In 1975, after a failed stint at managing & relaunching the image of the notoriously hard living and chaotic band the New York Dolls, Malcolm nurtured the formation of one of the most infamous punk bands in history, The Sex Pistols. He became their manager, and controlled their contracts, as well as most importantly to him, their image in the media. The venture ended in a disastrous US tour, and a film called "The Great Rock And Roll Swindle" that featured McLaren, and glorified his untraditional Situationist PR approach and manipulative Svengali-esque role in the band's career.
In the '80s, after the Sex Pistols had long broken up, Malcolm became the manager of another band, Adam and the Ants which veered away from punk's coarse format via new romantic pirate garb and poly rhythmic African style drumming. When Adam Ant rebelled and left the band, Malcolm repackaged the musicians with a 14 year old Anglo/Burmese girl named Annabella Lwin to form the band Bow Wow Wow. He soon used his headline making skills to propel the band and their underage lead singer to the top of the charts with a nude album cover scandal.
In the early 1980's, Malcolm began producing his own records, beginning with the hits "Buffalo Gals" and "Double Dutch" from the groundbreaking 1983 album "Duck Walk" which used NYC hip hoppers and scratch DJ's The World Famous Supreme Team, as its foundation. Future members of Art of Noise performed on, produced, and/or jointly composed various tracks. He next turned to opera, masterminding a pop adaptation of "Madam Butterfly" on the album "Fans" using an assortment of female vocalists, and skilled musician Robby Kilgore on the tracks.
McLaren has released numerous other albums and tracks since, including contributions to the movie soundtracks of Carry On Columbus, and Kill Bill 2, but his musical career peaked with his 1980's works. McLaren's original "Double Dutch" era material has since been reappropriated and sampled by sucessful artists including Mariah Carey, Eminem, Amerie and De La Soul.
In his later years, McLaren occasionally contributed to newspapers and magazines, directed and produced films and appeared on British reality television programmes. He died on the morning of 8 April 2010, following a battle with cancer.
Double Dutch 12"
Malcolm McLaren Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Take to the ropes and turn them slow
Starts a beat and a loop
They skip and jump through the hoop
They might break and they might fall
About the gals from New York City
They just start again
Start again
Heh ebo ebonettes
Heh
Ebo ebonettes
Heh ebo
Ebo ebo ebonettes
Heh ebo
Ebo ebo ebonettes
Heh ebo
Ebo ebo ebonettes
Hmm
The golden angels aah
The Ford green angels
The five town diamond skippers
The pleasure of rope rippers
Those dark and lovely skippers
Those five town diamond skippers
Skip they do's the double Dutch
That's them dancing
Skip they do's the double Dutch
That's them dancing
Skip they do's the double Dutch
That's them dancing
Skip they do's the double Dutch
That's them dancing
Swing those ropes round and around
All the teams change your partners now
Somersault through the hoop, leap to beat the clicks
That keep on coming
Heh
Watch your feet to win the double Dutch
stay jumping
Heh ebo ebonettes
Heh
Ebo ebo ebonettes
Etc
The mighty motion skippers
The pleasure of rope rippers
Aah
The dark and lovely skippers
Hmm
Mighty motion skippers
The skip they do's the double Dutch
That's them dancing
The skip they do's the double Dutch
That's them dancing
Heh girls
How many skips can you do?
Malcolm McLaren was a pioneering artist in the world of hip-hop and electronic music, and "Double Dutch" is one of his most enduring hits. The song is an ode to the popular playground game of double Dutch, where two ropes are turned in opposite directions while a third person jumps between them.
The lyrics reference various teams of jumpers from around the world, including the Ebonettes from New York City, the Golden Angels from Ohio, the Ford Green Angels from Detroit, the Five Town Diamond Skippers from Long Island, and the Mighty Motion Skippers from Chicago. McLaren highlights the skill and discipline required of double Dutch jumpers, noting that they might break or fall, but they always start again.
The chorus of the song is a chant of "heh ebo ebonettes" and "ebo ebo ebonettes," which seems to be a reference to the Ebonettes team. Throughout the song, McLaren emphasizes the joy and energy of double Dutch, with lines like "swing those ropes round and around" and "how many skips can you do?" Overall, "Double Dutch" celebrates the power of music and play to bring people together and create community.
Line by Line Meaning
All over the world high school girls
High school girls all over the world
Take to the ropes and turn them slow
Turn ropes slowly while jumping
Starts a beat and a loop
Starts a rhythm with a repeating loop
They skip and jump through the hoop
Jump and skip through a hoop
They might break and they might fall
They might fail but will try again
About the gals from New York City
Refers to girls from New York City
They just start again
They keep trying again
Heh ebo ebonettes
Sound effects
Heh Ebo
Sound effects
The golden angels aah
Refers to a rope skipping team
The Ford green angels
Refers to a rope skipping team
The five town diamond skippers
Refers to a rope skipping team
The pleasure of rope rippers
Refers to people who love double Dutch rope skipping
Those dark and lovely skippers
Refers to a rope skipping team
Those five town diamond skippers
Refers to a rope skipping team
Skip they do's the double Dutch
Skipping while doing double Dutch
That's them dancing
That's how they move
Swing those ropes round and around
Move the ropes in a circular motion
All the teams change your partners now
Teams change their partners
Somersault through the hoop, leap to beat the clicks
Do a somersault through the hoop and jump to match the clicks
That keep on coming
The clicks that never stop
Watch your feet to win the double Dutch
Pay attention to your feet to win double Dutch
Stay jumping
Keep jumping
The mighty motion skippers
Refers to a rope skipping team
Aah The dark and lovely skippers
Refers to a rope skipping team
Mighty motion skippers
Refers to a rope skipping team
Heh girls
Sound effects followed by an address to girls
How many skips can you do?
Asking the girls how many skips they can do
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Petrus Maneli, Trevor Charles Horn, Malcolm Robert, Andrew Mclaren
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@markcutts383
How can you not like this?
All that life and activity.
The juxtaposition is that you have a white ginger haired guy appreciating the black style and innovation and hopefully they appreciate him and his curiosity.
The British tend to have a lot of curiosity about musical styles.
Well done the girls and well done Malcolm.
@JNCUSA
The girls dressed in Red and White are from Brooklyn . I was their 5th as well as their 6th grade teacher. I also had the opportunity to coach them in the sport of double dutch. We still communicate today, thanks to FB. They are all doing very well. Three of the young ladies have gone on to complete college. Two of them have earned their PHDs. All four are happily living their lives and have successful families. It annoys me that some of the comments made are just ridiculous. I have watched these young ladies grow from young 11 year old girls to beautiful successful young women. Very proud to have been their teacher in school , as well as their coach in the sport of Double Dutch.
@baselroyluiz8469
Thank you for the update Larry. So good to know that they are doing well, do convey my regards, God bless you all...
@w.h589
Wonderful to hear and God Bless them
@tartgreenapple
Thank you for sharing and uplifting story! What did the girls think of the music film?
@richardhentworth5612
wait, you know my school days crush on Diane at 2.33min ?
@kimcutts6153
I remember when this came out in the charts. I thought they were amazing, and just mesmerising to watch. Glad to hear they are all doing well, and living well. You did good lady. 👍
@kelvinh8327
Here I sit despondent from, major cancer surgery: and still this brings me joy and hope: Thx ladies ❤
@deplorabled1695
How are you doing Kelvin?
@kelvinh8327
@deplorabled1695 I think (hope) the cancer has abated. My tongue was removed, and I'm trying to learn how to speak and swallow with a transplanted muscle from my leg. I feed on Nestlé Resource 2.0 via a PEG tube into my stomach. I'm going to ask the Surgeon for a scan of my throat where the the cancer started, just to confirm that I'm in the clear.
But in all, life is not too bad, and I am touched and amazed by a strangers concern and put my trust in God to do whatever brings Him glory,
@stanwernicke8500
God bless mate