Forwarded from a friend:
THE HOKEY POKEY
Original Lyrics

Put your left foot in,
Your left foot out,
Your left foot in,
And shake it all about.
You do the hokey pokey
And turn yourself around
That's what it's all about.

THE HOKEY POKEY
Shakespearean Style

O proud left foot, that ventures quick within
Then soon upon a backward journey lithe.
Anon, once more the gesture, then begin:
Command sinistral pedestal to writhe.
Commence thou then the fervid Hokey-Poke.
A mad gyration, hips in wanton swirl.
To spin! A wilde release from heaven's yoke.
Blessed dervish! Surely canst go, girl.
The Hoke, the poke -- banish now thy doubt
Verily, I say, 'tis what it's all about.

Hokey Pokey?

It seems suspiciously like the Okey Cokey to me!

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

Checking on Wikipedia it seems that there are at least four claims to the authorship of this song - two for the AMerican Hokey Pokey and two for the British Hokey Cokey although it is also, apparently, regarded as a traditional song in Britain and the British claimants to the authorship cite both an old Canadian song and an old nursery rhyme as the source.

I think I may investigate further.

Not an American song?!?!? Next you'll be telling me that hotdogs aren't the quintessential American food!

Love the Shakespeare version, Asa. Thanks for sharing it!

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Next you'll be telling me that hotdogs aren't the quintessential American food!

Hotdogs, along with hamburgers, pizzas and apple pie might be considered quintessential American foods - but they surely weren't invented in America.

True American food inventions include Coca Cola, Kellogs cornflakes and chewing gum.

Hmmm.

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might be considered quintessential American foods - but they surely weren't invented in America

Yes, that was kind of my point. It's always so hard to hear tone of voice in a forum post.

Well, Richard, in all fairness, chewing gum is hardly considered food. Besides that, sugar free chewing gum is actually good for teeth because it increases saliva, thus bathing your teeth in an anti-bacterial fluid and decreasing tooth decay.

Corn flakes? They are actually healthy, though I see there is some sugar in them. They are not, however, like some of that crap out there, such as cocoa puffs, frosted flakes, etc. Coke I'd agree with.

I interested in finding out about the hokey pokey.

quote:

Originally posted by Richard English:

True American food inventions include Coca Cola, Kellogs cornflakes and chewing gum.

Hmmm.

What about Twinkies? How could we EVER forget Twinkies!?!?!? BTW, they originally had banananana filling - ever so much more nourishing!

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What about Twinkies? How could we EVER forget Twinkies!?!?!?

Forget them? I've never even heard of them!

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Corn flakes? They are actually healthy, though I see there is some sugar in them. They are not, however, like some of that crap out there, such as cocoa puffs, frosted flakes, etc.

I believe Dr Kellog actually invented cornflakes as a health food. The trouble with them is the company they tend to keep: cream, sugar and toppings.

Back to the Hokey Pokey ...

It was before my time, but I believe that between the wars many of the ice cream vendors were Italian and their wares were known as "hokey pokey". They were known as "hokey pokey men".

I found a page on Wikipedia about it. Which brings us back to foods ...

Of course, the dance is "The Hokey Cokey".

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Originally posted by Richard English:

quote:

What about Twinkies? How could we EVER forget Twinkies!?!?!?

Forget them? I've never even heard of them!

I'm constantly surprised at how little exposure Richard seems to have had to American life and habits. I'm not American but I know perfectly well what Twinkies (TM) are. When I used to be an avid reader of American comics they had an advertising comic strip for Twinkies in every issue, usually with one of the superheroes fighting evil villains and capturing them because they couldn't resist stopping for a Twinkie.

Jerry PMed me about a joke (which I had in mind when posting about Twinkies!)about a little girl who was eating one in a barber shop. Come on, Jerry, tell it! If you don't, I will!

Twinkies

Being of a certain age and from the San Francisco Bay Area, whenever I hear the word Twinkie, I think of Dan White's infamous Twinkie defense, which I see is an urban legend. Then, there's also the gay slang term twink. While Twinkies were OK, I preferred HoHos and Ding Dongs also from Hostess. These last words confure up other things besides pre-packaged pastry treats.

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I believe Dr Kellog actually invented cornflakes as a health food. The trouble with them is the company they tend to keep: cream, sugar and toppings.

I generally eat Corn Flakes with skim or 1% milk and fresh fruit (strawberries, peaches, blueberries, bananas). Generally a very good, if protein-lacking breakfast.

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Bob said: how little exposure Richard seems to have had to American life and habits

It seems to me, though, that he knows about more highbrow, adult sorts of things, just not about childhood things or "basic" things like Twinkies.

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Z said: While Twinkies were OK, I preferred HoHos and Ding Dongs also from Hostess. These last words confure up other things besides pre-packaged pastry treats.

I agree about liking them better. They are chocolate, afterall! I had never really made the connection to body parts, though. Hmm . . .interesting. Wonder if this says something about me?

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Bob said: how little exposure Richard seems to have had to American life and habits

Well, not child culture, anyway. I never read American comics, preferring to indulge myself on the exploits of Dan Dare and other heroes of "The Eagle".

And I never was much of a breakfast person anyway.

On, Twinkies are not eaten for breakfast (except, maybe, if you're a college student or something). They are a dessert.

RE, I have trouble picturing you as a child. Are you sure you didn't just go from age 1 to age 21?

My mother-in-law was a food science professor and told me that the filling in twinkies was made, at least for a time, of sweetened whipped lard. God knows what it is made out of now, but I suspect catalysts and cracking towers are involved.

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I generally eat Corn Flakes with skim or 1% milk and fresh fruit (strawberries, peaches, blueberries, bananas). Generally a very good, if protein-lacking breakfast.

I agree, CW, and after all there is protein in milk. A whole grain or non-sweetened cereal, with skim milk and fresh fruit, can be one of the best breakfasts. Most don't use cream or sugar on non-sweetened cereal.

Speaking of chocolate, CW, this report on the advantages of dark chocolate was just sent to me at work. It just made my day!

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RE, I have trouble picturing you as a child. Are you sure you didn't just go from age 1 to age 21?

Do you know, that's what my sister always says!

HokeyCokey/HokeyPokey

WELL! I am so inSULted. Looks like this dance you Brits have been bandying about, which then made its way over here, probably originated as a satire of the Latin Mass. Specifically, that part during the consecration when the priest would turn his back & gesticulate while racing thro the Latin, speaking audibly only a couple of words (like for instance "HOC est enim corpus meum"-- presumed origin of 'hocus pocus' & 'hokey pokey' & 'hokey cokey').

Don't forget that chocolate is poisonous! This article only refers to dogs, but it is, in fact, deadly to many other animals.

Humans can break down and excrete Theobromine (the toxic component of chocolate) much more efficiently than dogs. The half life of Theobromine in a dog is long; about 17.5 hours. Humans would have to eat about 28lb of chocolate in one sitting for it to be fatal, so don't get too carried away, Kalleh, or you may get carried away in another sense!

Interesting, arnie. I always knew that chocolate was harmful to dogs (my vet said it would take about a pound of chocolate, though), but I never knew why.

[BTW, I am getting my daily intake of dark chocolate as we speak, for health reasons of course. ]

Sunflower yells at me when I eat milk chocolate, but consumes near-lethatal doses of dark chocolate every day! Go figure... Shucks, too much WATER can kill you too!

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Shucks, too much WATER can kill you too!

Indeed. Which is why you should eschew US macro-beers most of which are, as has previously been remarked, rather like making love in a punt.

Ah...I hate to bring this up, Richard, but too much beer (real ale, cask conditioned, bottle conditioned...whatever) can kill you, too.

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rather like making love in a punt.

Sounds adventuresome to me.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kalleh, July 28, 2007 19:02

I remember Ding Dongs (the Hostess treats). I also remember that they renamed them King Dons. Now they might be Ding Dongs again. It is so confusing. We always referred to them as Ding Dongs though.

I think they're still Ding Dongs, though my kids aren't around anymore to whine for them.

Of course, my favorite was the Hostess cupcake with the surprise in the middle!

mmmmmmmmm cake with frosting mmmmmmmmmm

Ding Dongs are ok, but Ho Hos are really the best. I like nibbling off the frosting from the ends and the rest comes off in a nice clean sheet of chocolate. Yum.

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Sounds adventuresome to me

But nevertheless, it is still f***ing close to water"

The Wikipedia article Bob linked to said the hokey-pokey dance originated in the '40s. World Wide Words says the hokey-cokey "seems to have been that composed by Jimmy Kennedy in the UK in 1942, which was referred to during the War years variously as the cokey-cokey, the okey-cokey and the hokey-cokey. The US version under the name hokey-pokey is usually attributed to Larry LaPrise in 1949."


Hokey-pokey appears in very few dictionaries that I could find. Wordsmyth defines it as "trickery; nonsense; hocus-pocus," while Dictionary.com Unabridged gives two definitions: "hocus-pocus; trickery," and "ice cream as formerly sold by street vendors." Neither mention the song and dance. Nor does the Online Ethymology Dictionary or the OED Online. Only Encarta mentions the dance.

The OED Online does define hokey-cokey as "A kind of dance," and gives a link to hokee-pokee, which is supported by a single citation:

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1873 J. MILLER Life amongst Modocs (1876) xiii. 192 One man..danced a sort of a savage hokee-pokee, and sang.

Tinman

Still searching for some decent cites to back up the oft-repeated story that the hokey-cokey (& its later American variationk, the hokey-pokey) originated in 17thc. England as a mockery of the Latin Mass. This website goes into line-by-line detail explaining the story. Will report back if I find anything soli

Hey, Tinman - where have you been hiding!?!? I'm glad to see you again!

Oh, I'm still around. I pop in from time to time and occasionally post. I hope you and Sue are doing well.

Tinman

Well, heck, let's make that more than "occasionally!" We always love your posts. They are well-researched and thoughtful.