--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Step on a crack , you'll break your…" description: "\"Step on a crack , you'll break your mama's back. Step on a stone, you'll end up all alone. Step on a stick, you're bound to get the Sick. Watch where y..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/lauren-oliver-109_all-alone_step-on-a-crack-you-ll-break-your-mama-s_832059.png" --- # Step on a crack , you'll break your mama's back. Step on a… ![“Step on a crack , you'll break your mama's back. Step on a stone, you'll end up all alone. Step on a stick, you're bound to get the Sick. Watch where you tread, you'll bring out all the dead. - A common children's playground chant, usually accompanied by jumping rope or clapping.” quote by Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/lauren-oliver-109_all-alone_step-on-a-crack-you-ll-break-your-mama-s_832059.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/lauren-oliver-109_all-alone_step-on-a-crack-you-ll-break-your-mama-s_832059.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/lauren-oliver-109_all-alone_step-on-a-crack-you-ll-break-your-mama-s_832059.png) > “Step on a crack , you'll break your mama's back. Step on a stone, you'll end up all alone. Step on a stick, you're bound to get the Sick. Watch where you tread, you'll bring out all the dead. - A common children's playground chant, usually accompanied by jumping rope or clapping.” [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Children’s rhymes warn of unseen dangers, using superstition to teach caution and respect for the environment. **In simple terms:** Folklore warns to watch where you step. Key Takeaway Teach awareness of hidden risks. Themes folklore superstition childhood safety Mood playful warning Type cultural educational When to use this quote - playground games - school recess - family gatherings - community events Key Concepts cultural transmission rituals psychology Questions to Reflect On - What modern “cracks” should we avoid? - How do such chants shape behavior? A Different Perspective Modern contexts may render the rhyme irrelevant. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [All alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/all-alone/) [Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) [Chant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chant/) [Chant Usually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chant-usually-568006/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Clapping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clapping/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Cracks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cracks/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Jumping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jumping/) [Mama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mama/) [Playground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playground/) [Playground Chant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playground-chant-568004/) [Playgrounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playgrounds/) [Rope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rope/) [Sick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sick/) [Step Crack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/step-crack-568005/) [Steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steps/) [Sticks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sticks/) [Stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stones/) [Watches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watches/) ## Related quotes > [Mary bring out your umbrella - The sun shines down on this fine, fine day But the ashes raining down forever Are going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/mary-bring-out-your-umbrella-the-sun-shines-down-on-this-fine-fine/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [I don't meditate anymore, and I wouldn't call myself a Buddhist nowadays, though I do chant mantras here and there depending on the situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-mark/i-don-t-meditate-anymore-and-i-wouldn-t-call-myself-a-buddhist/) [Amber Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-mark/) > [Record stores have whole sections devoted to the chant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-morris/record-stores-have-whole-sections-devoted-to-the-chant/) [Richard Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-morris/) > [Let's just chant and be good people, alright?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/let-s-just-chant-and-be-good-people-alright/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) > [“Ignosi bound the diadem upon his brows. Then advancing, he placed his foot upon the broad chest of his headless foe and broke out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-rider-haggard/ignosi-bound-the-diadem-upon-his-brows-then-advancing-he-placed-his/) [H. Rider Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-rider-haggard/) > [I chant to save my heart. Every time I sit down, that's what I'm doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/i-chant-to-save-my-heart-every-time-i-sit-down-that-s-what-i-m-doing/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) > [The crowd should be allowed to chant perhaps, or get some music playing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-trump/the-crowd-should-be-allowed-to-chant-perhaps-or-get-some-music-playing/) [Judd Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-trump/) > [“I have a new mantra, which I chant softly to myself: "Oh My God Oh My God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-finnamore/i-have-a-new-mantra-which-i-chant-softly-to-myself-oh-my-god-oh-my-god/) [Suzanne Finnamore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-finnamore/) > [“ United we stand, divided we fall Just watch us as we beat ya’ll. You say ‘brother against brother’? Well, my brother screwed your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leila-sales/united-we-stand-divided-we-fall-just-watch-us-as-we-beat-ya-ll-you/) [Leila Sales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leila-sales/) > [You should breathe deeply and chant, 'Money will easily and effortlessly flow into my life' as often as you can every day. Things will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-l-hay/you-should-breathe-deeply-and-chant-money-will-easily-and/) [Louise L. Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-l-hay/) > [The pastor of a parish will typically have no education in the chant or in music, and he will hire the first music director…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-morris/the-pastor-of-a-parish-will-typically-have-no-education-in-the-chant/) [Richard Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-morris/) > [Humm humm haaa. Rahmumm humm haaaa," intoned Opal, finishing her chant. "Peace be inside me, tolerance all around me, forgiveness in my path. Now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/humm-humm-haaa-rahmumm-humm-haaaa-intoned-opal-finishing-her-chant/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) > [The lions sing and the hills take flight. The moon by day, and the sun by night. Blind woman, deaf man, jackdaw fool. Let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/the-lions-sing-and-the-hills-take-flight-the-moon-by-day-and-the-sun/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [A western audience might not appreciate 'Chanakya's Chant' because of its dependence on history and ancient statecraft. My book is a modern-day thriller that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/a-western-audience-might-not-appreciate-chanakya-s-chant-because-of/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [“My whole being is a dark chant that will carry you perpetuating you to the dawn of eternal growths and blossomings in this chant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forugh-farrokhzad/my-whole-being-is-a-dark-chant-that-will-carry-you-perpetuating-you/) [Forugh Farrokhzad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forugh-farrokhzad/) ## More by Lauren Oliver > [“My aunt Carol hasn’t heard her say a word in the whole six years and three months of Grace’s life—not a single syllable. Carol…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/my-aunt-carol-hasn-t-heard-her-say-a-word-in-the-whole-six-years-and/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [This is what happens when you try to help people. You get screwed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/this-is-what-happens-when-you-try-to-help-people-you-get-screwed/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [We'll walk together holding hands, and kiss in broad daylight, and love each other as much as we want to, and no one will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/we-ll-walk-together-holding-hands-and-kiss-in-broad-daylight-and-love/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“At least when I'm sleeping I can dream myself back to Alex, can dream myself into a different world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/at-least-when-i-m-sleeping-i-can-dream-myself-back-to-alex-can-dream/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [People are like ants: Just a few of them give all the orders. And most of them spend their lives getting squashed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/people-are-like-ants-just-a-few-of-them-give-all-the-orders-and-most/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Summer explodes into Portland. In early June the heat was there but not the color--the green were still pale and tentative, the morning had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/summer-explodes-into-portland-in-early-june-the-heat-was-there-but/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Mistake, mistake, mistake. A strange word: stinging, somehow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/mistake-mistake-mistake-a-strange-word-stinging-somehow/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [I wonder if it's ever really possible to know the truth about someone else, or if the best we can do is just stumble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-wonder-if-it-s-ever-really-possible-to-know-the-truth-about-someone/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“Julian is somewhere among those lights, in that blur of people and buildings. I wonder whether he's scared. I wonder whether he's thinking of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/julian-is-somewhere-among-those-lights-in-that-blur-of-people-and/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [A room full of words that are nearly the truth but not quite, each note fluttering off the steam of its rose like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/a-room-full-of-words-that-are-nearly-the-truth-but-not-quite-each/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“She’s the kind of person who makes you feel drunk just by being around her, like suddenly the world’s edges are dulled and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/she-s-the-kind-of-person-who-makes-you-feel-drunk-just-by-being/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“Stop!” His voice rings out sharply, hard as a slap. He releases me and I stumble backward. “Alex is dead, do you hear me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/stop-his-voice-rings-out-sharply-hard-as-a-slap-he-releases-me-and-i/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [..in that moment i realize how much i love the little everyday routines of my life..the details that are my life's special pattern, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/in-that-moment-i-realize-how-much-i-love-the-little-everyday-routines/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“You can't judge a book by its steel-toed combat boots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/you-can-t-judge-a-book-by-its-steel-toed-combat-boots/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) [Explore all 1,181 Lauren Oliver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) ## More All alone quotes > [I'm stranded all alone in the gas station of love, and I have to use the self service pump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-stranded-all-alone-in-the-gas-station-of-love-and-i-have-to-use/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Memory. All alone in the moonlight I can smile at the old days I was beautiful then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-nunn/memory-all-alone-in-the-moonlight-i-can-smile-at-the-old-days-i-was/) [Trevor Nunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-nunn/) > [You staying home all alone on New Year's Eve? Unthinkable. Take my advice the countdown should be shared with someone, or it's just another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-staying-home-all-alone-on-new-year-s-eve-unthinkable-take-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In Prison Wearily, drearily, Half the day long, Flap the great banners High over the stone; Strangely and eerily Sounds the wind's song, Bending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/in-prison-wearily-drearily-half-the-day-long-flap-the-great-banners/) [William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/) > [Those struggling with life-threatening thoughts do not feel connected to others. They feel all alone- even alone in the midst of a crowd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-hunt/those-struggling-with-life-threatening-thoughts-do-not-feel-connected/) [June Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-hunt/) > [Who will cry for the little boy, lost and all alone? Who will cry for the little boy, abandoned without his own? Who will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antwone-fisher/who-will-cry-for-the-little-boy-lost-and-all-alone-who-will-cry-for/) [Antwone Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antwone-fisher/) > [There's much more. There's all that goes beyond – all ... that is Elsewhere – and all that goes back, and back, and back.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/there-s-much-more-there-s-all-that-goes-beyond-all-that-is-elsewhere/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [I crawled back into myself all alone, just delighted to observe that I was even more miserable than before, because I had brought a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/i-crawled-back-into-myself-all-alone-just-delighted-to-observe-that-i/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [His thumb went back and forth over the satin, as if he were rubbing her hip as he had when they’d been together, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/his-thumb-went-back-and-forth-over-the-satin-as-if-he-were-rubbing/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [Doubt is a central factor all the time. There's always the doubt: What the hell am I doing out here in the middle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-welliver/doubt-is-a-central-factor-all-the-time-there-s-always-the-doubt-what/) [Neil Welliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-welliver/) > [The stories never said why she was wicked. It was enough to be an old woman, enough to be all alone, enough to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-stories-never-said-why-she-was-wicked-it-was-enough-to-be-an-old/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [And I have the others in me. Even when I’m far away from them, I am forced to live with them. Even when I’m…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/and-i-have-the-others-in-me-even-when-i-m-far-away-from-them-i-am/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Me and my shadow Strolling down the avenue Oh, me and my shadow Not a soul to tell our troubles to And when it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-rose/me-and-my-shadow-strolling-down-the-avenue-oh-me-and-my-shadow-not-a/) [Billy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-rose/) > [I think every family has that moment when the parents realize they need help and think, Oh my gosh. We cannot do this all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nia-long/i-think-every-family-has-that-moment-when-the-parents-realize-they/) [Nia Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nia-long/) > [Everyone, at some point in their lives, wakes up in the middle of the night with the feeling that they are all alone in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-at-some-point-in-their-lives-wakes-up-in-the-middle-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 214 All alone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/all-alone/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Step on a crack , you'll break your mama's back. Step on a stone, you'll end up all alone. Step on a stick, you're bound to get the Sick. 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