# Pretty Little Dutch Girl

"Pretty Little Dutch Girl" is a children's nursery rhyme, clapping game and jump-rope rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 12986.

## Lyrics

The lyrics of the song vary considerably. British versions of this rhyme differ significantly, perhaps because many of the allusions in the rhyme were unknown to British children at the time. Common versions include:
    I am a pretty little Dutch girl,
    As pretty as I can be, be, be,
    And all the boys in the baseball team
    Go crazy over me, me, me.
    My boy friend’s name is Fatty,
    He comes from the Senoratti,
    With turned-up toes and a pimple on his nose,
    And this is how the story goes:
Variation 1
    I am a pretty little Dutch girl
    As pretty as I can be
    And all the boys in the neighborhood
    Are crazy over me
    My boyfriend's name is Mello
    He comes from the land of Jello
    With pickles for his toes and a cherry for his nose
    And that's the way my story goes
Variation 2
    I am a pretty little Dutch girl,
    As pretty as pretty can be,
    And all the boys around the block
    Go crazy over me.
    My boyfriend's name is Billy,
    He comes from good ole Philly,
    With a cherry on his nose
    And ten fat toes,
    And that's the way my story goes.
    My boyfriend gave me peaches,
    My boyfriend gave me pears,
    My boyfriend gave me fifty cents
    And kissed me on the stairs.
    I gave him back his peaches,
    I gave him back his pears,
    I gave him back his fifty cents
    And kicked....him....down.....the.....stairs!
Variation 3
    I am a pretty little Dutch girl,
    As pretty as I can be.
    and all the boys in the neighborhood
    come chasing after me me me.
    My boyfriend's name is Tony,
    he comes from the land of bologna,
    with a pickle on his nose and 3 sore toes
    and that's the way the story goes!
    One day he gave me peaches,
    one day he gave me pears,
    one day he gave me 50 cents
    and took me to the fair!
    After the fair was over,
    I asked him to take me home,
    he ran off with another girl
    and left me all alone!
    I gave him back his peaches.
    I gave him back his pears.
    I gave him back his 50 cents,
    and kicked him down the stairs!
Variation 4
    I am a pretty little Dutch girl
    As pretty as pretty can be.
    And all the boys around the block
    Go crazy over me.
    I hate to do the dishes
    I hate to do the chores
    But I love to kiss my boyfriend
    Behind the kitchen door.
    One day while I was walking
    I heard my boyfriend talking
    To a pretty little girl
    with strawberry curls
    and this is what he said:
    I L-O-V-E love you
    All the T-I-M-E time
    And I will K-I-S-S kiss you
    In the D-A-R-K dark.
Variation 5 (Western Canada, 1960s)
    I am a pretty little Dutch girl,
    As pretty as pretty can be, be, be,
    And all the boys on the baseball team
    are chasing after me, me, me.
    My father came from England,
    My mother came from France, France, France.
    My boyfriend came from the USA
    to teach me how to dance, dance, dance.
    My boyfriend gave me apples,
    My boyfriend gave me pears, pears, pears.
    My boyfriend gave me fifty cents
    and kissed me up the stairs, stairs, stairs.
    I gave him back his apples,
    I gave him back his pears, pears, pears.
    I gave him back his fifty cents
    and kicked him down the stairs, stairs, stairs.
    ...with a pickle on his nose and 3 sore toes,
    that's the way it goes, goes, goes.
Variation 6
    I am a pretty little Dutch girl
    As pretty as pretty can be
    And all the boys around my block
    Go crazy over me!
    I had a boyfriend, Patty
    Who comes from Cincinnati
    With 48 toes and a pickle on his nose
    And this is the way my story goes...
    One day when I was walkin'
    I heard my boyfriend talkin'
    To a pretty little girl with a strawberry curls
    And this is what he said to her...
    I L-O-V-E, love you
    to K-I-S-S, kiss you
    yes K-I-S-S, kiss you in
    the D-A-R-K dark boom boom!
Variation 7
    I am a pretty little Dutch girl
    As pretty as pretty can be
    and all the boys in my hometown
    are crazy over me
    My boyfriend's name is Chico
    he came from Puerto Rico
    with a rubber nose
    and 28 toes
    and this is how my story goes
    One day as I was walking
    I heard my Chico talking
    to a pretty little girl
    with strawberry curls
    and this is what he said to her
    I L-O-V-E love you
    I K-I-S-S kiss you
    I K-I-S-S kiss you
    in the D-A-R-K dark dark dark
Variation 8
    I am a pretty little Dutch girl,
    As pretty as can be, be, be,
    And all the boys on the baseball team,
    Go crazy after me, me, me!
    One day they gave me peaches,
    One day they gave me pears, pears, pears,
    One days they gave me 50 cents and took me to the fair, fair, fair.
    And when the fair was over,
    I asked them to take me home, home, home,
    They said they had another date and left me all alone, lone, lone.
    I gave them back their peaches,
    I gave them back their pears, pears, pears,
    I gave them back their 50 cents and kicked them down the stairs, stairs, stairs!
Variation 9 (Northwest England, 2010s)
    My boyfriend gave me an apple
    My boyfriend gave me a pear
    My boyfriend gave me a kiss on the lips, and he threw me down the stairs
    I gave him back his apple
    I gave him back his pear
    I gave him back kiss on the lips, and I threw him down the stairs
    I threw him over London
    I threw him over France
    I threw him over the football pitch, and he lost his underpants
    His underpants were yellow
    His underpants were green
    His underpants were black and white, and smelt like rotten cheese
    Variation 10 (Austin, Texas 1960s) Given the actions that went with this, people assume this went through music halls.
    I am a pretty little Dutch girl
    As pretty as pretty can be
    And all the boys around the block
    Are crazy over me.
    My boyfriend's name is Harry.
    He comes from Paris, France
    With turned up toes and a pimple on his nose
    And this is the way my story goes.
    My boyfriend gave me apples,
    My boyfriend gave me pears.
    My boyfriend gave me fifty cents
    And took me to the fair.
    One day as I was walking
    I heard my boyfriend talking
    To a pretty little girl with a strawberry curl
    and this is what he said to her:
    I L-O-V-E, love you.
    I K-I-S-S, kiss you.
    I K-I-S-S, kiss you
    On your F-A-C-E, face, face, face.
    I gave him back his apples
    I gave him back his pears
    I gave him back his fifty cents
    And threw him down the stairs.
    I threw him over London.
    I threw him over France.
    I threw him over [substitute wherever here]
    And he lost his underpants.
    I have a little brother.
    His name is Tiny Tim
    I put him in the bathtub
    To see if he could swim
    He drank up all the water
    He ate up all the soap
    He tried to eat the bathtub
    But it wouldn't go down his throat
    Oh, Suzy called the doctor,
    Oh, Suzy called the nurse,
    Oh, Suzy called the lady
    With the alligator purse.
    in walked the doctor,
    In walked the nurse,
    In walked the lady
    With the alligator purse.
    Out walked the doctor,
    Out walked the nurse,
    Out walked the lady
    With the alligator purse.
    My boyfriend's name is Harry.
    He comes from Paris, France
    With turned up toes and a pimple on his nose
    And this is the way my story goes.
Variation 11
    I am a pretty little Dutch girl,
    As pretty as can be,
    And all the boys around the block are crazy over me, me, me.
    My boyfriend's name is Chaim,
    He comes from yerushalayim
    With a pickle up his nose and three black toes,
    And this is how my story goes.
    One day when I was walking,
    I saw my boyfriend talking
    To a pretty little girl with a strawberry curl
    And this is what he said to her:
    I L-O-V-E love you,
    I K-I-S-S kiss you.
    And he fell in the lake,
    And he swallowed a snake,
    And he came out with a bellyache.
Variation 12 (Long Island, NY, 1970s - a clapping game)
    I am a pretty little Dutch girl,
    As pretty as pretty can be,
    And all the boys around my block go crazy over me.
    My boyfriend's name is Larry
    He comes from Cincinnati
    With his forty-two toes and a pickle in his nose
    And this is what he said to me:
    "I L-O-V-E love you
    I K-I-S-S kiss you
    I K-I-S-S kiss you on your
    F-A-C-E, F-A-C-E, F-A-C-E, face, face, face!"
Variation 13 (from Australia)
    I am a pretty little Dutch girl,
    as pretty as pretty can be be be.
    And all the boys in the baseball team,
    go crazy over me me me.
    My boyfriends name is Steven,
    He comes from New Zealand.
    With five fat toes and a pimple on his nose,
    And this is how my story goes.
    One day when I was walking,
    I heard my boyfriend talking.
    To a pretty little girl with strawberry curls,
    and this is what he said to her:
    "I LOVE love you and I KISS kiss you"
    So jump in the lake and swallow a snake,
    and come out with a belly ache.
Variation 14 (from Tóg Sos CD, Ireland 2003)
    I am a pretty little Dutch girl,
    As pretty as I can be, be, be,
    And all the boys in the baseball team
    Go crazy over me, me, me.
    My boyfriend’s name is Johnny,
    He comes from Cincinnati,
    With forty-eight toes and a pickle up his nose,
    And this is how my story goes.
    One day I went out walking,
    And I heard my boyfriend talking
    To a pretty little girl with strawberry curls
    And this is what he said to her...
    "I L-O-V-E love you,
    I K-I-S-S kiss you,"
    So I jumped in a lake and swallowed a snake
    And now I have a bellyache!
Variation 15 (from USA, East Coast Early 2000s)
    I am a pretty little Dutch girl,
    As pretty, as pretty as can be
    And all the boys in the baseball team
    Go crazy over me, me, me.
    My boyfriend’s name is Tommy,
    He comes from Salami,
    With a pickle up his nose,
    And 55 toes
    And that's the way my story goes!
Variation 16 (from Cincinnati, Ohio 1950's)
I am a pretty little Dutch girl, My home is far away. I fell in love with a rubby-dub-dub Way down in USA.
First he gave me peaches And then he gave me pears. And then he gave me fifty cents And kissed me on the stairs.
I gave him back his peaches, I gave him back his pears. I gave him back his fifty cents And kicked him down the stairs!
Variation 17 (from USA, Columbus, Ohio 1970s)
    I am a pretty little Dutch girl,
    As pretty as can be.
    And all the boys in my home town,
    Go crazy over me.
    I have a boyfriend name Tony,
    who comes from Land of Baloney.
    With 48 toes and a pickle on his nose,
    And that's the way my story goes.
    One day as I was walking,
    I heard my boyfriend talking.
    To a pretty little girl with strawberry curls,
    And this is what he said to her.
    I L-O-V-E, love you,
    I K-I-S-S, kiss you.
    In a D-A-R-K, D-A-R-K, dark, dark room.

## Story told within the song

The rhyme (and at least some of its variants) tells the story of an extremely beautiful girl (of Dutch descent, hence the song's title) who is popular with boys (particularly around the neighborhood, block or the whole town) and has a rather unattractive boyfriend; some versions mention that the boyfriend dumps the pretty Dutch girl in favor of an even prettier girl. The Dutch girl is often depicted from illustration to illustration wearing traditional Dutch clothing, complete with ribbon-adorned long braids in her hair, wooden shoes and (occasionally exaggerated) Dutch cap. The rhyme follows with another variation, where the Dutch girl receives peaches, pears, and 50 cents from her boyfriend, which she then gives back to him and kicks him down the stairs. This is a play on the betrayal the Dutch girl feels after her boyfriend leaves her for another girl (variation 3), the Dutch girl's revenge for her boyfriend throwing her down the stairs (variation 9), as well as the Dutch girl's frustration with the boys around her neighborhood leaving her alone after enticing her (variation 8). Within each of these variations, the Dutch girl ultimately defends herself against her boyfriend and the group of boys in her neighborhood rather than simply accepting their disloyalty. While the nursery rhyme expresses this in a witty manner, it is also an informative story that may teach little girls not to accept mistreatment because of charm, admiration, and captivation with favorable items.

## Origins and distribution

The origins of the rhyme are obscure. The tune of the song is similar to "A Sailor Went to Sea" and "Miss Suzie Had A Steamboat" (though some notes are removed to account for the double-syllable words "pretty" and "little", and some notes are added in). The earliest record found so far is for New York around 1940. It seems to have spread over the US by the 1950s and reached Britain in 1959, where it was taken up very quickly across the country to become one of the most popular skipping rhymes among girls.
The tune is also used in British pubs as a drinking song in which a person is challenged by their companions to down their drink. This version goes like this:
    We like to drink with (insert name here)
    'Cause (insert name here) is our mate.
    And when we drink with (insert name here)
    He/she/they finish(es) in 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!

## Use in children's media

In the Wee Sing Video Series video Grandpa's Magical Toys, the song is represented and sung by a blonde-haired Barbie-like doll in Dutch traditional costume aptly named "Dutch Girl", played by Jacqueline Drew.
In the 1977 Australian animated film Dot and the Kangaroo, two hopping mice near the end of the waterhole scene sang a song about a bushgirl to the tune of Pretty Little Dutch Girl.