Oranges and Lemons

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"Oranges and Lemons"
Sidewall, Oranges and Lemons Say the Bells of St. Clements, 1902 (CH 18604691).jpg
1902 machine print
Nursery rhyme
Publishedc. 1744
Genre Children's street song
Songwriter(s) Traditional

"Oranges and Lemons" is a traditional English nursery rhyme, folksong, and singing game which refers to the bells of several churches, all within or close to the City of London. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as No 13190. The earliest known printed version appeared c. 1744.

Contents

The rhyme has been referenced in a variety of works of literature and popular culture. The bells of St Clement Danes (one of many London churches associated with the rhyme) play the tune every day at 9 am, noon, 3 pm and 6 pm.

Lyrics

Oranges and Lemons
Map of the City of London and surrounding area with locations of churches mentioned in the song. (Stepney is just to the east. Click the map to enlarge.)
   Definitely one of the churches mentioned in most popular version of the rhyme.
   May possibly be alluded to in standard version.

Oranges and lemons,
Say the bells of St. Clement's.

You owe me five farthings,
Say the bells of St. Martin's.

When will you pay me?
Say the bells at Old Bailey.

When I grow rich,
Say the bells at Shoreditch.

When will that be?
Say the bells of Stepney.

I do not know,
Says the great bell at Bow.

Here comes a candle to light you to bed,
And here comes a chopper to chop off your head!
Chip chop chip chop the last man is dead [1]

Alternative versions

Oranges and Lemons
Map of the City of London and surrounding area with locations of churches mentioned in the alternative lyrics. (Click the map to enlarge.)
1  St Pancras Old Church (Fleetditch)
Panorama of London in 1543 from a 19th-century engraving by Nathaniel Whittock from a drawing by Antony van den Wyngaerde (c. 1543-50), showing the towers and spires of many of the churches mentioned in the rhyme Panorama of London in 1543 Wyngaerde Section 2.jpg
Panorama of London in 1543 from a 19th-century engraving by Nathaniel Whittock from a drawing by Antony van den Wyngaerde (c. 1543–50), showing the towers and spires of many of the churches mentioned in the rhyme

Gay go up, and gay go down,
To ring the bells of London town.

Bull's eyes and targets,
Say the bells of St. Margaret's.

Brickbats and tiles,
Say the bells of St. Giles’.

Halfpence and farthings,
Say the bells of St. Martin's.

Oranges and lemons,
Say the bells of St. Clement's.

Pancakes and fritters,
Say the bells of St. Peter's.

Two sticks and an apple,
Say the bells at Whitechapel.

Pokers and tongs,
Say the bells at St. John's.

Kettles and pans,
Say the bells at St. Ann's.

Old Father Baldpate,
Say the slow bells at Aldgate.

Maids in white Aprons
Say the bells of St Catherine's.

You owe me ten shillings,
Say the bells of St. Helen's.

When will you pay me?
Say the bells at Old Bailey.

When I grow rich,
Say the bells at Shoreditch.

Pray when will that be?
Say the bells of Stepney.

I'm sure I don't know,
Says the great bell at Bow.

Here comes a candle to light you to bed,
And here comes a chopper to chop off your head. [2]

As a game

Agnes Rose Bouvier00.jpg
Playing Oranges and Lemons. Picture by Agnes Rose Bouvier Nicholl, 1874
Oranges and Lemons (geograph 2382231).jpg
Statue of the game in Surrey, England

The song is used in a children's singing game with the same name, in which the players file, in pairs, through an arch made by two of the players (made by having the players face each other, raise their arms over their head, and clasp their partners' hands). The challenge comes during the final lines beginning "Here comes a chopper to chop off your head"; and on the final repetition of "chop" in the last line, the children forming the arch drop their arms to catch the pair of children currently passing through. These are then "out" and must form another arch next to the existing one. In this way, the series of arches becomes a steadily lengthening tunnel through which each set of two players has to run faster and faster to escape in time. [1]

Alternative versions of the game include: children caught "out" by the last rhyme may stand behind one of the children forming the original arch, instead of forming additional arches; and children forming "arches" may bring their hands down for each word of the last line, while the children passing through the arches run as fast as they can to avoid being caught on the last word. [3]

Origins and meaning

Illustration for the rhyme from The Only True Mother Goose Melodies (1833) Oranges&LemonsOTMG1833.jpg
Illustration for the rhyme from The Only True Mother Goose Melodies (1833)

Various theories have been advanced to account for the rhyme, including: that it deals with child sacrifice; that it describes public executions; that it describes Henry VIII's marital difficulties. [1] Problematically for these theories the last two lines, with their different metre, do not appear in the earlier recorded versions of the rhyme, including the first printed in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book (c. 1744), where the lyrics are:

Two Sticks and Apple,
Ring ye Bells at Whitechapple,
Old Father Bald Pate,
Ring ye Bells Aldgate,
Maids in White Aprons,
Ring ye Bells a St. Catherines,
Oranges and Lemons,
Ring ye bells at St. Clements,
When will you pay me,
Ring ye Bells at ye Old Bailey,
When I am Rich,
Ring ye Bells at Fleetditch,
When will that be,
Ring ye Bells at Stepney,
When I am Old,
Ring ye Bells at Pauls. [1]

There is considerable variation in the churches and lines attached to them in versions printed in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, which makes any overall meaning difficult to establish. The final two lines of the modern version were first collected by James Orchard Halliwell in the 1840s. [1]

"Oranges and Lemons" was the title of a square dance, published from the third (1657) edition onwards of The Dancing Master . [4] Similar rhymes naming churches and giving rhymes to their names can be found in other parts of England, including Shropshire and Derby, where they were sung on festival days on which bells would also have been rung. [1]

The identity of the London churches is not always clear, but the following have been suggested, along with some factors that may have influenced the accompanying statements: [1]

Melody

St Clement Danes

The tune is reminiscent of change ringing, and the intonation of each line is said to correspond with the distinct sounds of each church's bells. Today, the bells of St Clement Danes ring out the tune of the rhyme—as reported in 1940 the church's playing of the tune was interrupted during World War II due to Nazi bombing of the church during the Blitz. [8] [9] As is the case with almost all traditional songs, there were minor variations in the melody. Collector of British folk songs, James Madison Carpenter, recorded two versions of the song in the 1930s which are now available on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website: one in Garsington, Oxfordshire, [10] and another somewhere in either Yorkshire or Lincolnshire. [11] These recordings show slight melodic and lyrical variations.

Song settings

A setting of the full Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book version for choir was written by Bob Chilcott. Entitled "London Bells", it is the third movement of "Songs and Cries of London Town" (2001). [12]

Benjamin Till composed music based upon the nursery rhyme which was performed in 2009 at St Mary-le-Bow, London to honour 150 years of the great bell, Big Ben. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to a much larger manor and parish. Stepney Green is a remnant of a larger area of Common Land formerly known as Mile End Green.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aldgate</span> Human settlement in England

Aldgate was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Dunstan's, Stepney</span> Church

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Borough of Stepney</span> Metropolitan borough in the County of London

The Metropolitan Borough of Stepney was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London created in 1900. In 1965 it became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary-le-Bow</span> Church in Cheapside, City of London

The Church of St Mary-le-Bow is a Church of England parish church in the City of London, England. Located on Cheapside, one of the city's oldest thoroughfares, the church was founded in 1080, by Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury. Rebuilt several times over the ensuing centuries, the present church is the work of Sir Christopher Wren, following the Great Fire of London (1666). With its tall spire, it is still a landmark in the City of London, being the third highest of any Wren church, surpassed only by nearby St Paul's Cathedral and St Bride's, Fleet Street. At a cost of over £15,000, it was also his second most expensive, again only surpassed by St Paul's Cathedral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Clement Danes</span> Church in London, England

St Clement Danes is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London. It is now situated near the 19th-century Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. Although the first church on the site was reputedly founded in the 9th century by the Danes, the current building replaced the medieval church building and was completed in 1682 by celebrated architect Sir Christopher Wren. Wren's building was gutted by Luftwaffe bombing raids during the Blitz and not restored until 1958, when it was adapted to its current function as the central church of the Royal Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Clement's, Eastcheap</span> Church in London, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Singing game</span> Activity based on a verse or rhyme

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Martin Orgar</span> Church in London, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Leonard's, Shoreditch</span> Church in London Borough of Hackney, United Kingdom

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Clement's Day</span>

Saint Clement's Day was traditionally, and in some places still is, celebrated on 23 November, a festival between Halloween and Christmas. Pope Clement I is the patron saint of metalworkers and blacksmiths, and so these workers traditionally enjoyed a holiday on his feast day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worshipful Company of Parish Clerks</span> Guild of the City of London

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of Holy Trinity, Minories</span> Former church-site in London

Holy Trinity, Minories, was a Church of England parish church outside the eastern boundaries of the City of London, but within the Liberties of the Tower of London and therefore in the East End of London. The liberty was incorporated in the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney in 1899, and today is within the City of London. Converted from the chapel of a nunnery, Holy Trinity was in use as a church from the 16th century until the end of the 19th century. It survived as a parish hall until it was destroyed by bombing during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Botolph without Aldgate</span> Ancient parish in London

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 337–8.
  2. "The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor, June 29, 2011". Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  3. Oranges and Lemons (article in H2G2, an editable reference site hosted by bbc.co.uk).
  4. Playford’s Dancing Master: The Compleat Dance Guide. playforddances.com.
  5. 1 2 "The Meaning of the Oranges and Lemons Nursery Rhyme". Inspiring City. 7 April 2013.
  6. The Annotated Mother Goose, Nursery Rhymes Old and New, Arr. and Explained by William S. Baring-Gould & Ceil Baring-Gould. C. N. Potter. 5 December 1962. ISBN   9780517029596 via Google Books.
  7. Alchin, Linda Kathryn (5 December 2010). The Secret History of Nursery Rhymes. Linda Alchin. ISBN   9780956748621 via Google Books.
  8. The Layman's Magazine of the Living Church, Issues 1-20. Morehouse-Gorham. 1940. p. 5.
  9. "St Clement Danes, The Strand London WC2 : tourist information from". TourUK. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  10. "Orange and Lemons (VWML Song Index SN19197)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  11. "Bells of St [Clement's], The (VWML Song Index SN16826)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  12. "Chilcott: Songs and Cries of London Town – Oxford University Press". OUP. 19 July 2001. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  13. "BBC – Today – Ringing the dust off London's bells". BBC News. 10 July 2009. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  14. Opie, Iona; Opie, Peter (1985). The Singing Game. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. pp. 61–72.
  15. "The Bells of Rhymney". BBC. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2023.