Often, old lyrics could be understood by immature minds as “clean”, or by more experienced minds as “dirty”. Also, many lyrics/poems camouflaged touchy subjects (like “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday). Old Nursery rhymes & fairy tales often hid meaningful information to pass down to posterity, whether about forbidden spirituality, politics, or scandals. The Clapping song popularized in 1965 by Shirley Ellis, seemed on the surface to be a great jumprope song—fast-paced & silly, for double-Dutch jump rope. It could simply be that. It could as well easily hide deeper, darker meanings in its words. The original (?) “rubber dolly” song was sad & slow, & from the late 1800s…not so long after the Civil war in the US, & slavery & bigotry was still pretty horrific. Many would prefer to think of it as innocent; I’m not at all sure it was…much common slang from over 120 years ago, is lost.

Ellis’s version: 3-6-9, the goose drank wine (white rich folks’ profligate behaviors) The monkey chewed tobacco on the street car line (a slur on blacks trying to get along in a bigoted society) The line broke, & the monkey got choked (blacks struggling & still losing) & they all went to heaven in a little row boat. (Irony that Everyone goes to the same place in the end)

My mama told me, if I was goodie, that she would buy me a rubber dolly. (A house-mama controlling a subservient or child in a brothel, using rewards) My aunty told her, I kissed a soldier, so she won’t buy me a rubber dolly. (Another member of the brothel ratted her out, so she’s not getting rewards, innocence lost—so, verse could be code to hide brothel trade in young girls long ago.)

We don’t know what “a rubber dolly” was, in 1800s slang terms—it could have been a tasty treat, or could have referred to rubber condoms, invented in the mid-1800s. A “goodie 2-shoes” was mildly derogatory term for someone who behaved better than her station in life. “Monkey” was a common slang for a black person.

…Or…it could all just be innocent child’s play!