Girls and Boys Come Out To Play
Encyclopedia
'Girls and Boys Come Out to Play' or 'Boys and Girls Come Out to Play' is a nursery rhyme
that has existed since at least 1708. It has a Roud Folk Song Index
number of 5452.
Other versions often put boys before girls in the opening line.
was reserved for late in the evening. The first two lines at least appeared in dance books (1708, 1719, 1728), satires (1709, 1725), and a political broadside (1711). It appeared in the earliest extant collection of nursery rhymes, Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book
published in London around 1744. The 1744 version included the first six lines.
Nursery rhyme
The term nursery rhyme is used for "traditional" poems for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the 19th century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.-Lullabies:...
that has existed since at least 1708. It has a Roud Folk Song Index
Roud Folk Song Index
The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of 300,000 references to over 21,600 songs that have been collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world...
number of 5452.
Lyrics
The most common versions of the rhyme are very similar to that collected by James Orchard Halliwell in the mid-nineteenth century:- Girls and boys, are come out to play,
- The moon doth shine as bright as day;
- Leave your supper, and leave your sleep,
- And come with your playfellows into the street.
- Come with a whoop, come with a call,
- Come with a good will or not at all.
- Up the ladder and down the wall,
- A halfpenny roll will serve us all.
- You find milk, and I'll find flour,
- And we'll have a pudding in half an hour.
Other versions often put boys before girls in the opening line.
History
The verse may date back to the time when children were expected to work during the daylight hours, and playPlay (activity)
Play is a term employed in ethology and psychology to describe to a range of voluntary, intrinsically motivated activities normally associated with pleasure and enjoyment...
was reserved for late in the evening. The first two lines at least appeared in dance books (1708, 1719, 1728), satires (1709, 1725), and a political broadside (1711). It appeared in the earliest extant collection of nursery rhymes, Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book
Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book
Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book is the earliest extant printed collection of English language nursery rhymes, published in London in 1744. It was a sequel to the lost Tommy Thumb's Song Book and contains the oldest version of many well-known and popular rhymes, as well as several that have been...
published in London around 1744. The 1744 version included the first six lines.
In popular culture
- Girls and Boys Come Out To Play is featured in the 1960s television series The PrisonerThe PrisonerThe Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
in the episodes 'The Girl Who Was DeathThe Girl Who Was Death"The Girl Who Was Death" is a television episode of the British science fiction-allegorical series, The Prisoner. It originally aired in the UK on ITV on 18 January 1968...
' and 'Once Upon a TimeOnce Upon a Time (The Prisoner)"Once Upon a Time" is the title of the 16th episode of the British science fiction-allegorical series, The Prisoner, starring Patrick McGoohan as Number Six...
'. - The song plays part of the storyline in the movie Tale of a Vampire starring Julian SandsJulian SandsJulian M. Sands is an English actor, known for his roles in the Best Picture nominee The Killing Fields, the cult film Warlock, A Room with a View, Arachnophobia, Vatel, the television series 24 and as Jor-El in the television series Smallville.-Career:Sands began his film career appearing in...
. The vampire, Alex, sings it to the child Annabell during a flash back and later the librarian who looks like her starts to sing it on her way home from work. - An atonal chiptune of Girls and Boys Come Out To Play features in the Sinclair ZX Spectrum game Skool DazeSkool DazeSkool Daze is a computer game created by David Reidy for the ZX Spectrum and released by Microsphere in 1985. A Commodore 64 port was subsequently made...
. - Lyrics were used in a song by The Incredible String Band.
- The melody is also repeatedly used in the mini-series Jekyll starring James NesbittJames NesbittJames Nesbitt is a Northern Irish actor. Born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Nesbitt grew up in the nearby village of Broughshane, before moving to Coleraine, County Londonderry. He wanted to become a teacher like his father, so he began a degree in French at the University of Ulster...
. The melody was playing at the very first time Hyde was invoked and it became his theme. - One of the graphic British public information films of the Keep Matches Away From Children series in 1975-76 showing severely burnt girls and boys in hospital wincing in pain as doctors and nurses tend to their wounds has a grim parody of the song which says girls and boys come out to play for heaven's sake keep all your matches away.