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In many frontier communities, the churches opposed square dancing and line dancing.
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In order to abide by church policies, "play parties" were held intead of dances.
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At play parties, adults took over the singing games of children, with their skipping, dancing, and marching movements. In these, boys and girls swung each other by the hand and not by the waist, which was forbidden.
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Since the fiddle was considered the devil's instrument and other musical instruments were scarce, people got along without musicians and dance callers by clapping their hands and giving their own directions for the dance movements by means of the words of the song.
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The song was also sung and danced by bear-hunters, Indian fighters, rough keel boatmen, and wild cowboys.
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