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Knee bouncing

Ride a Cock-Horse to Banbury Cross

Good for:
Baby, Toddler
Tune:
The tune in Our Old Nursery Rhymes (London, 1911), harmonised by Alfred Moffat
Hear how the tune goes, on a music box

Ride a cock-horse To Banbury Cross, To see a fine lady ride on a white horse; With rings on her fingers And bells on her toes So she shall have music Wherever she goes.

How to play

  1. Before you start: sit your baby on your knees, facing you, and hold them securely under their arms. A toddler can hold both your hands.
  2. “Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross,” Bounce your knees gently, like a horse walking along.
  3. “To see a fine lady ride on a white horse;” Keep bouncing, a little higher if they’re enjoying it.
  4. “With rings on her fingers” Stop and wiggle their fingers.
  5. “And bells on her toes” Wiggle their toes, or jingle their feet.
  6. “So she shall have music wherever she goes.” Bounce to the end, then open your knees a little and let them dip down between them, holding on firmly: “Whoops!”

Where it comes from

The earliest version like this one was printed in Gammer Gurton’s Garland (London, 1784). A different verse about riding to Banbury Cross is older still, in Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Song Book (about 1744).

Banbury is a market town in Oxfordshire. Its old cross was taken down around 1600, and the town has a newer cross today, with a statue of the fine lady on her white horse nearby. Nobody knows who she was, though many people have guessed.

These words and the tune in the player come from Our Old Nursery Rhymes (1911). Some older books have “an old lady” instead of “a fine lady”. Either works.

Old words

  • cock-horse: from the 1500s, a toy horse, such as a hobby horse, or a grown-up’s knee for a child to ride on. It could also mean a lively horse.
  • Banbury Cross: a stone cross in the middle of Banbury.

Tips

  • Keep the bounces small and gentle. Knee rides are for babies who can hold their heads up steadily; never shake a baby.
  • Change the pace: walk, trot, then gallop, and slow down again before the dip.
  • Sing it again with your toddler’s name in place of the fine lady.

Where these words come from

Public domain. A traditional English rhyme. The earliest version like this one was printed in Gammer Gurton’s Garland (London, 1784). Text from Our Old Nursery Rhymes, the original tunes harmonised by Alfred Moffat (London: Augener, 1911), as transcribed by Project Gutenberg (eBook #61009). Original source

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