I was aware of the classic, hearing it actually said by my seventh grade classmates.
We must
We must
We must increase our bust
The bigger the better
the tighter the sweater
the boys are depending on us
The new one I learned
Do your boobs hand low
do they sway to and fro
can you swing them over your shoulder
like a continental soldier
My questions, and reason for starting a thread about boobs. (Like I need one, well two, I need two) are these: Did you know these? Do you know other verses? Do you know other songs? Do young teen girls actually say these things when boys are not around or are these the invention of men?
The ‘continental soldier’ one is old, old, old - goes back, in one form or another, IIRC, all the way to the American Civil War. Maybe further. Add differing bodyparts at will - Knees, ears, nose, etc. ‘Boobies’ are just one more addition to the list.
And yeah, I’d heard my sisters singing the other one, too.
I learned the continental soldier one at Guides. We were taught the “ears” version, though we quickly changed it to boobs whenever the leaders weren’t around. Boys weren’t around either - just girly fun.
Do your boobs hang low?
Do they wobble to and fro?
Can you tie them in a knot?
Can you tie them in a bow?
Can you throw them over your shoulder
Like a continental soldier?
Do your boobs hang low?
Do your teeth hang out?
Do they rub against your snout?
Can you use them like a pick?
Can you take them in and out?
Do they do the boogie woogie
Like they do in any movie?
Do your teeth hang out?
I remember doing " We must we must increase our bust" one as a teen at camp with my cabin back in '94. I also remember doing the parody of the " do your ears hang low?" song too.
I was just thinking about the “We Must…” song the other day! We used to chant that in gym class as part of our regular calisthenics under the direction of the female gym teacher back in 1970! Except we said “improve” instead of “increase” and “the boys depend on us” Instead of “the boys are depending on us”. It scanned better that way!
People actually chanted the “We must…We Must…” thing? I always thought that was a joke. I couldn’t imagine a class of girls actually saying that without someone complaining about sexism or something.
I’m sure people did eventually complain about sexism, which would be why this chant has more or less died out as a teaching tool. I would not be surprised if young girls today still knew it, but they probably aren’t learning it from gym teachers anymore.
This was the case when I was a schoolgirl in the early '90s. We did the same exercise in gym class and our gym teacher even referred to it as “We Must”, as in “Okay, now 20 sets of We Must!”, but we didn’t actually sing the song.
I remember reading the “We must…” chant in Are You There God? It’s Me Margret. I probably read it in the late 80s or early 90s (the book was published in 1970). I never heard the chant in real life, tho - not even in Girl Scouts.
There was a GQ thread on the other song, just last month, with many variations on the lyrics.
You’d better be careful not to give yourself a black eye or anything when you try throwing it over your shoulder. That would be an embarrassing injury to explain to a doctor.