Playground Songs- United States
Andy and Mary sitting in a tree. k.i.s.s.i.n.g. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage.
I asked Joanne to tell me the version she knows for the K.I.S.S.I.N.G. song. She told me that this was the only version she knows. She learned it from her older sister; who is 11. She said she saw her sister saying it to another boy and she decided to copy her. She said her sister didnt like her copying her and got mad at her. I asked her if she knew what this song meant and she said she kind of knows. You say it to your friends if they like someone. I asked her if she says it to her friends often and she said she doesnt but her sister says it often. She told me that her friends and she dont like boys and boys are losers.
Joanne is a funny little girl. I tutor Joanne at a tutoring center in Korea Town in downtown Los Angeles. I asked her to tell me any playground songs or phrases that she likes to say. She first told me that she didnt know any. However, when I asked her about the K.I.S.S.I.N.G song, she told me she knew that one from her sister. I remember learning this song when I was a kid in elementary school. I remember that I had huge crush on older girl at school and all my friends would tease me about it with this song. I guess even with time, some things dont change in playgrounds. I eventually started to sing this song to my other friend when they had crushes. Of course, at that age, we all would deny our little crushes and call girls gross and ugly. I remember there was a second verse that we would sometimes sing. It would continue on with Thats not all! Thats not all! name is drinking alcohol!. Joanne didnt seem to know this part because her older sister did not mention this part. I asked her if her classmates say the second verse but she said she didnt remember.
With a quick search on the internet, the first site that came up was the Wikipedia site. The Wikipedia site description of the song was, a name of a playground song or taunt. It really only achieves its desired effectembarrassmentwhen sung among children to a couple that is in romantic love. The embarrassment is derived from the prospect of romantic contact between a boy and a girl, usually an uncomfortable topic for young children. The site also showed some variation to the song that I know. The first verse was the same but it was the second verse that was different. In the second verse, Wikipedia has it as Thats not it! Thats not all! Name is drinking alcohol! It also mentions other variations for the last line of the song; Here comes a baby drinking alcohol! (or) playing basketball! (or) peeing on the wall![1]
Source:
1) K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Wikipedia. 7 April 2007. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-I-S-S-I-N-G>. 29 April 2008.