hand games from way back". [hand clap rhyme, "also used to be" [?] used as a jump rope rhyme and ball bouncing rhyme]

Here's a true story: About ten years ago, I took my pre-teen nieces and two of their girl friends who were the same ages to get pizza. The girls were helping me put on a rhyme and cheer demonstration later that day. When we ordered pizza I asked the girls what they wanted to drink, and each one said "Pepsi". I said something like "You guys really like "Pepsi" and one of my nieces said "It's because pf the rhyme.". I said "Which rhyme?" and all of the girls recited the 'Girls drink Pepsi to get more sexy" line. That incident demonstrated to me the real life power of children's recreational rhymes.

**
MY MOTHER AND YOUR MOTHER (LIVE ACROSS THE STREET) (Version #2)
my mother your mother was wrong lmao:
my mother your mother lived down the sreet 18 19 marble street and every night they had a fight, this is what they said all night.
girls are sexi made out of pepsi
boys are rotten made out of cotton
girls go to mars to get more bras
boys go to jupiter to get more stupider
incy wincy lolly pop incy wincy woo incy wincy lolly pop i love you!?
-Gabriella Casuscelli, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0KMFSj-FrQ Fun hand games

**
NIKE
Nike Nike
Who can do the Nike?
Foot to the N-I-K-E
Hop to the N-I-K-E
Walk to the N-I-K-E
Bounce to the N-I-K-E
Turn to the N-I-K-E
Criss to the N-I-K-E
Recess Battle, (1992, 2004)

****
O, P
OOH AH I WANT A PIECE OF PIE (with the "Winston cigarette" verse)
I learned it at summer camp as a clapping game:
Winston tastes good just like a cigarette should
Just like an - ooh, ah, I want a piece of pie
Pie too sweet, I want a piece of meat
Meat too brown, I want to go to town
Town too far, I'll have to take a car
Car too black, I want my money back
Money too green, I want a limosine
..... I want some lemonade
Lemonade too sour, by now we have the power
To close our eyes and count to ten
Whoever messes up has to do it again.
And at this point, the clapping pattern got more complicated and the players closed their eyes and counted to ten.
-Guest, Chocolate Pi; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=26926 "Lyr Req: Oh my, I want a piece of pie", October 10, 2000

**
PAC MAN
Pac Man come on tardy
And Toya had a party
She gonna move her feet
Yeah yeah
And dance to the beat
Yeah yeah
She gonna hop til she drop
Yeah yeah
She gonna turn till she burn
Yeah yeah
And criss till she miss
Yeah, yeah
Reeces Battles, (29004), [double dutch jump rope rhyme)
-snip-
"Toya" is a girl' name or a clip of a female name. Substitute the jumper's name or nickname.

**
PEPSI COLA HITS THE SPOT (Version #1)
Pepsi Cola hits the spot
Ten minutes later hits the pop.
-https://research.udmercy.edu/find/special_collections/digital/cfa/index.php?field=keyword&term=COMMERCIAL The James T. Callow Folklore Archive, learned in Michigan; no date collected [umor Ridicule, Mockery, recited with no accompanying performance activity

**
PEPSI COLA HITS THE SPOT (Version #2)
A Pepsi parody from my childhood:
Pepsi Cola hits the spot
In your stomach it will rot
Tastes like beer, tastes like wine,
(Shouted)OH MY GOSH, IT'S TURPENTINE!
-RangerSteve, 21 Oct 02, http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=52618&messages=341 Jingles you remember. [parody of a commercial; recited with no accompanying performance activity]

****
Q, R
REEBOK
R-E-E
B-O-K

Do your footsies the Reebok way
R-E-E
B-O-K
Do your hopsies the Reebok way
R-E-E
B-O-K
Do your footsies the Reebok way
R-E-E
B-O-K
Do your walksies the Reebok way
R-E-E
B-O-K
Do your bouncies the Reebok way
R-E-E
B-O-K
Do your turnsies the Reebok way
R-E-E
B-O-K
Do your crisses the Reebok way
(1992, 2004), Reebok [double dutch rope jump rhyme]

****
S, T

****
U, V

****
W, X
WELCOME TO MCDONALDS (Version #1)
Welcome to McDonalds
May I take your order?
Big Mac
Filet of Fish
Quarter pounder
french fries
Icy coke, milk shake
Sundae, and apple pie.
You deserve a break today
So get up, and get away
To McDonalds!
And the dish ran away with the spoon.
-TMP and friends, mid 1980s, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania [hand clap rhyme]
-snip-
The line "and the dish ran away with the spoon" is from the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle". "TMP" is my daughter. When I asked her why she and her friends added this line to this rhyme, she said she didn't know, but it just fit.

I've seen some online examples of "Welcome To McDonalds" that also included this verse.

****
WELCOME TO MCDONALDS (Example #2)
welcome to mcdonalds
may i take your order
see my pinky
see my thumb
see my fist
you better run
-sarahwentloco ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=eMkpiLjKWU8 Welcome To McDonalds Game; October 2011 [hand clap rhyme]

**
WELCOME TO MCDONALDS (Example #2)
Welcome to mc-Don-alds may I take your or-der, Big Mac, French fries, coca-cola apple pie.Rock paper scissors shoot x 3
-Ami, 2015, https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080602191636AAROyG0 [hand clap rhyme]
-snip-
These are only three hand clap versions of "Welcome To McDonalds" (also known as "Big Mac". There are countless versions of these rhymes.

****
Y, Z

****
This concludes Part II of these two part series on the commercialization of children's rhymes.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.
Read More

"Juice Juice, Let's Knock Some Boots" & Four Other Recreational Double Dutch Rhymes

"Juice Juice, Let's Knock Some Boots" & Four Other Recreational Double Dutch Rhymes
Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part III of a four part pancocojams series on recreational (street, old school) Double Dutch, with an emphasis on Double Dutch (jump rope) rhymes.

Part III showcases text (word only) examples of five recreational Double Dutch rhymes and provides comments about those examples, including suggesting probably Hip Hop sources for some of those rhymes.

The words to these rhymes are from Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling, by Anna R. Beresin (Univ. Press of Mississippi, May 27, 2011).

Comments about the source of certain of these jump rope rhymes and explanations about the meanings of some of the topical references in those rhymes are also included in this post.

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/speculation-about-when-why-recreational.html for Part I of this series. Part I presents my thoughts about the reasons for the demise of recreational Double Dutch with or without chanted rhymes. Part I also includes an excerpt from an online article that provides a general overview about recreational Double Dutch, with emphasis on the years that girls were involved in this activity.

In addition, Part I also showcases four YouTube videos of recreational or competitive sports Double Dutch. A video of Malcolm Mclaren's 1983 song "Double Dutch" is also featured in this post, particularly for its visual documentation of Double Dutch sports teams more than for its South African sourced music. Selected comments about Double Dutch from those videos' discussion threads are also included in this post.

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/excerpt-about-recreational-double-dutch.html for Part II of this series. Part II features an excerpt from the chapter "Double Dutch And Double Cameras: Studying The Transmission Of Culture In An Urban School" by Ann Richman Beresina. This chapter is part of the 1999 book Children's Folklore: A SourceBook edited by Brian Sutton-Smith, Jay Mechling, Thomas W. Johnson, and Felicia McMahon (Utah State University Press, originally published in 1995).

In addition, Part II showcases the 1985/1986 McDonald Double Dutch commercial (which is also featured in Part I) as well as two YouTube videos of "Big Mac" performed as a two person and as a four person hand clap game.

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/references-to-double-dutch-jump-rope-in.html for Part IV of this video. Part IV provides a partial time line of references to Double Dutch in American and British television shows, movies, commercials, and recorded songs.

This post also showcases one of this commercials: Coca Cola Double Dutch.

****
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and recreational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Anna R. Beresin for documenting and sharing these examples. Thanks to all those who contributed the Double Dutch rhymes and other examples of children's rhymes that are included in that book. Thanks also to all others who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
This is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on Double Dutch (jump rope) and jump roping rope in general, particular as those activities relate to African American females.

Also, click the tags below to find other posts in this series.

****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SOURCE MATERIAL FOR THE DOUBLE DUTCH RHYMES THAT ARE FEATURED IN THIS POST
The words to these rhymes are from Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling, by Anna R. Beresin (Univ. Press of Mississippi, May 27, 2011).

Here's an excerpt about this book from https://books.google.com/books?id=Wsm-IE3srh4C&dq=Boom+Boom+Tangle&source=gbs_navlinks_s
..."The author [Anna R. Beresin] videotaped and recorded children of the Mill School in Philadelphia from 1991 to 2004 and asked them to offer comments as they watched themselves at play. These sessions in Recess Battles raise questions about adult power and the changing frames of class, race, ethnicity, and gender. The grown-ups� clear misunderstanding of the complexity of children�s play is contrasted with the richness of the children�s folk traditions."...
-snip-
Anne R. Beresin is also the author of the chapter on Double Dutch that is featured in Part II of this pancocojams series.

****
SELECTED EXAMPLES OF DOUBLE DUTCH RHYMES
The words to these examples are from https://books.google.com/books?id=Wsm-IE3srh4C&pg=PA91&lpg=PA91&dq=Boom+Boom+Tangle&source=bl&ots=mYDeDwycGK& "Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling"

These examples are given in alphabetical order and are given without the underlining that was given in the original text for words that are emphasized during the girls' jumping.

Comments about each rhyme are given under that rhyme.

I.
BIG MAC
Big Mac
Fillet Of Fish
Quarter Pounder
French fries
Ice* Coke
Sundae and apple pie
-snip-
*"Ice Coke" is often chanted as "Icy Coke" in hand clap rhymes.

As mentioned in Part II of this series, the rhyme "Big Mac" is very widely performed as a hand clap rhyme in the United States and my sense is that very few children know that it was ever a jump rope rhyme. Instead of the title "Big Mac", I believe that the title "Welcome To McDonalds" is the one that is most often used for this hand clap. That title comes from the introductory words for that hand clap rhyme: "Welcome to McDonalds/may I take your order".

One contributing factor to the popularity of the "Big Mac" jump rope rhyme was probably the fact that it was featured in a 1985 McDonald commercial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo5DbV0ZKAI.

For some reason, in the hand clap version the line "and the dish ran away with the spoon" is frequently added to the end of that rhyme.

****
II.
BOOM BOOM TANGLE
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Yo Kenya [jumper�s name] yo
Let me see you do the
MC Hammer she said
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang

Yo Kenya yo
Let me see you do the
Bobbie Brown she said
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang

Yo Kenya yo
Let me see you do the
Heavy D she said
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang

Yo Kenya yo
Let me see you do the
Roger Rabbit she said
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang

Yo Kenya yo
Let me see you do the
The Butterfly she said
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang

Yo Kenya yo
Let me see you do the
The Honky Tonk she said
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang


(1992, 1999)
"When an artist�s name was sung -M.C. Hammer, Bobbie Brown, Heavy D-the girls imitated the artist�s style, moves, gestures. The artists are mixed in with a reference to a movie character, Roger Rabbit, and the butterfly, a creature famous for changing his body"

[page 91, 92 in "Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling"]
-snip-
Here are some friendly corrections to Anna R. Beresin's explanations for the let me see you do the" portion of this jump rope rhyme:
"MC. Hammer" and "Heavy D" were rappers

"Bobby Brown" was an R&B singer

"Roger Rabbit" was an animated movie character but in African American girls' texts "Roger Rabbit" was the name of a Hip Hop/ R&B dance

"the Butterfly" was the name of a Reggae dance that was very popular with African Americans.
(There are lots of references to "doing the Butterfly" in contemporary (1990s) African American girls' recreational rhymes and cheers).

"the Honky Tonk" was probably the name of a R&B/Hip Hop dance that was popular at that time in the Philadelphia area (although I'm not familiar with that dance).

Also, I wonder if Ms. Beresin meant the following by her transcription:
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Yo Kenya [jumper�s name] yo
Let me see you do the
MC Hammer
she [meaning Kenya said:
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang

Yo [another girl's name] yo
Let me see you do the
Bobbie Brown
she [meaning the girl who is named above] said:
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
Boom boom tangle
tang boom tang
-snip-
And so on, with each "Yo" ___ "yo" being the name or nickname of another girl in the group.

"Yo" here means "Hey".

It's possible that my interpretation of this rhyme is colored by my interest in foot stomping cheers. However, this rhyme meets the characteristics of those cheers, including the beginning lines "Boom boom tangle".
-snip-
Here's a foot stomping cheer that I collected in the mid 1980s from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that is similar to "Boom Boom Tangle":

AH RAH RAH AH BOOM TANG
Group: Ah Rah Rah Ah Boom Tang
Ah Rah Rah Ah Boom Tang
Ah Rah Rah Ah Boom Tang, baby
Ah Rah Rah Ah Boom Tang
Ah Rah Rah Ah Boom Tang
Soloist #1:My name is Tazi
Group: Ah Boom Tang
Soloist # 1:They call me Taz
Group: Ah Boom Tang
Soloist #1: And when they see me
Group: Ah Boom Tang
Soloist #1: They say �Ah Rah Rah
You look good, baby.�
Soloist #2:My name is Jennifer
Group: Ah Boom Tang
Soloist # 2:They call me Jenay
Group: Ah Boom Tang
Soloist #2: And when they see me
Group: Ah Boom Tang
Soloist #2: They say �Ah Rah Rah
Twist it, baby.�

(Repeat entire cheer with new soloist until everyone has had a turn).
-T.M.P. (African American female, from her memories of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the 1980s)

****
-snip-
While "Ah Rah Rah Ah Boom Tang" doesn't refer to dances, there are some other foot stomping cheers that do. Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/09/foot-stomping-cheers-alphabetical-list.html to find Page 1 of a pancocojams series on examples of foot stomping cheers. The links to the other pages ion that series are found in that post.

****
III.
D.I.S.H. CHOICE
D.I.S.H. choice, do your footsies
D.I.S.H. choice, up the ladder
D.I.S.H. choice do your hopsies
D.I.S.H. choice do your turnsies
1, 2, and 3, and a i, 2, and 3
Hop, i, 2, and 3
Jump, 1, 2, and 3

{At choice* the jumper can do "what she wants")

(1992, 1999)
-snip-

[page 94 in "Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling"]
-snip-
[Added August 7, 2017]

Here's some information about and another example of the rhyme "D.I.S.H. CHOICE":
"Some Jump Rope Rimes From South Philadelphia" by Roger D. Abrahams in Keystone Folklore Quarterly, Volume 8, Spring Issue 1963, edited by Simon Bronner

page 5
"In the game with two �enders�, there are three standard ways of turning the ropes, �single�, double Dutch�, �Irish or �double Irish� (the same as double-dutch only underhanded and much more difficult). The most common types are the counting games...

[...]


Page 8
D. I.S. H. Choice
This is a jump that allows you to pick which way you want the rope turned. �D� stand for �Double Dutch�, �I� for �Irish�, �S� for single turn, �H� for �hop�, and �choice� is for any of the previous four.
The one you miss on is the one you must do.

D.I. S. H choice
D.I. S. H choice
D.I. S. H choice
H O P, hop
1, 2, 3"

****
IV.
HEY DJ
Hey DJ let's sing that song
Keep a footin'
All night long
Hey DJ let's sing that song
Keep a hoppin'
All night long
Hey DJ let's sing that song
Keep a turnin'
All night long
Hey DJ let's sing that song
Keep a clappin'
All night long
(1992)

The body had to show "endurance" all night long and it had to show style and "get loose". Jumpers had to be disciplined "on time", and flexible ("Do it right").
-snip-
[page 94 in "Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling"]
-snip-
The Double Dutch rhyme "Hey DJ" undoubtedly has its source in the hit 1984 Hip Hop record with that same title.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hey_DJ
"Hey! DJ" is a song by The World's Famous Supreme Team. Writing is credited to Larry Price (Sedivine the Mastermind) & Ronald Larkins Jr. (Just Allah the Superstar) and it was produced by Stephen Hague. Released on 12" in 1984 on Island Records, there were three mixes included.[1] The song refers with small lyric parts to McLaren & Supreme Team's previous hit, "Buffalo Gals", which the group featured on. "Hey DJ" peaked at number fifteen on the US soul chart.[2]

Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5D1bgGetRY for a video of that song which includes the words "Keep em dancing all night."

By the way, the word "a" in this example and in most African American vernacular examples is pronounced "ah".

****
V.
JUICE JUICE KNOCK MY BOOTS
Comments about the Double Dutch Rhyme "Juice Juice Knock My Boots"
The African American girls' Double Dutch rhyme "Juice Juice Knock My Boots" has its source in a then popular Hip Hop record.

From https://raphiphop.tuneforums.com/thread_view.php?threadID=476
Posted: 07/06/06 02:29 PM
Author: nittigr
Location: USA-GA
Late 80's/poss Early 90's Hip-Hop/Rap Song....
"There was a song out that may have been called 'Knock some boots' or 'We came here to knock some boots'. Does anyone remember this song or know who sang it? Thanks!"

**
Posted: 12/12/06
Author: njoy2day
Location: Philadelphia

[Reply]
Late 80's/poss Early 90's Hip-Hop/Rap Song....
"The song you're looking for is entitled Knock Some Boots by Sam the Beast. "Feel that juice, time to get loose...we came here to knock some boots." He also made, Knock, Knock. "Knock, knock..who's there...knock,knock who's there...Sam I am." A guy named Scooter that works at a music store in Delaware can get it for you if you're interested. I was on the same quest myself!"

**
Posted: 04/02/08 08:28 PM
Author: nittigr
Location: USA-GA

[Reply]

Late 80's/poss Early 90's Hip-Hop/Rap Song....
"YES>>>YES>>> thats the song by Sam the Beast! I know this reply is late...but I just got another reply from this recently so I thought I'd better leave a response so everyone knows."

Thank you!
-snip-
Note there were other rap songs that were mentioned in that discussion that had the title �knocking books� included the phrase �Knock some boots�., including Candyman �s Knockin' Boots

****
This concludes Part III of this four part pancocojams series on recreational Double Dutch.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.
Read More

Excerpt About Recreational Double Dutch From The 1999 Book "Children's Folklore: A SourceBook"

Excerpt About Recreational Double Dutch From The 1999 Book "Children's Folklore: A SourceBook"
Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a four part pancocojams series on recreational (street, old school) Double Dutch, with an emphasis on Double Dutch (jump rope) rhymes.

Part II features an excerpt from the chapter "Double Dutch And Double Cameras: Studying The Transmission Of Culture In An Urban School" by Ann Richman Beresina. This chapter is part of the 1999 book Children's Folklore: A SourceBook edited by Brian Sutton-Smith, Jay Mechling, Thomas W. Johnson, and Felicia McMahon (Utah State University Press, originally published in 1995).

In addition, Part II showcases the 1985/1986 McDonald Double Dutch commercial (which is also featured in Part I) as well as two YouTube videos of "Big Mac" performed as a two person and as a four person hand clap game.

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/speculation-about-when-why-recreational.html for Part I of this series. Part I presents my thoughts about the reasons for the demise of recreational Double Dutch with or without chanted rhymes. Part I also includes an excerpt from an online article that provides a general overview about recreational Double Dutch, with emphasis on the years that girls were involved in this activity.

In addition, Part I also showcases four YouTube videos of recreational or competitive sports Double Dutch. A video of Malcolm Mclaren's 1983 song "Double Dutch" is also featured in this post, particularly for its visual documentation of Double Dutch sports teams more than for its South African sourced music. Selected comments about Double Dutch from those videos' discussion threads are also included in this post.

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/juice-juice-lets-knock-some-boots-four.html for Part III of this pancocojams series. Part III showcases text (word only) examples of five recreational Double Dutch rhymes and provides comments about those examples, including suggesting probably Hip Hop sources for some of those rhymes.

The words to these rhymes are from Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling, by Anna R. Beresin (Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2010).

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/references-to-double-dutch-jump-rope-in.html for Part IV of this video. Part IV provides a partial time line of references to Double Dutch in American and British television shows, movies, commercials, and recorded songs.

This post also showcases one of this commercials: Coca Cola Double Dutch.

****
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and recreational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Ann Richman Beresin, the author of the excerpt of Children's Folklore: A SourceBook that is quoted in this post. Thanks to all those who contributed the Double Dutch rhymes and other examples of children's rhymes that are included in that book.
-snip-
This is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on Double Dutch (jump rope) and jump roping rope in general, particularly as those activities relate to African American females.

Also, click the tags below to find other posts in this series.

****
EXCERPT:
Chapter 4: Double Dutch And Double Cameras: Studying The Transmission of Culture In An Urban Shool Yard" by Ann Richman Beresin in the 1999 book Children's Folklore: A Sourcebook edited by Brian Sutton-Smith, Jay Mechling, Thomas W. Johnson, Felicia McMahon (Utah State University Press)

http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1059&context=usupress_pubs

[page 79]
..."Several games were studied in this larger exploration of the folklore of the 1991-92 Mill School yard [Philadelphia Pennsylvania], including the games of the third- through fifth-grade boys. This paper, however, will serve as a window to the specific game worlds of the double dutch players. (For a complete view of the larger study, which includes handball, folk basketball, hopscotch, step dancing, and play fighting, see Beresin 1993.) Double dutch was perhaps the chief peer-led activity for African American girls at the Mill School, and provided a performance focus for a mobile audience of both girls and boys in the school yard.

DOUBLE DUTCH
A fast-paced, polyrhythmic jump-rope style, double dutch utilizes two ropes, typically turned inwards, egg beater fashion, by two girls who have "the ends," while a single jumper executes specific steps to a specific song or chant. It is almost exclusively an African American girls' tradition in urban Pennsylvania, and has been virtually ignored in the jump-rope literature. There has been so little written on double dutch in the folklore literature, and in the collections of African American folklore, that it could even have been said to be skipped over.

[page 80]
Singing game and street game collections like those of the Opies have described larger game traditions but excluded rope singing. American children's folklore, as in the works of Bronner and Knapp and Knapp, have homogenized the ethnicity of their young experts and have given us only single rope traditions; the African American collections of general folklore have rarely even mentioned the lore of young girls (Kochman 1972; Jackson 1967; Whitten and Szwed 1982). With the exception of Jones's and Hawes's Step It Down (1972) and Black Girls at Play (1975) by Bauman, Eckhardt, and Brady, the games of African American girls have been rendered practically invisible, and these collections have examined only the stepping and clapping forms. Abrahams's Jump-Rope Rhymes: A Dictionary (1969), a text called "the most thorough recent compilation of these (jump rope) rhymes for English-speaking children" (Schwartzman 1978, 36), lists a handful of articles relevant to double dutch, but, with the exception of his own useful 1963 article, all deal with it only in passing.

Even when only a single rope was available-it was typically one brought by a child from home-it was utilized in the style and steps of double dutch. Two girls hold the ends and turn for the girl who is jumping, and often it is expected that one must turn for someone before getting the chance to jump. Occasionally the "double Irish" or "double orange" style of rope turning was observed; that is the term for the turning of the ropes outward, egg beater style. This method was considered more difficult and sometimes occurred by accident when the turners changed direction. More typically, there would be two turners rapidly turning the rope inward, left, right, left, right, swaying rhythmically to the slapping beat as the rope brushed the ground. The jumper would dance the steps associated with the song or rhyme, and a group of singers, ranging from the turners to nonparticipants to would-be participants, would dance a minimal version of the game in place. This was considered both a fun thing to do while you await your turn, as well as a chance to practice the sequence.

The game was competitive, with jumpers vying to be the one who could not only stay in the ropes the longest but could progress the furthest in the particular rhyme. Someone would shout"She got foot" or "She got turn." And one would often hear the cry of "Saved!" or "Saved by one!" meaning that the person shouting had progressed farther than the jumper who had just tripped on the turning rope. Steps were parodied, styles imitated, and occasionally corrected in order to ensure that the jumper did the job
right. Turners could be accused of turning too rapidly, or of intentionally "flicking" the rope to make it more difficult, and high-status jumpers,usually the more skilled fifth and sixth graders, claimed first jumps, while the younger, less experienced players would be the turners. The chance

[page 81]

to jump first, and if one was skilled, stay in the spotlight, was often called long before the game started, in the hallway, in the classroom, or at the end of one round for the round the next recess

[A diagram entitled "Double Dutch Style" is included here.]

Immigrant Chinese and Haitian girls, representing a small minority of this officially racially desegregated school, also occasionally did individual, single jump rope. Two Chinese girls sometimes jumped in two parallel ropes and, in their own ropes, looped circles around each other, sort of a couple
dance while jumping. The Haitian girls sometimes jumped with a second girl in the same small rope, either face to face or back to front. Regardless of form or ethnicity, jump rope was almost always competitive, either by endurance, elaborateness of steps, or frequency of turns.

The European American girls would often be observers of the double dutch games, and on only rare occasions do individual ropes themselves. When they did so they would compete to see which of them could jump the
most times. They would not sing or chant, just count the number of continuous jumping steps. One girl was up to 230 and still jumping. Unlike the African American girls, who stayed in one place or rotated their positions slightly to be out of the bright sun, or the immigrant girls, who stayed in one place with their individual ropes, the European American girls did a running jump rope step and would, one at a time, run around the entire yard counting. Like their hand-clap games, which were also done to numbers or
counting, the European American girls had clearly distilled their games and no longer had an active jump-rope singing tradition at this school. The singing jump rope game, and for that matter the singing hand-clapping game, had become predominantly an African American tradition.

[page 82]

Many double dutch songs included the same sequence of steps or commands: foot, bounce, hop, turn, criss (crossing), clap, with "foot" or "footin" being the basic right, left, right, left running step over the quickly turning ropes. "Bounce" involved a lighter touch of the foot while doing the running step; "hop" a one-footed airborne step. "Turning" and "crissing" involved the most skill and only the most advanced jumpers were able to do those steps. Taisha, a particularly graceful fifth grader, was known to add
turns to all of her steps, in every sequence, just for the challenge of it.

THEMES OF THE JUMP-ROPE TEXTS
Much like the world of themes found in the children's riddling studied by John McDowell (1979), the recorded texts of the rope games were spheres of the African American girls' culture. There were "1,2,3 Halleluya" and "Hey, D. J., let's sing that song," and "Boom Boom Tangle"-a rhyme about rap artists. Plus there were "All in Together," "Hey Consolation, Where Have You Been," "Girlscout, Girlscout, Do Your Duty," "Juice Juice, Let's Knock Some Boots," "D-I-S-H Choice, Do Your Footsies," "Challenge, Challenge
1,2,3," and "Kitty Cat Come, Gonna Be on Time, Cause the School Bell Rings at A Quarter to Nine." But these themes, the ones of religion, region, pop music, of group entry and exit, schooling, and even of plain step display in menu form, were out-shouted by "Big Mac," a commercial for the
McDonald's Corporation.

As Cheyna, a fourth-grade African American girl had said, "Want to hear my favorite?" (Snap fingers on down beat. Accented syllables are capitalized)
Big MAC, Fillet FISH, Quarter POUNDer, French FRIES, Ice COKE,
Milk SHAKE, Foot
Fillet FISH, Quarter POUNDer, French FRIES, Ice COKE, Milk
SHAKE,
BOUNCE
Fillet FISH, Quarter POUNDer, French FRIES, Ice COKE, Milk
Shake,
HOP
Fillet FISH, Quarter POUNDer, French FRIES, Ice COKE, Milk
Shake,
TURN
Fillet FISH, Quarter POUNDer, French FRIES, Ice COKE, Milk
Shake,
CRISS

[page 83]

Big Mac appeared in twenty-three out of fifty-six live unrequested recordings of double dutch chants, closely followed by a follow-the-Ieader game, "Challenge Challenge, One, Two, Three." This contrasted with the rest of the active repetoire, of which two or three versions were recorded of each. First observed in mid-October, "Big Mac," and its occasional partner "Challenge Challenge," were the only chants jumped at recess until February. Most of the other rhymes did not appear at all until April. "Big Mac" represented forty percent of all the songs sung for double dutch, with "Challenge Challenge" representing thirty percent.The remainder totaled three to six percent, tallying another thirty percent. "Big Mac" was therefore not only the first jump-rope rhyme to appear in the school yard and not only the most
frequently jumped, but, as we will see, also the one used for learning how to play the game of double dutch itself.

Collectors of jump-rope games have typically emphasized the antiquity of the games and rhymes, in part because of the archive methodology available, as discussed, and in part because of the inherent romance in finding things old. Paradoxically, the most significant rhyme for the players of this game was the newest one, invented by the McDonald's Corporation as a menu chant. Again and again the local jump-rope experts-the third, fourth-, and fifth-grade girls-claimed that the "Big Mac" rhyme was commercial and
approximately ten years old, but that the game was learned from their mothers and sisters. The dating of this particular chant was confirmed by the national public-relations office of the McDonald's Corporation, which indicated that the menu chants are periodically placed in local papers as part of a contest. It is significant that McDonald's has been a national sponsor of double dutch competitions since the late 1970s and that the only other long commercial text that emerged was in an interview setting: This was
"R-E-E-B-O-K do your footsies the Reebok way." Reebok is also a national sponsor of double dutch competitions.All of the new attempts at double dutch recorded in the school yard were done to the "Big Mac" rhyme. When Isha, a fifth-grade expert jumper, was asked what was the easiest rhyme, she answered, "Challenge Challenge," because "you just had to imitate what was done before you." When asked why the younger girls and the ones new to double dutch started with "Big Mac," she answered, "Because they don't have nothing else." Commercial culture is, for the kids of the school yard, the most basic of common culture. The commercial is easily learned: It's short, it's quick, and it's "fun in the mouth." Children who are bused in from all sections of the city know it, and children from all economic levels have access to it. It may have been introduced by the corporate-sponsored leagues and ad campaigns and may be a future classic example of the "invention of tradition" (Hobsbawm and Ranger 1983), but it would not have continued if it did not serve some function.....

[more excerpt text added to this post as of August 4, 2017]

The sound bytes of "Big Mac" may well serve to speed up the ritualization of entry into the game in a recess period that allows only fifteen minutes for play in this city.

In an environment where raw materials are inaccessible and consistently removed from the play time, it appears that the African American children from poorer neighborhoods, rich with oral traditions, are teaching non-African American children what can be done, as Isha says, "when you don't hanve nothing else". This is especially true of the play of girls, which is especially repressed in the school yard by the institution of school itself. Here it is commercial culture that is the common denominator, both within the ethnic tradition and across ethnic traditions.

One of the most relevant texts on this topic is Newell's 1883 book Games And Songs Of American Children. His essays "The Inventiveness Of Children" and "The Conservatism Of Children" address the dynamics inherent in the play study, the idea of play being both traditional and transitional, and the idea that children reconstruct and reinvent performances relevant to their complex lives. The key word is "relevant". Valuable things are reused, recycled and retold. And, as we will see, the repetition of the commercial rhyme may be fixed, but the variation and frequency of the game can be found in the foot work. In a sense, the folklorist begins with the text, but cannot stop there."...
-end of text added to this post on August 4, 2017
-snip-
The words given in italics in brackets were added by me for informational purposes or to note the exclusion of a diagram that is part of that chapter.

[Explanation added August 4, 2017] "European American" in this excerpt means the same thing as "White American". Note that although Europeans are traditionally White, there were/are people who were/are born in Europe who aren't White.
-end of this addition-

The term "step dancing" and "stepping" in this chapter might be the same performance art that I refer to as "foot stomping cheers". I doubt that those terms refer to historically Black Greek letter fraternity and sorority steppin'.

The words given in capital letters (except for "foot") in the "Big Mac" example are movement instructions. "Criss" is probably the same movement what is commonly known known as "criss cross" ("crossing one foot over another.)

With regard to the rhyme "Big Mac": That rhyme is very widely performed as a hand clap rhyme in the United States and my sense is that very few children know that it was ever a jump rope rhyme. Instead of the title "Big Mac", I believe that the title "Welcome To McDonalds" is the one that is most often used for this hand clap. That title comes from the introductory words for that hand clap rhyme: "Welcome to McDonalds/may I take your order".

For some reason, in the hand clap version the line "and the dish ran away with the spoon" is frequently added to the end of that rhyme.

The words for some of the Double Dutch rhymes that are mentioned in this chapter excerpt are given in Part III of this pancocojams series.

****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS

Video Example #1: VINTAGE 80'S MCDONALD'S DOUBLE DUTCH COMMERCIAL [1985/1986]



-snip-
This video featured the world champion Fantastic Four double-dutch team. Unfortunately, as a result of this commercial, that team was disqualified from competing any longer in Double Dutch sport competitions, a consequence I gather the team wasn't aware of before agreeing to be featured in this ad

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Video Example #2: Mcdonalds hand game



Barbym1991 Published on May 15, 2009

old hand game my mom and aunt taught us!! Enjoy!

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Video Example #3: McDonald's Hand Clap Game




Vinnie Kandis, Published on Nov 1, 2015
-snip-
In this example, "Big Mac" is combined with other stand alone rhymes.

****

This concludes Part II of this four part pancocojams series on recreational Double Dutch.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.
Read More

Speculation About When & Why Recreational Double Dutch Became A Lost Art

Speculation About When & Why Recreational Double Dutch Became A Lost Art
Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a four part pancocojams series on recreational (street, old school) Double Dutch, with an emphasis on Double Dutch (jump rope) rhymes.

Part I presents my thoughts about the reasons for the demise of recreational Double Dutch with or without chanted rhymes. Part I also includes an excerpt from an online article that provides a general overview about recreational Double Dutch, with emphasis on the years that girls were involved in this activity.

In addition, Part I also showcases four YouTube videos of recreational or competitive sports Double Dutch. A video of Malcolm Mclaren's 1983 song "Double Dutch" is also featured in this post, particularly for its visual documentation of Double Dutch sports teams more than for its South African sourced music. Selected comments about Double Dutch from those videos' discussion threads are also included in this post.

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/excerpt-about-recreational-double-dutch.html for Part II of this series. Part II features an excerpt from the chapter "Double Dutch And Double Cameras: Studying The Transmission Of Culture In An Urban School" by Ann Richman Beresina. This chapter is part of the 1999 book Children's Folklore: A SourceBook edited by Brian Sutton-Smith, Jay Mechling, Thomas W. Johnson, and Felicia McMahon (Utah State University Press, originally published in 1995).

In addition, Part II showcases the 1985/1986 McDonald Double Dutch commercial (which is also featured in Part I) as well as two YouTube videos of "Big Mac" performed as a two person and as a four person hand clap game.

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/juice-juice-lets-knock-some-boots-four.html for Part III of this pancocojams series. Part III showcases text (word only) examples of five recreational Double Dutch rhymes and provides comments about those examples, including suggesting probably Hip Hop sources for some of those rhymes.

The words to these rhymes are from Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling, by Anna R. Beresin (Univ. Press of Mississippi, May 27, 2011).

**
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/07/references-to-double-dutch-jump-rope-in.html for Part IV of this video. Part IV provides a partial time line of references to Double Dutch in American and British television shows, movies, commercials, and recorded songs.

This post also showcases one of these commercials: Coca Cola Double Dutch.

****
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and recreational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all the Double Dutch teams that are featured in the videos that are embedded in this post. Thanks also to all who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these videos.

Hat tip to author David Whiteis who alerted me to this July 26, 2017 New York Times article on Double Dutch: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/25/arts/double-dutch-lincoln-center.html and asked "When did the spoken/sung rhyming begin to fade from street/sidewalk Double Dutch?"

This four part pancocojams series is part of the results of the online research that I did, prompted by David Whiteis' question. I read various articles and a number of YouTube discussion threads about Double Dutch, searching for dates and other demographics that they might give some information about when recreational Double Dutch was popular, when its popularity began to fade, and whether children's initiated recreational Double Dutch even exists anymore.

As I noted below, largely as a result of that online reading, I don't think that there is any one definite date that rhyming became disassociated with Double Dutch. But in reading about recreational Double Dutch, I realized that it wasn't just rhyming while doing Double Dutch that has largely disappeared, but also recreational Double Dutch jumping itself. And, based on my experiences in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1969 to now (2017), I would also say far fewer African American girls (and maybe also girls of other races and ethnicities in the United States engage in recreational single rope (group) jump rope jumping than they did when I was growing up in New Jersey during the 1950s.
-snip-
This is part of an ongoing pancocojams series on Double Dutch (jump rope) and jump roping rope in general, particularly as those activities relate to African American females.

Also, click the tags below to find other posts in this series.

****
PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S COMMENTS
Disclaimer:
I've done no formal research on this subject. These are my own comments and they may not agree with the conclusions that were reached in the article excerpted below or in other articles or books about Double Dutch in the United States.

WHEN DID RECREATIONAL DOUBLE DUTCH BECOME A LOST ART
The overarching premise in this pancocojams series on recreational Double Dutch is that recreational (street/playground) Double Dutch* is a lost art, or an activity that is in severe danger of being lost. These conclusions are based on my experiences as an African American female, as well as my online and offline reading. Furthermore, I believe that the recreational Double Dutch performed without chanting lasted longer than the performance of Double Dutch which includes chanted rhymes.

I don't believe that any definite date can be pinpointed as to when recreational Double Dutch itself and/or recreational Double Dutch with rhymes chanted ended in the United States. There's documentation that indicates that during the 1940s-1960s Double Dutch was very widely performed as a recreational activity by some (but not all) African American girls in various parts of the United States. My guess is that Double Dutch with rhyme chanting began to disappear at different times in different places. By at least the 1980s, group jump rope (with one rope) also grew out of favor by African American girls and other American girls and was largely replaced by the hand clap games. From my experiences and my reading I believe that by the late 1990s in most African American communities recreational Double Dutch was largely a thing of the past. I also think that recreational Double Dutch jumping without chanted rhymes probably lasted longer than recreational Double Dutch jumping with rhymes.

That said, it's likely that there may be places where girls still do recreational Double Dutch with or without rhyme chanting. However, I think that it's an indisputable fact that far fewer African American girls perform Double Dutch -or even group jump rope (with one rope) in the 2000s compared with the 1940s to the 1990s.

*Note that by "recreational Double Dutch" I mean Double Dutch jumping that is children initiated (almost always girls, and also predominately African American girls) as a recreational activity during school recess, and as pastimes after school and in the summer months etc. "Children initiated" is in contrast to adult initiated recreational Double Dutch that is taught to and/or otherwise experienced by children at community centers, school gym classes, summer camps, etc.

Recreational Double Dutch is similar but not the same as the competitive sport of Double Dutch. One clear difference between these two activities is that rhyme chanting was an important feature of recreational Double Dutch, but no chanting occurs in the Double Dutch sport. Notice that the Wikipedia article for Double Dutch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Dutch_(jump_rope) makes no mention whatsoever about rhyme chanting.

****
WHY DID RECREATIONAL DOUBLE DUTCH BECOME A LOST ART
These points are numbered, but are given in no particular order. I refer to "African American girls" in some of these points since recreational Double Dutch is most closely associated with that population in the United States.

Here's why I think recreational Double Dutch in particular, and perhaps also group jump rope (with one rope), are lost arts or dying arts:
1. The lack of outdoor, open spaces in urban areas.

Double Dutch needs large open spaces. There's documentation that Double Dutch was often performed in urban streets, but increased urbanization made/makes this performance space unsafe and inoperable.

Modern playgrounds and school yards are no longer open spaces, but have built in sliding boards, swings, jungle gyms etc. The presence of these built in recreational structures means that Double Dutch can't be performed in those playgrounds.

**
2. In order to play Double Dutch specifically (and jump rope in general, you need to have two (or one)
jump ropes. Contrast that with hand clap rhymes [point #4] and foot stomping cheers [point #5] which can be performed without purchasing or otherwise acquiring any materials.

In the 1950s, I recall using cut clotheslines for individual jump rope or for single (group) jump rope. However, clotheslines aren't as readily available nowadays since hanging washed clothes to dry outside or in the basement is seldom if ever done anymore. Clotheslines are still available for sale, but that doesn't mean that people would buy them for the purpose of jumping rope. For that matter, plastic jump ropes for individual jumping are also available for purchase, but those jump ropes are often of poor quality even if they're long enough for Double Dutch.

Telephone wires or cable wires are mentioned by several commenters on YouTube discussion threads of videos about the sport of Double Dutch as the preferred "rope" for jumping Double Dutch. Girls got these materials from parents, relatives, or family friends who worked in those companies. However, given the changes in those industries and dearth of people who have land line telephones and cable in their homes, those materials aren't available any longer to be used as Double Dutch ropes.

**
3. Schools, community centers, etc often prohibit Double Dutch specifically or jump rope in general in their facilities or on their grounds for safety and security reasons.

Children playing Double Dutch (and, to a lesser extent, group (single) jump rope and/or children in the vicinity of such play could get hurt. These institutions don't want to be liable for any injuries that might occur.

**
4. Other recreational activities have replaced Double Dutch jumping and jump rope in general.

Beginning in the 1970s, if not earlier, two person, four person, and -less often- three person hand clap games have become the main informal recreational activity that African American girls (ages 5-12 years) engage in. Many formerly jump rope rhymes are now known as hand clap rhymes were formerly performed as jump rope (and ball bouncing) rhymes. In addition to hand clap games to the point that many people aren't even aware that these rhymes earlier accompanied individual or group (single) jump rope and/or Double Dutch jump rope.

Mildly competitive hand slap games (such as "Slap Billy Ola" ("Stella Ella Ola") and "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky") have also replaced Double Dutch and other jump rope games while chanting a specific rhyme.

Hand clap games need very little performance space and hand slap games don't usually need as large a performance space as Double Dutch. Also, in contrast with Double Dutch specifically or any form of jump rope activity, hand clap games and hand slap games don't need any objects in order to engage in those activities.

Foot stomping cheers (also referred to as "steps") is another informal recreational activity that has replaced Double Dutch among African American girls. That recreational activity is performed either indoor or outdoor while chanting specific rhymes. Three advantages that foot stomping has over "Double Dutching" is that it doesn't need as much space as Double Dutch, there are no health concerns associated with that movement activity, and it's much easier to learn how to perform than Double Dutch rope turning and Double Dutch jumping.

Other informal or informal physical recreational activities such as formal cheerleading (either stomp & shake cheerleading or mainstream cheerleading or a combination of both), Hip Hop majorette (j-setting), and/or organized team sports. Some of these activities need smaller performance or practice spaces than Double Dutch.

African American girls may also perform children initiated contemporary group circle games such as "Little Sally Walker Was Walking Down The Street" and "Ride That Pony" instead of playing Double Dutch.

**
5. In the United States, instead of being involved in informal or formal recreational movement activities, a large number of children spend a considerable amount of their leisure time watching television, using the internet for game playing, and for engaging with others on social media. In addition, many children and pre-teens use personal cell phones for texting, and other activities including making and exchanging self-made videos.

-snip-
[Update- Added July 30, 2017] Here's another reason for the demise of recreational Double Dutch as given in https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/nn974m/double-dutchs-forgotten-hip-hop-origins-456 Double Dutch's Forgotten Hip-Hop Origins
"In an even broader sense, as crime in New York reached its highest rates in the late 1980s and video games entered the picture, fewer children were interested in playing together on the street. "Kids don't even want to play outside anymore," Nicki laments." ["Nicki" is identified as Adrienne "Nicki" Howell, a member of the award winning Fantastic Four (Double Dutch team; featured in two McDonald ads.)]
-end of Update-
[Update Added July 30. 2017]
As a result of reading some comments in a discussion thread of a Double Dutch video that I just came across, it occurs to me that television shows/movies about Double Dutch that aired in the 1990s and 2000s could have revived short lived or longer interest in "double dutching". Here are those comments , followed by my note:

The Real syndicated television talk show-[Double Dutch segment] Sep 29, 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I0c4OfX6JU
"Tamera Shows Off Her Double Dutch Skills"
-snip-
Tamera Mowry-Housley one of The Real's hosts, was the star of Sister, Sister along with her twin sister Tia. A popular episode of that series was when the sisters jumped in a Double Dutch competition.(1997).

**
MrThekidisback, 2015
Girls don't even double dutch anyone, I remember in the hood girls use to always do that.

**
Reply
DanceMomsLover#1#1, 2015
"+MrThekidisback Yes they do! There is actually a show about it on Lifetime and yes It is good"
-snip-
The 2015 television series Jump! showcased Newark, New Jersey's Floyd Little (Double Dutch Team). The series wasn't renewed after its first season.

**
Reply
MrThekidisback, 2015
"+DanceMomsLover#1#1 Nah I know there are girls who do but you don't see it as much anymore."

**
Boss At Home, 2017
"5th grade when Jump In first premiered on Disney, this was the thing ever one was doing at recess."
-snip-
The Floyd Little team compete in the sport of Double Dutch. That's not the same type of Double Dutch that was performed "back in the day" before there were national and international Double Dutch competitions.

As a matter of fact, the 2007 Disney Channel movie Jump In! also centered around a Double Dutch sports competition. At one point in that movie, the female members of that team along with their male team member went to the "hood" and saw some "street" double dutchers performing intricate moves which inspired them to improve their routine.

These television shows/movies are listed the Double Dutch timeline (Part IV of this pancocojams series.)
-end of update-

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BRIEF EXCERPT ABOUT THE HISTORY OF DOUBLE DUTCH IN THE UNITED STATES
From http://www.jumpropeinstitute.com/history.htm
"JUMP ROPE HISTORY

Past and Present

....�Early Dutch settlers were some of the first jump ropers in America. Not surprisingly, one of the more popular jumping games is called "Double Dutch."

In the early 1940s and 1950s, jump rope became tremendously popular, and many children in inner cities used jumping rope as a form of play. It only required a rope, and anyone could play. From the late 1950s until the 1970s, however, jump rope history took a back seat to radio and television as it started to captivate the minds of your children.

In the 1970s, an increased interest in physical fitness and overall health emerged. Programs started promoting jump roping to keep kids from other unhealthy activities. To make it enjoyable and entertaining for kids jump roping events were organized"...

****
SHOWCASE VIDEOs
Example #1: VINTAGE 80'S MCDONALD'S DOUBLE DUTCH COMMERCIAL [1985]



-snip-
This video featured the world champion Fantastic Four double-dutch team. Unfortunately, as a result of this commercial, that team was disqualified from competing any longer in Double Dutch sport competitions, a consequence I gather the team wasn't aware of before agreeing to be featured in this ad.

The chanted rhyme, known as "Big Mac", was written by the McDonald Corporation to promote their menu. This is the most famous of three McDonalds commercials that were centered around recreational Double Dutch. The other two commercials were aired in 1979 and 1981. Nowadays, "Big Mac" [most commonly known as "Welcome To McDonalds"] is a very popular partner hand clap rhyme and it's likely that few children know that it was once chanted as a jump rope rhyme.

Here are some selected comments from this video's discussion thread (Numbers are assigned for referencing purposes only) :
1.MsTexas73, 2011
"@sugarrrsmack Me too, I was NEVER that good. but I sure tried. But we did double dutch to this same McDonald's song back in the day. Seeing this makes me kinda miss the EARLY 80s."
-snip-
This is clearly response to a comment from �sugarrrsmack:�, but no such comment is included in that discussion thread.

**
2.Delores Finlayson, 2012
"Wow! Its been years since we filmed this commercial. We were the first to open many doors in the sport. I would like to see more kids get out there and have fun jumping Double Dutch."

**
3. Tani, 2015
"see yall are a new generation in the 90's we would take double dutch life LIFE! We would jump so long that we would run out of songs...lol! We would do this for hours and then wake up and do it again...our favorite ropes were a phone line doubled...if you got hit with it it would really hurt but we were so good that it rarely happened...lol! I really miss those days!"

**
4. Kyra Gaunt, Ph.D., 2013
"Double dutch is one of three types of musical play that most urban kids in predominately black settings were first exposed to in early childhood. The black public sphere was dominated by these games for the very young and carried popular songs and dance to them -- like their own popular broadcasting system -- where there was no adult supervision. It was orally and kinetically passed down -- by word of mouth and body and girls were the primary agents while boys tended to rap and dance.
-snip-
Dr. Kyra Gaunt is author of the award winning 2006 book The Games Black Girls Play
Learning the Ropes from Double-Dutch to Hip-Hop
. https://nyupress.org/books/9780814731208/.

Notice that Dr. Gaunt wrote "The black public sphere was dominated by these games."...

**
Reply
5. Salsasha Salsasha, 2017
"I had a feeling that double dutch skipping was originally part of black culture until it became mainstream. Not to take away the enjoyment of anyone that likes skipping. Thank you for your informative post."

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Example #2: DOUBLE DUTCH DIVAS" CENTRAL PARK SEPT 16/07 7 PM



Will D, Published on Sep 17, 2007

The Double Dutch Divas appear every Sunday at 7 pm from the beginning of July thru the 2-3rd week of September. Located just yards downtown beside the skater's circle in Central Park, right beside the skater's after-party.

Website: doubledutchdivas.com

Double Dutch a sport in which one person jumps rope with two ropes and one or more people jumping simultaneously.

Playing Double Dutch involves at least three people total: one or more jumping and two turning the ropes. A person jumping usually does tricks that may involve gymnastics or breakdancing, it can also have fancy foot movements incorporated. Young people, including many boys, do this for fitness and it is competed at world level. Competitions in double-dutch were often seen at block parties.

During the very early years of hip hop culture, double-dutch was an element of the culture (popularized in the song Double Dutch Bus). After hip hop began moving towards the mainstream in the early 1980s, double-dutch fell out of favor as a recognized element of hip hop, although it remains popular with athletes to this day.

Double Dutch Bus was a 1981 funk song by Frankie Smith, made famous for its extensive use of the "izz" infix form of slang. The song title represents a portmanteau of two institutions in Smith's Philadelphia neighborhood: the double dutch game of jump rope played by neighborhood kids, and the SEPTA bus system that was a backbone of the local transportation network (and for which Smith had unsuccessfully applied for a bus driving position). Smith persuaded contacts at WMOT Records to finance the song, and it was recorded in summer 1981, engineered by Gene Leone. The song rocketed to popularity in a matter of weeks, landing on the Billboard Top 40 charts on July 11, 1981.

The language that they use to speak in, is often used by rapper Snoop Dog, and has been referred to as "Double Dutch". Speaking Double Dutch would be to add "izz" or "illz" to the middle of words. Thus the phrase "We all play Double Dutch" becomes "Willze aillzll plizzay Dizzouble Dizzutch" in the song.
This song was famously sampled in Missy Elliot's 2003 single "Gossip Folks."

History:

The Dutch settlers brought the game to the Hudson River trading town of New Amsterdam (now New York City). When the English arrived and saw the children playing their game, they called it Double Dutch. The game has since grown over the years, particularly in urban areas. It became a favorite pastime to sing rhymes while turning and jumping. During World War II, the game was often played on the sidewalks of New York. By the late 1950s the radio music boom dominated urban America and the lack of recreational areas in close proximity to apartment buildings had made the game nearly extinct.

In 1973, David A. Walker, then a New York City Police Community Affairs Detective, joined by his partner Detective Ulysses Williams, developed the street game of Double Dutch into the World Class Sport that it is today. With the assistance of the physical education instructors at IS 10, Walker and Williams revitalized the game by developing it into a competitive team sport. On February 14, 1974, the first Double Dutch tournament was held with nearly 600 fifth, sixth, seventh and eight grade students participating.
-end of that video summary-

Here are some selected comments from this video's discussion thread (Numbers are assigned for referencing purposes only):
1. Str8isis, 2008
"Me too! Reminded me of being in the Bronx with my cousins double-dutching in the middle of the street! Thamx RevInk.

THOSE WERE THE DAYS!!! Exercise at its finest!?"

**
2. RevolutionaryINK, 2008
"Wow!!! I remember those days when all the females uesed to double dutch!!! These sisters still got it!!! That's what I'm talking about!?"

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3. Jacco Van W, 2010
"Whahaaaaaaa this is friggin great LOL when i was younger in holland allmost all girls did it but this is realy something else,, i mean,, I am dutch, but im not gunna do this double whaha................... great movie, made me smile 5/5?"

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4. DonnyMacG, 2010
"I'm in NewYork next month, do the diva's still perform,? I wouldn't mind a go at this myself as I missed it in the late 70's?"

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5. GraciaKowi, 2010
"i can double dutch wayy better!! I'm like the only person in my school that does double dutching LOL! I did the soulja boy dance while jumping once!?"

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7. Danielle Jackson, 2011
"I miss double dutch in new york..ppl in atl dnt know to to double dutch."

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8. Arnell Monroe Mack, 2013
"I remember me being the only boy doing double dutch with the girls. It was so much fun. Good Ol' days."

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9. XxUmbrella123x, 2014
"Me and my friends used to do this in the playground as kids haha XD?"

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10. Andrea Long, 2015
"I miss jump roping

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Reply
11. jdstep97, 2015
"+Andrea Long You? I'm 48 and would love to get out and double Dutch but all the young people want to stay inside playing games on their iPhones or other devices, and the older ones are falling apart."

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12. Finnesse da King, 2015
"Yall Look Like Yall Having Fun .. Out There That's How My Family Gatherings Be" ?

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13. Kathy Dragoo, 2016
"Excellent! This was very popular back in the 50's & 60's too. Guess I'm an ex-diva!"

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14. Selma Janet Fox McGoram. 2017
"I used to love doing this when I was at Primary school, in the 1950s."

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Example #3: Malcolm Mclaren Presents Double Dutch.wmv



MalcolmMclarenMusic Published on Apr 11, 2011

This is one of the better known tracks from Mr Malcolm Mclaren from his ground-breaking album Duck Rock.Nothing new here now but at the time it was, as usual with MM ahead of it's time.27 years later it still sounds as good today as when I first heard it.Enjoy...
-snip-
Here are some selected comments from this video's discussion thread. (Numbers are assigned for referencing purposes only.)
1. paul nutt, 2013
"my mother told me that when she was a girl this was called french skipping"

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2. Lynne Christie, 2013
"i would love to take part in a class like that at school!!! why can't we do that now!!!! i think kids would love it!"

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3. TheRegalEagle2014, 2014
"I wonder if Double Dutch championships still exist. Remember watching this as a kid and asking for (and getting) a skipping rope."

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4.emichels ,2014
"Double dutch, skelly, or skellzy, NYC in 1983 was the place to be!! Please God tell me I'm not the only one who remembers skelly or victory!!"

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5. Robert Ascii, 2016
"Love this song and the video. Vintage double dutch"

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6. Gabby Cattell, 2016
"its very sad but todays kids just wanna stay on there ipads etc etc those were the days"

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Reply
7. Becka3456, 2016
"That's quite ironic because you're saying that kids these days all want to stay on electronics but instead of you getting off your phone or computer your writing that other people should get off.... Don't get me wrong, I agree with you but just remember not everyone from my generation want to stay in electronics all the time."

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8. Panatella, 2016
"No iPhones. Just smiles :-)"

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Reply
9. Sailing S/V Harley Quinn Essex, UK, 2017
"Panatella Yep can imagine now all the girls round outside would be standing still immersed in their phones. Always said the internet would destroy society"

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10. David Harrison, 2017
"when this came out i was home on shore leave . my mam who was not a spring chicken was in the garden teaching the kids how to do it . she learned when she was a little girl in the early 1940s ! i laughed so much great times ."

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Example #4: Double Dutch Championships



theitemdotcom, Published on Jun 17, 2011

The 38th Annual Double Dutch World Championships were held in Sumter, SC June 17-18.
-snip-
Here are a few comments from this video's discussion thread. (Numbers are assigned for referencing purposes only.)

1. 23Fulani, 2015
"Makes me remember how fun childhood was in the 80's and 90's!"

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Reply
2. ORDOTRIO, 2016
"+23Fulani I went to school in Atlanta in the 80's. This was every day at recess."

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Reply
3. CzarJuliusIII, 2016
"Even in the early 2000s I saw girls play doubledutch at recess."

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4. amycello, 2016
"Growing up in Brooklyn, NY in the late 1940s I clearly remember watching with awe and amazement, young black girls doing incredible double dutch rope skipping in the street. In those days of de-facto segregation, the white neighborhood and black neighborhood were divided by one street. These were the days before play dates and scripted after school activities. We were regularly sent out to the street to play where we spent many unsupervised hours. We would often stand on the street that was the dividing line and watch the (mostly) girls our age (7 to about 13 years old) doing their amazing double dutch routines with the greatest of ease. No one on the white side of the dividing line ever attempted this sport. We wouldn't even have known how to begin."

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This concludes Part I of this four part series on recreational Double Dutch.

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