Playground song

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A playground song is a song sung by children, usually on a playground or other children's gathering place, that describes or comments on the social scene of a playground. Playground songs can, of course, be sung anywhere, and presumably customs like playground songs exist globally. They are distinct from nursery rhymes in that they usually do not have characters (such as Mary, Georgie Porgie, Jack & Jill, and Humpty Dumpty), but playground songs are related to counting-out games. If a playground song does have a character, it is usually a child present at the time of the song's performance. The inexplicable and extreme awkwardness of relations between young boys and young girls is a common motif.

Many playground songs are parodies of popular songs such as On Top of Old Smokey or The Battle Hymn of the Republic, with altered lyrics. The new lyrics are frequently highly derisive and often violent towards figures of authority such as teachers, principals, and Barney. Zero-tolerance rules in many schools now prevent this, although they are sometimes ignored by teachers who view the songs as harmless and clever.