Opie collection of children's games & songs
Recording of children demonstrating songs and discussing playground games with Iona Opie
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Type
sound
Duration
00:26:27
Shelf mark
C898/37
Subjects
Children's games; Children's songs
Recording date
1970-11
Is part of (Collection)
Opie collection of children's games and songs
Recording locations
Broughton and Salford, Greater Manchester, England
Interviewers
Opie, Iona (speaker, female)
Speakers
unidentified (children)
Abstract
Part 1 of 1. 00:00:00 - 00:26:27. This recording, from Broughton and Salford, Greater Manchester, contains an interview with several children who describe a wide selection of skipping, clapping, and two-ball rhymes, as well as football rhymes and singing games. Much of the interview is filled with the children's skipping songs. They sing: 'Cowboy Joe of Mexico' [00:01:36 - 00:01:56]; 'I'm a Little Bumper Car' [00:00:56 - 00:02:29]; 'I Had a Little Dolly Dressed in Green' [00:02:40 - 00:03:05]; 'Charlie Chaplin Went to France' [00:10:50 - 00:11:09]; 'Lady, Lady, Touch the Ground' [00:11:10 - 00:11:41]; 'Under the Moon and Over the Stars' [00:12:40 - 00:13:05]; 'I Can Do the Can-Can' [00:13:03 - 00:13:33];' Lucy Locket' [00:03:30 - 00:04:39]; 'I'm a Little Brownie Girl, Dressed in Brown' [00:17:19 - 00:18:40] and 'When Susie Was a Baby' [00:19:20 - 00:21:33]. At the end of this particular rhyme, the children sing a little tune to accompany the lyrics 'when Susie was a saint'. They explain that they learnt this tune from the TV programme staring the fictIonal character Simon Templar, or 'Saint', and based on the books by Leslie Charteris. The children also perform many singing games such as 'The Wind, the Wind, the Wind Blows High' [00:03:46 - 00:04:17]; 'Wallflowers' [00:05:48 - 00:07:45]; 'The Hoky Koky' [00:05:10 - 00:05:48]; 'She Wears Red Feathers' which the one of the girls explains she heard on the radio [00:07:45 - 00:08:50] and 'John Brown's Body' [00:09:20 - 00:09:58]. The children only perform one clapping song which they call 'Oh Mary Mack' [00:00:10 - 00:01:20]. A few brief counting out rhymes are performed. These are 'Ip-dip-dation, Corporation' [00:04:41 - 00:04:50] and 'One Potato, Two Potato' [00:04:50 - 00:04:56]. Rhymes for two-ball are also performed. The first is an extremely short rhyme called 'Apple, Orange, Banana, Split' [00:01:24 - 00:01:38] which the children use for both skipping and ball games, and the rhyme 'Sally Go Round the Moon', although the children forget the words to this once they begin to perform it [00:10:00 - 00:10:50]. Lastly, they explain in much detail a ball game that they play called 'Bad Eggs'. Iona notes that she has only ever heard this game called 'Three Bad Eggs' [00:13:33 - 00:15:07]. The children also refer to a toy that they play with called 'Footsie' or 'rota-skip'. You must attach this device around your ankle and skip over it with the other leg [00:15:50]. The recording ends with the children singing several football songs. Each song supports the football team, Manchester United. They sing 'we hate Nottingham Forrest, we hate Liverpool, we hate Manchester City, but United we love you' [00:22:00 - 00:22:38]. They sing another in support of Manchester United at [00:22:38 - 00:23:35] and a general football chant regarding a badly performing 'goalie' [00:25:26 - 00:26:27].
Description
Item notes: Recording of children demonstrating songs and discussing playground games with Iona Opie. Speakers' notes: Group of Broughton and Salford schoolchildren. Recording notes: Slight distortion to peaks. Otherwise good throughout.
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