That’s What it’s All About

Is the song “Hokey-Pokey” really a parody of the Catholic Latin Mass?

Americans doing the Hokey-Pokey on the beach in Australia, 1953. Wikimedia Commons.

ANY AMERICAN BABY-BOOMER who went to a roller-skating rink or a home birthday party in the 1960s and 70s especially remembers singing and playing a corny, almost nonsensical game called “The Hokey-Pokey.” As the instructional music played, Kids playfully followed directions as the music boomed over the loudspeaker:

“You put your right hand in,

You put your right hand out.

You put your right hand in,

And you shake it all about.

You do the Hokey-Pokey and you turn yourself around,

That’s what it’s all about.”

Repeat for the left hand, right leg, left leg, head, and even backside.

But what is it really all about? Are the origins more sinister or black-humored than previously believed?

Widely-accepted origins

Common tradition points the song’s roots to a children’s song titled “I Put My Little Hands In,” which is based on an English/Scots folk dance called “Hinkim-Booby.” Singing and acting out a…