The Name Game

"The Name Game," or "The Banana Song", is a children's singalong rhyming game that creates variations of a person's name. It was written by singer Shirley Ellis and released in 1965 as "The Name Game." However, Ellis told Melody Maker magazine that the song was based on a game she played as a child.

Related Topics:
Shirley Ellis - 1965 - Melody Maker

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Using the name Jack as an example, the song follows this pattern:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:Jack, Jack bo-back

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:Banana-fana fo-fack

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:Me-my-mo-mack (original 1965 lyrics: Fee-fy-mo-mack)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:Jack!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When children discover that names like Chuck or Mitch will result in gratuitious swearing in the course of the song, they invariably encourage their unsuspecting friends to use such names when they sing it.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~