The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #103866   Message #2127478
Posted By: Geoff the Duck
16-Aug-07 - 07:26 PM
Thread Name: Folklore: Tag (the game)
Subject: RE: Folklore: Tag
Bradford, West Yorks (West Yorkshire for them as didn't live there), England, Europe, The World, The Universe etc. etc.
Sticking specifically to "Tig" games local to me - 1960's.

Tig was called Tig, not tag.
There was no break during a game of tig. It was generally all in the open, no hiding, no safe area, no "time out" words. If you stood still, you would get tigged and would be "It".

Choosing rhymes - a couple used, but probably Dip Dip Dip.
This was an elimination rhyme :-
Dip, dip dip.
My blue ship.
Sails on the water.
Like a cup and saucer.
YOU DO NOT HAVE IT!

The person pointed at when the rhyme hit "IT" stood out, safe, and the rhyme started at the next person in the circle with Dip again. Finally only one was left and they were "It".

In Hide and seek you hid until found.

Some people have mentioned a can kicking game.
Our local one was "Tin Can Squat".
It was a cross between Tig and Hide and seek.
A tin can was put in the middle of the road. About ten or twenty twigs were broken off a bush or tree. They were placed in the tin can.
The person who would be "It" was chosen.
Somebody else then kicked the can, sending the twigs flying.
"It" then had to gather up the twigs and put them back in the can before they could go searching for the rest of the players.
If they found a player they both raced back to the can. If "It" got there first, the player had to stay there, caught. If the player beat "It" they kicked the can and all caught players were free to run off and hide again until twigs were back in the can.

If "It" was fast, all players ended caught.
Sometimes a brave player would leave their hiding place and run to kick the can, hoping that "It" didn't spot them and get back to base before they did.

A singer whose name I can't at the moment recall, (Graham something? - looking at gig list of the Topic Folk Club probably Graham Shaw) wrote a song with chorus :-

Tin Can Squat, Tin Can Squat.
That's the game we used to play,
(We'd) Kick the can and run away
Why don't they do the same today,
Tin Can Squat.

Quack!
GtD.