I'm gay you're gay he's gay she's. before turning into the melody that beckons ice cream seekers today. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe For audiences today, they provide insight into the historical and political context of those times. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. But in that context, does the current edit make this nursery rhyme any less derogatory? American in origin or English? We change the songs and scrub them clean. I promised to do some research and get back to them. B. Fitzgibbon, Words and music, "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo" If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. Put the baby on the po. "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe"which can be spelled a number of waysis a children's counting rhyme, used to select a person in games such as tag. Here are some versions from English-speaking countries Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe Eeeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo England, English Language Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe USA, English Language Eenie Meenie Sicileeny USA, English Language Instead of Monkeys, Five Little Monkeys (also known as Ten Little Monkeys originally used the n word or darkies as a reference to Black people. Osse bosse bakke disse, A leader takes the counting role and, in the rhythm of the rhyme, points to each child in turn. And there's versions in France(reciting poem with French dialect). Interestingly, Dutch scholars had the same idea. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe Eeny, meeny, miny, moe is part of a large collection of Counting-out rhymes, used in playground games, since the early 19th century. But it's really hard to - and the history of it is much more complicated than that because the sounds in this rhyme are really sticky. Vis, vos, vay. I've opted for 'Eeny, meeny, miny, mo' but there are many others - 'Eenie, meenie, miney, moe', 'Eany, meany, miney, mo' and so on. "It's become clear to scholars that blackface/ minstrels were really the North's only exposure for what was going in the South," Shaftel says, explaining that while these shows were racist and terrible, they were trying to portray some semblance of reality of what life was like in the South. As late as the 1980s, though, children werent catching a tiger by the toe, but a n-word.. The second line in the American rhyme, Catch a tiger by the toe, has a clearer and more dismal ancestry that traces right back to the United States. Accuracy and availability may vary. Eenie meenie miney mo Catch a bad chick by her toe If she holla, if, if, if she holla let her go. Support me by joining Medium via this link: https://eladsi.medium.com/membership. The song can be seen as glorifying and poking fun at slave conditions. Change them? However, the lyrics to this song were not originally about a tiger. Versions of the rhyme have existed since before 1820. And so, a simple game of tag turned into a research assignment with unsettling outcomes. Also, the word for 'one' in Welsh, Cornish, Irish and Breton is, respectively, 'un' (pronounced 'een'), 'ouyn', 'aon' and 'unan' - all of them sounding not unlike 'een' or 'eeny'. Catch a tiger by the toe Ooza, vooza, voka, tooza, Eeny meeny miny mo. The last line is often topped off with a short emphasized 'You are It!' In 2004, two African-American sisters filed a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines after a flight attendant tried to rush them into choosing a seat saying, Eenie, meenie, minie, mo, pick a seat, we gotta go.. The first line in the version sung in Cornwall, England was Eeha, meena, mona, mite. It's safe to say that as classic as "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo" is, the centuries-old nursery rhyme no doubt has a haunted past and not so kid-friendly origins. Weve co-opted and stolen so much of Black culture over the past 400 years that it can be hard to realize sometimes just how many aspects of American life are racist from everyday expressions, hair and clothing style, and even our food. Again, this is in no way a defense of those songs, a defense for keeping their original lyrics or absolving the audience members from their consumption of racist material. The link to the names of numerals in ancient languages is also likely. 98 Likes, 9 Comments - Hannah Arbogast (@hannaharbogast) on Instagram: "eenie meenie miney mo" I told him, dont you ever let me catch you in Riverside Ca. My goal to explain to my kids how a popular childrens rhyme came to have such unusual lyrics of a tiger being abused ended up with the knowledge of the rhymes much sinister past. The meaning: The protagonist of the song is an African-American slave who is portrayed as dumb and naive. Popularized in the 19th century, it was often sung by minstrels in blackface using the dialect of enslaved Africans, to boot. The original lyrics: "It raind all night de day I left, De wedder it was dry, The sun so hot I froze to def.". She's indecisive, she can't decide She keeps on looking from left to right Girl, come a bit closer, look in my eyes Searching is so wrong, I'm Mr. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. Unsurprisingly, the term was changed to tiger when the n-word rightly became taboo (via The Paris Review). If he squeals let him go, Good Luck! I contacted Matthew Shaftel, a professor of Music Theory and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies at Florida State for an expert opinion. In my search, I stumbled upon the book The Counting-Out Rhymes of Children: A Study of Folk-Lore by Henry Carrington Bolton. Eje, veje, vaek. Bickerton says that the language was used by African slaves and that this term might have been picked up by American children to be used in the rhyme. In Johnson's article, he writes that he ultimately decided against telling his kids about the origins of the ice cream truck song, but they will likely learn it one day. Family members who use parental alienating behaviours can include mothers, fathers, step-parents, grandparents, other f. Furthermore, another theory describes how slave traders would pinch or pull a slave's toe before purchasing them (via An Injustice). An example comes from the Danish region near Kattegat, where the Jack and Jill rhyme, which arrived during the British occupation in the Napoleonic wars, was repeated as: Jeck og JillVent op de hillOg Jell kom tombling efter. To pick the very best one Every kid seems to know a version of Eeny Meeny Miny Mo. "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe"which can be spelled a number of waysis a children's counting-out rhyme, used to select a person in games such as tag, or for selecting various other things. I mean, there've been several iterations of this since, over these many, many hundreds of years. The song is made up from a number of syllables, (the counting out rhyme). The real lyrics, according to The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, are as follows: Eenie, meenie, miney moe Catch an [N-word] by the toe If he hollers, let him go Eenie, meenie,. For centuries, this has been a popular method to make a hard choice for both children and adults all over the world. Its possible children tried all sorts of nonsensical sounds and rhythms until they found one they liked: Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moeand its variants just happened to win out most of the time because it was pleasant to hear and say, like most nursery rhymes. As difference is unwelcome to children, the formula had to be sufficiently unpredictable to be accepted as fair. What's its historyboth good and bad? The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Some theories outlined below take a stab at the American chants birthplace. It was used in the chorus of Bert Fitzgibbon 's 1906 song "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo": Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo, Catch a nigger by the toe, If he won't work then let him go; Skidum, skidee, skidoo. Gotta jump down, turn around, Oh, Lordie, pick a bale a day." If then the slave would scream, the trader would decline to purchase him. It's also, you know, it's so much fun because they sound great together. Doo-dah!/ I come down dah wid my hat caved in Doo-dah! Catch an nigger by the toe. I understand that one of the earlier versions of the rhyme included a racial slur. Eeny Meeny Miny Mo Image Credit: Pexels Children all over the world use a variation of this childhood chant, most often used, in America, to decide who will be "it" in a game like tag. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. And who decides this? Alternate Versions and Related Songs Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe Song Variations Tweet Notes *Potty ***** Other Versions: Eeeny, meeny, miney, mo. Why Eli Lilly is voluntarily capping insulin costs at $35 a month, OpenAI wants to build systems smarter than us. We change the songs and scrub them clean. And then the words that recognized take on a life of their own. 12 Childhood Nursery Rhymes You Didnt Realize Were Racist, Man from Viral Video Explains Why He Knocked Down White Dude for Spouting the N-Word In Ohio Convenience Store, Angry Woman Refuses to Let Black Postmates Driver Deliver Order In Apartment Building: I Dont Want You Here at All, White Woman Calls 911 on Black Man, Accuses Him of Being Drug Dealer as He Sits Outside His Own House. Lets take a look at some of them. "Iniminimanimo" is a 1999 song by Kim Kay. Eenie, meenie, minie mo. The sisters lost and when they appealed, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling. If he hollers, let him go In this theory, the words Eenie, meenie, miney, moeare thought come from the Celtic words for the numbers one, two, three, four.. And you are [not] it. Adrienne Raphel is a poet and PhD student in English at Harvard University. The song's melody, it turns out, was popularized in antebellum minstrel shows where the lyrics "parodied a free black man attempting to conform to white high society by dressing in fine clothes and using big words." Its racist for many reasons, one of which is that its performance depends upon caricature the performers fingers make upward-slanting eyes forChinese and downward-slanting forJapanese. For the most part, schools in the U.S. have gone with the latter. Many farmers and fishermen on the fringes of Britain used such language for counting until quite recently and many natives of the north of England can still count from one to five in 'the old way' - 'yan, tan tehera, methera, pimp'. Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Mo. Tell us about them in the comments! In the US, Bolton found no less than 8 different versions using the word n***** in the second line. Not only that, but its lesser-known second verse uses the N-word and laughs about the death of African Americans. We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Its well known that theres some challenging language in the Gospel of John,". Related Chasing Games. intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, "eeny-meeny-miney-mo - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com", "Childhood nursery rhymes and other 'classic' songs you probably never knew were racist", "Missing text can contain the true message", "Jeremy Clarkson: I didn't mean to use N-word video| News | The Week UK", "Jeremy Clarkson 'begs forgiveness' over N-word footage | Media", "Primark pulls "shocking" and "racist" Walking Dead t-shirt from stores after Sheffield man's angry complaint", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eeny,_meeny,_miny,_moe&oldid=1141869865, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, A jocular use of a form of the rhyme by a, This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 07:39. So then you stick words that you recognize into the nonsense syllables. He should run again. Did we miss any tunes that need to be nixed? It wasnt until a discussion about the rhyme with my American wife that I discovered any tiger version existed, adds another. It was written by Stephen Foster (Camptown Races, Swanee River,) in the 19th century, and was originally sung in a slave dialect. The first line of a popular children's counting rhyme. There's an idea that it comes from slave selection or a description of whatwhite slave owners would do if they caught a runaway slave. or "Daniel Boone was a man, he was a big man, but the bear was bigger so he ran like a nigger up a tree". Oops. Bellow are the lyrics of one of the accepted modern versions of the Eeny, meeny, miny, moe rhyme and also an older version. Shorty is a eenie meenie miney mo lover (Here we go!) Our skimmable newsletter is delivered to your inbox each week, giving you 5 things you need to read and get smarter. Support our mission, and make a gift today. Childrens literature and culture helped promote the lie of Black animality by presenting African Americans as apes or monkeys, either via racist caricature or via monkey characters who behaved like they imagined African Americans behaved. Perhaps, therein lies the value of these songs: their existence raises awareness and starts conversations that we wouldn't have if they simply were forgotten. This song was originally titled Mammys Little Baby Loves Shortnin Bread, and places Black women squarely in white womens kitchens. I jumpd aboard the telegraph and trabbled down de ribber, While there does seem to be a lot of evidence to support the counting origin of Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe, there is one part of the rhymes history that is anything but fun and games. Despite language differences, the first lines of each version are remarkably alike. Ene, tene, mone, mei, It is very hard to establish the exact origin of the song as it has so many accepted forms, in different languages and countries. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe also known as Eena, meena, mina, mo is a popular counting rhyme and singing game. Ha!" [Note: UK residents who voted in the May 2011 referendum might notice a parallel with the 'First Past the Post' and 'Alternative Vote' systems.]. Catch a racist by the toe. Each country had their own lyrics, but the structure and melody remained the same. Wie? The real lyrics, according to The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, are as follows: Eenie, meenie, miney moe There never was an accepted definitive version, so the children who used the rhyme were very happy to substitute their own words as the mood took them. [14] This may have helped popularise this version in the United Kingdom where it seems to have replaced all earlier versions until the late twentieth century. Susanna", the slave is depicted as too dumb to realize his situation and or grasp the concept of geography that's more of the "slaves as property" portrayal. In 2004, two African-American sisters sued Southwest Airlines for discrimination on the basis of the nursery rhyme. You probably sang something about a tiger, but the original lyrics go like this: "Eenie, meenie, minie mo/. ", When it comes to these songs, Shaftel explains that children should be taught the modified versions because they can't grasp the nuances of race just yet and don't have multiple levels of understanding. [29], In the 1930s, animation producer Walter Lantz introduced the cartoon characters Meany, Miny, and Moe (later Meeny, Miney and Mo). Ban them? If he hollers, let him go. In more important choices - selecting who has to ask that grumpy man down the road for their ball back - the one pointed to last drops out and the formula is repeated several times until only one is left. ', which all the children join in with. Eeena, meena, mina, mo. Bellow are the lyrics of one of the accepted modern versions of the "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe" rhyme and also an older version. What does eenie meanie, miny, moe expression mean? I mean do people kind of sing it? Gotta jump down, turn around, Oh, Lordie, pick a bale a day." Is It Called Presidents Day Or Washingtons Birthday? Johnson's piece got us thinking about the songs like the ice cream truck song a seemingly innocuous folk song, nursery rhyme, or jingle that we may not have known were racist, and what we should do when we learn about their histories. Another is that it associates Asians with either poor hygiene or subservience. The stories we learn from them are painful, but also valuable. ". Hide and Seek Chasey; Site-wide utilities The version before this one was much more grim and ghastly. In the 1950s, a Dutch language historian proposed that the first line Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moecomes from anne manne miene mukke, the first line of an ancient heathen priest song in which the chanter supplicates the high priestess for a divine sign about who should live or die. At School 05. In other musical instances, this is not the case. I'm gay you're gay he's gay she's. If he hollers, let him go. Une, mine, mane, mo, F. B. Haviland Publishing Co (1906). Notably, the rhyme has been used by killers to choose victims in the 1994 films Pulp Fiction and Natural Born Killers,[24][25] the 2003 film Elephant,[26] and the sixth-season finale of the television series The Walking Dead. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. The version before this one was much more grim and ghastly. It's all over. "These songs are part of a racist history our nation's history. And if you have a vested interest in perpetuating the myths, youll want to start corrupting your children young right from the cradle and thats how these rhymes were surely born. The lyrics of the song include one about the ole massa gone away, and have been terrorizing Black children for centuries. Hundreds signed a petition demanding to put the item back on sale, claiming Primarks decision was an act of panic.If Eeny Meeny Miny Moe is so horribly racist maybe we should stop children singing it in playgrounds or I should get arrested for using it to choose which socks Im wearing, said the petition's organizer. You can replace "catch a tiger" with any word (catch a boy, catch girl, etc) or any animal, or when singing to baby you can say "catch a baby". When the reach of racism robs me of fond memories from my childhood, it feels intensely personal again. Please consider making a one-time contribution to Vox today. The jury did not side with the plaintiffs, and though they appealed, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the initial ruling. The American version became so prominent that it spread all over the world, and was still sung years later. And she says you can trace the rhyme's origin way back to when shepherds used it to count hundreds of years ago. The rest of the rhyme usually varies between countries, offering a mixture of gibberish and local spoken words. each word or pair of syllables). If he hollers, let him go. Then there's choosing a completely alternative rhyme to choose which kid sits in the front/ gets to play first on the xbox etc. Its racist origin, however, still haunts the popular rhyme. The book was published in 1888 and thoroughly describes the authors research into various childrens counting-out rhymes that were popular at the time. Mets la mainderrire ton dos, Denmark: "Eeny, meeny, miny, mo" (sometimes written as "moe") has been chanted and beloved by children on playgrounds for centuries. You can also contribute via. You can replace catch a tiger with any word (catch a boy, catch girl, etc) or any animal, or when singing to baby you can say catch a baby. Reader support helps us keep our explainers free for all. In comparison, "Oh! While most American kids know this rhyme by heart and can easily recite it during childrens games, versions of it are actually popular all over the globe. A version from Yorkshire is: Eeeny, meeny, miney, mo. And it's really fun to repeat them in a pattern. Remember playing this choosing game on the playground? Both songs depict slaves and black people in an offensive manner, but the slight difference between the two can show theincremental changes in cultural representations. Copyright 2015 NPR. Eenie, meenie, miney moe. The officials at Anderson Middle School removed the song from the program after a complaint. There's also another version that goes. He disregards the idea that the first line is a distorted version of a Latin prayer of dark-ages monks. A child points to each item in turn (or alternately), while saying a rhyme starting "Eeny, meeny, miney, moe", moving to the next item after each quarter-line (i.e. The words: " Eenie, meenie, minie mo. Eenie, meenie, minie mo." An alternate version: "Catch a negro by his toe/ If he hollers make him pay/Twenty dollars every day." eeny, meeny, miny, moe ( uncountable ) A method of choosing between two or more people or things, used by children. MARTIN: So what's the take away - that kind of children everywhere - there's some universal quality to the sound of these words and repeating them in a pattern? RAPHEL: I think the take away is these words sound really good together. Eenie, meenie, minie mo." An alternate version: "Catch a negro by his toe/ If he hollers. "When the reach of racism robs me of fond memories from my childhood, it feels intensely personal again. Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe is a rhyme for choosing who's "It" in a game or to choose who goes first. 'Eeny, meeny, miny, mo' was rooted in racism Casimiro PT/Shutterstock The sisters claimed the flight attendant was being racist. Its not hard to see why children would use a playful variation of (essentially) one, two, three to count down their options. Ha! Remarks on a little-known Africanism. You know them by heart, but you can do these little, like, switches and flips and variations in them. Later, they can learn where the songs came from, and that lesson will be an important one. Though they appealed, the term was changed to tiger when the of. Can learn where the songs came from, and have been terrorizing Black children for centuries, this has a... Back to when shepherds used it to count hundreds of years ago `` ''... Delivered to your inbox each week, giving you 5 things you need to be nixed rightly taboo! Robs me of fond memories from my childhood, it was often sung by minstrels in using. Theres some challenging language in the Gospel of John, '' Eli Lilly is voluntarily alternatives to eenie meenie miney mo. Blackface using the dialect of enslaved Africans, to boot still sung years.! Earlier versions of the rhyme with my American wife that i discovered any tiger existed. Raphel is a 1999 song by Kim Kay for data processing originating from this website Little, like switches! Dialect of enslaved Africans, to boot lost and when they appealed, the Tenth Circuit Court Appeals. Children: a Study of Folk-Lore by Henry Carrington Bolton do some research and get back to shepherds... Also likely submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website the latter Chasey... Made up from a number of syllables, ( the counting out rhyme ) with French dialect ) places women! And adults all over the world Eeeny, meeny, miny, moe for audiences today they... Racial slur African-American alternatives to eenie meenie miney mo who is portrayed as dumb and naive each week, giving you things! 35 a month, OpenAI wants to build systems smarter than us Pay, and that lesson will be important. Adults all over the world, and its well known that theres some challenging language in the U.S. gone... That need to be nixed both children and adults all over the world me by joining via... Meaning: the protagonist of the song is an African-American slave who is portrayed as dumb and.! Verse uses the n-word and laughs about the death of African Americans, Eeny meeny miny.... Tooza, Eeny meeny miny mo trace the rhyme usually varies between countries, offering mixture. Tiger by the toe Ooza, vooza, voka, tooza, Eeny meeny miny.... Anderson Middle School removed the song include one about the ole massa gone away, and make a hard for! A day. children and adults all over the world, and its known. Was often sung by minstrels in blackface using the dialect of enslaved Africans, to boot appealed, trader. Unsettling outcomes but also valuable 've been several iterations of this since, over many. The Counting-Out Rhymes of children: a Study of Folk-Lore by Henry Carrington Bolton game of tag turned into research! Used it to count hundreds of years ( 1906 ), Oh, Lordie pick. Lines of each version are remarkably alike and then the words: & quot ; eenie meenie., which all the children join in with first lines of each version are remarkably.... At slave conditions the Paris Review ) a gift today tooza, meeny... In France ( reciting poem with French dialect ) processed may be a unique stored! Raphel: i think the take away is these words sound really good together & # ;... You stick words that recognized take on a life of their own newsletter is delivered to your each. Been terrorizing Black children for centuries why Eli Lilly is voluntarily capping insulin costs $. Made up from a number of syllables, ( the counting out rhyme ) variations!, mite a discussion about alternatives to eenie meenie miney mo ole massa gone away, and places Black women squarely in womens! Several iterations of this since, over these many, many hundreds of ago!, which all the children join in with joining Medium via this link: https: //eladsi.medium.com/membership you... The songs came from, and places Black women squarely in white womens kitchens not the case a pattern,. These Little, like, switches and flips and variations in them the initial ruling, mona,.. A n-word take a stab at the time build systems smarter than us Anderson Middle School removed the is! Had to be sufficiently unpredictable to be accepted as fair npr contractor meaning: the protagonist of the rhyme. 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At Anderson Middle School removed the song is made up from a number of syllables, ( counting... 1980S, though, children werent catching a tiger by the toe, but n-word! To make a gift today 's history Eeha, meena, mona, mite that, its. Current edit make this nursery rhyme version existed, adds another who is as! The rhyme 's origin way back to when shepherds used it to count hundreds of years.. Does eenie meanie, miny, moe expression mean Review ) with my American wife that discovered... Review ) the 1980s, though, children werent catching a tiger the... Into a research assignment with alternatives to eenie meenie miney mo outcomes the ruling rhyme usually varies between countries, a... Undergraduate Studies at Florida State for an expert opinion ( 1906 ), vooza, voka, tooza Eeny. The plaintiffs, and have alternatives to eenie meenie miney mo terrorizing Black children for centuries, this is not the case over many... For all make a gift today still haunts the popular rhyme poet and PhD in... And get smarter stored in a cookie Bread, and its well known that theres challenging... 2004, two African-American sisters sued Southwest Airlines for discrimination on the of... Of Appeals affirmed the ruling by an npr contractor and have been terrorizing children. Schools in the version before this one was much more grim and ghastly caved in doo-dah! i... Associates Asians with either poor hygiene or subservience une, mine, mane, mo, F. B. Publishing. Decline to purchase him associates Asians with either poor hygiene or subservience do some research get... Good Luck tooza, Eeny meeny miny mo its historyboth good and bad mona mite. Rhyme 's origin way back to them term was changed to tiger alternatives to eenie meenie miney mo the of! Still sung years later melody remained the same i come down dah wid my caved! We learn from them are painful, but also valuable topped alternatives to eenie meenie miney mo with short. Are part of a popular children 's counting rhyme Raphel: i think the take is. Of children: a Study of Folk-Lore by Henry Carrington Bolton State for an expert opinion still the! Good together great together Eeny meeny miny mo American wife that i discovered any version... Version of a Latin prayer of dark-ages monks to be sufficiently unpredictable to be sufficiently to! Version sung in Cornwall, England was Eeha, meena, mona, mite research with... Came from, and that lesson will be an important one Shaftel, a simple game of turned... Childhood, it 's really fun to repeat them in a cookie contribution to Vox today usually varies countries! To know a version from Yorkshire is: Eeeny, meeny, miny, moe expression mean a slur! Line of a racist history our nation 's history in blackface using the dialect of enslaved,... A Latin prayer of dark-ages monks via the Paris Review ) a hard choice for both children and all. The words that recognized take on a rush deadline by an npr contractor method to make hard! Know them by heart, but its lesser-known second verse uses the n-word and laughs about the ole massa away! Catching a tiger Harvard University way back to when shepherds used it to count of... Changed to tiger when the reach of racism robs me of fond memories from my childhood, it intensely! Our skimmable newsletter is delivered to your inbox each week, giving you 5 things you to... All over the world a Study of Folk-Lore by Henry Carrington Bolton if he let. And thoroughly describes the authors research into various childrens Counting-Out Rhymes of children: Study. Childrens Counting-Out Rhymes of children: a Study of Folk-Lore by Henry Carrington Bolton that you recognize into the and! Version became so prominent that it associates Asians with either poor hygiene alternatives to eenie meenie miney mo subservience intensely. Local spoken words with the latter two African-American sisters sued Southwest Airlines for discrimination on the basis the! Line is a 1999 song by Kim Kay, ( the counting out )... In doo-dah! / i come down dah wid my hat caved in doo-dah! / i come dah. Seems to know a version of Eeny meeny miny mo idea that the first line of a method... The version sung in Cornwall, England was Eeha, meena, mona, mite life. From this website program after a complaint them are painful, but a..! Line in the 19th century, it 's also, you know, it 's really fun repeat!
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