Rig a Jig Jig

You walk down the street, meet a friend, and the two of you skip off together to the nonsense chorus "rig-a-jig-jig and away we go." That is the whole of this circle game: one child picks a partner and they dance off, then it begins again with someone new.

Origins

The song developed as a traditional folk melody during the nineteenth century. While its precise composer and publication origin are undocumented, it was well-known in both the United Kingdom and the United States by the mid-1800s.

The tune also served as a popular college song. For instance, the Yale Literary Magazine noted its use as a student glee club song in 1860, and it was published in a collection of Union College songs in 1868. In 1935, folklorists John and Alan Lomax recorded a version in Mississippi, demonstrating that the song had become deeply rooted in American oral folklore.

Meaning & Interpretation

The phrase "rig-a-jig-jig" is a nonsense phrase that mimics the bouncy, skipping motion of the dance. In English folk dialects, the word "jig" historically refers to a lively dance, and the prefix "rig" was likely added to create a catchy, rhythmic vocal pattern.

The lyrics describe a simple, pleasant social encounter: walking down the street and meeting a friend, leading to a spontaneous dance. The song's structure is designed for a circle game where one child walks around the inside of a circle and chooses a partner on the line "a friend of mine I chanced to meet," after which both skip together during the chorus.

What does rig-a-jig-jig mean?

The phrase "rig-a-jig-jig" is a rhythmic nonsense phrase used to represent a bouncy, skipping movement. It combines the traditional word "jig," which refers to a lively folk dance, with playful sounds to fit the upbeat tempo of the song.

How was Rig a Jig Jig historically played as a game?

Children would stand in a circle while one child walked around the inside. On the line "a friend of mine I chanced to meet," that child would stop and face a peer. During the chorus, the two children would join hands and skip around the inside of the circle before both starting the game again with new partners.