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13 Aug 07 - 08:10 AM (#2124660) Subject: Folklore: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle From: marcella Hello, Anybody out there familar with the lyrics and the history or folklore around the song All Around the Kitchen coock-a-doodle-doodle-doo? I have heard several different lyrics for the song but cant find any information about its origins. Any help or thoughts would be great, Thanks Marcella (in far away England) |
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13 Aug 07 - 08:49 AM (#2124681) Subject: Lyr Add:: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle From: Azizi Oh!! I like that song! I sang this song with my children when they were litte, and they loved it. And I've used it as part of my repetoire of children's songs at the after-school groups that I facilitated for children 5-12 years old. In addition, I've included it in my repertoire of movement songs for children at summer camps, I encouraged the teen camp aides and adults camp counselors {leaders of specific groups whose roles are somewhat like teachers} to join in the performance of this song. And many of them enjoy do so. Here's the words I use for this song {but I suppose that you know that "All Around The Kitchen" is a call & response song which is improvisational and open ended, so you can use any rhyming couplets that you want which give movement directions} : ALL AROUND THE KITCHEN Chorus: Leader All around the kitchen Everyone Cock-a-doddle doodle do Leader All around the kitchen Everyone Cock-a-doddle doodle do Verse 1 Leader Now you stop right still Everyone Cock-a-doddle doodle do Leader And you turn around Everyone Cock-a-doddle doodle do Leader Then you touch the ground Everyone Cock-a-doddle doodle do Chorus -snip- Other verses I use [each prefaced by "Now you stop right still"] are And you touch your toes Then you touch your nose ** Verse 2 And let your right foot slip* Now you shake your hips * let your right foot slip phrase is found in a number of African American 19th century dance songs. It is performed by standing still and to the beat of the song doing the following 1.extending your right foot out in front of you & touching the ground with your right toe 2. remain facing forward but pointing your toe right in back of you 3. moving your right foot back to its original position next to the left foot. [I hope those directions makes sense] Verse 3 Put your hand on your ear and leave it right there -snip- At this point I usually go back to the turn around/touch the ground verse. I should mention that this song is performed in a processional line with the leader in front-of course. The leader and the rest of the group do a chicken clucking movement with their arms placed so that their fists touch or are near to touching, and then the arms are moved up and down to the beat. I'm interested in "hearing" how others play this singing game, and I'd love to learn new verses to add to the ones I use. |
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13 Aug 07 - 09:09 AM (#2124693) Subject: RE: Folklore: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle From: Azizi marcella, I re-read your first post, and see that you're interested in the origins/history of the song. Given its call & response, improvisational, and open-ended format, I think its of African American origin. The use of that "let your right foot slip" verse also leads me to believe that All Around the Kitchen is of African American origin-or we took adopted it from elsewhere and made it our own. ** marcella, you wrote that you were in "far away England". For your information, many Mudcat members are from England and other nations besides the USA. The website is based in eastern Pennsylvania, about 6 hours from me by car. So I can also say that I'm in far away Pittsburgh, PA {granted not as far away as you are, but still more than a hop, skip, and jump. :O} All this to say that one of the great things about the Internet is that distance doesn't make any difference. Best wishes, Ms. Azizi |
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13 Aug 07 - 09:52 AM (#2124725) Subject: RE: Folklore: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle From: marcella Thanks everyone for the information on All Around the Kitchen, I found it very helpful. Information about the origins and how to use the song very helpful |
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14 Aug 07 - 08:54 AM (#2125148) Subject: RE: Folklore: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle From: GUEST,Bob Coltman Hi all ... here's a little background for the song as far as I know it. "All Around In the Kitchen" was its title when this ring game song was recorded in 1940 by John A. and Ruby T. Lomax in the countryside near York, Alabama. I believe that is its first appearance, I don't know of any earlier version. Ruth Crawford Seeger published it in American Folk Songs for Children in 1948, and it got into a lot of school music curriculums because that book was widely circulated among educators. She dropped the word "In" from the title for whatever reason. Pete Seeger recorded it in the early 1950s on a Folkways album for children, also as "All Around the Kitchen." This gave it even more circulation. That's where I learned it. Hooray for LP records. :) Bob |
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14 Aug 07 - 08:58 AM (#2125151) Subject: RE: Folklore: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle From: GUEST,Bob Coltman And Azizi, I should add that the song was sung by a group of African-American children, which confirms your opinion. Bob |
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14 Aug 07 - 09:28 AM (#2125166) Subject: RE: Folklore: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle From: GUEST Bob Coltman wrote: "Ruth Crawford Seeger published it in American Folk Songs for Children in 1948, and it got into a lot of school music curriculums because that book was widely circulated among educators." Mike & Peggy Seeger have recorded an album (now a 2XCD set) of the songs in this book, including "All Around The Kitchen". This is certainly one of my favourite albums - it got us through so many long-distance car journeys with our son, who now has his own band. I wonder how many of these songs will eventually crop up in punky-ska versions? Norman |
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14 Aug 07 - 09:30 AM (#2125167) Subject: RE: Folklore: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle From: GUEST,Normand The last post was mine - I'd better check the cookie (not an anon guest) Norman |
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14 Aug 07 - 10:23 AM (#2125192) Subject: RE: Folklore: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle From: Azizi Thanks for that info, Bob! I'd like to add that for some reason, I messed up the "let your right foot slip" verse to "All Around The Kitchen" ,though with these types of songs there are no wrong words. Here's the second that I sing with children, teens, and adults: Put your hands on your hips Cock a doodle doodle do And let your right foot slip Cock a doodle doodle do -snip- I know that I've seen that "right foot slip" line in other 19th or early 20th century African American dance songs {jazz dance songs?}, but I can't find any now. Fwiw, that movement didn't appear to be known to children, teens, adults that I who were participants in the programs I facilitated. Prior to singing while moving in a processional line, zig zaging all around a large room-and NOT a kitchen, I demonstrate how to do the "let your right foot slip" line. And also fwiw, while the mostly African American female and male children/teens who partcipated in the game song sessions I facilitated in Pittsburgh Pa {1997-2006} knew the word "switch" and its movement [which I define as females walking in a sexually seductive, butt swaying manner],they didn't know the word and the movement for "strut"* [which wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn defines as a "proud stiff pompous gait"]. And even after I demonstrated the strutting movement, most of the girls & boys initially had a difficult time doing it. I think what they were having difficulty with was walking with a "stiff gait" instead of moving their hips and/or other parts of their bodies to the beat {and the off-beat}. Such movements seems to me to be at the core of African American dance music today-and perhaps to a large degree-way back then "back in the olden days". *Btw, these children/youth didn't know the African American children's rhyme "Strut Miss Lucy" or anything about the cakewalk either. But neither did I when I was growing up in Southern New Jersey in the 1950s} |
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14 Aug 07 - 11:10 AM (#2125217) Subject: RE: Folklore: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle From: Azizi Somewhat off topic: Folks reading this may be interested in purchasing this video: The Films of Bess Lomax Hawes four films by Bess Lomax Hawes http://www.media-generation.net/Films/Bess/Bess.htm GEORGIA SEA ISLAND SINGERS (1964) Shot in 35mm film with multiple cameras on a soundstage when the Sea Island Singers were visiting Los Angeles, this program presents a small part of their repertoire of sacred music, including the songs- Moses, Yonder Comes Day, Buzzard Lope (Throw Me Anywhere Lord), Adam in the Garden (Picking up Leaves), and Down in the Mire (Bright Star Shinning in Glory). BUCKDANCER (1965) Featuring Panaloa County fife player Ed Young with Bessie Jones. Ed Young does the Buckdance, demonstrates making a fife, and plays a tune on the fife. PIZZA PIZZA DADDY-O (1967) looks at continuity and change in girl's playground games at a Los Angeles school. SAY OLD MAN CAN YOU PLAY THE FIDDLE (1970) Virtuoso fiddler Earl Collins, born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, moved to Southern California in the Depression. He plays Say Old Man Can You Play the Fiddle, Dry and Dusty, Sally Goodin, Bull at the Wagon, Black Mountain Rag, and Billy in the Low Ground. Additional tunes not included in the edited film are on the DVD. -snip- The Pizza Pizza Daddy-O video features a lot of circle handclapping singing games and two lines facing each other singing games. One of these two line games reminded me to some degree of what I had read about the Calenda. Here's one on line description of that dance movement: "Plantation masters encouraged dancing, and as a result many African forms of dance entered the New World. An example of a dance form that probably came from the coast of Guinea, and from the Kingdom of Arda is the Calenda, or Kalenda. This dance was a favorite of the blacks living in the new world, and is here described by Pere Labat from his 1724 book on the subject. The dancers are arranged in two lines, facing each other, the men on one side and the women on the other. Those who are tired of dancing form a circle with the spectators around the dancers and drums. The ablest person sings a song which he composes on the spot on any subject he considers appropriate. The refrain of this song is sung by everyone and is accompanied by a great hand clapping. As for the dancers, they hold their arms a little like someone playing castanets. They jump, make swift turns, approach each other to a distance of two or three feet then draw back with the beat of the drum until the sound of the drums brings them together again to strike their thighs together, that is, the men's against the women's. To see them it would seem that they are striking each other's bellies although it is only the thighs which receive the blows. At the proper time they withdraw with a pirouette, only to begin again the same movement with absolutely lascivious gestures; this, as many times as the drums give the signal, which is many times in a row. From time to time they lock arms and make several revolutions always slapping their thighs together and kissing each other. It can readily be seen by this abridged description to what degree this dance is contrary to al modesty" http://debate.uvm.edu/dreadlibrary/marcus.html Harmony and Howling — African and European Roots of Jamaican Music Tim Marcus -snip- Specifically, it was the children standing facing each other in two lines, and both lines advancing towand each other and then retreating that reminded me of the Calenda. These girls did not do the other movements as described above. It also occurs to me that this advancing and retreating to the beat-though not in two parallel lines, is a signature feature of the Yoruba dance for Ibeji {twins}. The movement is done to a moderate beat. While singing and bending the torso slightly forward [a signature stance in Yoruba dancing], men, women, and children dance fixed and not improvisational steps while moving forward, and then quickly turn around and dance the same fixed steps back to their starting place. This continues until it doesn't :o) I searched for but didn't find a video of Ibeji on YouTubes. And I haven't found an online description of the Ibeji dance or its words. I've done it and sung it several times as I am a twin and my Yoruba friends* like me to come to their Ibeji parties. But I don't know it well enough to post. I'll ask about this, and perhaps will be able to post it. *African Americans who have converted to the traditional Yoruba religion. ** One of those line games where one girl at a time strutted or danced in the middle of the two lines, reminded me very much of the Soul Train Line Dance [a video]. Things stay the same though they also change. |
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28 Nov 11 - 07:56 PM (#3265111) Subject: RE: Folklore: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle From: GUEST My daughter and I are looking for a version by Burl Ives, in an LP I bought in the early 70's of active children's songs. I haven't been able to find it. Help! Now am a grandma and regret giving the LP away in her teens. |
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28 Nov 11 - 08:26 PM (#3265122) Subject: RE: Folklore: all around the kitchen cock-a-doodle From: GUEST,Fluxusfrequency Azizi, Little Sally Water has "let your backbone slip". |