# The "let's go" pattern **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 17, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lets-go-pattern/606481 "2011-12-17T00:42:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lets-go-pattern/606481/1 "2011-12-17T00:42:20Z")
I love these “where did it originate” things. I’d like to know when you first heard what I call the “let’s go” pattern, which goes like this, for instance if you’re using a car horn: Honk, Honk Honk Honk Honk Honk Honk Honk Honk, Honk Honk Or, let’s see. Let o = half note and . = quarter note /= rest, in 4/4 time: o o …o … /.o! [those both look weird. I don’t know why. I know exactly what I mean.] Anyway, I first heard it in the mid-50s, honked by guys in refurbished jalopies who honked it at the house on the corner, where a popular girl lived. In southern California. It really annoyed my mother. It probably has a name, other than the one I’ve given it. It ought to have a name. “Shave and a haircut” has a name. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lets-go-pattern/606481/2 "2011-12-17T00:49:03Z")
I’m not sure I understand what you mean, but looking at that pattern it looks like a football thing sounded at matches on this side of the pond. No idea of its origin, or if it’s a different thing elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lets-go-pattern/606481/3 "2011-12-17T00:55:13Z")
It’s a popular rhythm on British football terraces too, often done with clapping hands or airhorns. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lets-go-pattern/606481/4 "2011-12-17T00:56:23Z")
A 1963 instrumental by The Routers, [then a song by The Cars](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let's_Go_(The_Cars_song))? ---
**Author:** ![Tragically\_Dip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Tragically\_Dip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tragically_Dip)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lets-go-pattern/606481/5 "2011-12-17T04:16:52Z")
“Saturday Night” by the Bay City Rollers? “S-A T-U-R D-A-Y, Night…” The same drum beat used later for “Rock-n-Roll Highschool” by The Ramones? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lets-go-pattern/606481/6 "2011-12-17T04:32:10Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > A 1963 instrumental by The Routers, [then a song by The Cars](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let's_Go_(The_Cars_song))? Assuming the “Let’s Go” chant is what the OP is talking about, its origin is attributed to members of [The Routers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Routers) in 1961. If the OP is correct that he heard it in the mid-50s, it’s possible The Routers may have appropriated a locally popular southern California chant. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lets-go-pattern/606481/7 "2011-12-17T04:37:47Z")
I think the underlying idea of the OP is that some tunes are so distinctive by their beat pattern or syncopation alone, that they are recognizable even when played with just one note. “Shave and a Haircut Six Bit” is certainly an example. Another one: Jingle Bells. When I was in college, and computer terminals were Teletypes, we did this. A Teletype of those days more-or-less emulated a typrwriter, complete with a bell that went “ding” when you typed close to the right margin – but output from the computer (or from a remote TTY) could also ring the bell. So we programmed them to play Jingle Bells on the one-note bell. It was quite recognizable. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lets-go-pattern/606481/8 "2011-12-17T04:42:05Z")
The original “Let’s Go (Pony)” by the Routers doesn’t seem to be available on line. [Here’s a cover by The Ventures.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1jTeNYbSWY&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lets-go-pattern/606481/9 "2011-12-17T19:11:48Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I think the underlying idea of the OP is that some tunes are so distinctive by their beat pattern or syncopation alone, that they are recognizable even when played with just one note. “Shave and a Haircut Six Bit” is certainly an example. I think your barber’s overcharging you… ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lets-go-pattern/606481/10 "2011-12-17T20:43:01Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > I think your barber’s overcharging you… Inflation. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lets-go-pattern/606481/11 "2011-12-17T23:29:48Z")
I heard my brother say, sometime in the '70s or '80s, that it had been invented by Montreal Canadiens fans in the Forum. I see no reason to believe him but I’m pretty sure that’s what he said. It’s long been popular in hockey areanas though and I assume other sports since it was in Center Field by John Fogerty. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lets-go-pattern/606481/12 "2011-12-18T01:25:12Z")
I have never heard this on a car horn, or anywhere but a football game where it is led by cheerleaders. I just thought it was a common cheer. ---
**Author:** ![isaiahrobinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lets-go-pattern/606481/13 "2011-12-20T00:08:02Z")
It’s very common in the UK in relation to soccer games. It’s played on air horns, car horns or clapping, both in the stadium and outside. [Here’s](http://fanchants.com/football-songs/england-chants/england-clap/) an example of it being clapped in a stadium. I don’t know what it’s called or where it originated though. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lets-go-pattern/606481/14 "2011-12-20T01:47:00Z")
> [@isaiahrobinson](#): > > I don’t know what it’s called or where it originated though. See posts #4 and #6. It’s called “Let’s Go,” and it’s first known appearance was in 1961 in a demo recording by Duncan, Valentino, and Rich. It later became a hit for The Routers in 1962. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lets-go-pattern/606481/15 "2011-12-20T03:23:38Z")
Okay! Thanks for all the answers. I’m extrapolating, here, that this was a clapping/cheerleading pattern that made its way through southern California\* in the late '50s and was incorporated into a song, making it even more popular. Naturally I didn’t hear any “let’s go” vocalizations after the honking at Judy’s house. \*Yeah, it could have started somewhere else, but lots of things started in California. I know–or at least, I think–I’ve heard it in a couple of songs other than the ones mentioned here. But I sure can’t come up with their names.