The bells of old London churches, from St. Helen's to St. John's, gossip about debts and odd bits of shopping in a call-and-response chant. It works best read aloud in a different voice for every bell.
From Mother Goose / Nursery Rhymes (traditional). See the whole collection.
"You owe me five shillings,"
Say the bells of St. Helen'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 of Bow.
"Two sticks in an apple,"
Ring the bells of Whitechapel.
"Halfpence and farthings,"
Say the bells of St. Martin's.
"Kettles and pans,"
Say the bells of St. Ann's.
"Brickbats and tiles,"
Say the bells of St. Giles.
"Old shoes and slippers,"
Say the bells of St. Peter's.
"Pokers and tongs,"
Say the bells of St. John's.
About this rhyme
This one walks through the bells of old London, each with its own voice and its own line, in the same call and response shape as Oranges and Lemons. St Helen's wants money owed, the Old Bailey wants to know when, and so on down the list. Try a different voice for each bell, high for one, gruff for the next.
Public domain. Text from The Real Mother Goose (Blanche Fisher Wright, 1916), via Project Gutenberg. View the source edition