Skipping Songs

Thanks poppycat1! I remember now!!

I seem to recall one which went -

Keep the kettle boiling, miss a link you're out.

When you stepped on the rope you had to pass it to the next person

Oh yes babules. I had forgotten about the last person being the bone!

Local one from Hull "Reckitt's girls, Reckitt's girls, eyes like diamonds, teeth like pearls.
Circle game-one in the middle
Bobby Bingo
There was a farmer had a dog his name was Bobby Bingo (x2 circle round)
B I N G O
B I N G O (Stamp round)
His name was Bobby Bingo
B I N G O spells Bobby Bingo.
The last line was pointed out by the person in the middle who swopped places with the last person she pointed to.

Piggy on the railway picking up stones
along came an engine and broke piggy's bones.
Oh said piggy that's not fair
Oh said the engine driver. I don't care!

We used to say this rhyme mrsmopp and we used to say "a blind man's knee" which always seemed OK to me because my dad was partially sighted.

Anyone remember higher and higher and lower and lower or if you miss a beat then you are out.

I think we were healthy kids with all the running, skipping and being outside for hours on end.

I know a little girl sly and deceitful. All the little tittle tat, she goes and tells the people. Long legs, ugly face ought to be put in a glass case. If you want to know her name, her name is Betty Smith.
Betty jumps into the rope.

Oh Mary Jones stay away from me.
I don't want to talk to you or you to talk to me.
We were friends but now we disagree. Oh Mary Jones, stay away from me.
Mary leaves the rope and Betty sings the song.

It was all without malice

Lovely to read of these rhymes again. I remember them all well. Happy childhood memories.

FreddieG, was it something about 'Lady, answer yes or no' and then very fast skipping to see whether it came out at 'yes' or 'no'? I can't imagine why, unless it was a fortune-telling thing.

Absent, we had another version of that one. Would not be allowed today.
I like coffee, I like tea,
I like sitting on a b* man's knee.

Very naughty.....!

I loved skipping, we even used two ropes at the same time! Goodness knows what would happen if I tried it now, especially with a broken leg
The song we sang was: On a mountain stood a lady, who she is I do not know, all she wore is gold and silver ....... Oh!! Can't remember the rest. It really made you want to jump high when singing it. Lovely days. Shame, you don't see too many children skipping anymore.

Has anyone else said:

I like coffee,
I like tea,
I like [name of friend]
Next to me.
?

Piggy on the railway picking up stones along came the engine and broke piggy's bones, can't remember the rest!!

Oh these bring back such happy memories.

I'm sure we all remember "all in together girls." You had to jump in when your birth date was called and then stay in the rope until it was called again and then you had to jump out (that's how I remember it.)

Here are another couple..

Want a ciggerette sir?
no sir
why sir?
'cos I got a cold sir
where did you catch the cold sir?
At the North pole sir
what were you doing there sir?
catching Polar bears sir
How many did you catch sir?
one sir, two sir, three sir,
the rest caught me sir!

1,2,3 O'Leary
4,5,6 O'Leary
7,8,9 O'Leary
10 O'Leary
I love thee.

KatyK I remember that one as a circle game, with the last person picked to come into the circle being the bone. The last verse was 'we all pat the bone' with the pats being delivered a little more forcefully than was strictly necessary by one or two.

We used to have -

The farmer's in his den, the farmer's in his den
eey ay adio the farmer's in his den

The farmer wants a wife, the farmer wants a wife
eey ay adio the farmer wants a wife

Then someone would be picked to be the wife then -

The wife wants a child, then the child wants a dog etc

We were all desperate not to be the last one picked! or not picked at all.

We had one:

Little fatty doctor how's your wife?
Very well thank-you that's alright
Can't eat a bit of fish or a stick of liquorice
O U T spells out

And out you jumped allowing the next in line to jump in

We had seasons at primary school for different games. Whip and top (with coloured chalk patterns on the top), hopscotch with different shaped chalk grids and of course the aforementioned skipping. We also had ball games against a wall with those clever enough using two balls in various rhymes.
Happy days!

Yes Mrs Mopp, it was the jelly on the plate song, which featured a few different foods.
Ash tree , it may be the same rhyme as Grable rhymes with Gable, must look it up and see it may be somewhere if we Google it.

The Teddy Bear rhyme we used for more goody goody:

Teddy Bear, teddy bear, touch the ground, teddy bear, teddy bear, turn around, teddy bear, teddy bear say your prayers, teddy bear, teddy bear run upstairs.

It was "Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the ground, teddy bear, teddy bear turn around. teddy bear, teddy bear,read your book, teddy bea,r teddy bear, sling your hook" At "Sling your hook" you ducked out to leave room for the next person.

mrsmopp. I think the ending of Bluebells, cockle shells was another 'When I call your birthday, please jump in"...which meant you'd join in, skipping into the long rope, then the rhyme would be repeated, but telling you to jump out, and if anyone got caught in the rope, they'd have to take a turn at swinging it. There's a very interesting book written by Iona and Peter Opie - 'The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes' that explores the roots of not only nursery rhymes but skipping chants, 'dipping', circle songs, etc., looking at their regional roots. Unfortunately, these are all now mostly dim memories held within a school playground.

This was a chant for two ball.

Plainsie, clapsie, round the world to backsie, first your heel and then your toe, bounce the ball and through you go.

I can still do it.

A strange song for skipping was this one with two girls in the rope some of the time. I'll call the girls Pam and Wendy.

Vote, vote, vote for little Pam
Here comes Wendy at the door
Wendy is the one who gives us all the fun
So we don't want Pam any more,
Shut the door.

My maw's a millionaire
Sitting among the Eskimos
Playing a game of dominoes
My maw's a millionaire.

Weird!

We played ball to this one ..

Johnston Mooney and I'Brien bought a horse for 1 and 9
When the horse began to kick Johnston Mooney bought a stick
When the stick began to break Johnston Mooney bought a rake
When the rake began to rust Johnston Mooney bought a bus
When the bus began to stop Johnston Mooney bought a shop
When the shop began to sell Johnston Mooney went to hell

Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the ground, teddy bear, teddy bear turn around. There was more but I forget it. My knees wouldn't even let me hop now. Not that I need to.