Did you ever play clapping games?
When I was young, we always played those clapping games. For some reason, it came up the other night and I was able to tell my son all the words to Miss Mary Mack. The stuff we remember can be so weird!
Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack
All dressed in black, black, black
With silver buttons, buttons, buttons
All down her back, back, back
She asked her mother, mother, mother
For fifty cents, cents, cents
To see the elephants, elephants, elephants
Jump over the fence, fence, fence
They jumped so high, high, high
They touched the sky, sky, sky
And didn’t come back, back, back
Till the fourth of July, July, July
My older sister played it when she came from the Philippines?! So I sorta figure it's "universal". Her game was:
(first one said it, then the other repeated)
Flea
flea fly
Cummala cummala cummala fiesta
On and on and on a fiesta
(said together)
Ennie meenie decameanie do what-you-whatcha-wanna-meanie
Hotchie kotchie cumalatchie do what you want...
Do you have one you want to share?
My boyfriends name is Tony
He came from the land of bologna
With a pickle for a nose, and three black toes, that's the way my story goes.
One day he gave me peaches
One day he gave me pears
One day he gave me 50 cents and took me to the fair
And when the fair was over
I asked him to take me home
He said he had another date
And would rather walk alone
I made him do the dishes
I made him mop the floor
I made him eat an oyster
Behind the kitchen door door door.
We also played using the lyrics to the song "Rockin Robin"
We sang some naughty ones too, cant think of the lyrics tho
Later on we played hand jive
AAA, we too sang Rockin' Robin with clapping game in concert band class in junior high school! I forgot we did that. In high school we sang our own lyrics to Here she comes just walking down the street singing doo wah diddy diddy dum diddy doo... High school ought to tell you those lyrics.
Oh geez, I'd forgotten doing this is elementary school!
There was one we did that started off "Down, down baby, down by the rollercoaster. Sweet, sweet baby, don't let it roll you over. Shimmy bop, shimmy bop..." that's all I remember.
No, but the ones posted are interesting.
I remember playing them and getting really good, our hands would go numb eventually because we’d clap so long. Ah, those simpler times. We’d play that on the bus and then jumping rope for hours once we got home.
The only one I remember is Patty Cake.
“See see my playmate, come out and play with me and bring your dollies three. Slide down my rain pipe into my cellar door and we’ll be jolly friends for evermore” That’s all I remember but the clapping and handwork was quite complicated.
That's the part that is really escaping my memory. We sort of gave each other a two handed "five", each of our right hands over the other's left hand, did the crossing over thing the girls do in the attached video, and then I remember something about our hands flipping backward at some point... but that's it.
Boy, I remember my sister's wrong! (the attached video lyrics look very close)
A sailor went to sea, sea, sea,
To see what he could see, see, see.
But all that he could see, see, see
Was the bottom of the deep blue sea, sea, sea.
Hahaha! These are cracking me up!
Take me out to the ballgame.... And:
Miss Susie had a steamboat
the steamboat had a bell
Miss Susie went to heaven
the steamboat went to…
Hello operator please give me number nine
and if you disconnect me
I’ll kick you from…
behind the refrigerator there was a piece of glass
Miss Susie fell upon it and cut her little…
ask me no more questions
tell me no more lies
many more verses to this one, I think. Carry on!
We’d sit in a circle, count off with each of us having a number, and then do a clapping and snapping chant. One would say, while everyone clapped and snapped their fingers, “Who stole the cookies from the (snap) cookie jar?” The next in order would pick a number and say,” Number _ stoke the cookies from the (snap) cookie jar.” “Not me.” “Yes, you.” “Not me.” “Then who?” “Number —_ stole the cookies from the (snap) cookie jar.” Good grief, sorry....didn’t realize it was so long and that I’d actually remember it!
Oh, I know Flea, flea fly! Taught it to my Brownie troop! Late 70’s.
It ended with “Be Billy often boaten, be bop be beaten bottom, SHHH!
Yes, but only in California, after I moved to Nevada in the 5th grade, the kids there didn't play those games...or maybe we were just too old then?
Miss susie had a steamboat
The steamboat had a bell
Miss susie went to heaven
The steamboat went to
Hello operator
Give me number 9
And if you disconnect me
I'll hit you from
Behind the frigerator
There was a piece of glass
Miss susie fell upon it
And broke her little
Ask me no more questions
Tell me no more lies
I caught her in the bedroom
Eating chocolate pies!
It looks weirder in print than it sounded on the playground......
I remember Miss Susie!
My boyfriend's name is Jello,
He comes from the land of Mello,
With freckles on his nose,
And carrots on his toes,
And that's the way my story goes!
You all are bringing back memories. I can still go through all the motions, which included crossing your arms and tapping your shoulders, then hitting your thighs.
My boy friend gave me peaches.
My boy friend gave me pears.
My boy friend gave me 50 cents and kissed me on the stairs!
i gave him back his peaches.
i gave him back his pears.
i gave him back his 50 cents and kicked him down the stairs!
No clapping games. I can vaguely remember jump rope chants. I remember dirty songs that my friend learned at summer camp and taught me when she came home.
I remember the Miss Susie, but I thought it was Lucy, but, maybe that way another one..
Miss Marry Mack, Mack Mack and dressed in black, black black? ? Not sure if this was offensive?
Skibby, I remember all of yours too.
Similar, we used to play one with a ball. A my name is Alice and my husbands name is Al, we come from Alabama and we eat apples. All the a words, your leg goes over the ball.
Then your friend does a b series until you complete the alphabet.
One of the jump rope ones was....Cinderella dressed in yellow, went upstairs to see her fellow.
That is all I remember of that one.
And this one for choosing something:
Einie, meanie, miney, mo,
Catch a monkey by his toe.
If he hollers make him pay, fifty dollars every day.
Oh you dirty dish rag you!
My momma told me to choose this one,
But I was a naughty girl and chose this very best one.
I remember a jump rope chant that started a Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the ground, teddy bear teddy bear, turn around. That’s all I remember.
Marilyn we said Ernie, meenie, but used a different word for monkey. It was a horrible slur but we were so little we had no idea what we were saying. As I recall we were then taught to say a Tiger instead, thank heavens.
Cinderella dressed in yella
Went upstairs to kiss a fella
Made a mistake and kissed a snake
How many doctors did it take?
(the the jumprope went to "hots" and you counted those jumps)
I remember Teddy Bear! But just as much as Dedtired.
This was the version we did at camp:
Flea
Flea fly
Flea fly flow
Fista
Coomberalla coomberalla coomberalla fista
Oh no no no no navista
Eeny meeny dessimeeny oowalla-walla-meeny
Exameeny salameeny oowalla wah
Beep diddlee oppenboppen mo bo badeepin dopping
Shhhhhhhh!
We also clapped to the "A sailor went to sea sea sea; to see what he could see see see" chant. I don't remember any other clapping songs, but we had a ton of jump rope songs and chants.
We did Rudebekia's this way:
Koomalah Koomalah Koomalah Vista
Koomalah Koomalah Koomalah Vista
Nah nah-nah nah-nah-nah vista
Vista vista
Eskamina Salamina oo-wah kawalla meena
Eskamina Salamina oo-wah-wah
Bee billeb alley oh ooooo
Here's another one
Miss Lucy had a baby
She named him tiny Tim
She put him in the bathtub
To see if he could swim.
He drank up all the water
He ate up all the soap
He tried to eat the bathtub
But it wouldn't go down his throat
Miss Lucy called the doctor
The doctor called the nurse
The nurse called the lady
With the alligator purse.
Chicken pox said the doctor
Measles said the nurse
Mumps said the lady
With the alligator purse.
Has anyone else noticed that a lot of these are to the same tune or is that just how I learned them?
Here's the real lyrics to Flea.
Flea Fly
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Flea, flea
Flea fly, flea fly
Flea fly flo, flea fly flo
Bee stay
Bee stay
A kooma lata, kooma lata, bee stay
A kooma lata, kooma lata, bee stay
Oh, no, no, no, not to bee stay
Oh, no, no, no, not to bee stay
Eenee meenee, exameenee, exameenee
Sala meenee, eenee meenee, examee-nee
Exameenee, sala meenee, so
Eenee meenee, exameenee, exameenee
Sala meenee, eenee meenee, examee-nee
Exameenee, sala meenee, so
Weepa sapa, eepa sapa, eepa sapa little
And a run scum tum, tie me, oh
Weepa sapa, eepa sapa, eepa sapa little
Little, little, spittle, blow
Weepa sapa, eepa sapa, eepa sapa little
And a run scum tum, tie me, oh
Songwriters: MICHAEL PETER BALZARY,JACK IRONS,ANTHONY KIEDIS,HILLEL SLOVAK
© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC,MoeBeToBlame
The flea fly thing was around LONG before the RHCP.
Was not familiar with clapping games growing up. When I first started teaching elementary 4th grade I noticed the girls doing the clapping game on the playground. I was amazed.