Related to that book and this topic, I’m a afro hair sista and have worn my hair this way, wide or short, since the late 1960s. I also collect children’s playground rhymes because of their historical & folkloric value, and because I like many of them and like seeing (mostly) girls chant & perform them. I read this example on another online forum:

Hey you, over there, with the nappy nappy hair.
My back is achin’ my pants too tight, my bootie shakin’ from the left to right
M’ Gowa, Black Power, yo’ mama needs a shower.
Destroy, little boys, soul sister number nine, sock it to me one more time.

-snip-

I’m assuming that this was posted by a Black woman, but a screen name was used without any demographics. The person posting wrote this comment before sharing the example:

“My husband actually taught my daughter’s a song that he remembered as a child in the late 60s/early 70s.”

I recognize the “Bang bang choo choo train lines” (My back is achin’ my pants too tight, my bootie shakin’ from the left to right) lines and the lines that come after that from other rhymes. But I’ve seen very few Black children’s rhymes that mention “nappy hair”.

I’m wondering if anyone else remembers this rhyme, or knows other rhymes that mention “nappy hair”.

Thanks.