"Mary Mack" ("Miss Mary Mack") is a clapping game of unknown origin. It is first attested in the book The Counting Out Rhymes of Children by Henry Carrington Bolton (1888), whose version was collected in West Chester, Pennsylvania. It is well known in various parts of the United States, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and in New Zealand and has been called "the most common hand-clapping game in the English-speaking world". In the game, two children stand or sit opposite to each other, and clap hands in time to a rhyming song. The same song is also used as a jumprope rhyme, although rarely so according to one source. Rhyme Various versions of the song exist; a common version goes; Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack All dressed in black, black, black With silver buttons, buttons, buttons All down her back, back, back (or "Up and down her back, back, back") She asked her mother, mother, mother For 50 cents, cents, cents To see the elephants, elephants, elephants Jump over the fence, fence, fence They jumped so high, high, high They reached the sky, sky, sky And didn't (or never) come back, back, back (or come down, down, down) Till the 4th of July ly ly An alternate version, sung in Canada, includes the words: She could not read, read, read She could not write, write, write But she could smoke, smoke, smoke Her father’s pipe, pipe, pipe An alternate version, sung in the American South: Mary Mack, Dressed in black, Silver buttons all down her back. She combed her hair And broke the comb She's gonna get a whoopin' when her Momma comes home Gonna get a whoopin' when her Momma comes home Clap A common version of the accompanying clap is as follows: pat arms across chest: Arms across chest pat thighs: Pat thighs clap hands: Clap hands clap right hands together: Clap right palms with partner clap left hands together: Clap left palms with partner clap both hand together Clap both palms with partner Another version: &: One palm up, one palm down 4: Clap both partners hands &: Clap own hands 1: Cross arms to chest 2: Slap thighs 3: Clap own hands Another Version: 4: Pat thighs &: Clap hands 1: Clap partners right hand &: Clap hands &: Clap partners left hand &: Clap hands 2: Clap both partners hands &: Clap hands Another Version: &: