London Bridge is falling down


London Bridge is falling down - Definition

"London Bridge is falling down" is a well-known traditional nursery rhyme. 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 a certain point to "catch" a player.

Contents

1 History

2 Lyrics

2.1 Alternative verses

3 Meaning

4 See also

History

The earliest reference to the rhyme appears to be in a play of 1659, and it is recorded as being associated with children by 1720. The earliest known text dates from a little later, appearing in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book (circa 1744). It is likely, however, that it was already well-established by this time.

The rhyme may have had considerably more ancient antecedents. In 1013, London Bridge was burned down by King Ethelred and his Norwegian ally Olaf Haraldsson in a bid to divide the invading forces of the Danish king Svein Haraldsson. The event was recorded in the Saga of Olaf Haraldson, part of the Heimskringla composed around 1225 by Snorri Sturluson. Sturluson quotes extracts of a lay by a Norse poet, Ottar Svarte, including the following passage which is strikingly similar to parts of the 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! [1] (http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/Heimskringla/haraldson1.html)

However, the popular version probably originates from 1269, when Henry III granted the tolling right to Queen Eleanor. She is the "fair lady" who notably failed to spend the resulting funds on actually maintaining the structure.

Lyrics

In its original form (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 silver and gold,

Silver and gold, Silver and gold.

Build it up with silver and gold,

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 needles and pins,

Needles and pins, Needles and pins.

Build it up with needles and pins,

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.

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.

Silver and gold will be stolen away,

Stolen away, Stolen away.

Silver and gold will be stolen away,

My fair lady.

Meaning

The meaning of the rhyme is obscure. Most obviously, 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. It has been suggested that the "fair lady" who is "locked up" is a reference to an old practice of burying a dead virgin in the foundations of the bridge to ensure its strength through magical means, although the better view is that this refers to Queen Eleanor. Intriguingly, the rhyme is not confined to England and variants exist in many other western and central European countries.