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London Bridge is Falling Down

London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, Falling down.
London Bridge is falling down,
My fair lady.

Take a key and lock her up,
Lock her up, Lock her up.
Take a key and lock her up,
My fair lady.

How will we build it up,
Build it up, Build it up?
How will we build it up,
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.

Gold and silver I have none,
I have none, I have none.
Gold and silver I have none,
My fair lady.

Build it up with needles and pins,
Needles and pins, Needles and pins.
Build it up with needles and pins,
My fair lady.

Pins and needles bend and break,
Bend and break, Bend and break.
Pins and needles bend and break,
My fair lady.

Build it up with wood and clay,
Wood and clay, Wood and clay.
Build it up with wood and clay,
My fair lady.

Wood and clay will wash away,
Wash away, Wash away.
Wood and clay will wash away,
My fair lady.

Build it up with stone so strong,
Stone so strong, Stone so strong.
Build it up with stone so strong,
My fair lady.

Stone so strong will last so long,
Last so long, Last so long.
Stone so strong will last so long,
My fair lady.






History:

The significance of the poem is vague. Most noticeably, it relates to the a lot of difficulties experienced in bridging the River Thames: London's previous bridges did certainly "wash away" before a bridge built of "stone so strong" was constructed. It has been suggested that the "fair lady" who is "locked up" is a allusion to an old practice of burying a deceased virgin in the foundations of the bridge to make sure its strength through supernatural means, though this more believably refers to Queen Eleanor. Interestingly, the poem is not restricted to England and variants exist in a lot of additional western and central European countries.

The nursery rhyme may have had significantly more antiquated antecedents. In 1013, London Bridge was burned down by King Ethelred and his Norwegian ally Olaf Haraldsson in a bid to split the invading armed forces of the Danish king Svein Haraldsson. The event was recorded in the Saga of Olaf Haraldson, part of the Heimskringla composed approximately 1225 by Snorri Sturluson.

The first allusion to the rhyme appears to be in a play of 1659, and it is recorded as being linked with kids by 1720. The first recognized book dates from a little afterward, appearing in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book (circa 1744). It is probable, though, that it was by now well-recognized by this time. However, the well-liked account almost certainly originates from 1269, when Henry III established the tolling right to Queen Eleanor. She is the "fair lady" who remarkably failed to use the ensuing money on actually maintaining the construction.

 
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