Author Archive
Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky, a funny little circle game or counting song (a Girl Scout Songbook song, too)
Posted on: May 19, 2013
Here’s a cute one I learned (and adapted a little to make a counting song) from my daughter’s Brownie Troop:
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Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky (Counting Song or Circle Game)
Traditional Words and Tune
To view or print this song sheet, click here:
down by the banks of the hanky panky
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DOWN BY THE BANKS OF THE HANKY PANKY
Traditional Words and Tune
Down by the banks of the Hanky Panky
Where the bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
With an eeps, ipes, opes, opps
One fell in and went kerplops.
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Circle Game Instructions
This song is sung (and game played) by the Brownies of Troop 2740 by sitting in a circle and hands extended round in the circle. Each girl sits with right palm resting under the hand of the girl to her right and left hand resting on top of the hand to her left. When the song begins, one girl is designated to begin and on the first beat of the song she gently slaps the hand of the girl to her right with her left hand. Then, in turn, one at a time going around the circle (this would be counter-clockwise) when a girl’s left hand is gently slapped, she uses her left hand to gently slap the upturned palm of the girl to her right. The girl whose hand is slapped on the word “kerplop” is out and the game/song begins again and is played until the last girl/frog goes “kerplop.”
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Counting Game Instructions
To make this a counting song, replace “Where the” with 5 (or number for however many times you’re willing to sing the song), and in each subsequent verse, reduce the number by 1. When the group reaches zero, sing “No bullfrogs jump” and “Not one fell in and went kerplops.”
It would go like this:
DOWN BY THE BANKS OF THE HANKY PANKY (COUNTING SONG)
Traditional Words and Tune
Down by the banks of the Hanky Panky
Five bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
With an eeps, ipes, opes, opps
One fell in and went kerplops.
Down by the banks of the Hanky Panky
Four bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
With an eeps, ipes, opes, opps
One fell in and went kerplops.
Etc…
Last verse:
Down by the banks of the Hanky Panky
No bullfrogs jump from bank to banky
With an eeps, ipes, opes, opps
Not one fell in and went kerplops.
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Very similar tune to the one the girls use, a 19 second song so you can hear the whole tune by previewing the track, here (very cute),
http://www.amazon.com/Down-By-Banks-Hanky-Panky/dp/B003EYA7JS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1368622270&s=dmusic&sr=1-2
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This video includes extended lyrics and a hand-clapping game, but a similar tune:
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Kids in Indonesia play the song, too (slightly different lyrics, but same tune!)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zoMAvwKGfk
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This is not a circle game, but an alternative with movements (good exercise!)
King County Library System webpage for this song, includes slightly different lyrics and tune and a video with movements for a little exercise:
http://wiki.kcls.org/tellmeastory/index.php/Down_by_the_Banks_of_the_Hanky_Panky
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Slightly different lyrics but good circle game (they call it a clapping game, but the instructions are for the circle game),
http://kiboomukidssongs.com/down-by-the-banks-of-the-hanky-panky-song/
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Related Posts
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Down by the Banks of the Hanky Panky, a Girl Scout Song for Troop 2740
http://brownietroop2740.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/down-by-the-banks-of-the-hanky-panky-a-girl-scout-song-for-troop-2740/
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MOVEMENTS, FINGER PLAYS AND DANCES
Get Movin’! MOVEMENTS, FINGER PLAYS AND DANCES in Singable Picture Books
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/get-movin-movements-finger-plays-and-dances-in-singable-picture-books/
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LITTLE SONGS, A NOTEBOOK OF SWEET LITTLE SONGS (MOSTLY SINGABLE POETRY) FOR TO SING WHEN YOUR BRAIN FEELS FUZZY
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/little-songs-a-notebook-of-sweet-little-songs-mostly-singable-poetry-for-to-sing-when-your-brain-feels-fuzzy/
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COUNTING
Counting (and math) in Singable Picture Books
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2011/09/22/counting-and-math-in-singable-picture-books/
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PINTEREST
SING WITH ME SONGBOOK FOR SINGBOOKS WITH EMILY (ON PINTEREST)
http://pinterest.com/singbooksemily/sing-with-me-songbook-sing-books-with-emily/
My dear friend Ms. Anctil gave me a gift of a new FARMER IN THE DELL:
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The Farmer in the Dell
Traditional Words and Tune
Illustrated by Wendy Straw
Turns out, there’s quite a few FARMERS IN THE DELL!
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The Farmer in the Dell
Traditional Words and Tune
Illustrated by Ilse Plume
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This was sitting on Mr. Mitchell’s bookshelf, so we sang it!

The Farmer in the Dell (A Singing Game)
Traditional Words and Music
Illustrated by Mary Maki Rae
This book features a description of the circle game which can be played when singing this song as well as printed music.
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Farmer in the Dell (Classic Books with Holes)
Traditional Words and Tune
Illustrated by Pam Adams
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The Farmer in the Dell
Traditional Words and Tune
Illustrated by Alexandra Wallner
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Wiki has lyrics and song history info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Farmer_in_the_Dell
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A YouTube to help you with the tune:
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THE FARMER IN THE DELL
Traditional Words and Tune
The farmer in the dell
The farmer in the dell
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The farmer in the dell
The farmer takes a wife
The farmer takes a wife
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The farmer takes a wife
The wife takes a child
The wife takes a child
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The wife takes a child
The child takes a nurse
The child takes a nurse
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The child takes a nurse
The nurse takes a cow
The nurse takes a cow
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The nurse takes a cow
The cow takes a dog
The cow takes a dog
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The cow takes a dog
The dog takes a cat
The dog takes a cat
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The dog takes a cat
The cat takes a rat
The cat takes a rat
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The cat takes a rat
The rat takes the cheese
The rat takes the cheese
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The rat takes the cheese
The cheese stands alone
The cheese stands alone
Hi-ho, the derry-o
The cheese stands alone
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This looks like a very cool vintage toy:
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It is fun to sing this song along with accompaniment from the Fisher Price TV Radio that winds up and plays a music box version of “The Farmer in the Dell,”
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FARMER IN THE DELL
Circle Game Instructions from Ilse Plume’s Illustration:
HOW TO PLAY THE FARMER IN THE DELL
The Farmer in the Dell begins with a group of children forming a circle around a single child who is designated ”the farmer.” As the children begin to sing the song, they hold hands and dance in a circle around the farmer. When the children sing “The farmer takes a wife, the farmer takes a wife, high-ho the derry-o, the farmer takes a wife,” the child in the center of the circle chooses another child to come into the center with him, and she is designated ”the wife.”
The farmer can select a wife either by spinning around with his eyes closed and choosing the child to hem he randomly points, or he can actively choose a specific child. The game continues in the same manner with the wife picking a “child,” then the child picking a “nurse,” and so on until the seventh child becomes “the rat.”
When all of the children in the circle sing “The rat takes the cheese, the rat takes the cheese, high-ho the derry-o, the rat takes the cheese,” the eights child is chosen and as she enters the circle the other players go back into the circle, join hands with the other children , and sing along: “The cheese stands alone, the cheese stands alone, heigh-ho the derry-o, the cheese stands alone.”
To begin the next round of the game, the cheese is designated the farmer and she chooses the next wife.
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To find a good definition, I Googled “What is a dell?” and this is what came up:
dell:
/del/
Noun
A small valley, usually among trees.
Synonyms
glen – valley
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Related Posts
Two Priceless Mementos
Posted on: May 14, 2013
Independently of each other, two girls in 2nd grade made notes for me this past week. Priceless mementos that I’ll keep and treasure.
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Related Posts
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GALLERY OF KIDS ARTWORK FOR SBWE
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/praise-portraits-from-friends-of-sbwe/
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PRAISE FOR SING BOOKS WITH EMILY
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/praise-for-sing-books-with-emily/






































