Song Video
Lyrics
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 yourself around,
That's what it's all about.
You put your left foot in,
You put your left foot out,
You put your left foot in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey Pokey
And you turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about.
You put your right hand in,
You put your right hand out,
You put your right hand in
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey Pokey
And you turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about.
You put your left hand in,
You put your left hand out,
You put your left hand in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey Pokey
And you turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about.
You put your right shoulder in,
You put your right shoulder out,
You put your right shoulder in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey Pokey
And you turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about.
You put your left shoulder in,
You put your left shoulder out,
You put your left shoulder in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey Pokey
And you turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about.
You put your right hip in,
You put your right hip out,
You put your right hip in
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey Pokey
And you turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about.
You put your left hip in,
You put your left hip out,
You put your left hip in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey Pokey
And you turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about.
You put your whole self in,
You put your whole self out,
You put your whole self in
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey Pokey
And you turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about.
Information About Hokey Pokey
The origins of the "Hokey Pokey" is said to be inspired by the calling of a an ice cream vendor who would call out, "Hokey pokey penny a lump! Have a lick, make you jump!".
Tabor who is the original writer of the song had a suggestion from an officer to change the name to "Hokey Cokey". Jimmy Kennedy was the one that agreed to promote and publish the song. There has been controversy on what hokey pokey actually means. Before ice cream cones were invented, the ice cream was wrapped in a wax paper which was known as a hokey-pokey.
An ice cream vendor was known as the hokey-pokey man.
The song has an upbeat rhythm that is followed by a dance. "Put your left hand in,' and then your left hand would go in. "Put your left hand out,' and you would then take it out. This is followed with all of the versesof the songs.
There are numerous versions that are played throughout the world such as the "Okey Cokie".
In the U.S. this popular song and dance is known as the "Hokey Pokey" and in the U.K. as the "Hokey Cokey". Both versions it would seem, follow similar dance steps, with participants forming a ring and following the instructions of the song by putting various body parts "in" and "shake it all about". There are conflicting claims to the authorship of this song and it's variants.
In the U.K. the song gained popularity during the 1940s.
In America, the group The Ram Trio, recorded the song in 1949 and in 1953, bandleader Ray Anthony recorded The Hokey Pokey on the B-side of another novelty record, The Bunny Hop.
The "Hokey Pokey" is seen on a lot of television shows and movies, while also being a popular song that is played during social gatherings.
Our visitors have told us that you can also put the following things "in":
 Your head
Your "fuzzy" head
Your back side
Your knees
Your elbows (really?!).
Alternative Lyrics & Related Songs
This version has extra verses
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 yourself around.
That's what it's all about!
You put your left foot in,
You put your left foot out;
You put your left foot in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey-Pokey,
And you turn yourself around.
That's what it's all about!
You put your right hand in,
You put your right hand out;
You put your right hand in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey-Pokey,
And you turn yourself around.
That's what it's all about!
You put your left hand in,
You put your left hand out;
You put your left hand in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey-Pokey,
And you turn yourself around.
That's what it's all about!
You put your right side in,
You put your right side out;
You put your right side in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey-Pokey,
And you turn yourself around.
That's what it's all about!
You put your left side in,
You put your left side out;
You put your left side in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey-Pokey,
And you turn yourself around.
That's what it's all about!
You put your nose in,
You put your nose out;
You put your nose in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey-Pokey,
And you turn yourself around.
That's what it's all about!
You put your backside in,
You put your backside out;
You put your backside in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey-Pokey,
And you turn yourself around.
That's what it's all about!
You put your head in,
You put your head out;
You put your head in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey-Pokey,
And you turn yourself around.
That's what it's all about!
You put your whole self in,
You put your whole self out;
You put your whole self in,
And you shake it all about.
You do the Hokey-Pokey,
And you turn yourself around.
That's what it's all about.
More versions that you can use to teach kids
Let's try the Hokey Pokey!
Show me one hand.
You put one hand in.
One hand out.
One hand in.
And you shake, shake, shake, shake, shake.
You do the Hokey Pokey and turn around.
Everybody turn around.
Great! Now we're going to try two hands.
One hand.
Two hands.
You put two hands in.
Two hands out.
Two hands in.
And you shake, shake, shake, shake, shake.
You do the Hokey Pokey and clap your hands.
Everybody clap your hands.
Great! Show me one foot.
One foot.
You put one foot in.
One foot out.
One foot in.
And you shake, shake, shake, shake, shake.
You do the Hokey Pokey and sit down.
Everybody please sit down.
Okay! Now we have one foot...
Show me two feet.
You put two feet in.
Two feet out.
Two feet in.
And you shake, shake, shake, shake, shake.
You do the Hokey Pokey and stand up.
Everybody please stand up.
Now your head!
You put your head in.
You put your head out.
You put your head in.
And you shake, shake, shake, shake, shake.
You do the Hokey Pokey and sing a song.
La, la, la, la, la, la!
Well done! Now, let's shake our backside!
Are you ready?
You put your backside in.
Your backside out.
Your backside in.
And you shake, shake, shake, shake, shake.
You do the Hokey Pokey and be quiet.
Everybody please be quiet. Shh!
Be quiet. Shh!
Your whole self.
You put your whole self in.
Your whole self out.
Your whole self in.
And you shake, shake, shake, shake, shake.
You do the Hokey Pokey and take a bow.
Everybody take a bow.
That's right. Take a bow. Take a BIG bow.
You did a great job! You're ready to sing!
You can change "Hokey Pokey" to "Hokey Cokey" and use the chorus below
Whoa-o the Hokey Cokey
Whoa-o the Hokey Cokey
Whoa-o the Hokey Cokey
Knees bent, arms stretched
Raa raa raa