Volume I Part 81 The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland

Volume I Part 81

Penny loaves will melt away.

Build it up with iron and steel.

Iron and steel will bend and bow.

Build it up with silver and gold.

Silver and gold I have not got.

What has this poor prisoner done?

Stole my watch and broke my chain.

How many pounds will set him free?

Three hundred pounds will set him free.

The half of that I have not got.

Then off to prison he must go.

-Crockham Hill, Kent (Miss E. Chase).

(_b_) This game is now generally played like "Oranges and Lemons," only there is no "tug-of-war" at the end. Two children hold up their clasped hands to form an arch. The other children form a long line by holding to each other's dresses or waists, and run under. Those who are running under sing the first verse; the two who form the arch sing the second and alternate verses. At the words, "What has this poor prisoner done?"

the girls who form the arch catch one of the line (generally the last one). When the last verse is sung the prisoner is taken a little distance away, and the game begins again. At Clun the players form a ring, moving round. They sing the first and alternate verses, and chorus, "London Bridge is broken down." Two players outside the ring run round it, singing the second and alternate verses. When singing "Penny loaves'll get stole away," one of the two outside children goes into the ring, the other remains and continues her part, singing the next verse.

When the last verse is sung the prisoner is released. The Berkshire game (Miss Kimber) is played by the children forming two long lines, each line advancing and retiring alternately while singing their parts. When the last verse is begun the children form a ring and gallop around, all singing this last verse together. In the Cork version (Mrs. Green) the children form a circle by joining hands. They march round and round, singing the verses to a sing-song tune. When singing, "If the c.o.c.k should meet a hen," they all unclasp hands; two hold each other's hands and form an arch. The rest run under, saying the last verse. The "arch"

lower their hands and try to catch the last child.

(_c_) The a.n.a.lysis of the game-rhymes is on pp. 342-45. It appears from this a.n.a.lysis that the London version is alone in its faithful reflection of an actual building episode. Three other versions introduce the incident of watching by a man, and failing him, a dog or c.o.c.k; while five versions introduce a prisoner. This incident occurs the greatest number of times. It is not surprising that the London version seems to be the most akin to modern facts, being told so near the spot indicated by the verses, and on this account it cannot be considered as the oldest of the variants. There remain the other two groups. Both are distinguished by the introduction of a human element, one as watchman, the other as prisoner. The watchman incident approaches nearer to modern facts; the prisoner incident remains unexplained by any appeal to modern life, and it occurs more frequently than the others. In only one case, the Shropshire, is the prisoner ransomed; in the others he is sent to prison. Besides this main line of criticism brought out by the a.n.a.lysis there is little to note. The Hurstmonceux version begins with taking lambs over London Bridge, and the Shropshire version with the players themselves going over; but these are doubtless foreign adjuncts, because they do not properly prefix the main incident of the bridge being broken. The Belfast version has a curious line, "Grant said the little bee or dee," which the Cork version renders, "Gran says the little D."

To these there is now no meaning that can be traced, but they help to prove that the rhyme originated from a state of things not understood by modern players. In all the versions with the prisoner incident it comes quite suddenly, without any previous indication, except in the Kent version, which introduces the exclamation, "Here's a prisoner I have got!" As the a.n.a.lysis shows the prisoner incident to be a real and not accidental part of the game, and the unmeaning expressions to indicate an origin earlier than modern players can understand, we can turn to other facts to see if the origin can be in any way traced.

a.n.a.lYSIS OF GAME-RHYMES.

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

No.

Belfast.

Halliwell.

Liphook.

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

L. B. is broken down.

Grant said the little

bee.

Dance o'er my lady

lee.

My fair lady.

10.

With a gay lady.

11.

Where I'd be.

12.

How shall we build it

up again?

13.

Stones and lime will

Build it up with

build it up.

bricks and mortar.

14.

Bricks and mortar will

not stay.

15.

Build it up with penny

loaves.

16.

Penny loaves will

mould away.

17.

18.

Silver and gold will

be stole away.

19.

Build it up with iron

and steel.

20.

Iron and steel will

bend and bow.

21.

22.

23.

Build it up with wood

and clay.

24.

Wood and clay will

wash away.

25.

Build it up with stone

so strong.

26.

Get a man to watch all

night.

27.

Perhaps that man might

fall asleep.

28.

29.

What has this poor

prisoner done?

30.

Stole my watch and

lost my key.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

Get a dog to watch all

night.

37.

If that dog should run

away.

38.

Give that dog a bone

to pick.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

Off to prison you must

go.

45.

Huzza! it will last

for ages long.

46.

47.

48.

49.

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

No.

Hurstmonceux.

Shropshire.

Kent.

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

Where are these great

baa-lambs going?

My fair lady.

We are going to L. B.

Over L. B. we go.

L. B. is broken down.

My fair lady.

10.

Gay ladies, gay.

11.

12.

13.

Mend it up with bricks

Build it up with lime

and mortar.

and sand.

14.

Lime and sand will

wash away.

15.

Mend it up with penny

Build it up with penny

loaves.

16.

Penny loaves will wash

Penny loaves'll get

Penny loaves will

away.

stole away.

tumble down.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

Mend it up with pins

and needles.

22.

Pins and needles they

Pins and needles rust

will break.

and bend.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

Here's a prisoner I

have got.

29.

What has this great

O, what has my poor

What's the prisoner

prisoner done?

done to you?

30.

Stole a watch and lost

Stole my watch and

the key.

broke my chain.

31.

Robbed a house and

killed a man.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

What will you have to

What will you take to

set her free?

let him out?

42.

Fourteen pounds and a

Ten hundred pounds

wedding gown.

will let him out.

43.

Then a hundred pounds

we have not got.

44.

Off to prison you must

Then off to prison you

go.

must go.

45.

46.

47.

Stamp your foot and

let her go.

48.

49.

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

No.

Enborne.

Cork.

Crockham Hill.

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

L. B. is broken down.

L. B. is falling down.

Says the little D.

My fair lady.

Fair lady.

My fair lady.

10.

11.

12.

13.

Build it up with

Build it up with lime

mortar and bricks.

and stone.

14.

Mortar and bricks will

Lime and stone would

waste away.

15.

Build it up with penny

loaves.

16.

Penny loaves will melt

away.

17.

Build it up with

silver and gold.

18.

Silver and gold will

Silver and gold would

Silver and gold I have

be stolen away.

not got.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

We'll set a man to

Set a man to watch all

watch all night.

night.

27.

Suppose the man should

If the man should fall

fall asleep.

asleep.

28.

29.

What has this poor

prisoner done?

30.

Stole my watch and

broke my chain.

31.

32.

Give him a pipe of

tobacco to smoke.

33.

Suppose the pipe

should fall and break.

34.

We'll give him a bag

of nuts to crack.

35.

Suppose the nuts were

rotten and bad.

36.

Set a dog to bark all

night.

37.

If the dog should meet

a bone.

38.

39.

Set a c.o.c.k to crow

all night.

40.

If the c.o.c.k should

meet a hen.

41.

How many pounds will

set him free?

42.

Three hundred pounds

will set him free.

43.

The half of that I

have not got.

44.

Then off to prison he

must go.

45.

46.

47.

48.

We'll give him a horse

to gallop around.

49.

Here comes my lord

Duke, let everyone

pa.s.s by but the very

last one.

+---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

(_d_) This game is universally acknowledged to be a very ancient one, but its origin is a subject of some diversity of opinion. The special feature of the rhymes is that considerable difficulty occurs in the building of the bridge by _ordinary_ means, but without exactly suggesting that extraordinary means are to be adopted, a prisoner is suddenly taken. The question is, What does this indicate?

Looking to the fact of the widespread superst.i.tion of the foundation sacrifice, it would seem that we may have here a tradition of this rite.

So recently as 1872, there was a scare in Calcutta when the Hooghly Bridge was being constructed. The natives then got hold of the idea that Mother Ganges, indignant at being bridged, had at last consented to submit to the insult on condition that each pier of the structure was founded on a layer of children's heads (Gomme's _Early Village Life_, p.

29). Formerly, in Siam, when a new city gate was being erected, it was customary for a number of officers to lie in wait and seize the first four or eight persons who happened to pa.s.s by, and who were then buried alive under the gate-posts to serve as guardian angels (Tylor's _Primitive Culture_, i. 97). Other instances of the same custom and belief are given in the two works from which these examples are taken; and there is a tradition about London Bridge itself, that the stones were bespattered with the blood of little children. Fitzstephen, in his well-known account of London of the twelfth century, mentions that when the Tower was built the mortar was tempered with the blood of beasts.

Prisoners' heads were put on the bridge after execution down to modern times, and also on city gates.

These traditions about London, when compared with the actual facts of contemporary savagery, seem to be sufficient to account for such a game as that we are now examining having originated in the foundation sacrifice. Mr. Newell, in his examination of the game, gives countenance to this theory, but he strangely connects it with other games which have a tug-of-war as the finish. Now in all the English examples it is remarkable that the tug-of-war does not appear to be a part of the game; and if this evidence be conclusive, it would appear that this incident got incorporated in America. It is this incident which Mr. Newell dwells upon in his ingenious explanation of the mythological interpretation of the game. But apart from this, the fact that the building of bridges was accompanied by the foundation sacrifice is a more likely origin for such a widespread game which is so intimately connected with a bridge.

This view is confirmed by what may be called the literary history of the game. The verses, as belonging to a game, have only recently been recorded, and how far they go back into tradition it is impossible to say. Dr. Rimbault is probably right when he states "that they have been formed by many fresh additions in a long series of years, and [the game]

is perhaps almost interminable when received in all its different versions" (_Notes and Queries_, ii. 338). In _Chronicles of London Bridge_, pp. 152, 153, the author says he obtained the following note from a Bristol correspondent:-"About forty years ago, one moonlight night in the streets of Bristol, my attention was attracted by a dance and chorus of boys and girls, to which the words of this ballad gave measure. The breaking down of the Bridge was announced as the dancers moved round in a circle hand in hand, and the question, 'How shall we build it up again?' was chanted by the leader while the rest stood still." This correspondent also sent the tune the children sang, which is printed in the _Chronicles of London Bridge_. This was evidently the same game, but it would appear that the verses have also been used as a song, and it would be interesting to find out which is the more ancient of the two-the song or the game; and to do this it is necessary that we should know something of the history of the song. A correspondent of _Notes and Queries_ (ii. 338) speaks of it as a "lullaby song" well known in the southern part of Kent and in Lincolnshire. In the _Gentleman's Magazine_ (1823, Part II. p. 232) appeared the following interesting note:-

The projected demolition of London Bridge recalls to my mind the introductory lines of an old ballad which more than seventy years ago I heard plaintively warbled by a lady who was born in the reign of Charles II., and who lived till nearly the end of that of George II. I now transcribe the lines, not as possessing any great intrinsic merit, but in the hope of learning from some intelligent correspondent the name of the author and the story which gave rise to the ballad, for it probably originated in some accident that happened to the old bridge. The "Lady Lea" evidently refers to the river of that name, the favourite haunt of Isaac Walton, which, after fertilising the counties of Hertford, Ess.e.x, and Middles.e.x, glides into the Thames.

London Bridge is broken down, _Dance over the Lady Lea_; London Bridge is broken down, _With a gay lady_ [_la-dee_].

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.

Build it up with silver and gold, Silver and gold will be stolen 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.

The two lines in _italic_ are all regularly repeated after each line.-M. Green.

Another correspondent to this magazine, in the same volume, p. 507, observes that the ballad concerning London Bridge "formed, in my remembrance, part of a Christmas Carol, and commenced thus-

Dame, get up and bake your pies, On Christmas-day in the morning.

The requisition goes on to the dame to prepare for the feast, and her answer is-

London Bridge is fallen down, On Christ-mas day in the morning, &c.

The inference always was, that until the bridge was rebuilt some stop would be put to the Dame's Christmas operations; but why the falling of London Bridge should form part of a Christmas Carol at Newcastle-upon-Tyne I am at a loss to know." Some fragments were also printed in the _Mirror_ for November 1823; and a version is also given by Ritson, _Gammer Gurton's Garland_. The _Heimskringla_ (Laing, ii.

260, 261) gives an animated description of the Battle of London Bridge, when Ethelred, after the death of Sweyn, was a.s.sisted by Olaf in retaking and entering London, and it is curious, that the first line of the game-rhyme appears-

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.

If this is anything more than an accidental parallel, we come back to an historical episode wherein the breaking down and rebuilding of London Bridge occur, and it looks as if the two streams down which this tradition has travelled, namely, first, through the game, and second, through the song, both refer to the same event.

Dr. Rimbault has, in his _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 34, reconstructed a copy of the original rhyme from the versions given by Halliwell and the _Mirror_, and gives the tune to which it was sung, which is reprinted here. The tune from Kent is the one generally used in London versions.

The tune of a country dance called "London Bridge" is given in Playford's _Dancing Master_, 1728 edition.

[4] Another informant gives the refrain, "Grand says the little Dee."

[5] I have identified this with a version played at Westminster and another taught to my children by a Hanwell girl.-A. B. G.

Long-duck

A number of children take hold of each other's hands and form a half-circle. The two children at one end of the line lift up their arms, so as to form an arch, and call "Bid, bid, bid," the usual cry for calling ducks. Then the children at the other end pa.s.s in order through the arch. This process is repeated, and they go circling round the field.-Addy's _Sheffield Glossary_.

See "Duck Dance."

Long Tag

See "Long Terrace."

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