Not Last Night But the Night Before
Not Last Night But the Night Before
Jump Rope Rhyme
Not last night but the night before
Twenty four robbers came knocking at my door
As I run out, they ran in
Hit me on the head with a rolling pin
Asked them what they wanted
And this is what they said:
Chinese dancers turn around
Chinese dancers touch the ground
Chinese dancers do the splits
Chinese dancers - Kabitz!
Notes
Tom Brown wrote, "My sister and I grew up in a landlocked suburb (Bexley) of Columbus Ohio.
To my recollection, my mother (who was born and raised in Exeter, Devon, England) only gave us the opening stanza, but any time we pressed her, she would say:
'Not last night, but the night before,
Two tomcats came knocking at my door.
I went downstairs to let them in,
And they knocked me down with a rolling pin.'
I was watching TV tonight, and one of the characters made a comment 'Not last night' and poof, from out of the past came the above. Then when I searched for the rest of it, I was surprised to see how many variations and locations there were."
Game Instructions
During the Chinese dancers part, the person jumping rope had to do the actions. On "Kabitz", you had to run out.
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Elizabeth Brillhart Belcher for contributing this jump rope song and the jump rope game instructions. Thanks to Thomas Brown for sharing his mom's version!