Playground song facts for kids

Children's playground and street songs are special because they spread super fast! Unlike nursery rhymes, which adults teach to kids many years later, these songs are learned and shared almost right away by kids themselves. This quick sharing means new versions of songs can pop up and travel across a whole country in just about a month. It also means songs change and get "fixed" as kids forget words or come up with new ones.

Where Do These Songs Come From?

Some playground songs we know today have been around for a very long time, even since the 1700s! Often, these songs started as popular tunes for adults, like old folk songs or songs from music hall shows. Kids are also really good at taking existing songs – like nursery rhymes, pop songs, or even advertising jingles – and changing them to be funny or make fun of something.

For example, remember the song "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" from the 1950s Disney movie? Kids would change the words to make Davy Crockett a spaceman or something silly, just for fun!

Songs with Actions

Many popular playground songs involve doing actions while you sing. One famous example is "I'm a Little Teapot."

Did you know a term from this song is even used in cricket? When a bowler (the person who throws the ball) is upset because someone dropped a catch, they might stand with one hand on their hip. This is called a 'teapot'! If they put both hands on their hips and look really disappointed, it's called a 'double teapot'.

Songs for Games

Lots of children's playground songs are sung while playing specific games. These include clapping games, like "Miss Susie" in America, "A sailor went to sea" in Britain, and "Mpeewa" in Africa. Many traditional Māori children's games, which teach things like hand movements, also have special songs. In the Congo, children play a game called "A Wa Nsabwee" where they sing and move their hands together.

Skipping games, like Double Dutch, have even influenced music styles like hip hop and rap!

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G" Song

Sometimes, a playground song is about a child who is actually there, or the child singing the song. The song "K-I-S-S-I-N-G" is a well-known example. It's often sung to tease two kids who might like each other, making them feel a little shy or embarrassed. This song is passed down from one child to another, usually by just hearing it.

Here are the words:

[Name] and [Name]
sitting in a tree,
K-I-S-S-I-N-G.
First comes love,
then comes marriage,
then comes baby
in a baby carriage!

Songs for Fun and Laughter

Other songs are just for fun and can be very creative. Many children's verses like to break the rules a little or make fun of things. Kids often change the words of adult songs to make them silly. For example, the Christmas carol "While shepherds watched their flocks by night" might become "While shepherds washed their socks at night"!

With more TV and ads around, kids also make up funny versions of advertising jingles. The "McDonald's song" in the United States is one example, where kids would change the words to be humorous.

Humor is a huge part of children's songs. The English language, with its many words that sound alike but have different meanings, is great for making funny Nonsense verses. Famous writers like Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll wrote many nonsense poems for children, and kids often make up their own silly songs too!