More circle games 3
No bears out tonight
Old Betty Larkin
Old bald eagle
Our boots are made of leather
Peep squirrel
Poor Jenny sits a-weeping
Rabbit in the hollow
Rosy apple lemon and a pear
The button and the key
The juniper tree / Oh, Sister Phoebe
The leaves are green
There once was a princess
Water, water wallflower
Who’s got a fishpole?
Wishy washy wee
Zinty tinty
tuppenny bun
Zum gali gali gali
Last updated: 8/4/2015 4:47 PM
These songs are nursery rhymes and
other traditional songs compiled, illustrated and music arranged by Dany
Rosevear.
Return to the ‘Singing games for children’ home page
To listen to music from these songs click on O
To watch the
author sing a song click on the title at:
©
Dany Rosevear 2013 All rights reserved
You are free to copy, distribute,
display and perform these works under the following conditions:
· you must give the original author credit
· you may not use this work for commercial purposes
· for any re-use or distribution, you must make clear to
others the licence terms of this work
· any of these can be waived if you get permission from the
copyright holder
Your fair use and other rights are
no way affected by the above.
|
Where
have all the bears gone? The youngest just dance to the first verse for a
simple circle song. Older children make a circle holding hands and standing
next to a partner. 1. The circle skips round holding hands. On the last line everyone squats. 2. Continue squatting hands to
cheek. On last line jump up and shout ‘Hooray!’ 3. The circle skips round holding hands. On the last line everyone holds hands with
a partner and skips round.
|
|
Old bald
eagle O This song comes from Kentucky /
Appalachian mountains; the version below is an amalgam of the more common
couplet that was sung by Jean Ritchie and played as a line game and the
second part which can be found in
‘Just Five’ compiled by Robert E. Kersey. Children
walk in a circle as one child skips round inside. On the second part that
child chooses a partner from the circle and holding hands skips round as
those in the circle clap. The game continues as before with both children
walking round and then each choosing a skipping partner. |
|
Old bald eagle sail around, daylight is gone. Old bald eagle sail around, daylight is gone. Sail around the mountain top! Sail around I say! Sail around the mountain top! Long summer day! Two bald eagles… Four bald eagles …. Long, long summer day! |
|
Old
Betty Larkin O
Another folk song from Kentucky
sung by Jean Ritchie. It is an early American dance and sung in an unusual
and possibly difficult manner. Verse
1: Children skip clockwise holding hands with a partner in skating mode. One
child Betty or Billy skips round the inside of the ring in the opposite
direction. 2.
Partners drop hands and form a single circle facing the centre. Betty or
Billy skips weaving in and out of the circle. 3.
Betty or Billy grabs the nearest person as a partner leaving the old partner
to be the new Betty or Billy and, the game continues. |
|
Hop around, skip around, Old Betty Larkin, Hop around, skip around, Old Betty Larkin, Hop around, skip around, Old Betty Larkin, Also my dear darling. Needle in a haystack, Old Betty Larkin, Needle in a haystack, Old Betty Larkin, Needle in a haystack, Old Betty Larkin, Also my dear darling. Steal, steal, Old Betty Larkin, Steal, steal, Old Betty Larkin, Steal, steal, Old Betty Larkin, Also my dear darling. |
|
|
|
Our boots are
made of leather O
This
circle game is adapted from Alice E, Gillington
collected games in ’Old Surrey singing games and skipping rope rhymes’. The group
walks round the circle in pairs. In the second half each pair turns in place
while holding hands and then sink to the ground.
|
|
This song is sometimes played as a
knee bouncing game. Line
1-4: Children walk clockwise in a circle holding hands. One child, the
hunter, walks round outside in the opposite direction. Another child, the
squirrel, stands in the centre with hand to eyes looking out for the hunter. Line
5-7. The circle stops and raises hands to make arches like trees. The
squirrel exits through an arch, runs round the outside and tries to get back
through the arch without being caught by the hunter. If
successful the squirrel has another turn and a new hunter is chosen. If
caught the hunter remains and a new squirrel is picked. |
|
Peep squirrel, peep squirrel, Do-da, did-dle-um, do-da, did-dle-um, Peep squirrel, peep squirrel, Do-da, did-dle-um dum. I’ve got to get out of here, Day’s a-breakin’, sun’s a-rising, Bet you five dollars I’ll get out of here. Hop squirrel, hop squirrel, Do-da, did-dle-um, do-da, did-dle-um, Hop squirrel, hop squirrel, Do-da, did-dle-um dum. I’ve got to get out of here… Run squirrel… |
|
Poor Jenny sits a-weeping O Several
versions of this playground song were noted by Iona and Peter Opie in their
book ‘The Singing game’. This version is similar to the one I sang in the
playground as a child – I think! Children walk round in a circle
holding hands – one child ‘Jenny’ sits in the middle with hands to her eyes.
‘Jenny’ sings the third verse and then stands up and chooses a new child and
skips round inside the circle. On the last verse they shake hands and the
game begins again. If a boy is chosen sing ‘Poor Johnny sits a-weeping’
|
|
This traditional game is set to
the German tune ‘A little man is standing in the wood’. Choose
one child to be the hunter and one to be the rabbit; rabbit is inside the
circle sleeping and hunter is outside. The children circle round rabbit
singing as hunter creeps round and on the second line moves towards rabbit.
The circle allows rabbit to move through easily but make it more difficult
for the hunter. Once rabbit is caught the two choose a pair to replace them. |
|
Rabbit in the hollow sits and sleeps. Hunter in the forest nearer creeps. Little rabbit, please take care, Sleeping in the hollow there; Quickly to your home You must run, rabbit, run! |
|
Find many more versions of this
song in The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland by
Alice Bertha Gomme. Children
walk round in a circle holding hands while one child stands in the middle.
This child chooses another child at the end of the first verse and they both
make a bridge. The circle moves under the bridge and on the last word a child
is caught underneath. This child then goes into the centre and the game
continues. |
|
Rosy
apple, lemon, and a pear, A bunch
of roses you shall wear, Gold and
silver by your side, Who
shall be a bride? Take her
by the lily-white hand, Lead her
'cross the water; Give her
kisses - one, two, three, For
she’s the captain’s daughter. |
|
Rocky mountain high O
A
folk song from the Appalachians. 1. Walk eight steps into the
circle. 2. Walk eight steps back. 3. Clap for times and turn around. 4.
Repeat
|
|
This is a game that encourages
careful listening and voice recognition. Choose from a cache of objects,
natural ones if playing outside! Children
sit in a circle with eyes closed and hands cupped behind their backs. As the
song is sung a named child walks round the outside and places the button and
the key in two hands. Everyone sings “Who has the button?” and one child
answers “I have the button” This is repeated for the other object. The others
listen carefully and try to identify the voices. The child on the outside ask
the others if they know who has each object. One of the successful children
replace the one on the outside. |
d
|
Around comes Johnny, around comes he. He is hiding the button and the key. Who has the button? I have the button. Who has the key? I
have the key. Let us see! Let us see! …He is hiding the acorn and the leaf... …He is hiding the feather and the pea… |
|
The leaves are green O A
song for autumn; talk about the changing colours of this magical season.
|
|
There once was a princess O Children make a circle around the princess
who sits on a cushion. The wicked fairy and the prince stand outside the
circle.
|
|
Water, water
wallflower
O
There are many, many versions of
this song from all over the U.K. and the U.S.A. Find some of them at: http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4300 Children
walk round in a circle holding hands; two children standing next to each
other are chosen by an adult. The other children in the ring wag their
fingers at the two on ‘Fie, fie…’ and the two named turn outwards. The game
continues until all the children are facing outwards. They then sing: Fie, fie, fie for shame! Turn your face to the ring again
and all turn back to face the inside of the ring. |
|
Water,
water, wallflower growing up so high, We are
all young children and surely we must die. Except
for Tom and Flora, the fairest of us all, They can
dance and they can sing And they
can play the violin. Fie,
fie, fie for shame! Turn
your back to the ring again. |
|
Wishy-washy-wee O A
simple circle game with a nautical theme. Hold
hands in a circle. Two children stand in the centre holding right hands.
Oh, we are two
sailors Lately home from
sea, And if you want
another one, Come along with me. The circle walks round the two sailors who
skip round holding right hands. On the last line the two in the middle face a
new partner in the circle and new pair place hands on the other’s shoulder. Wishy, washy,
wishy, washy, Wishy, washy, wee, And if you want
another one, Come along with me. The new pairs dance by swinging their right
then the left leg straight out to the side with a rhythmical movement. The game then begins once again with a new
pair so everyone gets a go. Divide the class into two or three circles
if time is a problem. |
|
This song can be great fun as
children choose more preposterous things for the fishpole
to need. It can also be used as a call and response song. Children
walk round in a circle holding hands; one child stands in the middle. This
child sings the last line and chooses what fishpole
needs; the others mime whatever is chosen. The child in the centre then
selects a child who acts out the movement well to go into the centre and the
game continues. |
|
Who’s got a fishpole? We do. Who’s got a fishpole? We do. Who’s got a fishpole? We do. Fishpole needs a line. ...Fishpole needs a hook... ...Fishpole needs a worm... ...Fishpole needs a fish... ...Fishpole needs a river... ...Fishpole needs a boat... |
|
Zinty tinty tuppeny bun O Explore different rhythms in this
game. You will need to practice ‘walking’ running’ galloping and other
rhythms before the game starts. Make
a circle holding hands. One child ‘the fox’ walks round the outside of the
circle beating a drum in time to the music as the others sing Those in the
circle make a door to allow the ‘fox’ in. This child plays a rhythm and those
in the ring move appropriately to it. A new child who performs the rhythm
best is chosen to be ‘the fox’ next time. |
|
Zinty, tinty tuppenny bun, The fox came out to have
some fun; He had some fun, he beat
the drum, Zinty, tinty tuppenny bun! Open the ring and let him
in. |
|
A
song from Israel when the first kibbutz were set up. Sing
both stanzas twice.
|
Return to the ‘Singing games for children’ home page