Children's rhyme

[telophase]

For some reason the other day I started thinking about a kid's rhyme/whatsit I hadn't thought of in years. I haven't remembered it 100%, but searching on it reveals that there are all sorts of variants on it that people did.

It was a way to give someone else chills (quite nice in hot Texas weather!) You stood behind someone and performed actions on their back with your hands as you said the lines. Our went:

X marks the spot (draw a big X on their back)
A dash and a dot (draw an exclamation point)
Two bullet holes (jab them lightly twice)
Blood runs down (Draw your palms down their back, mimicking bloodstreams]
(Tight squeeze)*
Cool breeze [blow gently on the back of their neck]
And chills [said with a dropped voice, dramatically]

And then you stood back to watch them shiver. :) Did anyone else here do something of the sort? What was your variant?




*I'm not 100% on this line, but can't find anything else that sounds familiar. Presumably you'd give a quick squeeze to their shoulders or something.

Comments

[owlectomy]

When I used to do storytimes with very young (let's say birth-to-three-years) kids, we did this as a lapsit rhyme:

Criss cross applesauce (draw an X on the back)
Spiders crawling up your back! (go up the back with wavy/light touch)
Tight squeeze
Cool breeze
Now you've got the shivers! (tickle tickle tickle)

[nijibug]

I remember this from when I was a kid! Just like this, except our last line was "Now you've got the chillies!"

[jinian]

[drawing all these on their back]
X marks the spot
With a dot dot dot
Big O
Little O
Question mark
Little trickle upstream [from small of back to shoulder blades]
Little trickle downstream [and back]
Little trickle all-around-stream [and all over]
[no spoken component: pinch both shoulders and blow on nape simultaneously]

[jet]

We had an exceptionally creepy one in my grade school:

Knife in the back (press on back with fist)
Blood is running down (drag palm down)
Spiders crawling up (wiggle fingers up spine)
Spiders crawling down (wiggle fingers down spine)

And repeat. I think there was another verse involving egg on the head, but I can't remember it.

[kore]

My God, we had a knife-in-the-back one in my grade school in California, only I don't remember any of it other than that.

[jet]

Oh wow, it would be really interesting to see the geographical distribution of the different variations. Mine was in Tennessee.

Also, another comment made me realize it was even creepier than I remembered! The full first "verse" went:

Concentrate, concentrate (whispered)
People dying, children crying (sing-song)
Concentrate, concentrate (slightly louder)
Knife in your back (press on back with fist)
Blood is running down (drag palm down)
Spiders crawling up (wiggle fingers up spine)
Spiders crawling down (wiggle fingers down spine)
Knife in your back (press on back with fist)
Blood is running down (drag palm down)
Spiders crawling up (wiggle fingers up spine)
Spiders crawling down (wiggle fingers down spine)
Concentrate, concentrate (whispered again)

Then the egg verse, which I think went:
Egg on your head (fist placed on top of the head)
Yolk is running down (tap fist and spread hand out)

And I don't remember if there were spiders again there or what. But seriously: creepy!

[kore]

Okay, I do also remember the egg-and-yolk bit, because that felt VERY creepy. Damn, I don't know any people from grade school, or I'd try calling them up to ask.

[thistleingrey]

Yep, in L.A. Going on a treasure hunt / X marks the spot. / Five big boulders / and a little tiny dot. / Spiders crawling up your back / blood gushing down. / Ants marching up your back / blood gushing down. / [Usually spiders once more.] / There's an egg on your head / and the yolk is going down. / There's an egg on your head and the yolk is going down. / Cool breeze / tight squeeze.

Virgules for hand/target interaction. :)

[sarken]

(Hello! I'm here from my network.)

Ours was a little dark and ended with a falling sensation. I might have the order wrong -- it's possible the "people are dying" bit comes right before the Empire State Building.

Square on your back, smaller and smaller (draw a square getting smaller)
Concentrate, concentrate (with the sides of your hands, tap their shoulder blades to the rhythm of the chant)
People are dying, babies are crying (I think this was just more tapping)
Concentrate, concentrate (tapping on shoulder blades)
Snake on your back, bites you on the neck (slide your hand up their back, pinch their neck lightly)
Concentrate, concentrate (tapping on shoulder blades)
Egg on your head and it just got cracked (places a fist on their head gently, tap it with your free hand, and then wiggle your fingers against their head, neck, and shoulders, like egg running down)
Concentrate, concentrate (tapping on shoulder blades)
You're on the Empire State Building (take them by the shoulders and make them sway like they're in a strong breeze on top of a tall building)
Then someone comes up behind you (take your hands off them)
And pushes you off (shove them)

[loligo]

Oh wow, I would never ever have remembered that game without detailed prompting. I know that our version had lines about "X marks the spot" and "spiders crawling up your back", but that's all I remember.

[kore]

I had the same thing -- it's WEIRD, suddenly I have strong memories of little bits of this, but can't remember the whole thing at all. But I never would have remembered this otherwise.

[tessercat]

O.o I have never heard of this one before (not in Nassau, nor in Ontario).

... Kids are strange. o.O

This is fascinating!

[mme_hardy]

I did this one when I was a kid (it felt fantastic, I should get somebody to do it to me) and it was entirely wholesome. This would be the 1960s.

X marks the spot
With a dot dot dot (down the spine)
And a dash dash dash (karate chops down spine)
And a question mark (draw question mark)
Swivel uuuup (swivel hand from side to side up the spine)
Swivel doooown (same going down)
Swifel aaaaall arouuuund. (general backrug)
GOTCHA! (grab back of neck and squeeze).

Next you guys will be sexin' up the Eensy Weensy Spider.

[andmydog]

Oh man. I haven't thought of this rhyme in... 25 years?

X marks the spot
Big ol' question mark
Blood clot* here (shoulder blade), blood clot here (other shoulder blade)
Blood running down your spine
Blood running down your front (shoulders)
Cool breeze (blow on the back of the neck)
Tight squeeze (hug from behind)



*I think it was "blood clot". It might have been "bug blot" or something else nearly nonsensical.

[andmydog]

Oh, and this was in California, up in the Bay, in the mid 80s.

[batwrangler.livejournal.com]

X marks the spot (draw an x)
with a dot dot dot (poke with finger)
and a dash dash dash (draw dashes)
and a biiiggg question mark. (draw a big question mark)
Spiders running up your back. (run fingers up back like spiders)
Spiders running down your back. (run fingers down back like spiders)
Splat! (mimic cracking an egg on the person's head).

There must have been more, but that's all I remember of it.

[cicer.livejournal.com]

That's exactly the version I grew up with!

[kittikattie.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is what I did in late 80s/Early 90s:

Round the world in 80 days (circle)
X marks the Spot (x and poke the center)
Comma, comma, comma, comma, (all across the shoulders)
quest-ion mark (drawn down the spine)
Stab in the back (fist between the blades)
Blood flowing down (run fingers down)
Spiders crawling up (run fingers up)
Cool breeze (blow on neck)
Tight squeeze (pinch at neck)
Now you got the chillies!

[ebony14.livejournal.com]

I don't remember which version we did when I was a kid, but I do remember the "Tight squeeze, cool breeze" rhyme. As I recall, it was done on the inside of the wrist, rather than the back, but the effect was the same.

[wyrdness.livejournal.com]

I can't remember the version we did as kids, except that at some point we drew a "snake" on the back.

[darkelf105.livejournal.com]

Criss (draw one part of the X diagonally across the back)
Cross (then the other part of the X)
Applesauce (three jabs down the center of the back)
Spider going up (wriggle fingers up the back to simulate spider legs)
Spider going down (wriggle fingers downt the back)
Cool breeze (blow on back of the neck)
Tight squeeze (squeeze the back of neck)

[ewein2412]

this is the version I know!

[(Anonymous)]

Around the world in 80 days x marks the spot. Comma comma comma comma now a question mark.
Spiders crawling up your arms spiders crawling down your arms. Cool breeze( blow twice on back of neck) tight squeeze(squeeze shoulders 2x) now u got the, now u got the, now u got the willies!

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Thanks!