Mary Mack
[1]"Mary Mack" ("Miss Mary Mack") is a clapping game created by African American children and played by children in English-speaking countries. It is first attested in the book The Counting Out Rhymes of Children by Henry Carrington Bolton (1888), whose version was collected in West Chester, Pennsylvania. It is well known in various parts of the United States, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and in New Zealand and has been called "the most common hand-clapping game in the English-speaking world".[1]
In the game, two children stand or sit opposite to each other, and clap hands in time to a rhyming song.
The same song is also used as a jumprope rhyme,[2] although rarely so according to one source.[3]
Rhyme
Various versions of the song exist; a common version goes;
- Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack
- All dressed in black, black, black
- With silver buttons, buttons, buttons
- All down her back, back, back (or "Up and down her back, back, back")
- She asked her mother, mother, mother
- For 50 cents, cents, cents
- To see the elephants, elephants, elephants
- Jump over the fence, fence, fence
- They jumped so high, high, high
- They reached the sky, sky, sky
- And didn't (or never) come back, back, back (or come down, down, down)
- Till the 4th of July ly ly
An alternate version, sung in Canada, includes the words:
- She could not read, read, read
- She could not write, write, write
- But she could smoke, smoke, smoke
- Her father’s pipe, pipe, pipe
An alternate version, sung in the American South:
- Mary Mack,
- Dressed in black,
- Silver buttons all down her back.
- She combed her hair
- And broke the comb
- She's gonna get a whoopin' when her Momma comes home
- Gonna get a whoopin' when her Momma comes home
Clap
A common version of the accompanying clap is as follows:
- pat arms across chest: Arms across chest
- pat thighs: Pat thighs
- clap hands: Clap hands
- clap right hands together: Clap right palms with partner
- clap left hands together: Clap left palms with partner
- clap both hand together
- Clap both palms with partner
Another version:[4]
- &: One palm up, one palm down
- 4: Clap both partners hands
- &: Clap own hands
- 1: Cross arms to chest
- 2: Slap thighs
- 3: Clap own hands
Another Version:
- 4: Pat thighs
- &: Clap hands
- 1: Clap partners right hand
- &: Clap hands
- &: Clap partners left hand
- &: Clap hands
- 2: Clap both partners hands
- &: Clap hands
Another Version:
- &: One palm up, one palm down
- 1: Clap both partners hands
- &: Reverse hands
- 2: Clap both partners hands
- &: Clap own hands
- 4: clap partners right hand
- &: clap hands
- 5: clap partners left hand
- &: clap hands
- 6: clap partners right hand
- &: clap hands
repeat
Possible origins
Miss Mary Mack was a performer in Ephraim Williams’ circus in the 1880s, and the song may be reference to her and the elephants in the show. [2]
The first verse, the repetition, is also a riddle with the answer "coffin".[5]
Early mentions of the part about the elephant do not include the part about Mary Mack.[6][7]
Merrimack
The origin of the name Mary Mack is obscure, and various theories have been proposed. According to one theory, Mary Mack originally referred to the USS Merrimack, a United States warship of the mid-1800s named after the Merrimack River, that would have been black, with silvery rivets. This may suggest that the first verse refers to the Battle of Hampton Roads during the American Civil War.[citation needed]
See also
- "Walking The Dog", a 1960s R&B song by Rufus Thomas with lyrics based on "Mary Mack".
- "Witchcraft (Book of Love song)", a song from the Pop group, Book of Love, with a reference to "Mary Mack".
- "Tobacco Origin Story", a poem by Joy Harjo, refers to the song twice in a prominent way.
- "DemiRep", a song from the punk rock band, Bikini Kill, with "Mary Mack" included in the song
References
- ^ Gaunt, Kyra Danielle. The Games Black Girls Play: Learning the Ropes from Double-Dutch to Hip-hop. NYU Press. p. 63. ISBN 0-8147-3120-1. Retrieved 2011-04-08.
- ^ Gaunt, Games Black Girls Play, p. 68
- ^ Cole, Joanna (1989). Anna Banana: 101 Jump-rope Rhymes. HarperCollins. p. 13. ISBN 0-688-08809-0. Retrieved 2011-04-08.
- ^ Bernstein, Sara (1994). Hand Clap!, p.88-9. ISBN 1-55850-426-5. Rhythm not provided.
- ^ Odum, Howard W. (1928). Rainbow Round My Shoulder: The Blue Trail of Black Ulysses (2006 ed.). Indiana University Press. p. 33. ISBN 0-253-21854-3. Retrieved 2011-04-08.
- ^ Heath, Lilian M. (1902). Eighty Good Times Out of Doors. Fleming H. Revell Co. p. 186. Retrieved 2011-04-08.
elephant jump the fence.
- ^ Day, Holman F. (1905). Squire Phin: A Novel. A. L. Burt Co. p. 21. Retrieved 2011-04-08.