Gigalo & other children's rhymes &cheers

Subject: RE: Gigalo & other children's rhymes &cheers
From: Azizi
Date: 15 Apr 07 - 05:27 PM

Here are three more examples of "Gigalo"


GIGALO {Version #3}
Gigolo, gig, Gigolo
My head is high, my feet is low and this the way I gigolo

-Tanya T, email to www.cocojams.com, 2002; Tanya wrote "I was raised in Crawfordville, GA; I'm 28. I played this games/songs around 1979 -1987 from about age 5 to 13

**

GIG-OLO-O {Version #4}
I have one, my cousin told me and she is only 7...

down down baby i can do karate
down down baby i can call my boyfriend
down down baby oops i did it again

my hands up high
my feet down low
thats the way i gigilo
-posted by K http://blog.oftheoctopuses.com/000518.php ;June 25, 2005

**

JIGALOW {Version #5 of Gigalo}
my friend taught me this. my hands up high my knees down low but this the way i jigalow the sky is blue the grass is green and this the way I do my thing your daddy cook your momma bake but this the way my booty shake
-No name; http://cocojams.com/street_cheers_example%200104.htm ; 2/15/2007

Subject: RE: Gigalo & other children's rhymes &cheers
From: Azizi
Date: 15 Apr 07 - 05:14 PM

Here are two examples of "Gigalo". I've numbered these examples for the purpose of discussion.

GIGALO {Version #1}
[All]:
Gig ah lo-o
Gig gig a lo-o
Gig ah lo-o
Gig gig a lo-o
[Group]:
Hey, Kayla                 
[Kayla]:
What?
[Group]:
Are you ready to gig?
[Kayla]:
Gig what?
[Group]:
Gigalo
[Kayla]:
My hands up high
My feet down low
And this is the way
I gig a lo *
[Group]:
Her hands up high
Her feet down low
And this is the way she gigalos

{repeat from the beginning with the next soloist, and continue until everyone in the group has a turn as soloist}

-TMP, foot stomping cheer; remembrance of mid to late 1980s, Pittsburgh, PA; also collected by Azizi Powell in Pittsburgh, PA in 2004 among African Americans girls 6-10 years old.

* The soloist does a contemporary dance. In the final group portion, the soloist continues dancing while the other members of the group join in doing their own version of same dance.

**

GIGALO {Version #2}
This is a handclap/foot stomping cheer called Gigolo.
Gig-olo-o
Gig-Gig-olo-o
Gig-olo-o
Gig-gig-olo-o
Group: Hey [girls name]
Girl: Yeah!
Group: Hey [girls name]
Girl: Yeah
Group: Are you ready to Gigolo?
Girl: Well, my hands up high, my feet down low and thats the way I gigolo (does dance/motion of her own)
Group: Well, her hands up high, her feet down low and thats the way she gigolos (group repeats the unique dance/motion)
(Repeat with a new girl and new dance/motion.)
-FloJaune G; Pittsburgh, PA; 2000s; email to Azizi Powell; FloJaune described this as "a handclap/foot stomping cheer".

Subject: Gigalo & other children's rhymes &cheers
From: Azizi
Date: 15 Apr 07 - 04:59 PM

This thread serves as a companion thread to thread.cfm?threadid=81350 I'm Rubber . You're Glue: Children's Rhymes.

Like I'm Rubber You're Glue, I hope this thread will be a repository for examples and comments of children's rhymes and cheers. However, the intent in this thread is to focus on movement rhymes and not taunts and comebacks {as was the focus at least in the beginning for I'm Rubber You're Glue}

In the interest of folkloric collection & documentation, if you post an example, it would be helpful if you would include the following demographical information-the geographical area where the rhyme* was/is performed {such as city, state, nation}, when the rhyme was/is performed {the decade such as 1970s; mid 1990s}; and who performs/ed it {girls, boys, girls & boys, ages etc}.

Also, it would be helpful if you include information about the rhyme's category of the rhyme {such as jump rope rhyme, handclap rhyme, foot stomping cheer, or cheerleader cheer}. Including information about how the rhyme is performed would also be interesting and helpful.

*I'm using "rhyme" as a catch-all term for rhymes, cheers, chants, gamesongs.

I'll start off in the next posts with some examples and commentary about the foot stomping cheer "Gigalo".

Thanks in advance for your participation in this thread!