An introduction to singing and dancing
Channel: British Library
Date: 2016-10-13

Throughout the Middle Ages, singing games were popular among groups of young adults, and often performed as courtship dances. By the turn of the 19th century, however, these songs had been rejected as ‘childish play’ for grownups, and children, as is often the case, took this relic of the adult world, dusted it down and appropriated it.

While some customary games such as ‘The Big Ship Sailed’ and ‘Orange Balls’ may still be heard across modern day playgrounds, children continue, as they always have, to borrow liberally from the media. Consequently the singing games that crowd Britain’s playgrounds are not simply regurgitations of traditional songs, nor mimicked performances of the latest pop song. Instead, they are a hybrid mixture of new and old, the transitory and the folkloric, blended together and tailored to the children’s needs.

The history and meanings of these songs and games often appear to have little relevance to children, who instead concentrate on the tunes, actions and lyrics. For example, one line from a singing game popular throughout the 1970s, began ‘I’ve got a daughter who lives in the … ’. The daughter, it seemed, lived in a number of places including the ocean, the autumn and Majorca. Although, as one girl admits, ‘it doesn’t make much sense’, the song is nevertheless sung with gusto.

Introduction by Michael Rosen.

Explore more films along with articles and teaching resources on the British Library’s Playtimes website: http://www.bl.uk/playtimes