I grew up for part of my early years in the remote Ozarks area of North Arkansas where there were no African Americans. Yet in the 1950's and early 1960's a variation of that "I like coffee, I like tea" song was a common jump rope ditty in our area that went like this:

"I went down to Granpa's farm,
Billy goat chased me 'round the barn.
Chased me up an apple tree;
This is what he said to me:

I like coffee, I like tea,
I like pretty girls, they like me.
Hurry! Hurry! Kiss me quick,
Here comes Granny with a stick!"
(clap!) (Clap!)

This ditty ended with two loud hand claps. It was sung to that tune about "Down at Papa Joe's" . . . I don't know the name that song, but as kids we could always start with a black Eb key on a piano and easily pick it out using mostly the black keys.

Another jump rope ditty that I vaguely recall the beginning to:

"Oh, I'm a pretty little Dutch girl,
As pretty as pretty can be.
. . . . . "

The above ditty was sung to a tune just like the tune that played at the end of some cartoons, just before Porky Pig stuttered "Th..Th..Th..That's all, folks!"

I had seven younger sisters, did a lot of jump rope twirling (that's what we called it), and I used to hear lots of those little ditties when the girls were jumping rope, but I just can't remember any others right now.

By the way, I did some jump rope, but that wasn't my forte . . . however, I could beat most of 'em at jacks (my larger hand help me beat 'em on "fourzies" and above) and hop scotch.

Eu