London Bridge Is Falling Down

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London Bridge Is Falling Down (Round 502) is a well-known traditional nursery rhyme which is found in different versions all over the world.

The main verse is:

London Bridge Is falling down,
Falling down, Falling down.
London Bridge Is falling down,
My fair lady.

The rhyme is often used in a children's singing game, which exists in a wide variety of forms, with additional verses. The most common is that two players make an arch while the others pass through in single file. The arch is then lowered at the song's end to "catch" a player.

Contents

[edit] Lyrics

In its original form[citation needed] (there are several versions), the lyrics are as follows:

London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, Falling down.
London Bridge is falling down,
My fair lady.
Take a key and lock her up,
Lock her up, Lock her up.
Take a key and lock her up,
My fair lady.
How will we build it up,
Build it up, Build it up,
How will we build it up,
My fair lady?
Build it up with gold and silver,
gold and silver, gold and silver.
Build it up with gold and silver,
My fair lady.
Gold and silver I have none,
I have none, I have none.
Gold and silver I have none,
My fair lady.
Build it up with pins and needles,
pins and needles, pins and needles.
Build it up with pins and needles,
My fair lady.
Pins and needles bend and break,
Bend and break, Bend and break.
Pins and needles bend and break,
My fair lady.
Build it up with wood and clay,
Wood and clay, Wood and clay.
Build it up with wood and clay,
My fair lady.
Wood and clay will wash away,
Wash away, Wash away.
Wood and clay will wash away,
My fair lady.
Build it up with stone so strong,
Stone so strong, Stone so strong.
Build it up with stone so strong,
My fair lady.
Stone so strong will last so long,
Last so long, Last so long.
Stone so strong will last so long,
My fair lady.

[edit] Alternative verses

Other verses used include:

We must build it up again,
Up again, Up again.
We must build it up again,
My fair lady.
Build it up with iron and steel,
Iron and steel, Iron and steel.
Build it up with iron and steel,
My fair lady.
Iron and steel will bend and bow,
Bend and bow, bend and bow.
Iron and steel will bend and bow,
My fair lady.
Build it up with penny loaves,
Penny loaves, penny loaves.
Build it up with penny loaves,
My fair lady.
Penny loaves will tumble down,
Tumble down, tumble down.
Penny loaves will tumble down,
My fair lady.
Build it up with silver and gold
Silver and gold, silver and gold.
Build it up with silver and gold,
My fair lady.
Silver and gold will be stolen away,
Stolen away, Stolen away.
Silver and gold will be stolen away,
My fair lady.
Set a man to watch all night,
Watch all night, watch all night,
Set a man to watch all night,
My fair lady.
Suppose the man should fall asleep,
Fall asleep, fall asleep,
Suppose the man should fall asleep?
My fair lady.
Give him a pipe to smoke all night,
Smoke all night, smoke all night,
Give him a pipe to smoke all night,
My fair lady.
Here's a prisoner I have got,
I have got, I have got,
Here's a prisoner I have got,
My fair lady.
What's the prisoner done to you,
Done to you, done to you?
What's the prisoner done to you,
My fair lady.
Stole my watch and broke my chain,
Broke my chain, broke my chain,.
Stole my watch and broke my chain,
My fair lady.
Take the key and lock him up,
Lock him up, lock him up,
Take the key and lock him up,
My fair lady.
What will it take to set him free,
Set him free, set him free?
What will it take to set him free,
My fair lady.
One hundred pounds will set him free,
Set him free, set him free.
One hundred pounds to set him free,
My fair lady.
One hundred pounds we have not got,
Have not got, have not got.
One hundred pounds we have not got,
My fair lady.
Then off to prison he must go,
He must go, he must go.
Then off to prison he must go,
My fair lady.

[edit] The earliest printed English version

In Tommy Thumb´s Pretty Song Book (1744) the text is like this:

London Bridge Is Broken down
Dance over my Lady Lee
London Bridge Is Broken down
With a gay Lady
How shall we build It up again,
Dance over my Lady Lee, etc
Build it up with Gravel, and Stone,
Dance over my Lady Lee, etc
Gravel, and Stone Will wash away,
Dance over my Lady Lee, etc
Build it up with Iron, and Steel,
Dance over my Lady Lee, etc
Iron, and Steel, Will bend, and Bow,
Dance over my Lady Lee, etc
Build it up with Silver, and Gold,
Dance over my Lady Lee, etc
Silver, and Gold Will be stolen away,
Dance over my Lady Lee, etc
Then we’ll set A man to Watch,
Dance over my Lady Lee.
Then we’ll set A man to Watch
With a gay Lady

[edit] Meaning

The meaning of the rhyme is not certain. Most likely, it relates to the many difficulties experienced in bridging the River Thames: London's earlier bridges did indeed "wash away" before a bridge built of "stone so strong" was constructed. One theory[citation needed] of the "fair lady" who has been "locked away" refers to an old practice of burying a dead virgin in the foundations of the bridge to ensure its strength through magical means. Another theory[citation needed] was the people building the bridge were afraid the water spirits would not approve of a bridge being built, as it was invading their territory. To prevent an invasion from the water spirits, they made human sacrifices to the water spirits. This usually meant killing a child and burying it in the bridge. The more plausible reference of the fair lady was to Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. However, the rhyme is not confined to the UK and variants exist in many other western and central European countries.

One theory of origin is that the rhyme relates to the destruction of London Bridge by Olaf II of Norway in 1014 (alternatively cited as 1009[1]). Reportedly Olaf I of Norway also burned the bridge during raids in England during the 980's, the bridge was also destroyed by a tornado in 1091 and burned in 1136.

[edit] Cultural references

  • Modernist poet T. S. Eliot used the first two lines of this rhyme in his poem The Waste Land.
  • The title of the 1993 movie Falling Down was inspired by this song, which is also sung in the movie.
  • In the 1960s, the tune of "London Bridge" was used as a series of jingles for BBC Radio 1, produced by PAMS.
  • On July 4, 2006, Fergie debuted the most modern-day version of "London Bridge" as the first single on her album The Dutchess.
  • Nu-metal band Korn utilizes the popular refrain of the rhyme in their song "Shoots and Ladders" which talks about the supposed sinister meaning behind nursery rhymes.
  • In the computer game God of Thunder, the player must ask Relg's TV & Bridge Repair to fix Creekin's Bridge, but among the choices when Thor talks to him are "My dental bridge" and "London Bridge". If the player tries to tell him "London Bridge", Relg says, "Sorry, we only work within a 50 mile radius."
  • The movie Halloween III heavily features an ad jingle for Silver Shamrock to the tune of "London Bridge is Falling Down": Happy Happy Halloween, Halloween, Halloween. Happy Happy Halloween, Silver Shamrock.
  • In the American Dad! episode "American Dream Factory", when Rodger takes over Steve's band, they decide to cover traditional songs, and they play Steve a sample of "London Bridge is Falling Down".
  • In the Animaniacs song "A Quake", part of the song is a parody of "London Bridge is Falling Down", that goes, "L.A. Town is falling down, while the ground moves around, but we won't let it get us down, we're Californians!"
  • The English punk band Anti-Nowhere League uses a segment from the song in a cover version of Streets of London, a song about downtrodden Londoners.
  • The BBC series A Ghost Story for Christmas program referenced a virgin sacrificial burial meaning of the song, in the 1972 episode A Warning to the Curious.
  • The TV series Dark Shadows (1966 - 1971) featured a little ghost girl, Sarah Collins, whose signature action was the singing of London Bridge.
  • The song appears in the trip-hop,gothic rock band Switchblade Symphony's song Gutter Glitter.
  • One of the contestants in NDTV Scholar Hunt Destination UK kept singing the rhyme during his interview.
  • Supporters of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club often used the tune of London Bridge as the basis for their song Sandwell Town are going down, which referred to the relegation of local rivals West Bromwich Albion from the English Premier League in 2003 and again in 2006.
  • Anarchists and football hooligans sing a song based on the tune of London Bridge with the lyrics changed to Harry Roberts is our friend, is our friend, is our friend, Harry Roberts is our friend, he kills coppers in reference to triple police killer Harry Roberts.
  • A World War II era song by Walter Kaner entitled "Moshi, Moshi Ano-ne" and sung to the tune of London Bridge was so popular with Japanese children and GIs alike that Stars and Stripes, the Army paper, called it “the Japanese occupation theme song.”

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Gibson, Michael (1972). The Vikings. London: Wayland, 73. ISBN 0853401640. 

[edit] External links

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