What school chants do you remember?

[OneUmberJoker]

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

'Iko Iko' is a chant in a similar style to The Clapping Song.

At my primary school, a popular clap-pat chant began with the words 'Under the brown bush'. That's all I can remember of it!

Okki tokki unga is an action rhyme song - I think it’s an old traditional one but I know it from this songbook of action rhyme songs from when I was at school in early 80s: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Songbooks-Okki-Tokki-Unga-Action-Songs-Children/dp/0713640782

Adding more - the book was published in 1976 but everything in it is all old songs and chants - Miss Polly had a dolly, ten fat sausages etc.

Clapping song

Who stole the cookies from the cookery shop?
number one stole the cookies from the cookery shop
Who me?
Yes you!
Couldn't have been .
Then who?
Number two stole the cookies etc etc

skipping songs

Under the moon
over the stars

salt, mustard, vinegar, pepper

All in- a bottle of gin
all out- a bottle of stout

picking rhymn

hum dum dum- finger or thumb

Primary school N.E England early 70's

Who stole the cookies from the cookery shop?
number one stole the cookies from the cookery shop
Who me?
Yes you!
Couldn't have been .
Then who?
Number two stole the cookies etc etc

I didn't know this one but my dd did it at Brownies as a game.
They all sat round in a circle and close their eyes. Brown Owl would go round and touch someone on the head. They then clapped and chanted:

"Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?"
Then the designated person would choose one person, say Alice, and say
"Alice stole the cookies from the cookie jar".
Assuming Alice hadn't been tapped on the head, she'd respond with
"Not I stole the cookies from the cookie jar"
Everyone: "Then who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?"
Alice: "Emma stole the cookies from the cookie jar"
Emma: "Not I stole the cookies from the cookie jar."

And they'd keep going until someone picked the person who Brown Owl had tapped and when they were asked they said:
"Yes, I stole the cookies from the cookie jar..."

It was very popular.

I have remembered another one:

Daisy, Daisy
Give me your answer do.
I’m so horny
my balls are turning blue.
I can’t afford a Johnny,
a plastic bag will do.
You’ll look sweet,
under the sheet,
with me on top of you.

Sung to the tune of Terry Jack's Seasons in the Sun....

We had joy, we had fun
Flicking bogies at the sun
When the sun got too hot
It turned into snot

Apologies, pretty revolting but it still tickles my child like sense of humour. This was late 70s

An English County Garden .....i can only remember this verse

What can you do when you wanna go to loo
In an English country garden
Pull down your pants and water all the plants
In an English country garden

On top of old Smokey all covered with sand
I shot my poor teacher with a big rubber band
I shot her with pleasure, I shot her with pride
I just couldn't miss her - she was thirty feet wide
<can't remember how it finished>

Or with the same tune:

On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese
I lost my poor meatball, when somebody sneezed
It rolled off the table and onto the floor
And then my poor meatball rolled out of the door
It rolled down the pavement and under a bush
And now my poor meatball is nothing but mush

I remember this version.

Just remembered: Milk, Milk, Lemonade, round the corner,
chocolate’s made.

Jelly on a plate
jelly on a plate
Wibbly wobbly
Wibbly wobbly
Jelly on a plate

What do you do if you want to go to the loo in an English Country Garden?
Pull down your pants and suffocate the ants...etc
Then take a leaf and wipe your underneath...etc
Then take a spade and bury what you've made...etc
That's what you do if you want to go to the loo in an English Country Garden!😂

Skinny malinkey Lang legs
Umbrella feet
Went to the pictures
When the picture started
Skinny malinkey farted
And fell through the seat.
Ne Scotland early 70 s.

That does make me despair…🙁

Mickey Mouse,
In his house,
Pulling down his trousers.
Quick mum,
Smack his bum,
That’s the end of part one!

Say what you will
school dinners make you ill
The cooks are cooking special shepherds pie
Schoo-ool din dins
Come from the pig bins
At Stinkbum High.

Miss Mary Mac, Mac, Mac,
all dressed in black (say ending word three times)
with silver buttons
all down her back.
She asked her mother
for fifty pence
to watch the boys
climb up the fence

And then it went into some ramble about July. The head teacher hated this song, because it was about the boys having a good time, while girls looked on. This was a pet hate of hers - in the books we read, it was always boys out doing funny things, while girls were at home helping Mother. She used to make us swap the boys’ and girls’ names while we read these stories.

There was a calculator joke that was popular when u was in year 7. Type in the numbers as they appear.
I knew a girl aged 13.
Her boobs were size 84.
She wanted them to be 45.
Doctor said “oh”, (type 0), take 2 pills. (Type 2)
But she took 4. (Multiply by 4)
And ended up…

press =, and turn calculator upside down.

We had a school song and a Latin motto.
we also had:

singing balls to you, partner
your arse against the wall
if you never get shagged at (name of quite good school)
you'll never get shagged at all

There were several clapping songs, some have already been mentioned:

I am a pretty little Dutch girl
as pretty as can be be be
and all the boys in the …. (Forgot the words, possibly big parade)
are crazy over me me me
my boyfriend's name is Tony
he lives on macaroni
with rings on his nose and bells on his toes
and that's how the story goes goes goes

em pompee polernee polerneski
em pompee
polernee
academi so farmi
academi
pouf pouf

Did you ever ever ever ever in your long legged life
Meet a long legged chicken with a long legged wife
No I've never ever, etc.
with lots of variations and actions.

Our school dinner song included:

…and Davy Crockett died of Shepherds Pie

Our school dinner song included:
…and Davy Crockett died of Shepherds Pie

Yes, so did ours. Sung to the tune of 'Out of Town' by Max Bygraves.
Kent/London borders.

Speaking of school dinners, did anyone not in Kent have Gipsy tart on the menu?

Eyes, nose, mouth and chin
Running down to Uncle Jim.
Uncle Jim sells lemonade,
Round the corner
Chocolate’s made.

Various ‘dipping’ chants to chose or eliminate a player,
some inoffensive:

one potato two potato three potato four,
five potato six potato seven potato more.
U R Out!

Others ‘of their time’ - late 1940s - early 1950s:

Eeny Meeny Miny Mo
Catch a ‘totally offensive and unacceptable n word’
By his toe
If he hollers let him go
Eeny Meeny Miny Mo

I ‘boyfriend’ I had at about 9 taught me this:

‘Ching Chang Chinaman
Sitting on the grass
Along came a bumblebee
And stung him on the arse.’

Christopher Columbus was a very brave man,
He sailed across the ocean in an old tin can.

Ah, Gypsy tart, best pudding ever! (Also from Kent)

Last time I was down at the Yew Tree in Westbere, it was on the menu .. a long time ago, though.