London Bridge is Falling Down - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

"London Bridge Is Falling Down" is a well-known traditional nursery rhyme

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:...

and singing game

Singing game

A singing game is an activity based around a particular verse or rhyme, usually associated with a set of actions and movements. They have been studied by folklorists, ethnologists and psychologists and are seen as important part of childhood culture...

, which is found in different versions all over the world. 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 502.

Lyrics

There is considerable variation in the lyrics of the rhyme. The most frequently used first verse is:

London Bridge
London Bridge
London Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames, connecting the City of London and Southwark, in central London. Situated between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the Pool of London...

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

In the version quoted by Iona and Peter Opie in 1951 the full lyrics were:

London Bridge is broken down,
Falling down, falling down.
London Bridge is falling down,
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 bricks and mortar,
Bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar,
Build it up with bricks and mortar,
My fair lady.

Bricks and mortar will not stay,
Will not stay, will not stay,
Bricks and mortar will not stay,
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 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.

The earliest printed English version is in 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...

(c. 1744) with the following text:

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, &c.

Build it up with
Gravel, and Stone,
Dance over my Lady Lee, &c.

Gravel, and Stone,
Will wash away,
Dance over my Lady Lee, &c.

Build it up with
Iron, and Steel,
Dance over my Lady Lee, &c.

Iron, and Steel,
Will bend, and Bow,
Dance over my Lady Lee, &c.

Build it up with
Silver, and Gold,
Dance over my Lady Lee, &c.

Silver, and Gold
Will be stolen away,
Dance over my Lady Lee, &c.

Then we'l set
A man to Watch,
Dance over my Lady Lee.
Then we'l set
A man to Watch,
With a gay Lady.

Another version replaces the last verse with:

Build it up with stone so strong,
Dance over my Lady Lee,
Hurrah, 'twill last for ages long,
With a gay lady.

The oldest extant version could be that recalled by a correspondent to the Gentleman's Magazine in 1823, which he claimed to have heard from a woman who was a child in the reign of Charles II

Charles II of England

Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

(r. 1660-1685).

London Bridge is broken down,

Dance over the Lady Lea;

London Bridge is broken down,

With a gay lady (la-dee).

The subsequent verses began with the lines, with lines in italics above repeated between them:

Then we must build it up again.
What shall we build it up withal?
Build it up with iron and steel,
Iron and steel will bend and break.
Build it up with wood and stone,
Wood and stone will fall away.
Then we must set a man to watch,
Suppose the man should fall asleep?
Then we must put a pipe in his mouth,
Suppose the pipe should fall and break?
Then we must set a dog to watch,
Suppose the dog should run away?
Then we must chain him to a post.

Meaning and origin

The meaning of the rhyme is not certain. It may simply relate to the many difficulties experienced in bridging the River Thames

River Thames

The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

, but a number of alternative theories have been put forward.

Viking attack theory

One theory of origin is that the rhyme relates to supposed destruction of London Bridge by Olaf II of Norway

Olaf II of Norway

Olaf II Haraldsson was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030. Enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral...

in 1014 (or 1009). The nineteenth century translation of the Norse saga the Heimskringla
Heimskringla
Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...

, published by Samuel Laing

Samuel Laing (travel writer)

Samuel Laing from Papdale in Orkney was a Scottish travel writer. He travelled in Scandinavia and northern Germany and published descriptions of these countries....

in 1844, included a verse by Óttarr svarti

Óttarr svarti

Óttarr svarti was an 11th century Icelandic skald. He was the court poet first of Óláfr skautkonungr of Sweden, then of Óláfr Haraldsson of Norway, the Swedish king Anund Jacob and finally of Cnut the Great of Denmark and England...

, that looks very similar to the nursery rhyme:

London Bridge is broken down. —
Gold is won, and bright renown.

Shields resounding,

War-horns sounding,

Hild is shouting in the din!

Arrows singing,

Mail-coats ringing —

Odin makes our Olaf win!

However, modern translations make it clear that Laing was using the nursery rhyme as a model for his very free translation, and the reference to London Bridge does not appear at the start of the verse and it is unlikely that this is an earlier version of the nursery rhyme. Some historians doubt that the attack ever took place.

Child sacrifice theory

The theory that the song refers to the burying, perhaps alive, of children in the foundations of the bridge was first advanced by Alice Bertha Gomme (later Lady Gomme) in The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland (1894-8) and perpetuated by the usually sceptical Iona and Peter Opie. This was based around the idea that a bridge would collapse unless the body of a human sacrifice were buried in its foundations. However, there is no archaeological evidence for any human remains in the foundations of London Bridge.

Age and damage theory

According to Walt Disney

Walt Disney

Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...

's The Truth About Mother Goose (1957) the rhyme refers to the deterioration of the original London Bridge (built in 1176, which had been considered a wonder of the world) due to a combination of age and the Great Fire of London

Great Fire of London

The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...

of 1666. This original bridge was finally ordered demolished on 4 July 1823, when Royal Assent is given for Act to Rebuild London Bridge.

"Fair lady" identity

Several attempts have been made to identify the 'fair lady', 'lady gay', or lady 'lee/lea' of the rhyme. They include:

Matilda of Scotland (c. 1080–1118) Henry I
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...

's consort, who between 1110 and 1118 was responsible for the building of the series of bridges that carried the London-Colchester road across the River Lea and its side streams between Bow and Stratford.

Eleanor of Provence
Eleanor of Provence
Eleanor of Provence was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Henry III of England from 1236 until his death in 1272....

(c. 1223–91), consort of Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...

who had custody of the bridge revenues from 1269 to about 1281.

A member of the Leigh family of Stoneleigh Park
Stoneleigh Park
Stoneleigh Events is located south west of the village of Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, in the West Midlands of England.The site covers about , of which is maintained...

, Warwickshire, who have a family tradition that a human sacrifice lies under the building.

Other versions

Similar rhymes can be found across Europe, pre-dating the records in England. These include 'Knippelsbro Går Op og Ned' from Denmark, 'Die Magdeburger Brück' from Germany, 'pont chus' from sixteenth-century France; and 'Le porte', from fourteenth-century Italy or 'Podul de piatra' song and game from Romania. It is possible that the rhyme was acquired from one of these sources and then adapted to fit the most famous bridge in England.

Football hooligans

Football hooliganism

Football hooliganism, sometimes referred to by the British media as the English Disease, is unruly and destructive behaviour—such as brawls, vandalism and intimidation—by association football club fans...

across England are known for taunting police officers at matches with the song; "Harry Roberts

Harry Roberts (murderer)

Harry Maurice Roberts is a career criminal who instigated the Shepherd's Bush Murders in which three police officers were shot dead in 1966. The killings happened after the plain-clothed officers approached the van which Roberts and two other men were sitting in, in Braybrook Street, near Wormwood...

he's our friend, he's our friend, he's our friend. He kills coppers. Let him out to kill some more, kill some more."

The game

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. In America it is common for two teams of those that have been caught to engage in a tug of war. This game is similar to some versions of Oranges and Lemons

Oranges and Lemons

"Oranges and Lemons" is an English nursery rhyme and singing game which refers to the bells of several churches, all within or close to the City of London. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as #3190.-Lyrics:Common modern versions include:...