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Your search for HUMOR returned 352 results.
That's all right
That's o.k.
You're gonna work
For us someday!
Submitter comment:
This cheer was learned by my sister, Jennifer, who
attended Northwestern University. The cheer was
used by Northwestern football fans when their opponents
were winning the game.
Where learned: ILLINOIS ; Evanston ; Northwestern University
Keyword(s): Chant, humor, derision
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Custom Festival Custom Festival |
Date learned: 00001982CA
"Great Green Gobs"
(sung to the tune of "The Old Gray Mare")
Great green gobs of greasy, grimy, gopher guts
Mutilated monkey meat
Dirty little birdies' feet
French fried eyeballs lying in a pool of blood,
And I forgot my spoon!
Submitter comment:
This "classic" children's parody of the "The Old Gray Mare"
was learned by Terry in Ohio during the 50's. It is still
being sung in much the same manner by children in the Detroit
area, as well as children in the Chicago area. Probably
versions of it are sung throughout the United States.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; ALLEN PARK
Keyword(s): mock horror, cannibalism, humor, gore
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Children |
Date learned: 00001950S
(sung to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic")
Glory, glory, halleluia
Teacher hit me with a ruler.
So I hit her in the bean
With a rotten tangerine
And that's the end of school!
Submitter comment:
I learned this same song in Cincinnati, Ohio during the
1950's, and when I asked people to recall the silly
school songs of their youth, this was usually the first one
they would sing.
Where learned: ILLINOIS ; SKOKIE
Keyword(s): parody, humor, mock violence
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Children |
Date learned: 00001950S
Every old crow
Thinks its baby white as snow.
Submitter comment:
This proverb was told to Maryann by her Italian father,
as a way of dismissing praise given to children by
their own parents.
Where learned: ILLINOIS ; SKOKIE
Keyword(s): sarcasm, humor, parental pride
James Callow Keyword(s): ANIMAL METAPHOR ; BIRD ; COLOR
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Proverb PROVERB -- Proverbial Metaphor |
Date learned: 00001960S
(sung to the tune of "Deck the Halls")
Deck the halls with gasoline.
Fa la la la la la la la la
Light a match and watch it gleam.
Fa la la la la la la la la
Watch the school burn down to ashes.
Fa la la la la la la la la
Aren't you glad we played with matches?
Fa la la la la la la la la
Submitter comment:
This song is an obvious favorite with the grade school
children during the holidays, especially the boys.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; ALLEN PARK
Keyword(s): Parody, humor, arson, Christmas
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Good humor Jest Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Children |
(sung to the tune of "Jingle Bells")
Jingle bells, Batman smells,
Robin laid an egg.
Batmobile lost a wheel,
And Joker got away. MM
Jingle bells, Batman smells,
Fifty miles away.
He blows his nose in cheerios,
And eats them right away!
Submitter comment:
This is only one of many such "gross" songs that the
elementary school boys love to sing.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; ALLEN PARK
Keyword(s): Parody, Cartoon character, humor, Christmas
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Good humor Jest Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Children |
Date learned: 00001987ca
(sung to the tune "Colonel Bogey March" theme from
the movie "Bridge on the River Kwaii")
Comet, it makes your teeth turn green.
Comet, it tastes like gasoline.
Comet, it makes you vomit.
So drink some Comet, and vomit, today!
Submitter comment:
Matthew only recently learned this song, and thought is
was new. When he tried to teach it to his older cousin,
Joshua, who lives in the Chicago area, Josh had already heard
of it.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; ALLEN PARK
Keyword(s): Parody, commercial, humor
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Good humor Jest Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Children |
Pictures of counselors, dead on the floor,
Killed by the campers, one and all.
Blood on their shoulders,
Blood on their shirts,
Great big globs of blood on the dirt. MM
When counselors die
When counselors die
Don't bury their bones
Don't bury their bones
Just leave them lie
Just leave them lie
Among the stones
Among the stones
And paint a sign
And paint a sign
In letters green
In letters green
Here lie the bones of the losing team!
Here lie the bones of the losing team!
Submitter comment:
The repeating lines in the second stanza are sung
by two groups who alternate singing. Maryann states
that she was taught this song by her counselors while
attending Maskokie Day Camp in 1967.
Where learned: ILLINOIS ; SKOKIE
Keyword(s): death, decomposition, humor
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Children |
"INCHY PINCHY"
This practical joke begins when one person convinces
another (usually a younger/naive) person that they are
going to be initiated into a special group. The "initiate"
is taken into a darkened room, with perhaps only a candle
for a light, and seated on the floor. Others come into the
room (quietly and reverentially) and seat themselves in
a circle, in which the "initiate" is included. (Everyone
but the person who is the target of the joke is a co-conspirator.)
After everyone is seated in a circle, the
leader (seated next to the victim) announces that the
ceremony is about to begin. He instructs the "initiate"
to copy his motions exactly, doing to his neighbor what
is done to him. The leader, then, reaches out and grabs
the victim's cheek and gently pulls on it, saying
solemnly, "Inchy Pinchy." This should be intoned slowly--
"In...chy Pin...chy." The victim pulls the cheek of
the person next to him and does likewise, and the motion is
passed around the circle. Again the leader reaches out
and grabs another part of the victim's face, perhaps the
forehead or nose, and says "Inchy Pinchy." Again the
motion is passed around the circle. This continues as
many times as the leader wants. When the "ritual" is
over, the victim is instructed to look in the mirror to
verify how the ceremony has transformed him. When he
does so, he realizes that each time the leader touched
his face, that he had been smeared with lipstick (or any
other substance that can be concealed in the hand). At the
moment of realization everyone shouts "INCHY PINCHY!"
Submitter comment:
This was a joke I learned at a slumber party when I was
in seventh grade. My older brother and I successfully
played it on my younger brother, Greg, who reminded me
of it when I asked for any possible folklore items,
especially children's songs/games. A copy of a story he
wrote about this experience has been submitted as
supplementary material.
Where learned: OHIO ; COLUMBUS
Keyword(s): Humor, trick, mock rite-of-passage
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Entertainment Diversion CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Initiation rite Hazing |
Date learned: 00001965CA
Comic Book Title
One Hundred yards to the Out-house by Willy Makit.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; BIRCH RUN
Keyword(s): HUMOR
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Jest Anecdote |
Date learned: 00-00-1975
Comic Book Title
Yellow River by I. P. Daily
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; BIRCH RUN
Keyword(s): HUMOR
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Jest Anecdote |
Date learned: 00-00-1975
Comic Book Title
Tracks in the Sand by Peter Dragon
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; BIRCH RUN
Keyword(s): HUMOR
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Jest Anecdote |
Date learned: 00-00-1975
IN 1492 COLUMBUS DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.
HE SPIT IN HIS SHOE AND GAVE IT TO YOU.
Submitter comment:
SAID IN 1929 AMONG ITALIAN-AMERICAN KIDS IN DETROIT.
FOLLOWED WITH "CAN'T CHANGE IT," MEANING "DON'T
TRY TO FOLLOW ME UP WITH A VARIANT OF THIS."
SHE REALLY LAUGHED WHEN SHE REMEMBERED THIS,
APROPOS OF COLUMBUS DAY.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; CLAWSON
James Callow Keyword(s): HUMOR
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Lyrical Verse Lyrical Verse CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- September 12 |
Date learned: 00-00-1979
It rained so hard one day that people had to jump
into the river to keep from drowning.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): HUMOR
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Cloud Fog Mist Rain Hail Ice Snow Frost Dew PROVERB -- Proverbial Comparison |
Date learned: 00001980S
Miss Lucy
A popular game that was played in grade school was a
game called "Miss Lucy". This game was played by the
girls on the playground at lunch time or at recess.
This is a hand clapping game that can be played by two
or four people. This is probably one of the simplest
hand clapping games played. When playing,
the two people would stand opposite each other.
To begin, each person would first clap
their own hands together. Then each person would clap
her right hand with the other person's right hand.
This would be followed by each one clapping their own
hands again. Then they would clap left hands. This
was again followed by clapping their own hands.
Then they would clap their left hand with the other
person's right hand and at the same time clap their
right hand with the other person's left hand. Then
this would be followed by them clapping their own hands
together again. Then they would begin the whole process
all over again. For this game, this song would be
sung in rhythm to the clapping.
Miss Lucy had a baby,
She named him Tiny Tim.
She put him in the bathtub,
To see if he could swim.
He drank up all the water,
He ate up all the soap.
He tried to eat the bathtub,
But it wouldn't fit down his throat.
Miss Lucy called the doctor.
The doctor called the nurse.
The nurse called the lady with the alligator purse.
In came the doctor.
In came the nurse.
In came the lady with the alligator purse.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
James Callow Keyword(s): HUMOR ; Ravenous ; Voracious
| Subject headings: | Favorites Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Athletic sport and exercise Gymnastics |
Date learned: 00001970S
Rhyme
At the dinner table, my mother's mother used to tease
anyone who asked to be excused. The dialogue would go
like this:
"I've had sufficient."
"You went fishing?"
"I've had plenty."
"You caught twenty?"
"Go to Hell!"
"I should say you did well!"
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
James Callow Keyword(s): HUMOR
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Speech Speech |
Date learned: 00001950CA
LIMERICK
THERE ONCE WAS A GIRL NAMED MYRTLE
WHO HAD QUITE AN AFFAIR WITH A TURTLE.
NOTHING'S MORE PHENOMENAL
THAN A SWELLING ABDOMINAL
TO PROVE TO MYRTLE
THAT THE TURTLE WAS FERTILE.
Submitter comment:
THE INFORMANT LEARNED THE LIMERICK IN 7TH GRADE AT
HELEN KELLER JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL, ROYAL OAK, MICHIGAN
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; ROYAL OAK
Keyword(s): HUMOR
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Narrative Verse |
Date learned: 00-00-1965
Wait'll Martin Comes
A man decided to spend the night in a haunted house on a
dare. He was reading and all of a sudden he saw two cats
come in. One asked the other "What'll we do with im?"
The other says "Wait'll Martin comes."
Soon another cat came in, one bigger than the first two.
He asked the other two "What'll we do with im?"
The others say, "Wait'll Martin comes."
The man is scared but keeps his calm.
Soon however, a great big black cat comes strolling in.
He asks the other three cats, "What'll we do with im?"
The others say "Wait'll Martin comes."
The man runs out the door saying,
"Tell Martin I couldn't wait!"
Submitter comment:
I learned this while we were camping with my cousins
telling ghost stories
Where learned: VIRGINIA ; Hampton
James Callow Keyword(s): HUMOR
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Tale |
Date learned: OOOO1970s
Diarrhea Drip, drip! Diarrhea! Drip, drip!
Some people think it's funny
But they like it hot and runny!
Diarrhea! Drip, drip! Diarrhea! Drip, drip!
Some people think it's nice
And they like it over rice!
Submitter comment:
The collector heard this as a child. It's a simple chant
where the last two lines after every "drip, drip" are changed.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
James Callow Keyword(s): Feces as food ; HUMOR ; ILLNESS ; REFRAIN ; SICK HUMOR
| Subject headings: | 730 Lyrical Verse Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Lyrical Verse Lyrical Verse Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Lyrical Verse Lyrical Verse |
Date learned: 04-00-1991
Mr Johnny Goback
Once there was a Dutchman his name was Johnny Goback.
He was a sausage dealer in sauerkraut and speck.
One day he invented a marvelous machine,
now all the neighbors cats and dogs will never no more be
seen.
(Chorus) Oh mister Johnny Goback how could you be so mean?
I told you you'd be sorry for inventing that machine.
Now all the neighbors cats and dogs will never no more be seen
they'll all be ground to sausages in Johnny Goback's machine.
chorus over.
One day a little boy came strolling in the store.
He bought a pound of sausages and set them on the floor.
The little boy started whistling, he whistled up a tune.
And all the little sausages started dancing around the room.
(Chorus)
One day the thing got stuck the blame thing wouldn't go.
So Johnny crawled inside of it to see what made it so.
His wife was having a nightmare walking in her sleep.
She gave the crank a heck of a yank and Johnny was sausage
meat.
(Chorus)
Submitter comment:
My grandma learned this from her husband, who is no longer
living. She believes it is a Marching song for soldiers. My
grandfather came directly on the boat from the Netherlands so
this is native to that land. It goes back to at least his
childhood since his father taught it to him. This would date
this back as early as 1915.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; HAZEL PARK
James Callow Keyword(s): HUMOR
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Good humor Jest Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- War cries |
Date learned: 00-00-1935