Thanks GUEST,Stephanie,
GUEST 17 Dec 08 - 07:45 PM and GUEST,Curtis for sharing the versions of Down By The Banks of The Hanky Panky that you remember.

Curtis, thanks for adding demographical information, particularly the fact that you learned your version from a person who had just moved to California from Missouri. I think that fact that people travel and relocate so often in the USA {and in other countries} is one reason why certain children's rhymes are known so many places.

I'm particularly interested in seeing these lines included in a version of "Down By The Banks of the Hanky Panky":

"See that house over the hill
That's where me and Garfield chill
Smell that chicken smell that rice
[then there's a line about shooting dice]"

-snip-

That verse sounds a lot like this verse that is sometimes given in some versions of the handclap or jump rope rhyme "Not Last Night But The Night Before {or Last Night, The Night Before} and "I Love {Like} Coffee. I Love {Like} Tea" rhymes. Those rhymes are sometimes called "Shimmy Shimmy Co Co Pa" and "Down Down Baby" or are related to those rhymes. Here's an example of that "see that house etc." line from a "Last Night. The Night Before" children's rhyme:

Last Night The Night Before {Version #2}
"Here is a song we used to do on the playground in Birmingham, AL back in the 80s: Last night and the night before I met my boyfriend at the candy store He brought me ice cream he brought me cake he brought me home with a stomachache mama mama i feel sick call the doctor quick quick quick doctor doctor will i die close you eyes and count to five i said a one, a two, a three, a four, a five I'm alive [Optional part] we would do sometimes (a little risque for little girls): see that house on top of that hill that's where me and my baby gon' live we gon' cook some cornbread cook some meat come on baby let's go to bed and do the boom boom boom.*
-Joi; 3/23/2008;http://www.cocojams.com/handclap_rhymes.htm


* italics added by me for emphasis

Also, see "I Like Coffee, I like Tea" {version #3} on that same Cocojams page

**

From 1997 to 2005 I worked with African American girls and boys {ages 5-12 years old} in after-school and summer games song/children's rhyme groups that I developed. These groups presented performances of children's game songs and rhymes., One portion of the sessions was a "Share Time" when some of the children would take turns "doing" an example of a rhyme {they called them "songs" or "cheers"}that they knew. Needless to say, these share times provided me with great opportunities to document rhymes that were known to those children, and to collect rhymes or versions of rhymes that I didn't know before. During these share times, one or two children at a time would volunteer to stand in front of the group and perform a rhyme example for the group. Usually, the other children would usually enthusiastically join in and sing that rhyme. But the other children weren't permitted to "do" {perform the rhyme} that was being presented. A number of times, girls would recite the "I Love Coffee I Love Tea" rhyme {which they referred to as "Down Down Baby". It seems that just about all the girls & boys in attendance knew the words to "Down Down Baby". But only on two occassions did a child add the "see the house up on the hill" lines to that rhyme. Both times-in very separate Pittsburgh neighborhoods-the girls who recited that verse happened to be five years old. Both of the girls told me that they learned those lines from their mothers. But on those two occassions, the rest of the children who had enthusiastically sung the other verses to that rhyme were silent when the "see the house up on the hill" lines were recited. Also, upon hearing those lines, some children who got the implications giggled. And some children declared that those lines didn't "belong" in that rhyme. Of course, I gently corrected that misconception.

**

Incidentally, Curtis, the "Garfield" that is mentioned in your version of that rhyme is probably the cartoon cat.

All this to say, thanks again for sharing!!