The James T. Callow Folklore Archive

COUNTING-OUT RHYME

MY MOTHER AND YOUR MOTHER
WERE OUT HANGING CLOTHES
MY MOTHER PUNCHED YOUR MOTHER
RIGHT IN THE NOSE
WHAT COLOR WAS THE BLOOD? MM
THOSE WHO WANTED TO PLAY WOULD STAND IN A CIRCLE AND HOLD OUT ONE
FIST IF THERE WERE MANY OR TWO IF THERE WERE ONLY A FEW. ONE PERSON
WOULD RECITE THE RHYME, TAPPING ONE FIST WITH HIS FIST FOR EACH
SYLLABLE AND MOVING AROUND THE CIRCLE. AFTER THE LAST LINE THE
PERSON WHOSE FIST WAS TAPPED LAST WOULD CHOOSE A COLOR . THAT
COLOR WOULD BE SPELLED OUT WITH ONE LETTER FOR EACH FIST. EITHER
THE LAST PERSON IS "IT" OR IS ELIMINATED AND THE RHYME REPEATED
UNTIL ONE PERSON IS LEFT TO BE "IT." SOMETIMES WE ADDED "MY MOTHER
TOLD ME TO PICK THE VERY BEST ONE" TO THE SPELLING OF THE COLOR,
BUT STILL DETERMINED "IT" IN THE SAME WAY.

Submitter comment: I LEARNED THIS AS A CHILD IN EITHER ENDWELL, NEW YORK OR SOLON, OHIO.
I ALWAYS ASSUMED THAT "HANGING CLOTHES" REFERRED TO HANGING WET
CLOTHES OUTSIDE ON A LINE TO DRY, THOUGH THE MEANING SEEMS VAGUE IN
THE RHYME. WE DELIGHTED IN THINKING OF ODD COLORS FOR THE BLOOD TO
BE. IT WAS ESPECIALLY FUN TO USE THIS WHEN PLAYING WITH THE NEIGHBOR
CHILDREN AND LAUGHING TOGETHER AT THE POSSIBILITY OF THE SITUATION
EVER OCCURRING.
INITIAL ITERATION: MY MOTHER
FINAL ITERATION: YOUR MOTHER
RHYME: ABABC

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT ; DETROIT ; CAMPUS

Date learned: CA00001968