"The Clapping Song" is an American song, written by Lincoln Chase and recorded by Shirley Ellis in 1965. The single sold over a million copies, and peaked at number eight in the United States and number six in the UK.
"The Clapping Song" is in fact build around 3 different musical elements.
1. "3,6,9 the Goose Drank Wine", which is an old children's jump-rope/skipping song
Three six nine, the goose drank wine.
The monkey chew tobacco on the street car line.
The line broke, the monkey got choked
And they all went to heaven in a little rowboat.
SEE ALSO: Three, Six, Nine
2. "The Hambone", which is a children's game, combining dancing while slapping various parts of the body.
Clap pat, clap pat, clap pat clap slap!
Clap pat clap your hand, pat it on your partner's hand
Right hand.
Clap pat clap pat clap your hand. Cross it with your left arm.
Pat you partner's left palm.
Clap pat, clap your hand, pat your partner's right palm
With your right palm again.
Clap slap, clap your hand, slap your thighs and sing a little song.
But "Hambone" is in fact connected to the barber expression "Shave And A Haircut, Two Bits", which has a history of its own.
3. The children's song "Rubber Dolly".
My mother told me, if I was goody.
That she would buy me a rubber dolly.
My aunty told her I kissed a soldier,
Now she won't buy me a rubber dolly
The age of this traditional song has not been determined, and it has traveled through tradition as both a song and an instrumental tune. In 1900 Jens Bodewalt Lampe composed a song "Creole Belles", which has a strain closely resembling the "Rubber Dolly" tune. At the bottom of this post I give some examples, which clarify the similarity
As an instrumental tune it is considered to be a Southern fiddle breakdown that is also known by the title "Back Up and Push", versions of which were recorded twice in 1929, days apart; first, on April 2, in Richmond, Indiana, by the Augusta Trio, and then in Atlanta by the Georgia Organ Grinders.
(c) The Georgia Organ Grinders (1929) (as "Back Up and Push")
Recorded April 9, 1929 in Atlanta, GA
Released on Columbia 15394-D
Listen here: Back Up and Push - The Georgia Organ Grinders.mp3
Or here:
A few days later (also in Atlanta, GA) Joe Falcon recorded a cajun-version of the Rubber Dolly tune.
(c) Joe Falcon (1929) (as "Osson")
with Cleoma and Ophy Breaux
Recorded April 18, 1929 in Atlanta, GA
Released on Columbia 40506
Listen here:
In fact the tune was used the year before for a cajun-version by Adam Trahan
And later on more cajun-versions would use the tune.
In 1930 Uncle Bud Landress with Georgia Yellow Hammers were the first group to play and sing a vocal version of the "Rubber Dolly".
(c) Uncle Bud Landress (1930) (as "Rubber Doll Rag")
Recorded in November 21, 1929 in Atlanta, GA
Released in September 1930 on Victor V 40252
Listen here:
(c) Perry Bechtel and his Orchestra (1931 (as "Rubber Dolly")
Recorded November 3, 1931 in Atlanta, GA
Released on Columbia 2622-D
Listen here:
(c) Bob Skyles and his Skyrockets (1938) (as "Rubber Dolly")
Recorded April 4, 1938 in San Antonio, TX
Released on Bluebird B-7650
Listen here: Bob_Skyles_And_His_Skyrockets-Rubber_Dolly-1937.mp3
(c) The Texas Wanderers (1939) (as "Rubber Dolly")
Recorded August 28, 1939 in Houston, TX
Released on Decca 5740
(c) Light Crust Doughboys (1939) (as "Little Rubber Dolly")
Recorded September 1939 in Saginaw, TX
Released on Vocalion 05120 and Okeh 05120
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Or here:
(c) Ella Fitzgerald (1939) (as "My Wubba Dolly")
Recorded October 12, 1939 in Chicago
Released on Decca 2816
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(c) The Four King Sisters (1939) (as "My Wubba Dolly")
Recorded ca November 1939
Released on Bluebird B-10512
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Listen here: My Wubba Dolly -Rubber - The Four King Sisters.mp3
(c) Helen O'Connell and Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra (1940) (as "My Wubba Dolly")
Recorded December 1939 in Long Island New York
Listen here:
(c) Woody Guthrie (1944) (as "Rubber Dolly")
Woody Guthrie: lead vocal/mandolin;
CiscoHouston: harmony vocal/guitar;
Sonny Terry: harmonica
Unreleased alternate version; recording date unknown (probably April 20, 1944)
Mastered from Smithsonian Acetate 075, 10" aluminum-based disc)
Listen here:
(c) Harry Choates and his Fiddle (1948) (as "Rubber Dolly")
Recorded February 19, 1947 at the Quinn Recording Studios in Houston Texas
Released on Goldstar 1331
Listen here:
(c) Ned Landry (1950) (as "Rubber Dolly")
Listen here:
(c) Tommy Jackson (1954) (as "Rubber Dolly")
Recorded September 1954 in Nashville, TN
Released on Dot 45-1234
Listen here: RubberDolly-Tommy Jackson.mp3
(c) Bill Parsons (1958) (as "Rubber Dolly")
Listen here:
(c) Rufus Thibodeaux (1975) (as "Rubber Dolly")
Recorded 1974 in Lafayette, LA
Listen here:
As I said above Shirley Ellis' "The Clapping Song" is an amalgation of 3 children's songs:
"3,6,9 the Goose Drank Wine" / "The Hambone" and "Rubber Dolly"
(c) Shirley Ellis (1965) (as "The Clapping Song")
Released March 1965 on Congress CG-234
Listen here:
Here are a few cover-versions: Cover versions of The Clapping Song
(c) The Belle Stars (1982) (as "The Clapping Song")
Nr 11 hit UK/ Nr 4 hit Australia
Released on Stiff BUY 155
Listen here:
British singer Carmel made a new arrangement of "The Clapping Song", which became the title-song of her album from 1984.
(c) Carmel (1984) (as "The Drum Is Everything")
Listen here:
Tom Waits's song "Clap Hands" from his album Rain Dogs quotes the line "they all went to heaven in a little row boat".
(c) Tom Waits (1985) (as "Clap Hands")
Listen here:
In the version of the song on the live album Big Time, Waits prefaces "Clap Hands" with the entire first verse of "The Clapping Song".
(c) Tom Waits (1988) (as "Clap Hands")
Listen here:
(c) Roger Taylor (2021) (as "The Clapping Song")
Listen here:
But some sources also indicate "Rubber Dolly" or "Back Up and Push" was the product of composer Jens Bodewalt Lampe (1869–1929), a Danish-born violinist, composer, arranger, performer and band-leader of ragtime and syncopated dance music.
The second strain of his most famous composition, "Creole Belles", published in 1900, is very similar to "Rubber Dolly" and "Back Up and Push".
It is a rag or cakewalk (the sheet music says it is a "Ragtime march" or "March-two-step") that became the second major hit of ragtime that sold more than a million copies in sheet music, and was recorded by John Philip Sousa's band in 1902 and again four subsequent times in the decade 1902-1912). "Creole Belles" became a staple of brass and jazz bands and ragtime pianists, in part because the piece was versatile and could be employed as a march, two-step, and ragtime cakewalk.
"Creole Belles", in particular the lyrical second strain, was quickly absorbed into the repertoire of amateur musicians, including rural fiddlers and guitarists in the first two decades of the 20th century.
Listen here (the second strain is at 44 seconds in the YT below)
Here's the probably oldest recorded (instrumental) version of "Creole Belles" by the Metropolitan Orchestra from 1901.
(o) The Metropolitan Orchestra (1902) (as "Creole Belles")
Recorded November 22, 1901 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Released on Victor Monarch 1023
Also released on Improved Berliner Gram-O-Phone 552
Listen here: (the "Rubber Dolly" strain begins at 28 sec in the YT below)
About the same time George Sidney wrote the words to this tune, which was published by the Whitney-Warner Publishing Co in Detroit.
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Here's the sheetmusic: Creole Belle
Here's a vocal version by Mr Arthur Collins from around 1902.
Collins sings about a single "Creole Belle" rather than several "Creole Belles"
(c) Mr Arthur Collins (1902) (as "Creole Belle")
Recorded before May 1902 in New York
Released on Zon-O-Phone 855
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Listen here: Library at i78s
BTW: That second strain from "Creole Belles" is also present in "Midnight Special".
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