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Knee bouncing

The Grand Old Duke of York

Good for:
Baby, Toddler
Tune:
“O! a-hunting we will go”, as collected by Cecil Sharp for Children’s Singing Games (London, 1909)
Hear how the tune goes, on a music box

The noble Duke of York, He had ten thousand men; He led them up to the top of the hill, And he led them down again.

Now, when they were up, they were up; And when they were down, they were down; And when they were only half way up, They were neither up nor down.

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. “The noble Duke of York, he had ten thousand men;” Bounce your knees gently, in time, like soldiers marching.
  3. “He led them up to the top of the hill,” Lift your heels slowly, so your knees and your baby rise a little.
  4. “And he led them down again.” Lower your heels slowly.
  5. “Now, when they were up, they were up;” Heels up again.
  6. “And when they were down, they were down;” Heels down.
  7. “And when they were only half way up,” Stop half way, and hold it there for a moment.
  8. “They were neither up nor down.” Up, down, up, down, quickly but gently, then finish with a cuddle.

Where it comes from

The Duke has borrowed his hill from the King of France. James Orchard Halliwell’s The Nursery Rhymes of England prints a verse where the king marches up the hill with twenty thousand men, comes down, and never goes up again. Halliwell found it in a pamphlet of 1642 that calls it “Old Tarlton’s Song”, after Richard Tarlton, a famous comic actor who died in 1588. The Real Mother Goose (1916) still has the king.

By the 1890s, people were singing about a Duke of York instead, and old books can’t agree what kind of duke he was. These words, from Children’s Singing Games (1909), have “the noble Duke of York”. Other books from the same years have “the brave old Duke of York”. Today most people sing “the grand old Duke of York”, and “marched them up” for “led them up”. Sing whichever you know.

Which duke was it? The usual guess is Prince Frederick, Duke of York, a son of George III who led the British army in Flanders in the 1790s. Others suggest Richard, Duke of York, who was killed at the Battle of Wakefield in 1460. There’s no good evidence for any of them. The rhyme was poking fun at a king of France long before, and it’s likely that a duke was simply swapped in.

The folk song collector Cecil Sharp printed the tune in the player for a children’s dance game, with two lines of dancers facing each other, as in a country dance. Its own words are about a fox hunt, and the book says the Duke of York words can be sung to it.

Old words

  • noble: from a family of high rank, like a duke.
  • ten thousand men: his soldiers.

Tips

  • Keep the bounces small and gentle, and keep hold all the time. Knee rides are for babies who can hold their heads up steadily; never shake a baby or throw them in the air.
  • Make the “half way up” pause last a little longer each time. The wait is the best bit.
  • For a toddler standing up, march on the spot, stand on tiptoes for “up” and crouch for “down”.

Where these words come from

Public domain. A traditional English rhyme. An older version about the King of France was in print by 1642, and the Duke of York had taken his place by the 1890s. Text from Children’s Singing Games, Set II, edited by Alice B. Gomme and Cecil J. Sharp (London: Novello, 1909), page 15, as scanned by the Internet Archive. Original source

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