Singing Games are based on a particular verse or an entire rhyme, usually accompanied by a set of actions and movements. There can be different types of singing games, like starting songs, circle dances, clapping games or catching games among others.
Here we have collected the best singing games for free download, including their lyrics in PDF.
Table of Contents
Top 10 Singing Games
1.
Girls & Boys Come Out to Play
“Girls and Boys Come Out To Play” is a very old English song for children, as it appears in Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Song Book (London, 1744), the earliest collection of English-language nursery rhymes. Refers to the time when most children had to work and there was little time for play.
In fact, it wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution that education started being considered as absolutely necessary for all children (not only for kids of well-off families). It was when the custom for children to help their parents on the land during the day and play only in the afternoon started to disappear.
Lyrics
1. Girls and boys, 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.
2. 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.
3. You find milk, and I’ll find flour,
And we’ll have a pudding in half an hour
You find milk, and I’ll find flour,
And we’ll have a pudding in half an hour
4. Girls and boys, 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.
2.
Oranges and Lemons
“Oranges and Lemons” is a nursery rhyme and one of the most popular singing games. The text cites, through their bells who are supposed to talk to each other, several churches of London.
The first of them, St. Clement, could be referring to the church of St. Clement Danes or St. Clement Eastcheap, close to which there is a market of citrus fruits. The bells of St. Clement Danes are today tuned to the melody of the rhyme.
The last stanza appears for the first time in James Orchard Halliwell’s collection of English Nursery Rhymes, in 1840’s, while in earlier versions it was absent.
3.
The Muffin Man
“The Muffin Man” is a nursery rhyme first recorded around 1820.
The lyrics refer to a muffin man who probably delivered his product, as it was accustomed in the Victorian era, and came from Drury Lane, a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London.
Lyrics
1. Oh, do you know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Oh, do you know the muffin man,
Who lives in Drury Lane?
2. Oh, yes, I know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Oh, yes, I know the muffin man,
Who lives in Drury Lane
4.
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
“Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush” is is an English language nursery rhyme and singing game. It is also often titled “Mulberry Bush” or “This is the Way”. This rhyme is a singing game, which means it is associated with a set of actions and movements which help children to learn corresponding activities. The tune of the song is the same as the one of “Wheels on the bus”.
Lyrics
1. Here we go round the mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush.
Here we go round the mulberry bush,
So early in the morning.
2. This is the way we brush our teeth,
Brush our teeth, brush our teeth.
This is the way we brush our teeth,
So early in the morning.
3. This is the way we wash our face,
Wash our face, wash our face.
This is the way we wash our face,
So early in the morning.
4. This is the way we put on our clothes,
Put on our clothes, put on our clothes.
This is the way we put on our clothes,
So early in the morning.
5. Here we go round the mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush, the mulberry bush.
Here we go round the mulberry bush,
So early in the morning.
5.
Ring a Ring o’ Roses
Known as “Ring Around the Rosie” in the United States, this is a popular English playground singing game.
Concerning the meaning of lyrics and game, folklorists believe they are of pagan origins, while more recent readings, which appeared in the mid-twentieth century, associate the context with the Great Plague which happened in England in 1665, or with earlier outbreaks of the Black Death in England – although this is still considered speculation.
Lyrics
British version
Ring-a-ring-o’ roses
A pocket full of posies
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all fall down
American version
Ring-around the rosie,
A pocket full of posies,
Ashes! Ashes!
We all fall down.
6.
London Bridge is Falling Down
“London Bridge Is Falling Down” is a traditional nursery rhyme whose earliest known records are from the 17th century. The song recounts the attempts to repair the bridge of London.
The melody probably comes from a medieval theme, but its modern version formed in the late 19th century.Matilda of Scotland, Henry I’s consort, and Eleanor of Provence, consort of Henry III, had the responsibility of building or repairing works on early 11th and 13th century respectively and are two of the candidates for the “fair lady” of the chorus.
Lyrics
1. London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down.
London Bridge is falling down,
My fair lady.
2. Build it up with wood and clay,
Wood and clay, wood and clay,
Build it up with wood and clay,
My fair lady.
3. Wood and clay will wash away,
Wash away, wash away,
Wood and clay will wash away,
My fair lady.
4. Build it up with bricks and mortar,
Bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar,
Build it up with bricks and mortar,
My fair lady.
5. Bricks and mortar will not stay,
Will not stay, will not stay,
Bricks and mortar will not stay,
My fair lady.
6. Build it up with iron and steel,
Iron and steel, iron and steel,
Build it up with iron and steel,
My fair lady.
7. Iron and steel will bend and bow,
Bend and bow, bend and bow,
Iron and steel will bend and bow,
My fair lady.
8. Build it up with silver and gold,
Silver and gold, silver and gold,
Build it up with silver and gold,
My fair lady.
9. Silver and gold will be stolen away,
Stolen away, stolen away,
Silver and gold will be stolen away,
My fair lady.
10.Set a man to watch all night,
Watch all night, watch all night,
Set a man to watch all night,
My fair lady.
11.Suppose the man should fall asleep,
Fall asleep, fall asleep,
Suppose the man should fall asleep?
My fair lady.
12.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.
7.
Pat-a-Cake
“Pat-a-cake” is one of the oldest and most widely known surviving English nursery rhymes, as well as a clapping game.
The first recorded version appears in “The Campaigners”, a play written by Thomas D’Urfey in 1698, where the lyrics of the rhyme are sung by a nurse. The next appearance is in “Mother Goose’s Melody” (c. 1765).
Marking pastry or baked goods with an identifiable mark may stem from a time when households that did not own an oven of their own could have brought their items to a local baker or bake house. Marking the pastry would have been a way to ensure the return of the proper item.
Lyrics
Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker’s man.
Bake me a cake as fast as you can
Pat it and roll it and mark it with a “B”
And put it in the oven for baby and me!
For baby and me, for baby and me,
and put it in the oven for baby and me.
8.
The Farmer in the Dell
“The Farmer in the Dell” is a nursery rhyme and singing game.
The German song “Es fuhr ein Bau’r ins Holz” seems to be the same rhyme, despite the different plot of the story, and it was first recorded in Germany in 1826. It was probably immigrants that brought it to North America.
Lyrics
1. The farmer in the dell
The farmer in the dell
Heigh-ho, the derry-o
The farmer in the dell
2. The farmer takes a wife
The farmer takes a wife
Heigh-ho, the derry-o…
The farmer takes a wife
3. The wife takes the child
The wife takes the child
Heigh-ho, the derry-o…
The wife takes the child
4. The child takes the nurse
The child takes the nurse
Heigh-ho, the derry-o…
The child takes the nurse
5. The nurse takes the cow
The nurse takes the cow
Heigh-ho, the derry-o…
The nurse takes the cow
6. The cow takes the dog
The cow takes the dog
Heigh-ho, the derry-o…
The cow takes the dog
7. The dog takes the cat
The dog takes the cat
Heigh-ho, the derry-o…
The dog takes the cat
8. The cat takes the mouse (or rat)
The cat takes the mouse
Heigh-ho, the derry-o…
The cat takes the mouse
9. The mouse takes the cheese
The mouse takes the cheese
Heigh-ho, the derry-o…
The mouse takes the cheese
10. The cheese stands alone
The cheese stands alone
Heigh-ho, the derry-o…
The cheese stands alone
9.
Mrs. Macaroni
“Mrs. Macaroni” is a popular nursery rhyme and singing game from England.
Lyrics
Here comes Mrs. Macaroni,
Riding on her big fat pony,
Here she comes in all her glory,
Mrs. Macaroni
Rum tum, rum tum, Martinanna,
Rum tum, rum tum, Martinanna,
Rum tum, rum tum, Martinanna,
Mrs. Macaroni.
10.
Pop! Goes the Weasel
In Britain, “Pop! Goes the Weasel” has been played as a children’s game since at least the late 19th century. That would look like a common story if only this rhyme (with lyrics of a vague meaning) hadn’t started to become popular as “an old English dance” performed on stage and in dance-halls according to a music sheet acquired by the British Library in 1853.
Lyrics
1. ‘Round and ’round the cobbler’s bench
The monkey chased the weasel,
The monkey thought ’twas all in fun
Pop! Goes the weasel.
A penny for a spool of thread
A penny for a needle,
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! Goes the weasel.
2. A half a pound of tupenny rice,
A half a pound of treacle.
Mix it up and make it nice,
Pop! Goes the weasel.
A penny for a spool of thread
A penny for a needle,
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! Goes the weasel.
3. Up and down the London road,
In and out of the Eagle,
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! Goes the weasel.
A penny for a spool of thread
A penny for a needle,
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! Goes the weasel.
4. I’ve no time to plead and pine,
I’ve no time to wheedle,
Kiss me quick and then I’m gone
Pop! Goes the weasel.
A penny for a spool of thread
A penny for a needle,
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop! Goes the weasel.
Singing Games Video Playlist
Watch all the songs of this article in this video playlist:
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Please I want to know the forms of game songs