It is a part of nearly every childhood. It is passed on from one generation of children to the next, and from one side of the country to the other. From the outside, it looks so innocent: clusters of little girls clapping hands together and singing songs on the playground. So sweet, right? Surely they are singing about rainbows, butterflies, and unicorns.
Completely wrong. Chances are, those little girls were singing something like this:
Down down baby, down by the roller coaster
Sweet, sweet baby, I’ll never let you go
Shimmy shimmy cocoa pop, shimmy shimmy rock!
Shimmy shimmy cocoa pop, shimmy shimmy rock!
Ooh chi chi wa wa (a biscuit)
I found a lover (a biscuit)
He’s so sweet (a biscuit)
Like my candy treat (a biscuit)
Or perhaps:
Uno dos ciento
East to west
I met my boyfriend at the candy store
He bought me ice cream, he bought me cake
He brought me home with a belly ache…
What’s that you say? These little girls are singing about finding lovers and meeting boyfriends? But they are only children! Well, it is not so unusual. When I was studying child development in university, I came across a number of interesting books chronicling children’s folklore throughout the decades. When one looks at the songs, chants, games, rhymes, and stories shared by children, and passed down from one generation to the next, one thing becomes glaringly evident: childhood is not completely innocent. Children’s folklore is filled with adult themes of violence, sex, racism, and classism, because they see and experience these things, to some extent, in their actual lives. Through childish expression of play, music, and games, children often explore and attempt to make sense of the issues which confuse, worry, or frighten them.
These examples which I have shared are fairly innocuous. Truth be told, I am too embarrassed to publish some of the blatantly racist jeers and games that were common among groups of children for many years (“Open the refrigerator, take out a Coke” may ring some uncomfortable bells for a few of you). A number of other rhymes and songs were disturbingly violent.
On top of Old Smokey, all covered with blood
I shot my poor teacher with a .44 slug…
Fudge fudge call the judge
Mama has a newborn baby
Wrap it up in tissue paper
Throw it down the elevator…
And a larger number of these rhymes and games were based on issues of sex and promiscuity.
Apple on a stick, makes me sick
Makes my tummy go two-forty-six.
Not because it’s dirty, not because it’s clean
Just because I kissed a boy behind a magazine.
Hey boys, wanna have fun?
Here comes ______ with her pants undone.
She can wibble, she can wobble, she can do the splits
But most of all, she can kiss kiss kiss!
Mama’s in the kitchen, burning rice
Daddy’s round the corner shooting dice
Brother’s in jail, raising hell
Sister’s ‘round the corner, selling fruit-cock-tail
Children’s folklore has been documented for many decades, and in countries around the world. Though there are often variations from one town to the next, it is interesting to note how little the rhymes and games have varied over time. If you were once a child – especially a young girl growing up in the USA, chances are you recognize at least one of the rhymes I have listed here, and probably a few more which you would prefer to forget about. Of course, our own children are much more sheltered than we were as children. Much more innocent, too. Surely, they only play innocent games and sing about rainbows, butterflies, and unicorns.
Resources on Children’s Folkore:
One Potato, Two Potato: The Folklore of American Children by Mary Knapp
American Children’s Folklore edited by Simon J. Bronner
Children’s Folkore: A Handbook by Elizabeth Tucker
The Girl From Jupiter 