Patty-cake polka

Heel and toe, heel and toe, slide, slide and stop.

  Heel and toe, heel and toe, slide, slide, slide and stop.

Right, right, right.   Left, left, left. Both, both, both.   Knees, knees, knees.

Turn your partner once around and on to the next.

Partners face each other, holding both hands in a double circle, greasy-barrel joined up at the ends.

Heel and toe   (with clockwise foot)   Slide  (sashay to clockwise)

Repeat in opposite direction.

Clap R hand w. partner,  then L, then both, then knees.

Take both hands, turn around in a clockwise direction until the inside partner gets back to where she was.  She stops. Drop hands.   The outside partner keeps going a couple of steps to where the person on her left was formerly.  Everyone has a new partner, and the game goes again.


( You can change the last line to "Turn your partner once around and curtsy so politely" if you want to get the hang of the dance before adding the complication of changing partners.)

Tune: 355- 466- 7-67 89mi
355- 466- 7-67  988-
mi 88- 866- 777- 655-
mi 888 8667 7-67 8---

Basically, a variant of "Little Brown Jug."

Down in the Market

Down in the Market of La Sal-le   I am selling apples.

  Down in the Market of La Sal-le I am selling cheese.

Who'll buy my apples, buy my shiny apples?

  Who'll buy my apples and buy my cheese?

4 44 4 4  4 6 8 8    1 1 1 1   6 -  4-    

4 44 4 4  4 6 8 8    1 1 1 1   4 - - -

6 -  5  6   4  - 1 -     6  6  5  6 4 -  1 -  

6 -  5  6   8 - b7 6   5 - 8 - 6 - - -

Round, handclap game.   

Two pairs of players face each other crossways (i.e., standing north, south, east and west, they reach across each others' hands to their partners.)   Lap, clap, touch both hands flat with partner, clap.

The first set of partners sings "Down in the market" (two beats) when the second pair starts to sing "Down in the Market."

When one pair is reaching across to touch the other partner's hands, the other pair is doing lap.  They all clap together.

My Boyfriend's Name is Lucky

My boyfriend’s name is Lucky.

He comes from old Kentucky.

With a pickle on his nose and a cherry on his toes,

And that’s the way my story goes.

My mother gave him peaches.

My sister gave him pears.

My father gave him fifteen cents

And kicked him down the stairs.

Partner handclap game.   R, clap, L, clap, both, clap, lap, clap

source:   Willmar neighborhood and St. Pius X schoolyard late 1950s, early 60s