Skip to My Lou

Skip to My Lou is a popular children's song. Skip to My (The) Lou was a popular American partner-stealing dance from the 1840s. It was also a popular lyrical game in Abraham Lincoln's youth in southern Indiana and Kentucky (1826) with verses such as "Hurry up slow poke, do oh do", "I'll get her back in spite of you", "Gone again, what shall I do", and "I'll get another girl sweeter than you". [1]

In early America, some Puritans regarded the fiddle as a tool of the devil (since it led to dancing, which was regarded as sinful). Faced with such a religious obstacle to socializing, young people developed the “play-party,” in which the objectionable features of dancing were removed or masked. The dancers sang and the audience clapped to create rhythm for their own music. The play-party became a popular pastime for teenagers and young married couples. As people moved westward, square dancing and barn dancing became acceptable, at least to some.

"Skip to My Lou" is a simple game of stealing partners (or swapping partners as in square dancing). It begins with any number of couples skipping hand in hand around in a ring. A lone boy in the center of the moving circle of couples sings, "Lost my partner, what'll I do?" as the girls whirl past him. The young man in the center hesitates while he decides which girl to choose, singing, “I'll get another one just like you.” When he grasps the hand of his chosen one, the latter's partner moves to the center of the ring the game. It is an ice-breaker, providing an opportunity for the participants to get acquainted with one another and to get into a good mood.

The "lou" in the title comes from the word "loo", a Scottish word for "love".[2][3][4]

Lyrics

Common version

Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip, skip, skip to my Lou,
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.
(Changing verse here) (3x)
Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.
The changing verse
  • Fly in the buttermilk, Shoo, fly, shoo.
  • There's a little red wagon, Paint it blue.
  • I lost my partner, What'll I do?
  • I'll get another, As pretty as you
  • Can't get a red bird, Jay bird'll do.
  • Cat's in the cream jar, Ooh, ooh, ooh.
  • Off to Texas, Two by two.

Lou, Lou skip to my lou (x3) Skip to my Lou my darlin'

Another version

Fly in the buttermilk, Shoo, shoo, shoo! (3x)
Skip to my Lou, my darling! (repeat 1x)
Lou, Lou skip to my Lou! (3x)
Skip to my Lou, my darling.
Cows in the pasture two by two! (3x)
Skip to my Lou, my darling!(repeat 1x)
Lou, Lou skip to my Lou, (3x)
Skip to my Lou, my darling.
(sound sad) Lost my partner, What'll I do? (3x)
Skip to my Lou, my darling! (repeat 1x)
Lou, Lou skip to my Lou, (3x)
Skip to my Lou, my darling.
(sound happy) I'll find another one better than you! (3x)
Skip to my Lou, my darling!
Found my partner love is true! (3x)
Skip to my Lou, my darling!
Lou, Lou skip to my Lou! (3x)
Skip to my Lou, my darling.[5]

In popular culture

References

  1. ↑ Abraham Lincoln, The Prairie Years, Carl Sandberg,1926, by Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc. Volume 1 pg. 69.
  2. ↑ The Folk Songs of North America, by Alan Lomax, Doubleday.
  3. ↑ Recordings on File by: Carter Family, Lead Belly, Mike & Peggy Seeger, Pete Seeger
  4. ↑ "Songnotes | Old Town School of Folk Music". Oldtownschool.org. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
  5. ↑ Oklahoma's 2015 Eastern District Honor Choir sheet music "Skip to My Lou"
  6. ↑ The rendition goes "I'm Peter Sam, I'm running this line; I'm Peter Sam, I'm running this line."
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