Directions: The girls form a horizontal line and stand facing boys who have also formed a horizontal line. In the 1st part of this singing game, the girls sing and skip four steps for each phrase toward the boys and the boys sing while skipping four steps for each phrase toward the girls. The singing game turns into a chasing game at a specific part of the chant.
Girls: We're riding here to get married Married, Married Riding here to get married. Ah Rhythm Ah Diddee Ah Diddee High Oh
Boys: Who you gonna marry? Marry, Marry Who you gonna marry? Ah Rhythm Ah Diddee Ah Diddee High Oh
Girls: We're gonna marry Johnny * Johnny, Johnny We're gonna marry Johnny Johnny, Johnny Ah Rhythm Ah Diddee Ah Diddee High Oh
Boys: How ya gonna get him? Get Him, Get Him How ya gonna get him Ah Rhythm Ah Diddee Ah Diddee High Oh
Girls: We'll break the doors and windows Windows, Windows We'll break the doors and windows Ah Rhythm Ah Diddee A Diddee High Oh
Boys: You'll get all dirty and greasy Greasy, Greasy You'll get all dirty and greasy Ah Rhythm Ah Diddee Ah Diddee High Oh
Girls: We're not as greasy and you are You are, You are We're not as greasy as you are Ah Rhythm A Diddee A Diddee High Oh
Girls: Are you coming? [Spoken loudly]
Boys: NO! [Yelled]
* another boy's name can be substituted for "Johnny"
Part II: When the boys yell "No!", the girls began to chase the boys. They are suppose to particularly focus on the boy whose name had been given in the chant. The boys run away. They are suppose to try to protect the boy whose name had been called from being caught by the girls. But, actually, when this game was played, the girls tried to catch any boy playing the game, and particularly focused on the boy who they liked.
-Bartbara Ray, {African American woman} 1950s, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; collected by Azizi Powell, 1992.
-snip-
My "informant" for this rhyme was a girlfriend/work colleague of mine, an African American woman, Barbara Ray, who responded to a written survey of children's rhymes that I had asked people to complete in 1992. Barbara remembers this from the 1950s Pittsburgh. She wrote that "When I was growing up girls and boys would sometimes play together. This was before boys started playing sports like little league softball and football. We were different ages but mostly elementary school age. Of course, the girls would pick the boys they liked the best to chase after. We played this on the sidewalk and in the streets when no cars were coming. Kids now days don't sing songs like this. They still play hide & go but it's just someone counting to ten and then the rest of the kids hiding. I think our way was more fun".
-snip-
I don't remember this rhyme or one like it from my childhood. I also have not seen or heard of it from other children, youth, or adults since I started collecting rhymes in the late 1980s {mostly among African Americans in the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania area}.