…Now You Got The Shiveries???
Last night the love of my life was expressing her opinion about some knots in her shoulders and neck. (Like that? Yeah you do. I completely sidestepped the “complaining” phrase.) And what comes next, guys? Yup. The back rub. During this amazingly relaxing back rub, my mind started to wander. Blah, blah, blah. Jack is doing something odd. Blah, blah, blah. Crack an egg on your head; let the yolk flow down! Woh. Where did that come from? That was definitely a grade school thought. Nice. So as I entertained myself during the back rub, I started trying to think of the rest of the rhyme. Unfortunately it has been so long, that my brain was struggling to piece it all together. So we had a nice little brainstorming/debate over it. That didn’t solve anything so we decided to call my sisters, Cayce and Reagan. (Sorry Tate. You didn’t make the list for top two people to call about grade school rhymes.)
After three phone calls between the two of them we decided that apparently I did the rhyme wrong. I think it just got changed after my generation because the following generations would rather rhyme than deal with reality. So instead of what I knew as “10 knives in your back” they knew as “20 pokes” or something equally dumb. Instead of the chills they said the shiveries. I don’t know how you played this game when you were little, but prior to our conversation on the 5th of August, 2009 I had never heard that before. And it wasn’t the first time I had heard the rhyme. (What boy doesn’t line up for his turn with the girls playing this game on his back?) So after even more googling and very little discovery (other than apparently there isn’t just one way to say this rhyme) I decided that I needed a blog to hear your versions. So here is mine (after lots of racking my brain). Enjoy! For those of you that have someone nearby, feel free to practice on their backs. They might return the favor!
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Going on a treasure hunt, X marks the spot.
Dash, dot. Dash, dot. Big question mark.
Spiders crawling up your back, now they’re crawling down.
10 knives in your back. Let the blood flow down.
Crack an egg on your head. Let the yolk flow down.
Feel a cool breeze, tight squeeze…
Now you got the chills!
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That’s my version. That’s what I will say to my kids one day. What about you? What lines do you remember? Is mine right? Is it wrong? How did yours go?
NO! You will NOT teach our children wrong. Chills is just dumb and doesn’t rhyme!
Okay, it’s shiveries. Get over it. It rhymes and it’s cute. Teach your children right or I promise I will make them say “Go Texas!!” By the way, who’s Brian? Why is he trying to figure stuff out with you while you give your wife a back rub, that’s just weird. I’m sorry you didn’t pay attention as a child, but chills is dumb. It ends the cute little game on a horrible not. Shiveries keeps the fun atmosphere alive!!
Aaaa as my exact memory has it, your wife and sister are correct. Knives and shiveries it was.
Apparently I wasn’t paying attention as a child. I never learned the beginning and ending. I always thought it was: “Ten knives in your back. Feel the blood running down. Ten spiders crawling up. Ten spiders crawling down. Feel the egg on your head. Feel the ooze running down! Cool breeze. Tight squeeze.” All this time, I thought that was the whole thing! Wow, there’s so much I don’t know!
As I knew it…
X marks the spot with a dot dot dot
three lines across, and a question mark
crack an egg on your head, let the yolk drip down
let the yolk drip down, let the yolk drop down (2x)
spiders crawling up your back, spiders crawling down your back (2x)
spiders crawling up your arms, spiders crawling down your arms (2x)
squeeze two oranges on your shoulders let the juice drip down,
let the juice drip down, let the juice drip down (2x)
stab a knife in your back, let the blood drip down
let the blood drip down, let the blood drip down (2x)
cool breeze… tight squeeze!!
fun times
i just taught my boyfriend, he must have been deprived as a child not to have enjoyed this classic – haha.
Here’s how I remember it:
Around the world in 80 days, X marks the spot
Line, Line, Line, Line
Spiders Crawling up your back
They BITE you in the neck,
They BITE you in the neck.
Cool Breeze,
Tight Squeeze,
Now you’ve got the shiveries.
I vividly remember it working in junior high; however, it failed to work now. I guess once you’re in your late 20′s your back is oversensitized to such games.
I Know One Kinda Like That, It Goes–>
Around The World In 80 Days
X Marks The Spot
Coma, Coma, Coma, Coma Question Mark
Crack An Egg On Your Head And Let The Yolk Drip Down, Let The Yolk Drip Down, Let The Yolk Drip Down (X2)
Satb A Knive Through Your Back And Feel The Blood Drip Down, Feel The Blood Drip Down, Feel The Blood Drip Down (X2)
Spiders Crawling Up Your Back Ready To ATTACK
Spiders Crawling Up Your Back Ready To ATTACK
Cool Breeze
Tight Squeeze
Now You’ve Got The Shiveries
I Am Currently In 7th Grade, So I Would Know!! ((:
<3, Dominique
My version is similar – but either I never learned the “around the world in 80 days” or I have since forgotten it. Here it is:
X marks the spot
With a dot, dot, dot
Comma, comma, comma
And a question mark
Knife in the back!
Watch the blood roll down (said slowly)
Shivers go up and the shivers go down (said 2 or 3 times)
Got the shivers?
I must have learned a much abbreviated version. – dot, dot, double dot, circle around. Knife in the back, blood flowing down, spiders crawling up, gotcha!
I teach middle school & my students were just trying something similar so I set off to find what it was I remembered…I too don’t remember ever learning all the junk @ the beginning, but I’ll have to ask my elementary friends. What I do remember was:
Ten knives in your back blood dripping down. Spiders crawling up your arms, Spiders crawling down your arms. Cool breeze. Tight squeeze. Whooo (blow on neck) Got the chills.
Going on a treasure hunt, X marks the spot.
Four big boulders, and one tiny dot.
Spiders crawling up your back, (Snakes slithering down),
(Stab a knife) in your back. Let the blood flow down.
Crack an egg on your head. Let the yolk flow down.
Feel a cool breeze, tight squeeze…
Now you got the chills!
It is for sure CHILLS.
PS watch the office episode “Lover” Dwight starts doing this to Micheal, hilarious.
NO!!
i remember:
80 days around the world
X marks the spot
comma comma comma comma question mark
stab in the back let the blood run down
stab in the back let the blood run down
dog bite cat scratch
cool breeze tight squeeze
now you’ve the shiveries!
Um…I remember something like that. My step sister taught it to me years ago, but I can’t remember the whole thing. All I can remember is: “Spiders crawling down your back spiders crawling down your back, thousand needles in your back, spiders crawling down your back. Spiders crawling down your back, spiders crawling down your back, babies crying, people dieing, spiders crawling down your back.” Then it goes on to something like, you’re standing on a cliff, you hear footsteps [clap hands twice], you look down, [push persons head down, make sure they do not get injured] and ask what color did they see? every color has a different meaning of something. Also, the person is supposed to have their eyes closed the entire time that you are doing this to them. Does anyone know what I am talking about? Maybe help me remember the whole thing? haha
I randomly thought of this rhyme today but couldn’t remember the ending. Google brought me here (as well as yahoo anwsers).
I remember it as:
x marks the spot
with a dot dot dot
biiiig question mark
spider finds you!
spiders crawling up your back
spiders crawling down your back
…………….?
That all I remember. I dont know what the ending was but I think its my grandmother who taught me. Fourtunatly, she is still around for me to ask.
I tried this on my hubby today. He said his face felt tingly.
Were in our mid 20′s.
I know it as….
X marks the spot
Circle and a dot.
Coma coma coma coma question mark
Spider crawling up your back spiders crawling down 10 needles in your back blood rushing down tight sqeeze cold breeze know you got the shiveries.
This is right bc this is what everyone is saying today.
The way I remember it was:
Goin’ on a treasure hunt, goin’ on a treasure hunt
X marks the spot with a dot-dot-dot & a dash-dash-dash
& a biiiig question mark (& a little question mark)
crack an egg on your head let the yolk dribble down, spider spins a web goin’ round, & round, & round
feel a pinch & a squeeze, & a tap on your knees, then a cooool breeze… Now you got the shiveries!!!!
I have a nineteen yr old daughter & now an 8 mo old son…
I hope I got it right
Mine was:
criss-cross applesauce,
spiders running up your back
egg splat down your back
cat scratch
dog bite
carpet burn
tight squeeze
cool breeze
now youve got the shiveries
the one my boyfriend did was:
were going on a treasure hunt, X marks the spot.
big circle, little circle, dot dot dot.
theres spiders crawling up your back, they bite ya, they bite ya.
the blood runs downnn.
theres snake slithering up your back, they bite ya, they bite ya.
the blood runs down.
cool breeze, tight squeeze, and now you got the chills
Mine was:
Going on a treasure hunt, X marks the spot
Three big boulders, one tiny dot
Spiders crawling up your back, bite, blood rushing down (x2)
Worms crawling up your arms, worms crawling down your arms (x2)
Knives, knives in your back
Cool breeze, tight squeeze
Crack an egg, and let it drip
this is the one i remember:
going on a treasure hunt, X marks the spot
3 big circles and a question dot
going up, going down, going all around
snakes crawl up your back–they nip you, blood rushes down
tarantulas crawl up your back–they nip you, blood rushes down
egg on the head, yolk running down
knife in the back, blood rushes down
seven arrows all around
a pinch, a squeeze, and a tropical breeze
I don’t remember all the beginning or ending but I do remember Cold breeze was a WET WILLY in the ear and then blowing to make it even colder! hahaha
I learned it
Big X
Little X
question Mark dot
Egg crack down your back
stab in the back
blood runs down
spiders crawling up
spiders crawling down
spiders crawling all around
cool breeze tight squeeze
now you have the chills
it’s interesting to see all the variations
Ten needles in your back feel the blood dripping down, spiders crawling up your arms, spiders crawling down. Crack an egg on your head and feel the yoke coming down. Cool breeze, tight squeeze now you’ve got the shivereese.
Going on a treasure hunt
X marks the spot
Big circle, little circle
dot, dot, dot
Spiders crawling up your back
Bite, bite, bite
Blood rushes down your back
Snakes go up, snakes go down
Cool breeze
Tight squeeze
Now you’ve got the shiveries
my school age kids were doing something similar to this just yesterday… now i has to do with standing on the Eiffel tower: (while swaying the person from left to right their eyes are closed)
you’re on the Eiffel tower, you’re on the Eiffel tower
knife in your back, and blood drips down
knife in your back, and blood drips down
you’re on the Eiffel tower, you’re on the Eiffel tower
rope around your neck, and you pull pull pull
rope around your neck, and you pull pull pull
you’re on the Eiffel tower, you’re on the Eiffel tower
knife in your back, and blood drips down
then you get pushed. (while pushing them)
and which ever color you see is how you die or where you fall..
and then i began telling them about around the world in 80 days and i could only remember up the the x marks the spot.. and so i told them i would Google it to find the rest..
)
and thank you.. because this is how i remember it.. (the way the original write wrote it!!
I learned it as:
Around the world in 180 days
X marks the spot,
coma coma coma
question mark
stab a knife in your back let the blood run down (x2)
spider crawwwllllinnnngggg up your back, bites ya on the neck,
spider crawwwllllinnnngggg down your back, bites ya on the back.
TIGHT squeeze,
cool breeze,
and now you have the CHILLIES!
haha lol i remember the game where they push you too, and you say what color you saw when you were falling. haha i always saw red so everyone thought i was possesed or something
Dot dash dot dash blood runs up blood runs down dot dash dot dash blood runs up blood runs down egg crack stab in the back cool breeze… Now youll freeze!
This is how I remember it.
10 needles in your back
blood dripping down
Spiders crawling up your arms
spiders crawling down.
(lick your fingers and pinch their neck)
Tight squeeze
(you blow on their neck)
Cold breeze
Not don’t you have the chills?
Here’s the one we Aussies all did growing up…
A Dash (draw line anywhere on back)
And a Dot (dot anywhere)
And a Dot
And a Dash
And a Big Red Question Mark (draw large question mark on back!)
And a… Stab in the Back (firm but not painful thump to some part of the back)
Blood Running Up (drag fingers slowly and gently from base of back to hairline)
Blood Running Down (drag fingers down again)
Spiders Crawling Round and Round (tickly tapping fingers or soft nails in a circular motion around the back)
A Cool Breeze…. (lightly blow on back of neck)
And… FREEZE!! (sudden, firm but not painful grab to the back of the neck)
AND GUARANTEED QUARTER INCH HIGH GOOSE BUMPS!!!!!
That’s how my parents taught it to me, and how I have taught my children. They l-o-v-e it! (“Do Dash and a Dot Daddy!)
The one my grandmother taught me goes like this: big X, little dot, question mark marks the spot, cool breeze, tight squeeze, now you’ve got the shiveries.
10 knifes stabed into your back
blood dripping down
spiders crawling up
snakes slithering down
tight squeeze
cool breeze
now u got the shiveries
We learned one that went like this…
Around the world in 80 days,
X marks the spot
Comma, Comma, Comma, Comma, Question mark
Dot!
Spiders crawling up your back, ATTACK! ATTACK! (2x)
Cool breeze
Tight squeeze
Now you’ve got the shiiiivvvverrrieeessss!
Around the world in 80 days X marks the spot. Comma Comma Comma Comma Question Mark, Question Mark. Knife in the back blood running down spiders running up spiders running down cool breze pressure point.
what i remember goes “… a pinch, a squeeze, and a tropical breeze, now youve got the shiveries”
My mom used to do this to us kids when we were little and we loved it. How she said it went:
10 needles in your back, blood runs down…
Spider goes up, spider goes down…..
Snake slithers up your back, bites you in the neck…..
Cool breeze, Tight squeeze…
Now you got the shivers.
this is how it goes.
Around the world in 80 days X marks the spot. comma comma questionmark thats where it starts. crack an egg on your head feel the yolk drip down your back. crack an egg on your head fell the yolk drip down your back. stab a knife in your back let the blood run down your back. stab a knife in your back let the blood run down your back. spiders crawling up your back they BITE they BITE. spiders crawling up your back they BITE they BITE. cool breeze tight squeeze now u got the shilveries