london_bridge
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London Bridge London Bridge is falling down, Falling down, falling down. London Bridge is falling down, 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. London Bridge is falling down, Falling down, falling down. London Bridge is falling down, 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. ESOL Music @ ESOL UK 1 Alternative and full versions London Bridge 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, ESOL Music @ ESOL UK 2 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 (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 ESOL Music @ ESOL UK 3 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.[1] The oldest extant version is probably that recalled by a correspondent to the Gentleman's Magazine in 1823, which he heard from a women who was a child in the reign of Charles II (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. ESOL Music @ ESOL UK 4 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, but a number of alternative theories have been put forward. The Viking attack theory One theory of origin is that the rhyme relates to supposed destruction of London Bridge by Olaf II of Norway in 1014 (or 1009).[2] The nineteenth century translation of the Norse saga the Heimskringla, published by Samuel Laing in 1844, included a verse by Óttarr svarti, 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.[3] Some historians doubt that the attack ever took place.[4] 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 (18948) and perpetuated by the usually sceptical Iona and Peter Opie.[3] This was based around the idea that 'primitive' cultures believed 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.[3] The fair lady 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'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.[3] Eleanor of Provence (c. 1223–91), consort of Henry III who had custody of the bridge revenues from 1269 to about 1281.[3] A member of the Leigh family of Stoneleigh Park, 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 'Bro, Bro Brille' from Denmark, 'Die Magdeburger Brück' from Germany, 'pont chus' from sixteenth-century France; and 'Le porte', from ESOL Music @ ESOL UK 5 fourteenth-century Italy. It is possible that the rhyme was acquired from one of these sources and then adapted to fit the most famous bridge in England.[1] 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. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Bridge_Is_Falling_Down http://www.famousquotes.me.uk/nursery_rhymes ESOL Music @ ESOL UK 6 Teaching activities: Use different tasks for the lyrics which include: - audio gapfill, remove key words and listen - word choice, provide two options and students have to listen and identify; e.g. 'everywhere I walk/talk' - put words in order, then listen and check - put the lines of the stanza in order, then listen and check - spot words which are "spelled wrong" - complete abbreviations, cos = because - spot missing words in a line - spot extra words in a line - break up each line in two, jumble the sentences and do a matching exercise - predict rhyming words - use as a frame for writing ESOL Music @ ESOL UK 7
