[2] The album version is a slight re-edit of the single, with part of the original middle eight moved to the end of the track.
The song concerns the skipping game of the same name, with McLaren's narration mentioning several New York double Dutch troupes by name, notably the Ebonettes, whose name is also used as a chant in the chorus.
The music video for the song features McLaren and troupes from the American Double Dutch League performing in a school gymnasium.
The South African Mbaqanga group, The Boyoyo Boys, sued McLaren for music plagiarism[3] over the similarity of "Double Dutch" to their own 1975 hit "Puleng".
[4] After a lengthy legal battle in the UK, the matter was settled out of court, with payment made to the South African copyright holders, songwriter Petrus Maneli and publisher Gallo Music,[5] but Trevor Horn and McLaren retained their songwriting credits.