Oranges & Lemons

Oranges & Lemons was the name of a dance for four couples in a square in the late 17th century. The lyrics to the rhyme were first written down in 1744 and since then it has become one of the most familiar nursery rhymes. The church bells that ring are all found in different parts of London.

Listen to Oranges & Lemons.
(Duration: 43 seconds)

Oranges and Lemons from the Book of Games, Kate Greenaway (1846-1901). Museum no. 60 C.14 (click image for larger 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 of Old Bailey.
When I grow rich
Say the bells of 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,
Here comes a chopper to chop off your head.'

The rhyme often goes with a playground game which involves children passing through an arch made by two children stretching their arms up together. The rhyme speeds up with every line, and ends with the children chanting ‘chop, chop, chop!’ The unlucky child who happens to be passing through the man-made archway at the time of the last chop is captured and goes to the back of the queue to become either an orange or a lemon. The game ends with a tug-of-war contest between the two teams.

The last two lines of the rhyme may refer to the tradition during public executions of church bells ringing as the convicted made their way through the streets to the scaffold.