The Hokey Pokey: What’s It All About?

“You put your right foot in,

You put your right foot out,

You put your right foot in,

And you shake it all about.

You do the Hokey Pokey,

And you turn it all around,

That’s what it’s all about…”

Everybody knows the song. Everybody’s done the dance. But do you have even the slightest clue as to, well, what it’s all about? If you were so bold as to ask random people on the street just what the Hokey Pokey is all about, it’s likely your question would be met with blank stares and odd looks. Granted, this could be explained by the fact that you’re asking complete strangers about the Hokey Pokey. But it’s also a safe bet that the majority, aside from thinking you’re a wee bit nuts, would also have no idea about the origins of the Hokey Pokey.

There’s no one answer to where the Hokey Pokey came from. Its supposed beginnings span oceans, and even centuries. The following are several of the better known theories about the history of the Hokey Pokey.

Like many seemingly innocuous songs and dances, the Hokey Pokey is believed by some to have somewhat sinister beginnings. Some insist the song originated in the UK with Scottish Puritans as an anti-Catholic taunt. The words “hokey cokey,” which is how the song is sung in the UK, is supposedly derived from the magician incantation “hocus pocus.” This was supposed to be a jab at the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, the belief that the bread and wine turn into the body and blood of Christ during the Mass. As recently as 2008, a few Catholic Church officials considered the “Hokey Pokey” an example of “faith hate,” but it doesn’t seem most took these allegations all that seriously.

Another account claims that during the London Blitz in 1940, a Canadian officer suggested writing an action party song to English bandleader Al Tabor. The song’s title, “The Hokey Pokey,” was in homage to an ice cream vendor from Tabor’s childhood. (Before the advent of ice cream cones, it was common for ice cream to be sold wrapped in wax paper. This treat was called a hokey pokey.) He changed the name to “The Hokey Cokey” at the urging of the same Canadian officer, who informed him “cokey” was Canadian slang for…