"Skip a Rope' is a song written by Jack Moran and Glenn Douglas Tubb and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Henson Cargill Henson Cargill (February 5, 1941 – March 24, 2007) was an American country music singer best known for the socially controversial 1968 Country No. 1 hit "Skip a Rope". His music career began in Oklahoma in clubs around Oklahoma City and Tulsa ...

, released in November 1967 as the first single and title track from the album ''Skip a Rope''. The song was Cargill's debut release on the country chart and his most successful single. "Skip a Rope" was Cargill's sole No. 1 on the country chart, spending five weeks at the top and a total of 16 weeks on the chart. "Skip a Rope" crossed over to the Top 40, peaking at No. 25.

Content

The song asked listeners to pay attention to what children would say as they played. It touched on, among other things, verbal

spousal abuse Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the taxp ...

and

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

, and at the end, laid blame for what the children said directly at the feet of their parents. Cargill's original recording featured background vocals by

The Jordanaires The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vocal ...

Cover versions

The song was covered by

The Kentucky Headhunters The Kentucky Headhunters are an American country rock and Southern rock band originating in the state of Kentucky. The band's members are Doug Phelps (vocals, bass guitar), Greg Martin (vocals, lead guitar), and brothers Richard Young (vocals, rhy ...

on their 1989 debut album '' Pickin' on Nashville'', and by Charley Crockett on his 2021 album, ''Music City USA''.

Chart performance

References

1967 singles 1967 debut singles Henson Cargill songs The Kentucky Headhunters songs 1967 songs Monument Records singles Songs about children Song recordings produced by Don Law Songs written by Glenn Douglas Tubb Songs against racism and xenophobia {{1960s-country-song-stub