Lyr Req: Struttin ms suzy

Subject: Lyr Req: Struttin ms suzy
From: cinderella
Date: 17 Mar 09 - 10:05 AM

we used to play this game at recess. It called for 2 lines facing each other and when it was your turn to go down the middle you would make up your own dance, each side alternated and i don't think there was a winner, it was just a way for each (Usually( girl to express herself. The entire time this was going on we would sing struttin miss suzy struttin ms suzy all night long   here comes another one just like the other one ....My daughter is having her 11th birthday and its a game I would like to teach the girls beause I remember this being my favorite..thanks for any help.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Struttin ms suzy
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 17 Mar 09 - 10:53 AM

See This page
Scrolldown to "This way Valerie"

Cheers
Nigel

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Struttin ms suzy
From: wysiwyg
Date: 17 Mar 09 - 11:05 AM

Kewl!

~S~

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Struttin ms suzy
From: Azizi
Date: 17 Mar 09 - 11:49 AM

Here's a long repost from Folklore: Do kids still do clapping rhymes?. I'm reposting this instead of just adding the hyperlink because I'm adding hyperlinks to this post. (for some reason I couldn't get the hyperlink feature to work at that time)

Subject: RE: Folklore: Do kids still do clapping rhymes?
From: Azizi - PM
Date: 21 Nov 08 - 05:45 PM

SLD,

"Strut Miss Suzie" is also known as "This-a Way Valarie", or at least these two African American and/or Afro-Caribbean singing games are very closely related to each other.


See this YouTube video clip of the 1967 Bill Eberien and Bess Lomax Hawes film "Pizza Pizza Daddy-o" that shows African American girls performing "This-A Way Valerie" and other singing games

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2YodFqZ7nQ


-snip-

Here are the words to that song as captured by that film:

"THIS-A-WAY VALERIE

References: Trent-Johns p. 14-17; Abrahams p. 130; Hawes-Jones (Zudie-0). I have also heard a tape of this game being played by Negro children in Austin, Texas. The children habitually played this game all the way through: That is, until everyone, whether skilled or inexpert, had had a turn to dance down between the lines. It is also notable that the basic formation never traveled during play; occasionally, the children, while holding hands during the first verse, would side-step slightly back to their original position. This was always done spontaneously, without direction or discussion.

This-a-way, Valerie,

Valerie, Valerie,

This-a-,gay, Valerie

All day long.

Oh, strut, Miss Lizzie

Lizzie, Lizzie

Strut, Miss Lizzie

All day long.

Oh, here come another one

Just like the other one,

Here come another one

All day long".

http://www.folkstreams.net/context,201

{Sorry, for some reason, the Mudcat clicky feature isn't working on my computer right now}

**

Also, here are two other versions of that song with performance instructions:

This Way Valerie
"This game works best with a fairly large group. You will need to have the girls get a buddy and then form 2 lines with the buddies facing each other. As soon as you have them in 2 straight lines they can start singing the song:

This way Valerie, That way Valerie,
This way Valerie all the way home.

Girls join hands with their buddy and sing this part while moving arms in a sawing motion - back and forth

Strut Miss Lucy, strut Miss Lucy,
Strut Miss Lucy all the way home.

Head girl in one line passes between the 2 lines making up any movement she wishes and falls in at the foot of the opposite line

Here comes another one just like the other one.
Here comes another one all the way home.

Buddy of the previous girl copies the movements just done by her buddy as she passes between the 2 lines and then joins the foot of the opposite line.

Both lines move up a wee bit and repeat the song over and over and over again until everyone has had a turn. The girls will eventually start getting quite creative in their actions if you play this many times."

http://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/thiswayvalerie.html

**

"Strut Miss Lucy (This Way Valerie)
(to the tune of "Shortnin' Bread")

Thanks very much to Jean, Barb, and Gail, who all helped me to piece together this song.

The girls line up in two lines facing each other. Each girl grabs hands with their partner and move arms alternately forward and back while singing the verse:

This way Valerie, that way Valerie,
This way Valerie, all the way home.

Take a couple of steps back and the head couple do the next two verses while everyone else sings and claps their hands. The girl on the right side struts down the line doing any action she wants. When she gets to the ends she joins the line on the left:

Strut Miss Lucy, strut Miss Lucy,
Strut Miss Lucy, all the way home.

The girl on the left copies the actions of the first girl during the next verse and when she gets to the end she joins the line on the right.

Here comes another one, just like the other one,
Here comes another one, all the way home".

http://dragon.sleepdeprived.ca/songbook/songs3/S3_96.htm

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Struttin ms suzy
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 17 Mar 09 - 12:47 PM

Should this posting be in the 'homophobia' thread, or was it just a Freudian slip?
This-a-way, Valerie,

Valerie, Valerie,

This-a-,gay, Valerie

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Struttin ms suzy
From: Azizi
Date: 17 Mar 09 - 12:56 PM

Oops!

Oh, Nigel you just made a funny.

:o)

By now most folks who post on Mudcat probably know that I'm absolutely terrible when it comes to proof reading my own writing. But when I write the final draft of my book, I (hopefully) will have caught all those typos (or someone else will catch them for me).

So no, 'This a way Valerie' isn't an example of a rhyme that should be posted on this thread.