Thursday, December 10, 2009

One Two Three Four Roll It Up a Little More

This particular rhyme was sort of a subject of legend around my playground - no one, to my knowledge, ever ACTUALLY heard girls saying this one (and doing the actions that went with it), but a few people claimed they had. A kid (I think his name was Nick) excitedly told me, long about 1990, that the girls were all singing this song....

It was said to be a rhyme said while rolling up one' shirt, stopping just before "the moment of truth" (as one folklorist who collected this put it):"

One, two, three, four
roll it up a little more
five, six, seven, eight
sorry, boys, coffee break!


Sherman (whose book is on the right) collected a version about skirts instead of shirts. Not sure how far back it goes, but it seems to be reasonably widespread and still in circulation, but "skirt lifting" rhymes aren't that common in the states. It was rumored among boys at school that there WERE rhymes where girls lifted their skirts, but I'm reasonably sure that was a myth. However, they seem to have been fairly common in the UK - see I'm Shirley Temple and the variants of Salute the King.
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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 16, 2010 at 2:32 PM

    Hi!
    Actually this came to my school in Toronto, Ontario in 2001.
    No variation, that's the rhyme, with the shirt being rolled up.

    ReplyDelete
  2. cindaJanuary 22, 2011 at 10:50 PM

    I used to sing this rhyme while rolling up my shirt with my neighborhood girlfriends in the early to mid 80's in Chicago area. I just found this site and it's awesome! I should have my two older sisters get on and post on here! They can remember way more than i can!

    ReplyDelete
  3. PaulinaOctober 10, 2011 at 3:20 PM

    I heard this rhyme about 2 days ago at my school in California. In Orange County:) Haha It's so catchy! ;P

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousFebruary 23, 2012 at 8:54 AM

    Catholic school girls skirt- "1, 2, 3, 4- roll it up a little more. 5, 6, 7, 8- sorry (name), got a date."

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJuly 16, 2012 at 11:46 PM

    I've heated 1234 I declare a thumb war.
    5678 try to keep your thumb straight.

    ReplyDelete
  6. missViscousJune 17, 2014 at 1:20 AM

    Sadly, this version isn't dirty at all, but it's a skipping rhyme we chanted:

    One two, buckle my shoe
    Three four, shut the door
    Five six, pick up sticks
    Seven eight, lay them straight
    Nine ten, a big fat hen!

    Victoria BC, 1979/1980

    ReplyDelete

PLEASE tell us where and when you heard your version (ie, "Chicago, early 1950s). And please be aware that the information may end up in a book sooner or later. Comments are screened; too much spam.