And bring your dollies three, climb up my apple tree
Slide down my rain barrel, into my cellar door
And we’ll be jolly friends, forever more!
Dear little playmate, I cannot play with you.
I have a faculty meeting.
Your pal,
Historiann
Feel free to add your rhyme ideas (or complaints) in the comments, friends!
Historiann 
My Submission:
Say, say, oh playmate
I cannot play with you
I have a paper due
To read at Kalamazoo…
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I’ll be right over! Classes ended yesterday and first final is not ’til Tuesday. What can I bring? Is there a GPS or Google Maps coordinate for that tree, or its house?
I’da versified this, but…
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Neither rhymes nor complaints but a recommendation: the jazz tenor sax player Johnny Griffin recorded “Playmates” around 1960 and it’s wonderful, cheerful and vigorous. It’s on his album “The Little Giant.”
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Faaaaaabulous playhouse! And the tree in bloom surrounding it makes it even better! I didn’t get the full effect last year before we left the little town on the high prairie.
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That rhyme has long interested me. It has hung around for at least three generations, changing to fit the world familiar to each.
My mother taught me the version she learned in the early 1930s:
Say, say my playmate, come out and play with me.
And bring your dollies three, climb up my apple tree.
Shout down my rain barrel, slide down my cellar door,
And we’ll be jolly friends forever more.
She explained that when you shout into an empty rain barrel, you hear an echo, and sloped outdoor cellar entrances made slides for kids without playground equipment. When my youngest sister learned it about 1970, that line had become, “Slide down my rainbow, look down my cellar door.” No one had rain barrels, and cellar doors were upright and inside the house. Now Historiann has another version!
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No rain barrel. No cellar door. No ice box. No pantry. No lilac tree by the bay window. Total entropy. What’s the use of even having a treehouse?!? I’m glad my grandma didn’t live long enough to see this!
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No more funding, quoth DOU,
No more support for the likes of you.
But I just passed my defense right well,
So this whole school can go to hell.
Not even graduated yet,
But a letter in my box I get.
A paying alumnus they want me to be,
Just two words for them: Blow me.
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Sharon–that’s so interesting. I’m going to change my version to your mother’s version, which makes much more sense. In my 1970s childhood, we preserved the rain barrel and the cellar door, but of course one can’t “slide down” a rain barrel. Thanks!
Now, can anyone else help me with the response from the little playmate:
And after that I can’t remember the rest. Surely there must be other survivors of girlhood who can fill in the blanks!
And, Prof. Koshary: congratulations, and thanks for the rhyme. Isn’t it interesting how little affection or loyalty most people’s grad institutions inspire? I feel the same way as you. I once gave a donation for a specific event to Penn on checks that included my husband’s name (also a “Dr.”) I had just been awarded my Ph.D., but we weren’t married then and our checks had our (different) last names. The thank-you note was sent to “Dr. and Mrs. Husband Lastname.” I wrote a letter of complaint to the Dean of Liberal Arts (under whose signature the letter was sent), stating that I was prepared to be patronized as the wife of a physician, but that 1) I wasn’t in fact yet his wife, and that 2) it was especially offensive from MY alma mater which had just recently awarded me a Ph.D.
Now it happens all the time. (But I don’t give any more money to Penn.) I give to my undergrad college, which appears to get the concept that I in fact write those checks, and they don’t send the TY note to “Dr. and Mrs.”
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I knew the rainbow version too. The response I remember is:
Oh say o playmate
I cannot play with you
my dolly has the flu
she might throw up on you
There is no rainbow
there is no cellar door
but we’ll be jolly friends
forever more, 1, 2, 3, 4
I always thought the second playmate was a bit of a downer personally.
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We used to sing the “mean” version:
Say Say oh Playmate,
Come out and fight with me,
And bring your soldiers three,
(a line I can’t remember)
Slide down my razorblade
Into my Dungeon door,
And we’ll be enemies,
For evermore!
This is also from the 1970s.
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One of the institutions I attended as a student had been robo-calling me *every single motherfucking day at 6PM* for years. I finally answered and asked the poor schnook who anwered if they really thought that this kind of incessant pestering was gonna make me decide to give them a donation.
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Oh I remember that mean version I think the line you are missing is ‘burn (or chop) down my apple tree’
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Wow–you all were mean, Beth and Nikki! I’m reminded of that Matt Groening cartoon that’s a tribute to the nasty songs and rhymes from childhood, where the instructions conclude, “repeat until spanked.”
The one semi-naughty rhyme I remember best was a clapping rhyme that started out “cross, down, . . .
(I can’t recall the last line that wraps this one up. Does this sound familiar to anyone else?)
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“This is another one of Susie’s dirty lullabies.”
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the boys are in the bathroom zipping up their
FLIES are in the city the bees are in the park,
ms.suzzy and her boyfriend are kissing in the dark dark
DARKER than the ocean darker than the sea,
darker than the underwear my mommy puts on me
i know you know my mommy
i know you know my paw
i know you know my sister with the 42 inch bra bra bra.
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Nothing to do with the rain barrel song, closer to SHAving Cream and “the Pussycat Song” – all were recorded on shellack – rain barrel song was used on early 60s Captain Kangaroo (CBS/Bob Keeshan) see comments below
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Miss Lucy had a steamboat
The steamboat had a bell
Miss Lucy went to heaven
and the steamboat went to
HELLo operator, please give me number 9
And if you disconnect me
I will chop off your
BEHIND the frigerator
There was a piece of glass
Miss Lucy sat upon it
And it went right up her
ASk me no more questions
I’ll tell you no more lies
The boys are in the bathroom
And they’re pulling down their
FLIES are in the kitchen
Bees are in the park
The boys and girls are kissing in the
D-A-R-K D-A-R-K D-A-R-K
Dark is like the movies
The movies like a show
The show is like a TV set
And that is all I know
I know my mother
I know I know my father
I Know I know my sister with the
eighteen-hour eighteen-hour eighteen-hour
Bra bra bra!
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Barnardian–take a bow. That’s it! And I think we sang it with both Lucy and Susie.
I still like the baby in the well version better than the steamboat version, though. Those jump rope and clapping rhymes were so fascinating and easy to remember precisely because of their allusions to the mysteries of life: sex and death intertwined. Remember all of those “Cinderella dressed in yella” rhymes? Why on Earth would she “kiss a snake?”
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Ah, this brings back memories. I sang this in the early 80s. I was just about to share the alternate version that Nikki shared, with the line about razor blades.
Of course, contemporaneously my best friend and I also made up our own songs, based on complicated mythologies heavily influenced by pop culture. My favorite was “Zad the Breakdancing Dragon.”
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Playmate Playmate up in the tree
How I wish I could play with thee
But I have a meeting
which is play defeating.
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Is this the treehouse that cost your husband a four-figure legal bill because it was constructed in violation of setback ordinances?
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The witness is advised not to answer that question. No evidence has been presented to show that there *are* any setback ordinances in the town in question.
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p.s. I did a quick wikilaw on this one and while it’s somewhat ambiguous, the apparent controlling ordinance in this case continues to be the Northwest Ordinance (1785), as modified by a long series of Homestead Acts.
And setback ordinances don’t seem to come into much play in any of these places. West of Manhattan, as Jefferson argued, “who need[ed] ’em?” And, as Montesquieu had previously and famously noted, “setback ordinances are generally only found in small republics, not in expansive republics–or, for that matter, Empires–of liberty…”
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It’s not my treehouse. It’s just a random thing I ripped off of the internets. But it’s pretty cute, no?
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Case closed! (sound of gavel coming down)!!
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The end of that one rhyme is:
Ask me no questions, I’ll tell you no lies
Keep your mouth shut and you’ll swallow no flies.
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My mom sang it to me like this:
Oh yoohoo playmate (she sang it with my name :))
Come out and play with me
And bring your dollies three
Climb up the apple tree
Holler down the rain barrel
Slide down the cellar door
And we’ll be jolly friends
Forever more
Oh yoohoo playmate (or Mommy, in her version)
I cannot play with you
My dollies have the flu
Boo hoo, boo hoo, boo hoo
We have no rain barrel
There is no cellar door
But we’ll be jolly friends
Forever more.
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I thought this song was a figment of my imagination. I guess it was around 1st grade we learned this ( 1986 ) I’m just waiting for Kanye West to use it as the hook for a rap song.
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Our 2nd verse to Playmate…
So sorry playmate
I cannot play with you
my dolly’s got the flu
(she might throw up on you)
ain’t got no rain barrel
ain’t got no cellar door
but we’ll be jolly friends
forever more, more, more-more, more more
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This is the version I learned from my mom who learned it from her mom and I don’t know how much further it goes back.
Good morning (I can’t remember exactly if it was good morning or some other greeting but the rest I remember clearly) playmate
come out and play with me
And bring your dollies three
climb up my apple tree
Slide down my rain barrel
in through my cellar door
And we’ll be jolly friends forever more.
I’m sorry playmate
I cannot play with you
My dolly has the flu and
German measles too
Ain’t got no rain barrel
Ain’t got no cellar door
But we’ll be jolly friends forever more
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oh little playmate, come out and play with me
and bring your dollies three
climb up my apple tree
slide down your rainbow
into my pot of gold
and we’ll be merry friends
forever more
that’s how my mom sang it.
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I always heard the response is-
Dear little playmate,
I can’t come out and play,
my dolly has the flu,
oh boohoohoo
oh boohoohoo.
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The song has a huge sexual overtone just read the lyrics and it’s all about having sex. I pointed this out to several people including my wife and we all cracked up about it.
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YES – you’re the first person whom I’ve seen say this but I agree! I teach kindergarteners and I was thinking of different children’s songs we could sing and this song popped into my head. I hadn’t sang it or thought about it for years – I never even taught my own kids the song and they are teenagers. As the words went through my head, I immediately realized whoever made it up had to have created it as a sexual song. Too funny!!!!
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This is a song my mother sang to us when we were kids fifty or so years ago. Between verse 1 and verse 2 is a bridge:
“Hey little playmate,
Come out and play with me
And bring your dollies three,
climb up my apple tree.
Shout down my rain barrel,
Slide down my cellar door
And we’ll be jolly friends
Forever more!”
“She couldn’t come out and play.
It was a sunny day.
With tearful eyes, she breathed a sigh
and I could hear her say,”
“I’m sorry, Playmate.
I cannot play with you.
My dollies have the flu.
Boo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo!
Ain’t got no rain barrel,
ain’t got no cellar door.
But we’ll be jolly friends
forever more!”
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Years ago my mother used to tell us a story of a little girl that found a mountain lion and brought it home. Her mother explained why this was not a good idea. As the story progresses the mountain lion daily ate one of her siblings. Come the last day, the little girl didn’t go to school — it was Saturday.
Does anyone know how this story went. I am SOO much older now and of course, my mom is no longer here. Would love to hear all of it again.
Thank you and would love to hear any of the older ones you might know.
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My mom always sang it to me like this:
Playmate, come out and play with me,
And bring your dollies three,
Climb up my apple tree,
Look down my rain barrel,
Slide down my cellar door,
And we’ll be jolly friends forevermore
It was a rainy day
She couldn’t come out to play
With tears in her eyes,
She breathed with a sigh
And I could hear her say
I’m sorry playmate, I can’t come play with you,
My dolly has the flu
Boo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo
Can’t look down rain barrels,
Can’t slide down cellar doors,
But we’ll be jolly friends forevermore
I don’t know where the “look down rain barrels” vs. “shout” came from…? Interesting to see all the different versions on here 🙂
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This is closer to ancient kids’ song played in early 60s on “Captain Kangaroo” (CBS/Bob Keeshen) my memory says “It was a sunny day/she wouldn’t come out and play/My dolly has the flu …”
Do not believe opening line was bring … your dollies three” for the non-kid voice was similar to original Mighty Mouse song, and there were 2 kid voices, one potentially pre-pubecent male(?) the other definitely p-p female responding after adult male chorus “she couldn’t come out to play it WASN’T a rainy day” …
Don’t remember what was to be done with rain barrel, but it was definitely “slide down my cellar door/and we’ll be jolly friends/for evermore. Nothing to do with “get around the bad word” songs like …HELLo operator/ or “ Fell in a barrel of SHaving cream/shave nice and clean/Shave every day/and you’ll always be keen” or “The Pussycat Song” … various verses sung by woman increasingly on edge of orgasm “Hot Wet Hurting Red Shaved Bald PUSSY/ Just a silly little cat,” probably datable to 1929-35, between the Federal Radio Act and the Federal Communications Act of ‘36.
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We used to play a “clap” game while singing this song. It seems there are numerous versions. I’m sure the words just changed as time went on. Here’s what we used to sing (1972-1973 era):
Playmate
Come out and play with me
And bring your dollies three
Climb up my apple tree
Slide down the rain barrel
And through the cellar door
And we’ll be jolly friends
Forever, more, more, more, more, more
Sorry
I cannot play with you
My dolly has the flu
Boo hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo
Aint got no rain barrel
Aint got no cellar door
But we’ll be jolly friends
Forever, more, more, more, more, more
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How can one “slide down a rain barrel “? One definitely “slide(s) down mu cellar door”
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My mother’s version used “holler down my rain barrel” and there was a bridge that went something like:
I don’t want to play in your yard
I don’t like you any more
I won’t holler down your rain barrel
or slide down your cellar door
I won’t share with you my dollies
or climb up your apple tree
I don’t want to play in your yard
If you won’t be good to me
I’m amazed so many people remember their mother’s song! I am 76 and heard it around 1937-40. Tom Bauer
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Here’s OUR version…
Hey say hey playmate
come out and play with me
and bring your dollies three
climb up my apple tree
climb up my rainspout
slide down my cellar door
and we’ll be jolly friends forever more.
So sorry playmate,
I can’t come play with you
my dolly has the flu,
boo hoo hooo hoo hooo hoo
but someday playmate
I will come play again
and we’ll be jolly friends
until the end.
THIS FROM MY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER VIRGINIA WHEN I WAS ABOUT 3 (1995).
I understand there’s a 3rd version out there too!
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Thank you so much to all of you for this! I have been looking for the words for this for years. I learned this in about 1956 from my mother. My friends and I sang it together with a hand clapping game. Last year I tried to teach it to some children at the school where I was teaching in Kiev, but could not remember it all. I am still teaching and trying to keep these hand clapping and jump rope rhymes from being totally forgotten.
It was a joy to read all your versions and discussion. I did find mine in there.
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Mine was also one taught by my mother who sang it to me to be mean…. Ahhh Just her nature I suppose still love her tho despite her faults. I can remember many songs she taught me and this was one of them. Here is my version:
Hello playmate won’t you come play with me
and bring you dollies three,
Climb up my apple tree,
slide down my rainbow,
slide down the cellar door,
and we will be jolly friends forever more.
The response in return was something to the effect that the friend was sick and couldn’t come play.. age and CRS seem to have caught me and I can no longer remember the rest but everyone has great versions. Thanks so much everyone for the walk down memory lane.
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My mother always sang this version:
It was a sunny day,
she couldn’t come out to play
With tears in her eyes,
I heard her sigh and
I could hear her say,
“I’m sorry playmates,
I cannot play with you,
My dolly has the flu,
Boohoo, hoo, hoo, hoo,hoo
Ain’t got no rain barrel,
Ain’t got no cellar door,
But we’ll be jolly friends,
For evermore.”
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It was a RAINY day,
She couldn’t come out and play.
With tearful eyes, she breathed a sigh
And I could hear her say,
I’m sorry, playmate,
I cannot play with you
My dollie has the flu,
Boo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo
….
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CeCe, my playmate,
come out and play with me!
Bring your dollies three.
Climb up my apple tree.
Slide down my rainbow,
into my cellar door,
we’ll be jolly friends for ever more.
1 2 3 4!
I loved this song and sing it to my kids all the time. We did it as a hand clapping song, where you sit across from one another with your legs crossed and clap across your chest, slap your knees, clap your hands and then match hands with your friend, getting faster and faster as you went. After reading this, I now remember there was a response about not being able to come out because your dollies are sick with the flu. (I’m sorry, playmate. I cannot play with you. My dollies have the flu. Boohoohoohoo. I have no rainbow. I have no cellar door, but we’ll be jolly friends forever more. 1 2 3 4!) I always figured “CeCe” was a girl’s name.
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I was taught an entirely different chant:
See, see my playmate,
I cannot play with you
My dolly’s got the flu
Chicken pox and measles too.
Down by the drain pipe
I met a dolly
A certain dolly
And I kept it too.
Just to show how different countries can be.
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This is how I learned it in Ohio in the late 6o’s:
See, see my playmate
Come play with me
And bring your dolly spree
Climb up my apple tree
Slide down my rainbow
Into my cellar door
And we’ll be jolly friends
Forevermore, more, shut the door!
So sorry playmate
I cannot play with you
My dolly’s got the flu
She’ll puke all over you
Ain’t got no rainbow
Ain’t got no cellar door
But we’ll be jolly friends
Forevermore, more, shut the door!
Do kids even do these anymore? I’ve asked and they are unfamiliar with them, just like Chinese jump rope… 😦
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OhI I got second line wrong, it should be:
See see my playmate
Come out and play with me…
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everythings the same except I learned it from my Mom as “slide down my rain barrel walk up my cellar door”
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