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Hokey Pokey Song Dance Original – The Hokey Pokey is a special dance and campfire song that has spread throughout the English-speaking world thanks to its distinctive lyrics and fun accompanying dance moves. Sometimes known as Hokey Cokey, the song is believed to have some ominous origins.
But is it okay? Let’s see if there’s any truth to that statement by exploring the song below.
Hokey Pokey Song Dance Original
The Hokey Pokey, like many nursery rhymes, has no known author. Its first appearance in print was in Robert Chambers’s book
Songs With Dance Moves To Teach Kids: With Video Instructions!
The song was significantly different from this 1826 version, but still followed the same dance style as the modern version. It is unclear what the name of the song was at the time.
There is also a famous controversy in the US where several writers claim to have written the song, which we will write about in more detail later!
There are some who are convinced that the song has a sinister history and is a hidden mockery of the Latin liturgy of the Catholic Church.
Most people take the song literally and believe the story is made up or they wouldn’t even put the stories together with the song because to them the song is just meant to be funny.
Cokey Hi Res Stock Photography And Images
However, we will take a look at these theories that try to explain the origin and you can decide for yourself!
Although the history of the Hokey Pokey is shrouded in mystery, there are some interesting facts about its origins. There is a theory that the song was the work of Scottish Puritans who invented it to ridicule the Catholic Church.
In the UK, the song is known as Hokey Cokey. These words are said to be derivatives of incantations
The words are said to be a mocking phrase for the Latin words spoken widely in Catholic liturgies:
Various Artists, Sandy Denny, Andrew Cronshaw, Swan Arcade, Iain Matthews, Stephen Fearing, Keith Hancock, June Tabor, John Tams, Richard Thompson
To lend credence to this theory, in 2008 Catholic Church officials said that singing the Hokey Cokey song was tantamount to hating the faith.
According to this theory, Al Tabor, a Jewish bandleader, wrote the song in 1940, taking inspiration for the song’s name from ice cream!
The song was supposedly used to lift people’s spirits while World War II was raging. The theory disputes that the song is an 18th century creation.
Alan Balfour, Tabor’s grandson, says the song’s title comes from the words his grandfather used to hear the ice cream man’s cry when he was a child. Ice cream vendors shouted “Hokey pokey, penny a lump” to advertise their ice cream.
The Hokey Pokey Nursery Rhyme Lyrics, History, Video, Lesson Plans & More
Robert Degan apparently wrote the song in 1944 with his musician friend Joe Brier during a concert at a summer resort near the Delaware Water Gap.
The version we know well today was written and recorded by Larry Laprise in 1948 and later in 1953 with a full orchestra.
Larry Laprise settled a lawsuit filed by Degan in 1950 over ownership of the lyrics and song. It was settled out of court, where both parties concluded that they jointly owned the song.
LaPrise eventually sold the copyright to his version of the song to a Nashville publishing company, which was then sold to Sony/ATV Music Publishing in 2002. Degan also allegedly received copyright from Sony as part of the deal to joint ownership.
Cristmas Reindeer Hokey Pokey (another Version Of The Traditional Action Song)
The song Hokey Pokey is a dance song with lyrics that don’t mean much. The lyrics are only a guide to a dance style. Therefore, there is no hidden interpretation of the song or its lyrics.
No one knows the true meaning of the phrase. It’s just a fun phrase added to the song to make it more enjoyable!
Some people believe it comes from the magicians’ catchphrase Hocus Pocus, which was used to amuse people, which is exactly what the hokey pokey song does!
It could also just be nonsense words made to rhyme – the song describes people sticking their body parts out and therefore, to make it fun, you do the hokey pokey by doing it!
Richard & Linda Thompson
The Hokey Pokey might have been just another children’s song had it not become a UK dancehall hit in the 1940s. Jimmy Kennedy, a British songwriter, claims to have written the famous variation of the tune in the 1940s. The song, known as Hokey Cokey, took the UK by storm.
The popular dance styles swept the nation into a frenzy that was soon taken over by other musicians. More of them made versions of the song that became huge hits.
The song is said to have been very popular with American and British troops during World War II, which may be why it moved so quickly from the UK to the US.
In the US, the song became famous in the 1950s. Larry LaPrise, Charles Macak and Tafit Baker recorded a version of the song in 1948. The trio was a musical group called the Ram Trio. They created an innovative dance that went along with the song, making it explode in the United States.
The Hokey Pokey
Other artists from the US recorded the song before 1946, but the song did not become famous until the 1950s. In 1953, Ray Anthony recorded a version of the song that also became a national sensation.
You can use any of the terms as they all keep the beat of the song. The name of the song varies from country to country. The US, Australia and Canada use the Hokey Pokey and the UK the Hokey Cokey.
Different countries also have different names for the song. In Denmark it is called Boogie Woogie song and Hokey Tokey in New Zealand. You are spoiled for choice as to which words to use.
In the US, Sony owns the rights to the Hokey Pokey, although the story can be traced particularly in the UK to earlier times. That’s because Larry LaPrise sold his version of the tune we sing today to a Nashville publishing company that eventually sold to Sony/ATV music publishing.
Dance Hall 1940s Hi Res Stock Photography And Images
(Disclaimer: These are general – not legally confirmed facts and you should do more research on the laws in your jurisdiction/country to make sure you are allowed to use this song)
You can sing the song in sign language. Below is a YouTube resource to help you with this.
The following is a selection of lesson plans based on the song The Hokey Pokey. You must click on the images to go to the websites to learn more and download the resources.
Samantha Bellerose has a BA in Education as well as a Diploma in Performing Arts. She is a mother of four and is passionate about education and learning. Samantha created Nursery Rhyme Central as a place for parents, teachers and carers for all things Nursery Rhymes. She is also the lead author and creator of the Dance Parent 101 and Move Dance Learn websites, where she shares her knowledge and expertise on dance and learning through movement.
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Hi, I’m Samantha Bellerose. I was an elementary school teacher and now I’m a stay-at-home mom to my four kids. Education is my passion and nursery rhymes are such an important building block in those first steps towards language learning that I wanted to create a website where I could have all the information a parent, teacher or carer could need in one place. them. And so I created Nursery Rhyme Central! I hope you find the information I have gathered and created as helpful as my family and I have! In 1942, Irish songwriter and publisher Jimmy Kennedy, best known for “Teddy Bear’s Picnic,” created a dance and instructional song to go with it called “The Hokey Cokey.” Written to entertain Canadian troops stationed in London, the lyrics tell the dancers to “put your left foot in / your left foot out / in out / in out / shake it all around / Do the Hokey-Cokey and turn around / That’s what it’s all about .” Sound familiar? It should, but it’s not really the song we know today.
Okey’ – he said the name came from the London ice cream vendors of his youth called ‘hokey pokey men’. The accompanying dance was very similar to Kennedy’s. Tabor accused Kennedy of breaching the agreement to publish his song and writing his own “Hokey Cokey” instead. An out-of-court settlement was reached and Kennedy won all rights to “The Hokey Pokey” (or Cokey). But it’s still not the song we know today.
Hokey Pokey Song
In 1946, unsuspecting of Britain’s Hokey Pokey and Hokey Cokey, two musicians from Scranton, Pennsylvania, Robert Degen and Joe Brier, recorded “The Hokey-Pokey Dance” to entertain summer vacationers at the resorts of the Poconos Mountains. Theirs went like this: “Put your right hand in / Put your right hand out / Put your right hand in
