Square Dance Patter Sayings
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Square Dance 'Patter Sayings' are rhymes or jingles said by callers
  • Usually said while dancers are executing a long call such as Promenade Home.
  • Most patter sayings are old-style, old-time sayings, rarely used today.
  • Some may not be suitable for a modern western square dance, and some may even be politically incorrect.
  • One caller refers to them as Lagniappe.
Short Sayings
 137 found
  • A right and left around the ring
    While the roosters crow and the birdies sing.
    ID: 57   edit

  • Ace of Diamonds, Jack of Spades,
    Meet your partner & all promenade.
    ID: 8   edit

  • All join hands and circle to the south,
    Get a little moonshine in your mouth.
    ID: 3   edit

  • All join hands and circle wide,
    spread right out like an old cow hide.
    ID: 40   edit

  • All join hands in a great big ring
    Circle round and round with the dear little thing.
    ID: 110   edit

  • All jump up and never come down,
    Swing your pretty girl round and round.
    ID: 28   edit

  • All the way over, back with pride
    When you're through we'll take a ride
    ID: 143   edit

  • Allemande left with the corner maid,
    Meet your own and promenade.
    ID: 31   edit

  • Allemande left with your left hand,
    Bow to the partner, and there you stand.
    ID: 45   edit

  • Ambulances and big black hearses,
    Swing those doctors, swing those nurses.
    ID: 35   edit

  • Betty can swing, the best ya ever saw,
    I'll take the girl from Arkansas.
    ID: 132   edit

  • Big foot up and little foot down
    Make the big foot jar the ground.
    ID: 55   edit

  • Big foot up, little foot down,
    Grab your own and swing 'em round.
    ID: 37   edit

  • Bow to you partner and the corner miss,
    To the opposite lady just blow a kiss.
    ID: 108   edit

  • Bow to your partner, corner salute
    Circle left, go lickety-scoot.
    ID: 104   edit

  • Call your dogs and grab your gun,
    Let's start dancin' and have some fun.
    ID: 90   edit

  • Cat in the barn, rat in her mouth
    Grab your honey and head her south
    ID: 86   edit

  • Chase the rabbit, chase the squirrel,
    Chase the pretty girl around the world
    ID: 122   edit

  • Chase the rabbit, chase the 'coon,
    Chase that big boy around the room
    ID: 123   edit

  • Chew tobacco and spit on the wall
    Take your gal and promenade the hall
    ID: 139   edit

  • Chicken in the bread pan pickin' out dough
    Big pig rootin' up the little tater now.
    ID: 80   edit

  • Chicken in the bread pan scratching out gravel,
    get your maid & away you travel.
    ID: 11   edit

  • Chicken on a fence and possum on a rail
    Take your honey and away you sail.
    ID: 67   edit

  • Comb your hair & button your shoe,
    promenade home like you always do.
    ID: 20   edit

  • Corn in the crib, wheat in the sack,
    meet your partner & promenade back.
    ID: 9   edit

  • Crack that whip, jerk the line,
    Lets start dancing and have a good time.
    ID: 89   edit

  • Do si do don't you know,
    You can't catch a rabbit till it comes a snow.
    ID: 16   edit

  • Dog in the corner gnawin' on a bone,
    Meet your girl, promenade 'er home.
    ID: 21   edit

  • Down in the barnyard swinging on a gate,
    Swing your honey and don't be late
    ID: 140   edit

  • Ducks in the mill pond, geese in the clover,
    Hide that pretty girl 'cause I'm comin' over.
    ID: 6   edit

  • Ducks in the river going to ford,
    Coffee in the little rag, sugar in the gourd.
    ID: 23   edit

  • Everybody swing and whirl
    Swing 'round and 'round with your pretty little girl.
    ID: 71   edit

  • First you whistle, then you sing
    All join hands and make a ring.
    ID: 34   edit

  • Four ladies chain and don't be slow,
    Turn that girl with the cute elbow.
    ID: 126   edit

  • Four little ladies promenade around,
    Get back home, swing him upside down.
    ID: 127   edit

  • Gertrude is clever and Kathy is witty,
    I want the girl from Kansas City.
    ID: 138   edit

  • Grab that filly and give her a spin
    Twice around with your haunches in.
    ID: 112   edit

  • Hand over hand and heel over heel
    The faster you go, the better you feel.
    ID: 56   edit

  • Hay! Straw is cheaper, grass is free,
    Horses eat it, why don't we?
    ID: 105   edit

  • Here we go on the heel and toe
    Hurry up, cowboys, don't be slow.
    ID: 51   edit

  • Here we go with the ol' red wagon
    Hind wheel broke and the axle draggin'.
    ID: 58   edit

  • Honor your partner, and your corner too,
    Now wave at the gal across from you.
    ID: 47   edit

  • Honor your partner, corners all
    Honor your opposite across the hall
    And that's it - that's all.
    ID: 49   edit

  • Hull those peas and hull them right
    Swing your honey if it takes all night.
    ID: 81   edit

  • Hurry up boys and don't be laggin',
    Paw's coming home with a little red wagon.
    ID: 7   edit

  • Hurry up cowboy, don't be slow,
    You won't go to heaven if you don't do so.
    ID: 62   edit

  • Hurry up girls, don't be slow,
    kiss the caller before you go
    ID: 120   edit

  • Hurry up, Grandpa, can't you see
    You're not as young as you used to be.
    ID: 54   edit

  • I don't know but I believe,
    I'll be home by christmas eve.
    ID: 103   edit

  • I got a gal in Tijuana,
    She knows how but she don't wanna.
    ID: 102   edit

  • I got a wife and she's a daisy
    She won't work and I'm too lazy.
    ID: 94   edit

  • I got a wife who's lean and tall,
    sleeps in the kitchen with her feet in the hall.
    ID: 92   edit

  • I know a gal, lives on a hill,
    She won't dance but her sister will.
    ID: 101   edit

  • I sold my cow & I sold my calf,
    I sold 'em both for a dollar and a half.
    ID: 10   edit

  • Into the center with a whinny and a neigh
    Feed 'em on oats and a bale of hay.
    ID: 114   edit

  • It ain't a goin' to rain,
    It ain't a goin' to snow,
    All join hands and away we go
    ID: 117   edit

  • It's been a while, since way back when,
    I'd swing a girl with a dimple in her chin.
    ID: 130   edit

  • Jenny is sweet, and Sally is a good'n,
    I want the girl with tapioca puddin'.
    ID: 131   edit

  • Ladies to their seats and gents all foller
    Thank the fiddler and kiss the caller
    ID: 125   edit

  • Left allemande and right-hand grand,
    And you promenade to beat the band.
    ID: 38   edit

  • Lift your feet and set them down,
    Swing your honey go round and round.
    ID: 44   edit

  • Mary can stand up, Molly can fiddle,
    I want Judy, cuz she's in the middle.
    ID: 133   edit

  • Meet and swing and don't get cross
    Promenade with the guy who's boss.
    ID: 68   edit

  • Meet that gal and promenade
    Promenade that lady fair
    Promenade go 'round the square.
    ID: 60   edit

  • Meet that gal with her petticoat a floppin'
    Shoe fell off and a hole's in her stockin' - (Promenade)
    ID: 99   edit

  • Meet your gal and promenade - promenade
    Go 'round the ring, 'til the roosters crow
    And the birdies sing.
    ID: 65   edit

  • Meet your honey and promenade eight
    Promenade eight 'til you get straight.
    ID: 59   edit

  • Meet your maid and promenade 'round
    Like a jay bird walking on frozen ground.
    ID: 64   edit

  • Meet your own with a great big smile
    Promenade, go about a mile.
    ID: 29   edit

  • Meet your partner with a great big smile
    Promenade boys, go 'bout a mile.
    ID: 66   edit

  • Meet your Sally, meet your Sue
    Meet the little gal with the run-down shoe.
    ID: 53   edit

  • Mingo, bingo, six-penny high.
    Big piggy, little piggy, root hog or die.
    ID: 61   edit

  • Oak post crook, elbow hook,
    the more you swing, the better you look.
    ID: 33   edit

  • Old Ida Red she ain't no fool,
    She can put a saddle on a hump back mule
    ID: 111   edit

  • Promenade - you know where
    And I don't care
    Take her out and give her some air.
    ID: 50   edit

  • Promenade and don't be slow,
    Where we're going nobody knows
    ID: 119   edit

  • Promenade and don't relax
    You just got the well-known ax
    ID: 142   edit

  • Promenade eight and promenade all,
    Promenade eight to the hole in the wall.
    ID: 85   edit

  • Promenade go 'round and 'round
    Like a jay bird hoppin' on frozen ground.
    ID: 69   edit

  • Promenade go six by nine,
    get on home, you're doing fine.
    ID: 109   edit

  • Promenade it's off you go,
    seat your pards and let 'em blow.
    ID: 30   edit

  • Promenade on a heel an' toe
    like a bare-footed boy in a frozen snow.
    ID: 4   edit

  • Promenade round that ring so fine
    Till the cows come home
    And the Oxen-dine.
    Hi Tony!
    ID: 93   edit

  • Promenade take that gal
    Take a little walk to the old corral
    ID: 144   edit

  • Promenade this cute little chick,
    Make those heels go clickity click.
    ID: 107   edit

  • Promenade this dear
    Whisper sweet things in her ear
    ID: 145   edit

  • Promenade two and promenade four,
    Keep that calico off the floor.
    ID: 73   edit

  • Promenade, go two by two
    Now you walk 'em home like you used to do.
    ID: 63   edit

  • Promenade, go 'round the hall
    Tote that bucket and muck that stall.
    ID: 113   edit

  • Promenade, you go side by side
    Like a knock-kneed groom and a bow-legged bride.
    ID: 91   edit

  • Promenade, you know where and I don't care
    Take your honey to an easy chair.
    ID: 48   edit

  • Pull off your shoes, roll up your socks
    Swing those girls till you rattle their hocks.
    ID: 83   edit

  • Randy and Andy and Billy and Bob,
    All want Lucy and corn on the cob.
    ID: 134   edit

  • Ridin' through Georgia in a beat up jalopy,
    I met me a gal all slippery and sloppy.
    ID: 136   edit

  • Right and left on the heel and toe
    Hi there Mary, Hello Joe.
    ID: 52   edit

  • Roll the barrel, tap the keg,
    Save the oyster, break the egg
    ID: 121   edit

  • Rope the cow, brand the calf,
    Swing your honey once and a half
    ID: 124   edit

  • Saddle your bronc, cinch 'em tight,
    Promenade boys & do it right.
    ID: 15   edit

  • Same old boy, same old route,
    Good old shoes that won't wear out.
    ID: 24   edit

  • Same old road, same old trail,
    Watch that monkey walk that rail.
    ID: 19   edit

  • She likes whiskey and I like rum
    Now that's where all the trouble begun.
    ID: 95   edit

  • She was sixteen, I told her I'd wait,
    Down by the mill or the garden gate?
    ID: 137   edit

  • She's that gal from _____ _____ City
    Golly gee now ain't she pretty.
    ID: 70   edit

  • Some girls are pretty, and some are not,
    But boy, you're stuck with the one you've got
    ID: 118   edit

  • Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose,
    I want the girl in the high heel shoes.
    ID: 129   edit

  • Stop where you are, and don't be blue,
    The music quit, so I will too.
    ID: 46   edit

  • Swing 'em early, then swing 'em late,
    Swing 'em 'round Mr. Meadow's gate.
    ID: 18   edit

  • Swing 'em high and whirl 'em low
    Keep on swinging your calico.
    ID: 72   edit

  • Swing 'em high, then swing 'em low,
    Turn 'em loose, and watch 'em go.
    ID: 17   edit

  • Swing her Mack, don't break her back.
    ID: 97   edit

  • Swing that lady with a hole in her stockin',
    Knees keep a knockin, petticoat a floppin'
    ID: 115   edit

  • Swing the colonels, then the captains,
    Swing their girls, but don't you drop 'em.
    ID: 36   edit

  • Swing with Mary, swing with Grace,
    Allemande left with old Prune Face
    ID: 116   edit

  • Swing your gals with all your might
    Swing 'em all day and swing 'em all night.
    ID: 75   edit

  • Swing your honey round and round,
    any old way but upside down.
    ID: 39   edit

  • Swing your honey, go 'round and 'round
    Lift her feet right off the ground.
    ID: 74   edit

  • Swing your little sage-hen 'round and 'round,
    'Till the heel of your boot makes a hole in the ground.
    ID: 12   edit

  • Swing your partner round & round,
    put her in the toilet and flush her down.
    This one is obviously politically incorrect.
    ID: 14   edit

  • Swing your partner round and round,
    'til the hole in yer head makes a whistling sound.
    ID: 106   edit

  • Swing your partner 'round and 'round
    With a pocket full of rocks to hold you down.
    ID: 82   edit

  • Swing your partner, don't be late,
    Swing on the corner like swinging on a gate.
    ID: 41   edit

  • The good girls walk, the bad girls ride,
    Come on bad girl, my car's outside.
    ID: 1   edit

  • The little banty rooster told the little banty hen,
    I'll meet you around the corner at about a half past ten.
    ID: 98   edit

  • The whip held high, the reins a bit slack,
    Promenade home on the same old track.
    ID: 13   edit

  • This one's pretty, so is Frank,
    But I'll take my gal to the water tank.
    ID: 27   edit

  • Tie up the dogs and kill the cats
    Now double the dose, that's tough on rats.
    ID: 84   edit

  • Tighten up the belly band, loosen up the traces,
    All join hands we're off to the races.
    ID: 42   edit

  • Tighten up the bellybands and looses up the traces,
    All join hands and get to your places.
    ID: 88   edit

  • Two old maids lying in the sand,
    Each one wishin' the other was a man.
    ID: 2   edit

  • Up the river and around the bend,
    All join hands, we're gone again.
    ID: 43   edit

  • We don't care just how we look,
    'cause we're gonna have our picture took.
    ID: 22   edit

  • Well I took a stick to my old mule,
    He kicked me flat, he ain't no fool.
    ID: 96   edit

  • Wipe off your chin, pull down your vest
    And swing that girl that you love the best.
    ID: 5   edit

  • You take Angela and her sister, Kate,
    I'll be with Babs and we'll be out late.
    ID: 135   edit

  • You take Sally, and I'll take Sue,
    We'll take 'em back like we always do.
    ID: 128   edit

  • You talk to me, and I'll talk to you,
    You swing me and I'll swing you.
    ID: 32   edit

  • Your right foot up and left foot down
    Hurry up there, or you'll never get around.
    ID: 25   edit
Long Sayings
 6 found
  • (after Right & Left Grand) Meet your girl on the other side, she's 6 foot tall, 5 foot wide, Promenade go round the land, big fat girl and little tiny man
    ID: 146   edit

  • Butterflies have wings of gold;
    Moths have wings of flame;
    Bed bugs don't have wings at all
    But they get there just the same.
    ID: 77   edit

  • I went to go pick up my girl,
    She met me at the door,
    Her shoes and stockings in her hand,
    Her face all over the floor.
    ID: 78   edit

  • Mary had a little lamb,
    You've heard this one before...
    And so she passed her dinner plate,
    And had a little more.
    ID: 79   edit

  • Raccoon's tail got a ring around;
    Possum's tail is bare;
    Rabbit ain't got no tail at all,
    Just a little old hunk of hair.

    ID: 100   edit

  • Who's that girl with the red dress on
    Some folks call her Dinah
    She just stole my heart away
    Down in Carolina
    ID: 141   edit
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02-September-2010 14:15:27
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