The Ballad of Squirmy the Worm

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 04/03/23
Primary Language: English

Text: 

*singing

“I was sittin’ on a fencepost mmmmm

Chewin’ my bubblegum mmmm

When along came Squirmy the Worm he was this big

*S holds up a distance between forefinger and thumb

and I said ‘hey charli what’s happening?’

and he said ‘I’m hungry!’

and I said ‘Squirmy you should eat some food!’

“I was sittin’ on a fencepost mmmmm

Chewin’ my bubblegum mmmm

When along came Squirmy the Worm and I said ‘hey squirmy what’s happening?’

And he was thiiiis big

*S holds up a further distance between her hands

and he said ‘I ate five flies!’

and I said ‘No way Squirmy!’

“I was sittin’ on a fencepost mmmmm

Chewin’ my bubblegum mmmm

When along came Squirmy the Worm and I said ‘hey squirmy what’s happening?’

And he was THIS big

*S holds her arms out wide

and he said ‘I ate ten flies!’

and I said ‘Wow Squirmy!’’

“I was sittin’ on a fencepost mmmmm

Chewin’ my bubblegum mmmm

When along came Squirmy the Worm 

He was this big

*S holds up a distance between forefinger and thumb

and I said “Squirmy! What happened?’

and he said ‘I ate one-hundred flies!’

and I said ‘Wow Squirmy!’’

“Basically it keeps going until Squirmy throws up at the end. We used to do it at summer camp and the camp counselors would just make it more and more ridiculous and make up different things for what he eats. I think they would add more when we were waiting around for stuff to take more time.”

Context: S grew up in Southern California, and explained that she went to different day camps each Summer, until she was about twelve. She says that at most camps they would sing a variation of “Squirmy the Worm.” S says the song was usually led by a camp counselor, but sung by everyone who knew the words. 

Analysis: The tune that S sings is different from the one in the video attached below, entitled “Herman the Worm,”  but much of the structure and lyrics of the songs are similar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-rg7EIt1x4. “Herman” or “Hermie the Worm” seems to be a semi-popular song at children’s summer camps. S’ version of Squirmy the Worm is at times spoken with animation more than sung by her, and is humorous in nature both with the aspect of the ridiculousness of the amount that Squirmy eats “one-hundred flies” and the punch line being that he “threw up.” As a result it could potentially be considered dually a ballad and a narrative joke. There’s also a lesson for children in Squirmy’s story: don’t be greedy and eat too much or there will be consequences. Camp songs and campfire songs for children gained popularity in the late 18th and early 19th century with the rise of the wilderness movement in which the Puritans believed it was their God-given responsibility to shape the American wilderness into “earthly paradise.” However, this song doesn’t include many mentions of nature, but it does have the singer interacting with a personified worm, giving the worm human characteristics of speech and feeling. This gives sympathy to one of nature’s smallest creatures and allows the children to feel a kinship with them, perhaps having once done something similar to Squirmy the Worm.

Double-Double Handshake

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: student
Residence: Orange County, California

Text: “Well on the playground, we used to play a lot of hand shakes and we would clap and then sing them like :

‘double double this this”

and we would bump fists on the ‘double double’, and then clap each other’s hands on the ‘this this’.

double double that that

double this double that

double double this that’

We would do it over and over faster until we couldn’t go anymore. And we would use words with like two syllables sometimes like:

‘double double rain rain

double double bow bow

double rain double bow

double double rainbow.’”

Context: S said she can’t remember exactly when first heard the rhyme/handshake above, but that she and her friends frequently learned new ones and taught them to each other at school. S attended a Catholic school in Southern California for most of her education.

Analysis: S watched the following video and confirmed it’s the same as the handshake she also used to perform on the playground: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNm52EdG3cg&t=28s. Some sources categorize the song as a nursery rhyme, however S has never heard it without the handshake portion included or seen it written down. The British Library (https://www.bl.uk/playtimes/articles/an-introduction-to-clapping-games#:~:text=The%20earliest%20clapping%20game%20in,they%20were%20noted%20in%20France.) states that hand clapping games rose in popularity around the 1960s in the US and England. They began to be associated as a game between children in early 19th century France, but were recorded in relation to children by folklorist Peter Opie in 1698. The impressiveness of the coordination required by children to both sing and clap is what’s thought to have made clapping games popular. In this particular case, it may not be the lyrics of the rhyme used above that made it popular, but rather the rhythm and the versatility of the lyrics to be switched out for different two syllable words. However, the phrase “double double” is a phrase used frequently in slang and media. The repetition of the word double, implies urgency, “we need to leave on the double double.” There’s the popular In-n-Out cheeseburger which is popular in California (S’s native state), known as “the double double,” and movies like the 1993 Double Double Toil and Trouble.

Chinese Dream Proverb

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Primary Language: English
Language: Hebrew

Text: Well, ever since my mom’s brother suddenly died at the age of 62– two years ago, I think this proverb has continued to provide my mom with a sense of comfort and release. “All in life is a dream walking, and all in death is a going home.” She passes this on to anyone in need of feeling at peace with recent tragedies or deaths. I think that for her, it’s a reminder to feel grateful for the joyful parts of life and that…when death comes, one part has fulfilled their purpose.

Context: K is twenty-one years old and of Chinese, Japanese, and Jewish descent. She was raised in San Francisco, California. Her maternal grandparents are Asian immigrants whose culture she was raised with.

Analysis: K’s mother told her the quote above is a Chinese proverb. K would frequently hear proverbs from her mother while growing up, typically used and repeated as little bits of advice or reminders throughout a day. In Chinese culture it’s considered a sign of a good education to include proverbs in your writing or advice to others. Proverbs speak on a range of topics– often moral, like patience or kindness to strangers. They intend to provide wisdom to its listeners, and are meant to be respected by both the speaker and the listener even if not always successfully followed. Many proverbs are accredited to Confucius or Lao Tzu (although some are miscredited), but many don’t have distinctive roots with one speaker or author. The majority of proverbs were passed down in oral traditions among the peasant class in China, and were not written down until years, sometimes hundreds of years after their inception. Many proverbs still haven’t been translated to English. This makes sense why there isn’t much available on the proverb above other than the quote itself. However, its ruminations on the meaning of life, death, and dreams are not uncommon topics for proverbs. It’s also interesting to note that traditional Chinese medicine believes that one’s dreams are directly related to their physical health, hence the proverb’s association with dream and “life” or the living, bodily world.  

Danish Term of Endearment

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 23 Feb 2023
Primary Language: English

Text: “When I was really little my mom called me noula, which is noodle in Danish, and I was always so squiggly and squirmy, that I would just fall out of her arms.”

Context: L is 21 and originally from Colorado, but currently a student at USC. She is of British and Dutch heritage. Her grandmother immigrated from Denmark when she was nine years old, and her mother grew up speaking Danish, but no longer does. 

Analysis: L spelled the word above n-o-u-l-a, and pronounced the first syllable like the English word “new.” However, there is no dutch word available online with this spelling. There is the spelling n-u-l-a or nula, meaning zero in English. Yet, this word is pronounced nUH-lah, rather than nOO-la. The danish word available for noodle online is nudel. As well as the less frequently used, tosshoved, which directly translates to noodle, but also “crazy head.” Maybe L’s mother was combining the meaning of “tosshoved” and “nudel” to encapsulate L’s personality as a child. Or perhaps the word “noula” is a slang term for noodle in Danish. Danish terms of endearment are often shorter, and similar to English refer to “my sweet” or “my dear,” they can also be diminutive like “little one.” However there are also more playful terms like puttegøj or puttemus which refers to a small type of mouse. L’s mother’s use of noula was something that stopped as she grew older, however she says she’s always reminded of it when she eats noodles. Danish food is hearty with its cultural dishes containing lots of potatoes and meat. Noodles or pasta aren’t as common, but can be found in a number of recipes like Danish goulash.

Schoolyard Coin Trick

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: student
Performance Date: 14 Feb 2023
Primary Language: English

Text: “One trick I did consistently throughout my childhood, it was like the only magic trick that I ever knew how to do, it was learning how to pull a coin out of your mouth. So what you would do is you would put your arms behind your back, and pretend to put the coin behind your back and then you put like a finger in your mouth and then flick and a coin was supposed to come out. But, the trick of it, like how you actually do it is its not coming from your mouth, but it’s coming from your sleeve.”

Context: K is a twenty year old student who grew up in Virginia and currently attends USC. She learned how to do this trick from a friend on the playground when she switched schools.


Analysis: The more popular version of the above trick is to pull a coin out of someone’s ear, and it’s done through a similar trick of the eye or deception. Hiding the coin and moving it outside of the person witnessing the trick’s view. However, pulling a coin out of one’s mouth also has an allegorical relation. Recorded in the Bible In Matthew 17:24-27, the coin in the fish’s mouth is one of Jesus’ miracles. When the tax collector comes to Peter the apostle, Peter turns to Jesus and asks if he does not pay taxes. Jesus replies and explains why he does not, but instructs Paul to go fishing and tells him he will find a coin in the mouth of the first fish he catches to use for his taxes. In the 2008 United States census 76% of Virginians (K’s home state) identified as Christian, so perhaps there’s a relation between children hearing Biblical stories and trying to imitate them.