See see my play mate,
Come out and play with me,
And bring your dollies three.Climb up my apple tree,
Slide down my rainbow,
Into my cellar door,And we’ll be friends,
Forever more, more, more!
Here is an enemy version of this song. For some reason I remember this one more.
Source: Chants and Taunts
Say say my enemy
Come out and fight with me
And bring your weapons three
Climb up my torture tree
Slide down my razor blade
Into my snake pit
And we’ll be enemies
Forever more more more more shut the door.
Other versions of this song – like here is one from NIH – a have slightly different item that they are sliding down.
Oh PLAYMATE, come out and play with me
And bring your dollies three.
Climb up my apple tree,
Look down my rain barrel
Slide down my cellar door
And we’ll be jolly friends forever more.
Or here is another one from gameskidsplay.net.
Say say oh playmate
Come out and play with me
and bring your family 3
climb up your apple tree
slide down my rain spout
into my cellar door
and we’ll be jolly friends
forever more more more
Originally Published on: August 6, 2008
Miss Lucy's Playground Songs 
The correct words are “slide down my rain barrel”…not “rainbow”
We sang a second verse…it went like this…
So sorry playmate
I can not play with you
my dollies have the flu
boo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo
I have no rain barrel
I have no cellar door
but we’ll be jolly friends
forever more forever more
We always sang it with that verse as well!
Pjdorothy,
That is interesting. Thanks for the contribution.
Holly
I had a different version of the enemy verse:
See see my enemy
Come out and fight with me
Bring your bulldogs three
Climb up my poison tree
Slide down my rats nest
Into my dungeon door
And we’ll be enemies
Forever more more more
Shut the door door door
Lock it tight tight tight
Oh my gosh it’s dynamite!
Ummm hey I was wondering the history to this song,… I am doing a project on old nursery rhymes and I chose this one I have been to wikipedia and ask and I have no info just go to aim and give me a link my aim is artdeviant
i just finished watching the film “reds”…and in that film was a song that diane keaton sang called “i don’t want to play in your yard”…a light buld went off, and i wondered if that is where we got the children’s “song “oh little playmate’, and sure enough, that was the origination of that nursery rhyme.
Art Deviant,
There is a site that is very good about the origins of songs linked to from my Blogroll.
I’m not sure if they have this one or not but it may be a good start for you.
Nursery Rhymes – Lyrics and Origins
Thanks.
Holly
I’m positive my stepdad has a variation or derived version of this song on a 78 record from the ’30s. Except it’s about being mad at a friend. Goes like this:
I don’t want to play in your yard
I don’t like you anymore
You’ll be sorry when you see me
sliding down my cellar door
You can’t holler down my rain barrel
You can’t climb my apple tree
I don’t want to play in your yard
if you won’t be good to me
The tune seems to be different but it’s funny that all the activities described (sliding down the cellar door, looking down into a rain barrel, climbing an APPLE tree specifically) are present. I think the songs are probably related.
Thanks Kris! That is very interesting. I really would like to know the history of this one.
Say say oh enemy
Come out and fight with me
And bring your weapons three
Climb up my poison tree
Slide down my dragon’s tale
Into my cellar door
And we’ll be enemies
Forever more, more
Shut the back door!
At least that’s how we used to sing it. Haha.
Amilia. That is great. Thanks for sending in your version!
oh little playmate, i cannot play with you, my dollies have the flue, my brother lost his shoe, boo hoo hoo, dont slide down my rainbow, or through my celler door, but we’ll be jolly friends, for ever more 1, 2, 3, 4!
Thanks Rachel. Everyone truly has a version of this song.
playmate o enemy
come out and fight with me
bring out your beebee gun
we’ll have lots of fun.
i’ll shoot your eye out
you’ll blow my head off
we’ll be enemies for ever more more more
playmate o enemy
come out and play with me
bring out your dolly sweet
she’ll be really neat.
i’ll pull her arms off
you’ll tear her head off
we’ll be enemies for ever more more more
Damian, Thank you for your comments. There are so many versions of this song.
aww thanks for noticin’ me.
My Mother sang this song to me when I was a youngster ( I’m 61). She sang the first verse by NIH and the next verse by Pjdorothy. And it was slide down my rain barrel.
I still remember this song and I heard it played on the radio recently. Brings back memories.
i goes like this,
cece my plamate, come out and play with me ,and bring your dolles three ,clime up my apple tree ,look down my rain barrel, slide down my celler door, and well be jolly friends forever more!
i got that of of bingo and molly when i was yonger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
my mom told me one and it’s a game we play it all the time
hey little playmate come out and play with me and bring your dolly sweet clime up my apple tree slide down my rainbow into my seller door and will be jolly friends forever more more more more more
so sorry playmate i can not play with you my dolly has the flu boo-hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo aint got no rainbow aint got no seller door but will be jolly friends forever more more more more
freeze
My mom sang a similar version to me growing up…it went
Oh little playmate, come out and play with me
and bring your dollies three, climb up my apple tree
climb down my rain barrell, slide down my cellar door
and we’ll be jolly friends forever more
but she couldn’t come out and play
it was such a rainy day
with tearful eyes, she made replies
and I could hear her say
oh little playmate, can’t come out and play with you
my dolly has the flu, boo-hoo-boo-hoo-hoo-hoo
can’t climb down your rain barrell,
can’t slide down your cellar door
but we’ll be jolly friends forever more
I loved when she would sing me this song…brings back great childhood memories:-)
My grandmother used to sing this version. She was born in 1900; The house where I visited no longer had a ‘slide’ cellar door, but they did still have a rain barrel and a lot of apple trees. I now sing it for my granddaughters who live in an older house with a ‘slide’ cellar door and a rain barrel!!
Do you have all the verses for this song? My Mother used to sing this song to all of us kids when we were traveling.
My mom taught this to me when I was little (I’m 20 now) and her mom taught it to her and I don’t know how much further back it goes from there.
I can’t remember the actual greeting/first word or two before playmate but I remember the rest.
_____playmate come out and play with me
And bring your dollies 3
Climb up my apple tree
Slide down my rain barrel
Into my cellar door
And we’ll be jolly friends forever more
I’m sorry playmate
I cannot play with you
My dolly has the flu
And German measles too
Ain’t got no rain barrel
Ain’t got no cellar door
But we’ll be jolly friends forever more
I learned:
Playmate oh won’t you play with me,
My dollies got the flu,
boo hoo boo hoo hoo ho
Climb up my rain barrel,
Slide down my cellar door,
And we’ll be jolly friends,
Forever more!
Wow! There really is many versions of this rhyme. My nana used to sing this to me at night when i was young to put me to sleep. It was my favorite! Couldnt remember all the words and still, it seems none of these are exactly how she sung it…
I sing these ways:
hey hey there playmate come out and play with me
and bring your dollies three climb up my apple tree
cry down my rain barrel slide down my cellar door
and we’ll be jolly friends forever more more more more
And this way
hey hey there play mate i cannot play with you my dollies got the flu
aint got no rain barrel aint got no cellar door but we’ll be jolly friends forevr more more more more
The lyrics from 1960 as I remember them:
Play-Mate, come out and play with me
and bring your dollies three, climb up my apple tree
climb up my rain barrel, slide down my cellar door
and we’ll be jolly friends forever more
It was a rainy day
She couldn’t come out and play
with tearful eyes, she made replies
and I could hear her say
My darling playmate, i cannot play with you
my dolly has the flu, boo-hoo-boo-hoo-hoo-hoo
ain’t got no rain barrell,
ain’t got no cellar door
but we’ll be jolly friends forever more
oh little enemy
come out and fight with me
and bring your b.b gun
and we
i’ll have lots of fun
ill shoot your eyes out
I’lll make you bleed to death
and we’ll be enemies
for ever more
1234
that was the naughty version we sang (I’m 47)
the proper way i was taught by not sure who…maybe an old lady, was:
oh little play mate
come out and play with me
and bring your dollies three
climb up my apple tree
slide down my rain barrel into my cellar door
and we’ll be jolly friends forever more
1. 2. 3. 4
Oh little play mate, I can not play with you
my dolly has the flu
boo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo
I have no rain barrel, I have no cellar door
but we’ll be jolly friends
forever more
1 2 3 4
The version me and my friend know is like this (we also use hand gestures):
My little playmate,
Come out and play with me!
And bring your dollies three!
Climb up my apple tree!
Slide down my rainbow,
And through my cellar doors!
And we’ll be jolly friends,
Forever more more more! More more more more!
I’m sorry playmate,
I cannot play with you!
My dolly has the flu!
Boo hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo!
I have no rainbow,
I have no cellar doors!
But we’ll be jolly friends,
Forever more more more! More more more more!
Another enemy version:
Oh little devil, come out and fight with me
and bring your BB gun, and we’ll have lots of fun.
I’ll scratch your eyes out, I’ll make you bleed to death
and we’ll be enemies for ever more, one, two, three, four.
I think the original lyrics were probably “Shout down my rain barrel” (which would produce an echo) “Slide down my cellar door.” If you think of an old-fashioned, lift up cellar door, they were at an angle to the ground, so you could actually slide down them. I’m not sure how you’d slide down a rain barrel. I think the lyrics have morphed over time as the objects mentioned have disappeared from most people’s daily lives. And it’s easy to hear how “rain barrel” would have become “rainbow” — especially since rainbows are curved and you can imagine sliding down them!
I grew up on Long Island in the 70s and here’s what we sang:
Oh little playmate
come out and play with me
and bring your dollies 3
climb up my apple tree
slide down my rainbow
into my cellar door
and we’ll be jolly friends
for ever more one two three four
Oh little enemy
come out and fight with me
and bring your BB gun
and we’ll have lots of fun
I’ll scratch your eyes out
and make you bleed to death
and we’ll be jolly enemies
for ever more one two three four
in elementary school (im 20) my friends and i would sing an altered version like this:
See see my enemy
Come out and play with me
And bring your garden hose
I’ll shove it up your nose
Slide down my broken slide
Into my doggy’s poo
And well be enemies
For ever more more shut the door