The Hokey Pokey was probably written by Larry LaPrise in 1949.
The funny thing was that when poor Larry LaPrise died in 1996 aged 83, they had a problem getting him in his coffin. Here is what happened.
You put your left leg in, you put your left leg
out And you shake it all about.
Larry's
band were called the Ram Trio and the other members were Charles Macak, and Tafit Baker. LaPrise had no more hits. While that in itself is no reason
to suppose he lifted the song from earlier artists, there is evidence that it was heavily influenced by the Okey - Cokey sung by American GIs in 1945 and before.
Edward Deming's
has claim to the
theme with his Shaker song Hinkum-Booby which had similar lyrics. Anyway, here is the complete version that was recorded in 1949 and attributed to Larry LaPrise.
It is now claimed that the Hokey Pokey is a Puritan song which mocks the
Catholics. The controversy has erupted because Catholics claim the
ditty was composed by Puritans during the 18th century to mock the language
and actions used by priests at Mass.
What is true is that supporters of Rangers, (a soccer club in Glasgow,
Scotland) have been banned from singing sectarian songs at their home ground
at Ibrox. Politicians have asked the police to arrest anyone caught
singing the song in a sectarian context, on the grounds that it incites
religious hatred.
'This song does have quite disturbing origins. It was devised as an
attack on, and a parody of, the Catholic Mass,' said Peter Kearney, a
spokesman for the Catholic church in Scotland. 'If there are moves to
restore its more malevolent meaning then consideration should perhaps be
given to its wider use.'
SNP MSP Michael Matheson said: 'It is important that the police and
football clubs are aware of the sinister background to this song, and take
the appropriate action against individuals and groups who use it at matches
or in other situations to taunt Catholics.'
The church claims that the title derives from 'hocus-pocus', which itself
is derived from the Eucharist, 'hoc est enim corpus meum', or 'this is my
body'. Thus they claim singing the 'Hokey Pokey' is an attempt to
ridicule Catholic Mass.
While racial and religious was at one time rife at soccer games, and it
has rightly been stamped out; it would seem best if Catholics simply ignore
the Ranger's chant. The connection between the Hokey Pokey and Hocus
Pocus is tenuous, and the connection between Hocus Pocus and 'hoc est enim
corpus meum' had been forgotten - if it ever existed.
Here is the Hokey
Pokey so that you can judge if there are any words, or even connotations, of
religious abuse.
You put your right foot in, You put your right foot out; You put your right foot in, And you shake it all about. You do the Hokey-Pokey,
And you turn
yourself around. That's
what it's
all about!
You put your left foot in, You put your left foot out; You put your left foot in, And you shake it all about. You do the Hokey-Pokey,
And you turn yourself around. That's
what it's
all about!
You put your right hand in, You put your right hand out; You put your right hand in, And you shake it all about. You do the
Hokey-Pokey, And you turn yourself around. That's
what it's
all about!
You put your left hand in, You put your left hand out; You put your left hand in, And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey-Pokey, And you turn yourself around. That's
what it's
all about!
You put your right side in, You put your right side out; You put your right side in, And you shake it
all about. You do the Hokey-Pokey, And you turn yourself around. That's
what it's
all about!
You put your left side in, You put your left side out; You put your left side in, And
you shake it all about. You do the Hokey-Pokey, And you turn yourself around. That's
what it's
all about!
You put your nose in, You put your nose out; You put your nose in, And you
shake it all about. You do the Hokey-Pokey, And you turn yourself around. That's
what it's
all about!
You put your backside in, You put your backside out; You put your backside in,
And you shake it all about. You do the Hokey-Pokey, And you turn yourself around. That's
what it's
all about!
You put your head in, You put your head out; You put your head in, And
you shake it all about. You do the Hokey-Pokey, And you turn yourself around. That's
what it's
all about!
You put your whole self in,
You put your whole self out; You put your whole self in, And you shake it all about. You do the Hokey-Pokey, And you turn yourself around. That's
what it's
all about
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