I just came in from collecting some 24 old and new kids playground songs from eight year olds in a school in Craigmillar, Edinburgh, Scotland, and found this thread.

Every school where I have enquired in in Scotland (some thirty so far)is hotching with such songs. I'll go back to today's school next week and expect to find another 20 songs.

Versions and cousins of many of the songs have been found in Australia within the last ten years. Earlier this year at a conference I saw a video of such games being played in Australia two years ago. Find a book of them called Toodaloo Kangaroo, compiled by Heather Russell, published in Austrralia by Hodder & Stoughton in 1990.

They are all over, but kids on direct enquiry will usually deny that they 'sing songs'. These are not considered 'songs' but activities of some kind. Sing kids a few, like A Sailor Went To See, and ask if they know other similar ones. Don't call them jumprope songs, rope jumping can disappear for years, and the songs get used for clapping, Chinese Ropes, etc.

The words keep changing, and the songs adapt or die, to be replaced. The Folk Process in vigorous action. I'm working on a doctorate on the subject.