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'"London Bridge Is falling down"' is a well-known traditional nursery rhyme which is found in different versions all over the world.
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 the song's end to "catch" a player.

Contents

Lyrics

Alternative verses

The earliest printed English version

Meaning

Cultural references

See also

References

External links

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 gold and silver,
:gold and silver, gold and silver.
:Build it up with gold and silver,
: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 pins and needles,
:pins and needles, pins and needles.
:Build it up with pins and needles,
: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.
: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.
:Here's a prisoner I have got,
:I have got, I have got,
:Here's a prisoner I have got,
:My fair lady.
:Take the key and lock her up,
:Lock him up, lock him up,
:Take the key and lock her up,
:My fair lady.
:Silver and gold will set him free,
:Set him free, set him free,
:Silver and gold will set him free,
:My fair lady.

The earliest printed English version

In Tommy Thumb´s ''Pretty Song Book'' (1744) the text is like this:
: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, etc
:Build it up with Gravel, and Stone,
::Dance over my Lady Lee, etc
:Gravel, and Stone Will wash away,
::Dance over my Lady Lee, etc
:Build it up with Iron, and Steel,
::Dance over my Lady Lee, etc
:Iron, and Steel, Will bend, and Bow,
::Dance over my Lady Lee, etc
:Build it up with Silver, and Gold,
::Dance over my Lady Lee, etc
:Silver, and Gold Will be stolen away,
::Dance over my Lady Lee, etc
:Then we’ll set A man to Watch,
::Dance over my Lady Lee.
:Then we’ll set A man to Watch
::With a gay Lady

Meaning

The meaning of the rhyme is obscure. Most likely, 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 this more plausibly refers to Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Intriguingly, the rhyme is not confined to England and variants exist in many other western and central European countries.
One theory of origin is that the rhyme relates to the destruction of London Bridge by Olaf II of Norway in 1014 (alternatively cited as 1009 (reference 1)). Reportedly Olaf I of Norway also burned the bridge during raids in England during the 980's, the bridge was also destroyed by a tornado in 1091 and burned in 1136.

Cultural references

★ Modernist poet T.S. Eliot used the first two lines of this rhyme in his poem ''The Waste Land''.

★ The title of the 1993 movie ''Falling Down'' was inspired by this song, which is also sung in the movie.

★ In the 1960s, the tune of "London Bridge" was used as a series of jingles for BBC Radio 1, produced by PAMS.

★ On July 4, 2006, Fergie debuted the most modern-day version of "London Bridge" as the first single on her album ''The Dutchess''.

★ Nu-metal band Korn utilizes the popular refrain of the rhyme in their song Shoots and Ladders.

★ In the computer game God of Thunder, the player must ask Relg's TV & Bridge Repair to fix Creekin's Bridge, but among the choices when Thor talks to him are "My dental bridge" and "London Bridge". If the player tries to tell him "London Bridge", Relg says, "Sorry, we only work within a 50 mile radius."

★ The movie ''Halloween III'' heavily features an ad jingle for Silver Shamrock to the tune of "London Bridge is Falling Down": Happy Happy Halloween, Halloween, Halloween. Happy Happy Halloween, Silver Shamrock.

★ In the ''American Dad!'' episode "American Dream Factory", when Rodger takes over Steve's band, they decide to cover traditional songs, and they play Steve a sample of "London Bridge is Falling Down".

★ In the ''Animaniacs'' song "A Quake", part of the song is a parody of "London Bridge is Falling Down", that goes, "L.A. Town is falling down, while the ground moves around, but we won't let it get us down, we're Californians!"

★ The English punk band Anti-Nowhere League uses a segment from the song in a cover version of ''Streets of London'', a song about downtrodden Londoners.

★ The TV series ''Dark Shadows'' (1966 - 1971) featured a little ghost girl, Sarah Collins, whose signature action was the singing of London Bridge.

★ The song appears in the trip-hop,gothic rock band Switchblade Symphony's song Gutter Glitter.

★ One of the contestants in NDTV Scholar Hunt Destination UK kept singing the rhyme during his interview round.

See also

★ London Bridge

★ Nursery rhymes

★ Sagas

★ Dong, Dong, Dongdaemun - A Korean nursery rhyme, similar to London Bridge is Falling Down

References

1. The Vikings by Michael Gibson, Wayland (Publishers) Ltd 1972 page 73

External links

★ Lyrics and Origin of Lyrics

★ London Bridge Is Falling Down at KidsBuilder.com

★ Video Karaoke preview