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In this work we present the singing and clapping games that used to be played, or are still played, by children in Great Britain, and set forth as much of their histories as could be discovered. The singing game, fashionable amongst young adults in the Middle Ages, frowned upon in the 16th Century, and further suppressed in the 17th Century, was cultivated in 19th century America for strictly mora... More

In this work we present the singing and clapping games that used to be played, or are still played, by children in Great Britain, and set forth as much of their histories as could be discovered. The singing game, fashionable amongst young adults in the Middle Ages, frowned upon in the 16th Century, and further suppressed in the 17th Century, was cultivated in 19th century America for strictly moral reasons, and in Britain, briefly, out of misguided idealism. Today it is generally looked upon as belonging to the past. This volume, based on 30 years collecting and research, traces the histories of games such as "Ring a Ring o' Roses", "Oranges and Lemons", "Poor Jenny Is a Weeping", "The Farmers in His Den", and is an exposition both of the workings of folklore, and of perennial ways of young children when left to play on their own. Each of the 150 or so games is described in minute historical detail, but also, bluntly and vividly, by its most recent practitioners in playgrounds and backstreets up and down the country.

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