Tag Archives: girls

Alley Murderer

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4.19.2014
Primary Language: English

Item:

Informant: “Mhmm the murderer would come back and  jump out and kill the girl if she walked down the alleyway.”

Me: “Wait didn’t the murder occur, like, several decades earlier?”

There is an alleyway that school kids, including the informant, passed by every day coming home from school. The alley was a very convenient shortcut to get home. However, it was told among the kids that years before, a girl walked down the alley and was then murdered. The murderer got away. Now, only boys walk down the alleyway, and all the girls avoid it. They say that if a girl walks down the alleyway, the murderer will jump out and kill her too. So, instead of taking the shortcut, girls would walk about an extra 5 minutes around the large block and meet up on the other side.

 

Context:

The informant recalls this being an occurrence common in early middle school. The murder apparently took place several decades beforehand and the criminal got away. The boys didn’t pay much attention to the story because it was assumed that only girls would be targeted. He said that as they got older, it was talked about less, but the girls still avoided the alley.

 

Analysis:

The concept of a specific place, especially a route, being associated with death or murder is really interesting in this context. Kids at any point in elementary through middle school are beginning to deal with the realities of both death and violent crime. By creating a story (or perhaps propagating a fact) around the alley, they’ve drawn a connection between murder and a specific location and scenario: the alley, a girl, an un-captured murderer. To a certain extent, it’s an example of boys and girls segregating at the early stages of puberty. Perhaps it’s a rare opportunity to have just the boys talking in one place and the girls talking in another for 5 minutes after a day of school. Even more so, it’s almost an empowering way for kids to deal with death. By the girls avoiding the alley, they are effectively cheating what they associate with being killed. And for the boys, it’s almost a courageous act because they are confident they won’t be the victims, so they take the convenient route. It’s also worth noting that for something that happens on a daily basis, 5 minutes extra on a walk is sort of inconvenient. The story was obviously taken seriously enough to convince girls they should take the long way home.

Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 30
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 10 April 2012
Primary Language: English

When my informant was little, she had heard about the legend of Bloody Mary. At her elementary school, one of the girl’s bathrooms was supposedly haunted by the ghost of Bloody Mary and those who were brave enough could go in, turn the lights off and then spin around three times yelling out her name. If they did this correctly they would see Bloody Mary dressed in white in front of them in the mirror.

Bloody Mary is a classic folklore figure amongst youths. I know that I had heard about Bloody Mary when I was in grade school as well and my friends and I would all go into the bathroom together to try to see her. Although the true origins of Bloody Mary are unknown, the story my informant had heard was where a woman named Mary had committed suicide because one of her children was stolen from her. All of the stories involving Mary, however, seem to be associated with children and childbirth, which is possibly why she is “Bloody” Mary. Like we discussed in class, mostly girls knew about this myth, especially since Bloody Mary resided in the girls’ bathroom.

Your Boob is Showing aka Somebody’s Thinking of You

Nationality: Swedish-American
Age: 20
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4.19.12
Primary Language: English

An oicotype of the folk belief that “Somebody’s thinking of you” when the clasp and pendant of your necklace touch, the phrase which is usually said/signified by a person who isn’t wearing the necklace.

As told verbatim by informant:

“Yeah, people have that thing where the clasp of your necklace and the pendant touch each other and they say ‘Somebody’s thinking of you.’ ‘Your boob is showing, someone’s thinking of you’—my mom always tells me that. I always think I have a nip-slip or something. (laughing) She says it in front of people too. It’s more like now when I see it I think ‘Who’s thinking of me?’ It’s like ‘Who would’ve done that?’ She def brings it up. She says it to get my attention more I guess. Like when I tell my friends ‘Hey, your boob is showing’ they don’t know what I’m talking about, but I think I tend to say that so that they’ll look down themselves to find out someone’s thinking of them.”

This little dite is a legitimate folk belief to my informant. The forwardness of her mother’s version is humorous to say the least. Of course this belief/dite is something my informant knows to be subjective to girls and from the reference to “boobs” probably has its origin among pubescent girls. Naturally, this is a time when having someone think of you, especially romantically, comes into the forefront of young girl’s minds. In this case though, the sheer fact that my informant’s mother has her special signifying dite always reminds my informant of her. Since she’s picked up saying this dite, she consciously allows the person who’s “being thought of” the simple pleasure of finding out that someone’s thinking of them for themselves. To my informant, it’s a real thing, and even at age 20 she enjoys thinking about who might have her on their mind.

Song

Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 2003

When I was in camp many years ago, all of the girls would sing “Miss Suzy had a steamboat”, and do the hand motions along with it.  However, this clapping gave was not just done at camps, it was everywhere.  Girls would do it while standing in line, or in the car on the way to school.

Miss Suzy had a steamboat, the steamboat had a bell (ding ding)
Miss Suzy went to heaven, the steamboat went to
Hello operator, please give me number nine
If you disconnect me, I’ll cut off your
Behind the ‘frigerator, there was a piece of glass
Miss Suzy fell upon it and it cut her in the
Ask me no more questions and tell me no more lies
The boys are in the bathroom zipping up their
Flies are in the meadow, bees are in the park
Miss Suzy and her boyfriend were kissing in the
D. A. R. K. D. A. R. K. 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 pa,
I know you know my sister
With the 42 inch bra!

Upon first hearing the song and watching the young girls play the game; the song does not seem bad at all.  However, when you listen closer, there are many “bad” words that young girls should not be using.  However, the girls are not actually using the bad words because the words are cleverly disguised in the phrasing of the song.  For instance, in “the steamboat went to Hello operator”, the word hell is disguised.  However, the word hell is the obvious word that was meant to be placed there.  Other phrases about boys zipping up their flies, or 42inch bras, are all taboo for these young children.  The children are not allowed to use these words in their everyday speech so they have found a clever release through the song.

Freud would say that this song is representative of the young children’s repressed sexuality.  Their sexuality is not allowed to show through in everyday society, but this song allows them a safe outlet to express and experiment with it. Another interesting point is that girls are the main singers of this song.  This could be for many reasons.  First, in our society boys are not “suppose” to sing.  Singing is a female gendered activity according to the gender roles of today’s society.  Also Boys are often allowed to be “bad”, it is expected of them to break the rules and go against the grain.  However, girls are supposed to be refined and appropriate at all times.  This song allows the girls to release their developing sexual energy without being inappropriate.

Children’s Rhyme

Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Culver City, CA
Performance Date: April 1, 2007
Primary Language: English

Miss Susie had a tugboat

The tugboat had a bell—ding ding

Miss Susie went to heaven

And the tugboat went to—

HELL-o operator lease give me #9

And if you disconnect me I will

Chop off your behind

Behind the‘frigerator there was

A piece of glass

Miss Susie sat upon it

And it went right up her—

ASS-k me no more questions and I’ll

Tell you no more lies

The boys are in the bathroom

Zipping up their—

Flies are in the meadows

The bees are in the park

Miss Susie and her boyfriend are

Kissing in the

D-A-R-K, D-A-R-K, Dark, dark, dark

–is like a movie, a movie’s

like a show,

A show is like a TV set and that

Is all I—

Know I know my Ma, I know I know my Pa,

I know I know my sister with her

40 meter bra, bra, bra

My mother is Godzilla

My father is King Kong

My brother is the stupid one

Who made up this whole song

Miss Susie had a baby

She named him Tiny Tim

She put him in the bathtub to

See if he could swim

He drank up all the water

He ate up all the soap

He tried to eat the bathtub

But it wont fit down his throat

Miss Susie called the doctor

The doctor called the burse

The nurse called the lady

With the alligator purse

Miss Susie punched the doctor

The doctor punched the nurse

The nurse punched the lady

With the alligator purse

Analysis:

The subject told me that she used to recite the rhyme with all of the other girls at recess in third grade (which is about 10 years ago). She said that the Miss Susie rhyme was one of the most popular rhymes used often in conjunction with hand clapping of various patterns (see above picture for example). When I asked her why this one was so popular, she suggested that it may be because of the length and the melody, which makes it easier to make up intricate clapping routines.

When I first heard the subject recite this rhyme I was immediately taken back to my elementary school. I also did the various clapping routines during this rhyme with my little sister, however mine was a little different, instead of a tug boat mine was a steam boat, as well as several other word choice changes throughout the rhyme. I mentioned this to her, and she nodded saying that within her own school district there were many different versions. I took note of this and looked up the rhyme online and found many different websites citing the rhyme, each one a little different. Some of the rhymes, like the one below, is shorter than the one she and I knew. Also a few of the rhymes had Miss Lucy as the subject rather than Susie. I was surprised as to how many variants there were of this one children’s rhyme. Then I read the website, and it was dedicated to children rhymes of the eighties, and although there was no proof of its birth in the eighties, I think that since its been around for over 20 years, there are many different variants. However each variant still stays true to the melody and the disguised cuss words.

I think that this rhyme was and is still so popular among young girls and boys is because of the cuss words, hell turns into hello, ass into ask, and flies (referring to pants) turns into flies (referring to bugs). I know that little kids are normally not allowed to cuss so this is a way to get around it, without getting into trouble. I also agree with the subject, in the fact that the length and speed of the rhyme was ideal to a good clapping routine.

When I looked up this rhyme I found a wikipedia article on it, in which it gave a list of allusions that use a line or refer to the rhyme in their contents, I have included the list at the bottom of the page. I was surprised at the array of sources that used the rhyme from cartoons like Rocko’s Modern Life and The Simpsons to bands such as The White Stripes as well as comedian Bob Saget.

http://www.inthe80s.com/rhymes.shtml 4/20/07

Miss Susie had a tug boat,

her tug boat had a bell (ding ding),

miss Susie went to heaven her tug boat went to HELL…o operator

please give me number nine,

and if you disconnect me I’ll cut off your behind the refrigerator

there lay a piece of glass

miss Susie sat upon it and cut her little ASS…k me no more questions,

I’ll tell you now more lies

the boys are in the bathroom zipping up their flies..are in the meadow,

the bees are in the park,

miss Susie and her boyfriend are kissing in the d-a-r-k, d-a-r-k, dark dark dark.

The dark is like the movies,

the movies’ like the show,

the show is like tv

and that is all I know know know, I know I know my ma

I know I know my pa,

I know I know my sister with the 49’rs bra. The bra is for the boobies,

the boobies for the milk,

the milk is for the babies with diapers made of silk.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Susie

Allusions

  • Bob Saget sings a similar song at the end of his live comedy act.
  • In the White Stripes song “Hello Operator” (on the album De Stijl): “Hello operator / Can you give me number nine?”
  • In the Self song “Pattycake” (a reminiscence of the narrator’s 1970s childhood, on the album Gizmodgery, which was performed using only children’s toy instruments): Verses 2 through 4 and a modified version of verse 5 as a bridge.
  • In The Simpsons episode Bart Sells His Soul, Sherri and Terri sing, “Bart sold his soul, and that’s just swell / Now he’s going straight to / Hello operator / give me number nine” in Bart‘s nightmare.
  • In The Simpsons episode Fat Man and Little Boy, Lisa and her friend Janey recite this rhyme. An eavesdropping Homer gasps whenever he expects profanity and lets out sighs of relief when they turn out to be innocuous.
  • In South Park, Wendy Testaburger has a similar song (“Miss Landers was a health nut…”).
  • On Rocko’s Modern Life, Rocko and Heffer sing the first few bars of the song on a car trip.