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Salome the Dancer

Salome was a dancer; / She danced for the king…

ActionsLong rope

Salome was a dancer;
She danced for the king,
And every time she danced,
She wiggled everything
“Stop!” said king Herod
“You cannot do that here”
Salome said “Baloney”
And kicked the chandelier!

How to play

Do the actions as they are sung, finishing with a big kick.

Where this rhyme comes from

Earliest record
after c. 1905
Sung in
US, UK

Salome is the dancer in the Bible story (Mark 6, Matthew 14) who danced for King Herod Antipas. Strauss's opera 'Salome' (1905) and Maud Allan's 'Vision of Salome' dance in London (1908) set off a 'Salome craze', which is probably the rhyme's background. No dated record of the rhyme itself was found.

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