What school chants do you remember?

[OneUmberJoker]

When we were in an activity weekend it was we're from (village name)

Forgot all about cats got the measles
That got to be 50+years ago.

Build a bonfire
Build a bonfire
Put the teachers on the top
Put the prefects in the middle
And burn the bloody lot.

No more pencils
No more books
No more teachers
Dirty looks. (How tame!)

Clapping song
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
I l o v e love you
I ki double s kiss you
I'd jump in the lake and swallow a snake
And windup with a belly ache.
Buy Ford pills.

Playing '2-baller'

Plainsy Billy-boy
Plainsy Billy boy
Plainsy Billy, don't be silly
Plainsy Billy boy
(Repeated with, 'overs' 'dropsy' & turnsy)

Wallflower, wallflower growing up the wall
We're all pretty maids but we all have to die
Except for <insert name> she's the only one
Something something something

Oh yeah, we had that one!

Wallflowers, wallflowers
Growing up so high
We’re all pretty maidens
We all have to die.
Except for [insert name of girl]
She’s the only one…

I can’t remember the rest. If anyone else can remember, please add the missing lines!

This was West Yorkshire, about 1979

I went to a Chinese restaurant
To buy a loaf of bread.
He wrapped it up
In a five-pound note
And this is what he said.

Myyyy nammmmme is…
Eli-piccolo, piccolo, piccolo
Eli-piccolo, big-chief how!

(something like that, anyway).

West Yorkshire. Late ‘70s.

...greeting for a wee bawbee
To buy some Coulter's candy.
Also often sang to babies and toddlers.
West coast of Scotland 80s

To select for a game, we put a foot in and the caller tapped a foot for each word to pick teams or to decide who was het.

Ip dip, sky blue
Who's het, not you.

Ingle, angle, silver bangle. You are out.

Also chanted at playtime at school, "Who wants to play <insert name of game> join on! "
All linked arms calling this then the game began when everyone who wanted to play had joined on. Games like Red Rover, British Bulldogs, Mother, May I? What's the Time, Mr Wolf? Tig, etc.

Skipping games, balls and handstands had rhymes/chants to go along with them. If a big/long rope was brought in after the 'join on' chants you'd run to the ropes shouting, "Baggie no ender" or you'd have to hold the end of the rope and turn it for everyone else to skip. Coiling the rope was boring. 🤣

Late 1960s early 70s , North-East England

My uncle’s a lavatory cleaner
He works hard from morning til night
And when he comes home in the evening
Hes covered all over with shite

Well it travelled to Ne Scotland same time period.😁

...Shine your buttons with Brasso
It's only three ha'pennies a tin
You can buy it or nick it
From Woolies
Provided they've got some in.

Sung to the tune of 'My Bonnie'.

My old man’s a dustman, he wears a dustman’s hat, he wears cor blimey trousers and he lives in a council flat.

We are the Witches of Halloween.. Wooooo wooo
We come out and don’t be seen Woooo woo
We have a witches hat and a witchy cat, because we’re the witches of Halloween
Woooo woo!

Culter’s Candy is a real song, if that makes sense.

You and whose army.... when kids were squaring up for a fight....1980's.
Jesus Christ, superstar, whizzing round the corner on his Yamaha, did a skid, killed a kid, skinned his balls on a dustbin lid!!
Late 70's, early, 80's 🤣

Taught my sons this one
😆

Up or down up or down i don't care if the school falls down there'll be no more English no more French no more sitting on the old school bench. Teacher teacher I declare i can see your underwear, is it black or is it white. Oh my god its dynamite

In an out the dusty bluebells who will be my leader ( twice)
Tippy tippy tap tap on your shoulder
You will be my leader

A sort of conga chain of children...can't remember how it ended

We had similar but the end was different - and it was a £10 note. Early 80s so I can't suggest it was inflation!

I went to a Chinese restaurant,
to buy a loaf of bread, bread, bread
I wrapped it up in a ten pound note and this is what I said said said
My name is Kay-Li Piccoli
Piccoli Kay-Li
Allie allie in for
You've gone bonkers
Indian Chief
Pow Wow!

The other one we used to do in infants if someone wanted to play a game and wanted more people to join in, they'd walk round calling
"Allie, allie in for... <whatever they wanted to play>". And people would come and join arms until there were enough people to play.

At my dc's infants they did similar but calling "All join in for..."

Ahhh, some of these really take me back! Where I grew up, quite a few were done with both clapping and with elastics (if anyone remembers that?!). North west and East Midlands in the late 80’s-early 90’s:

Clapping song:

My momma told me, if I was goodie,
That she would buy me a rubber dolly,
But someone told her, I kissed a soldier,
Now she won't buy me my rubber dollyyyeeeeee….
Three six nine, the goose drank wine,
The monkey chewed tobacco on the streetcar line,
The line broke, the monkey got choked,
And they all went to Heaven in a little row boat.
Clap hands, clap, clap hands, clap clap.

There was also a random song my Mum used to sing when playing pass the parcel at birthday parties and I hope someone else knows it and it isn’t a fever dream!! I seem to remember it’s a song about an Eskimo fishing and I think there were some ‘dance’ moves that went with it but can’t remember those!!

Okki tokki unga, okki tokki unga
Hey Missa Day, missa doh missa day.
Okki tokki unga, okki tokki unga
Hey Missa Day, missa doh missa day.
Hexa cola misha woni
Hexa cola misha woni
Okki tokki unga, okki tokki unga
Hey Missa Day, missa doh missa day.
Okki tokki unga, okki tokki unga
Hey Missa Day, missa doh missa day.

Clapping song was by an American singer
Shirley Ellis.
She also done Nitty gritty
Soul time

@Velveletteslonleylonelygirlami good to know, thank you!

You're welcome.👍

Cote memory unlocked

" we fly around at night, and give you such a fright, we're witches of Halloween, woo woo"

We had a version of this too - so my friend's name would be rendered as
Tessa bombessa, Stickeressa, Fi fessa, Stickeressa, Fi fessa - that's how you spell Tessa

or my brother: Daniel bombaniel, Stickeraniel, Fi faniel, Stickeraniel, Fi faniel - that's how you spell Daniel.

We had a school bus chant too. The bus took kids from my Catholic school at one end of Westbury Street and then picked up the kids from the protestant school at the other end of thestreet. The protestants always went upstairs and the Catholics were downstairs. The chant downstairs was 'Wessie Wessie bulldogs never get a wash. When they do, they think they're posh!' The Wessie's had a chant for us too, but I never heard it because I was so busy bellowing ours. But Catholics and protestants were united if the unfortunate driver took a wrong turn: 'he's gone the wrong waaay'. I can imagine the driver turning pale when he was told 'you're on the school bus run'.