No matter who we are, we all tend to take ourselves and our lives way too seriously…
Even here at The Daily Hustle we often discuss one hard-hitting topic after another… That’s why when I came across the third section of the late Chris Anderson’s quotation celebration book, it immediately brought a smile to my face… The section:
“Just Plain Silly.”
There were so many good ones in here that it was tough to decide which one to dissect.
I was leaning toward these two gems from Chris’s favorite teacher, Mr. Stick…
- “Life is like a jar of jalapeños, you never know which one is going to burn your ass.”
- “Some people think the glass is half empty and others think the glass is half full… All I want to know is where my cheeseburger is.”
Ultimately, I decided to go with Mr. Anonymous once again:
“What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it’s all about.” 🕺🏼
Wow…
We all do a really good job at over complicating shit, but let’s think about the Hokey Pokey for a minute…
The real origin of the song can be traced back to two sisters from Canterbury, England in 1857… During their trip to Bridgewater, New Hampshire, they taught the locals a song and dance called “Right Elbow In” that went something like this…
“I put my right hand in,
I put my right hand out,
I give my hand a shake, shake, shake,
And I turn myself about.”
Since that time, the song and corresponding dance developed into possibly the greatest community feel-good song that brings a smile to just about everyone’s face…
Yet, just like life, the song has had all sorts of reinventions and legal complications that actually make the “Hokey Pokey” a lot more twisted than I thought.
In 1942, Irish songwriter Jimmy Kennedy created a dance and instructional song called the “Hokey Cokey.” At the same time, composer Al Tabor wrote a participation dance song called the “The Hokey Pokey,” which he claimed came from what people used to call the London ice cream vendors (The Hokey Pokey Men). Ironically, both were across the pond entertaining Canadian Troops during WWII…
In 1946, apparently unaware of the song and dance drama overseas, two Pennsylvania musicians came up with “The Hokey Pokey Dance” to entertain the people vacationing at different Poconos Mountain resorts…
In 1949, three other American dudes wrote the version that we have all gotten to know and love today… They, of course, were sued by the Pennsylvania characters but eventually won the rights to anything having to do with “Hokey Pokey.”
Ready for this shit to get weirder?
GOOD… Because many argue the the “Hokey Pokey” derives from “Hocus Pocus,” which of course is a magician term that comes from a line in a Latin Catholic Mass meaning “this is my body,” which represents the transformation of the communion, “Bread,” into the body of Jesus Christ…
So back to our original quote… “Maybe the Hokey Pokey is what life’s it’s all about?”
Yup… It’s fucking complicated.
-EB
P.S. F*It Friday is for the Feet!
We are running through our first shipment of official Team GoHard Foot Reflexology Boards like crazy… If you haven’t already, click here to get yours now before it’s too late.