In early America, 'respectable folks' in strict Protestant communities regarded the fiddle

Fiddle

The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...

 as the one of the devil’s tools (if it led to dancing) because dancing was regarded as downright sin

Sin

In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...

ful. Faced with such a religious prejudice for socializing, young people developed the “play-party,” in which all the objectionable features of dancing were removed or masked so that grave elders would overlook their activity. As people moved West and communities shrug off the 'witch-hunt' mentality which plagued early Protestant New England square dancing and barn dancing became acceptable, at least to some.


Back when musical instruments were frowned upon however - the dancers sang and the audience clapped

Clapping

A clap is the sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often in a constant drone to express appreciation or approval , but also in rhythm to match sounds in music and dance...

 to create rhythm for their own music. In time, the play-party acquired a life of its own. It became an ideal amusement for teenagers and young married couples. In many a frontier community, the bear hunters, Indian fighters, the rough keelboat men and the wild cowboys could be seen dancing innocently with their gals, like so many children at a Sunday school

Sunday school

Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...

 picnic.


“Skip to My Lou” is a simple game of stealing partners (or swapping partners as in square dancing). It begins with any number of couples hand in hand, skipping around in a ring. A lone boy in the center of the moving circle of couple sings, “Lost my partner what’ll I do?” as the girls whirl past him. The young man in the center hesitates while he decides which girl to choose, singing, “I'll get another one prettier than you.” When he grasps the hand of his chosen one, her partner then takes his place in the center of the ring and the game continues. It's an ice-breaker, a good dance to get a group acquainted to one another and to get everyone in the mood for swinging around.


It's interesting to note that “loo” is the Scottish word for “love.” The spelling change from “loo” to “lou” probably happened as Anglo-Americans, and the song, became Americanized.

Lyrics (Common version)

Skip, skip, skip to my Lou, (3x)

Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.

(Changing verse here). (repeated 3 times)

Skip to my Lou, my darlin'.

• Fly's in the buttermilk, Shoo, fly, shoo
• There's a little red wagon, Paint it blue
• Lost my partner, What'll I do?
• I'll get another one, Prettier than you
• Can't get a red bird, Jay bird'll do
• Cat's in the cream jar, Ooh, ooh, ooh
• Off to Texas, Two by two

Skip, skip, skip to the Lou,

Skip, skip, skip to the Lou,

Skip, skip, skip to the Lou,

Skip to the Lou, my darlin'.

Flies in the buttermilk, Shoo fly shoo! (3x)

Skip to my Lou, my darling.

Lou, Lou skip to my Lou! (3x)

Skip to my Lou, my darling.

(sound sad) Lost my partner, What will I do? (3x)

Skip to my Lou, my darling.

(sound sad) Lou, Lou skip to my Lou, (3x)

Skip to my Lou, my darling.

(magically change to happy) :I'll get another one just like you! (3x)

Skip to my Lou, my darling!

Lou, Lou skip to my Lou! (3x)

Skip to my Lou, my darling.

In popular culture

• The song was frequently performed and recorded by Lead Belly, whose version was covered by Pete Seeger
  Pete Seeger
  Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
  
  .
• It was recorded by Judy Garland
  Judy Garland
  Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
  
   (1944) and Nat King Cole
  Nat King Cole
  Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
  
  .
• In 1963, the song was covered by The Fabulous Echoes on their LP album Those Fabulous Echoes with the Hong Kong
  Hong Kong
  Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
  
  -based Diamond Records.
• The song was featured in an episode
  24 Minutes
  "24 Minutes" is the twenty-first episode of The Simpsons eighteenth season and was broadcast on May 20, 2007 as part of the one hour season finale, alongside the episode "You Kent Always Say What You Want". It was originally promoted as being the 400th episode, but was broadcast as the 399th. It...
  
   of The Simpsons
  The Simpsons
  The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
  
  .
• An unconventional arrangement of this tune is featured in the 1944 motion picture, Meet Me in St. Louis
  Meet Me in St. Louis
  Meet Me in St. Louis is a 1944 musical film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which tells the story of an American family living in St. Louis at the time of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair in 1904...
  
  .
• Ken Curtis
  Ken Curtis
  Ken Curtis was an American singer and actor best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the long-running CBS western television series Gunsmoke.-Early years:...
  
  's character in The Searchers (film)
  The Searchers (film)
  The Searchers is a 1956 American Western film directed by John Ford, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May, and set during the Texas–Indian Wars...
  
  , Charlie McCorry, plays the song as he attempts to court Laurie Jorgensen, played by Vera Miles
  Vera Miles
  Vera Miles is an American film actress who gained popularity for starring in films such as The Searchers, The Wrong Man, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Psycho and Psycho II.-Early life:...
  
  .
• "Skip to my Lou" is the nickname of NBA star Rafer Alston
  Rafer Alston
  Rafer Jamel Alston is an American former professional basketball player who last played with Zhejiang Guangsha of the Chinese Basketball Association. He previously played for six NBA teams...
  
  .
• The song also appeared in The Shining
  The Shining (novel)
  The Shining is a 1977 horror novel by American author Stephen King. The title was inspired by the John Lennon song "Instant Karma!", which contained the line "We all shine on…". It was King's third published novel, and first hardback bestseller, and the success of the book firmly established King...
  
  , a Stephen King
  Stephen King
  Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
  
   novel.
• The song was also sung in an episode of both the TV series Dexter
  Dexter (TV series)
  Dexter is an American television drama series, which debuted on Showtime on October 1, 2006. The sixth season premiered on October 2, 2011. The series centers on Dexter Morgan , a bloodstain pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer...
  
  , and Daniel Boone
• In Kidsongs' "A Day at Old MacDonald's Farm", the song was sung when the jump-ropers are dancing. This song was also heard as an instrumental underscore at the beginning of "Play Along Songs" released in 1993.
• Another movie in which the song appears is "Motherhood" (2009)
• The song is sung in Pee-Wee's big adventure