The great singing game of English nursery tradition, built from repeating verses that try one building material after another until stone finally holds. Its call-and-response structure and steady dance rhythm have made it a group favourite for centuries.
Sung to the playground tune everyone half-remembers.
From Mother Goose / Nursery Rhymes (traditional). See the whole collection.
London Bridge is broken down,
Dance over my Lady Lee;
London Bridge is broken down,
With a gay lady.
How shall we build it up again?
Dance over my Lady Lee;
How shall we build it up again?
With a gay lady.
Build it up with silver and gold,
Dance over my Lady Lee;
Build it up with silver and gold,
With a gay lady.
Silver and gold will be stole away,
Dance over my Lady Lee;
Silver and gold will be stole away,
With a gay lady.
Build it up with iron and steel,
Dance over my Lady Lee;
Build it up with iron and steel,
With a gay lady.
Iron and steel will bend and bow,
Dance over my Lady Lee;
Iron and steel will bend and bow,
With a gay lady.
Build it up with wood and clay,
Dance over my Lady Lee;
Build it up with wood and clay,
With a gay lady.
Wood and clay will wash away,
Dance over my Lady Lee;
Wood and clay will wash away,
With a gay lady.
Build it up with stone so strong,
Dance over my Lady Lee;
Huzza! 'twill last for ages long,
With a gay lady.
How it's usually said today
London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down.
London Bridge is falling down,
My fair lady.
Build it up with iron and steel,
Iron and steel, iron and steel,
Build it up with iron and steel,
My fair lady.
Iron and steel will bend and bow,
Bend and bow, bend and bow,
Iron and steel will bend and bow,
My fair lady.
Build it up with silver and gold,
Silver and gold, silver and gold,
Build it up with silver and gold,
My fair lady.
Traditional rhymes have no single fixed text. The main version on this page is as printed in our source edition; this one is the wording most people say today.
Public domain. Text from The Real Mother Goose (Blanche Fisher Wright, 1916), via Project Gutenberg. View the source edition