Tag Archives: chocolate

The Chocolate Ice Cream Cone Song

My (hold note) mommy said if I’d be good she’d send me to the store,

she said she’d bake a chocolate cake if I would sweep the floor,

she said if I would make the bed and help her mind the phone,

she would send me out to get a chocolate ice cream cone.

 

And so I did

the things she said,

I even helped her make the bed.

Then I went out,

just me alone,

to get a chocolate ice cream cone.

 

Now (hold note) on my way a-comin’ home I stumbled on a stone,

and need I tell you that I dropped

my chocolate ice cream cone.

A little doggie came along and took a great big lick (slurping sound),

and then I hit that mean ole doggie with a little stick.

And he bit me

where I sat down

and he chased me all over town.

And now I’m lost,

can’t find my home,

it’s all because of a chocolate, chocolate, chocolate ice cream cone.

 

The informant was my father, a 49-year-old engineer who currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, but who grew up in the area surrounding Austin, Texas. The song is one that his mother used to sing to him and his siblings when they were little. The song was primarily sung right before bed, as well as occasionally on long road trips. The informant says his mother would sing it to the children almost every night, sometimes “perfunctorily,” sometimes smiling and adding “extra ‘chocolate, chocolate, chocolate’s’ on the end.” The informant sees it as a mix of a “bizarre lost kid fairy tale” and a “moral lesson for young kids growing up,” the lesson being, “don’t go out on your own or, you know, you might get lost and never find your way home again.”

 

This song was collected while I was home for Spring Break and performed in my living room. It was interesting to me because my father also used to sing it to me and my sister when we were children because, “when you’re a parent, you’re looking for, you know, the things to pass down and it was one of my favorite songs as a child.” The tune of the song makes it seem fun and harmless, but there is a dark undertone about the lyrics that I recognized, even when I was growing up. Looking at it now, I think it is less of a moral lesson, and more of a lesson to children about the random, horrible things that can happen to you when you are not expecting them. None of the events that take place are really the narrator’s fault (other than being chased by a dog after he hits it with a stick), and yet the narrator still ends up lost and alone. It is a dark reflection on everyday life hiding within a song for children, as is often the case with old songs and stories created for children.

Easter in Kentucky

Informant Bio: Informant is my mother.  She was born in West Virginia and spent her childhood moving around the country, eventually settling in Massachusetts.  She was exposed to many different traditions as she moved around the country as a child and still carries some with her to this day.

 

Context: I was interviewing my mother about traditions, stories and rituals she remembers from her childhood.

 

Item: “Growing up in the Kentucky hills, Easter celebration is special.  Everyone dresses up in beautiful new spring clothes; the girls wore hats and white gloves.  First we went to church.  As a child it seemed to take FOREVER.  We had to wait for the service to end, the socializing after the service to end, AND THEN the good stuff started.  We got to go to my grandfather’s house.  He hid Easter eggs all over his yard. He had a HUGE yard and he loved to watch his grandchildren running all over frantically trying to find the most eggs!  We got a new basket to hold our eggs each year.  Also, my grandfather always gave my grandmother a chocolate rabbit as a gift!  Also, she didn’t like chocolate; but, it was his tradition, he always did it, and they laughed about it each year”.

 

Analysis: Easter seemed to be a very religious event for the adults but not for the kids.  Like Christmas, it seemed to bring people together (but to not as great an extent).  Easter also served as a way to usher in the changing of seasons, with the wearing of spring-type clothes, hats (for the sun) and white gloves (a southern tradition, but again showing the coming sun, brightness and purity that spring brings).

 

The grandfather’s house serves as the rendezvous point for the entire family, showing the prominent and important position that elders held in Southern families.  The inclusion of eggs and an egg hunt is prevalent throughout many Christian cultures and seems to define the whole experience for the children.  This may have served as a way to blend tradition and religious context with fun in a way that would reinforce the message about Jesus Christ while helping the children have an enjoyable experience and make memories after sitting through the lengthy Church service earlier in the day.

Recipe

Original script/version:

Family Chocolate Pie Chocolate Pie

Filling:

¼ lb butter

¾ C sugar

2 eggs

1 t vanilla

1 sq melted unsweetened chocolate

Cream butter and sugar.  Bear in one egg, vanilla and chocolate.  Beat for 5 minutes.  Add second egg and beat 5 more minutes.

Make a pie shell of prepare a frozen pie shell per package directions.  Let shell cool.  Pour filling into cooled pie shell and refrigerate for several hours.

Whip Cream:

Beat whipping cream.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla to taste while whipping.

Spread over pie.  Garnish with grated semi-sweet chocolate.

I have grown up eating the same chocolate pie for every imaginable occasion. Whether it be casual dinners with friends, Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Easter, there would be chocolate pie. It is a recipe was passed into my father’s family long ago, and now every one of my father’s siblings makes the pie for their families as well.

My dad told me he got the recipe from his mom about the time he graduated from college. He said my grandmother had received it from her parents. Although the recipe is not complicated and my mother is a very good cook, it is always my father that makes the pie.

He says, “As you know, every pie comes out a little differently. I have been slightly changing the recipe every time I make it and its fun to see how each pie comes out. About two years ago, my sister Robbin and I came up with the secret to consistently make a good pie. The trick is to let the butter warm up to room temperature before mixing in into the other ingredients.”

It is typical to make several extra pies when going to a friends house so there is one or two to each for dessert, and then we can leave another with our friends. When going to a potluck, our family is always in charge of bringing desert because people like the chocolate pie so much. The receipt has continued to spread as it is now being made by my sister in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.