Lyrics
(American folk song, Georgia Sea Islands)
Little Johnny Brown,
Lay your comfort down,
Little Johnny Brown,
Lay your comfort down.
Call
Fold down the corner,
Response
Johnny Brown*,
Fold another corner, Johnny Brown.
Fold another corner, Johnny Brown (repeat)
Take it to a friend, Johnny Brown (repeat)
Show them a motion, Johnny Brown (repeat)
Lope like a buzzard, Johnny Brown (repeat)
Give it to your friend, Johnny Brown (repeat)
Each Call is the instruction, and each Response is “Johnny Brown.”
Game
Formation: Students stand in a circle, one student (“It”) stands in the middle.
“It” walks around the middle of the circle, then puts a handkerchief on the ground. “It” sings the “Call” while turning down one corner of the handkerchief at a time.
“Show them a motion” = “It” goes over to a person in the circle (with handkerchief in hand) and does a motion (optional: Other student can imitate the motion.)
“Lope like a buzzard” = Both of those students can fly like a bird around the circle or make those motions in place.
“Give it to your friend” = “It” gives the handkerchief to the other person, who becomes the “It” as the game begins again.
See also
- Activities: circle singing games
- Harmony: chords I, IV, V
- Melody: solo singing
- Meter: 2
- Source: Sail Away: 155 American Folk Songs to sing, read, and play, Eleanor G. Locke, 1981
- Source of game: Step it Down: Games, Plays, Songs, and Stories from the Afro-American Heritage, Bessie Jones & Bess Lomax Hawes, Harper & Row Publ, 1972
YouTube
- PDF of song with chords
- MIDI file
- Listen to the melody