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Informant: So, “Little Sally Walker” is a game where there’s a bunch of people and you run in a circle… or, somebody runs out and they run in a circle. They go in a circle and they sing

Little Sally Walker

Walking down the street

She said “I didn’t know what to do”

So she stopped in front of me and said

(Now they stop in front of a person and the person copies their dance)

“hey girl do your thing

do your thing

hey girl do your thing do your thing”

Now stop!

And after that they do the same dance move and the person who did the dance move goes on and goes in the same circle and it continues to go along for a while.

Context– The informant is my twelve-year old sister. She learned these songs while going to various summer camps over the years and has often taught them to her friends so that they could sing them together for fun.

Analysis– This song has two aspects to it: the vocal and the physical. The singing alone would amuse children, but its combination with a dancing game would probably make it a great source of entertainment for younger children. It is also a great way for camp counselors to distract children when they are waiting for activity or event. The game only requires the knowledge of the song and, therefore, could basically be played anywhere. This fact probably helps the counselors when they need more time for preparation for activities, using the song to entertain the children while they wait.