I was listening to a kid's tape with my daughter and they were doing the song One - Two - Buckle my shoe. When they go to 3 - 4, I was surprised to hear something different than what I was brought up with.

So which is it or do you even know different versions??

I always remembered it as being "shut the door."

Hope that helps
~Amanda

Just to let you know, the Kid song said Open the Door, which is different than what I was brought up with.

James

Now that I have kids and am listening to kid music once more, I've noticed that a lot of songs have variations in the lyrics -- and then there's "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" which has the same words but two different tunes...

PJ
and p.s., it's "Shut the Door" <g>

After doing a web search I've also found Knock on the door!

And the 9 - 10 a big fat hen can also be A good fat hen.

And that it goes all the way up to 20.

Will wonders never end.

James

The variations on these kind of things are endless it seems.

I remember a few years back, trawling through a website on English language, I was just as amazed as you were with this, James, to find literally dozens of variations on the old rhyme taught to children about months. There were loads of variations just within the US, let alone in the rest of the world.

For the record, I was taught this version:

30 days hath September
April, June and November
All the rest have 31
Except February alone.
Which has 28 days clear.
And 29 in each Leap Year.

It was fascinating to see all the others though. So many ways to say the same thing.

LabRat

Labby -- I could never remember any of it past "30 days hath September." My mom taught me to remember how long the months were by using my knuckles.

You make a fist and start at the pinky knuckle as January. The hollow between the pinky and the ring finger knuckles is February, and so on. When you get to the pointer finger, it's July, and then you hop back to the pinky for August. The knuckles are 31 days and the hollows are 30 (except for February which has 28, but that one's easy to remember).

Just my two cents. :-)

Bethy

And don't even get me started on all the variants of "The Itsy Bitsy Spider"!

I will vote for "Close the door" Same as shut I know, but that's how I learned it

Sifting through my memories, peering back into the mists of time... I think the version I was taught was "Knock at the door". Knock was certainly in there somewhere...

Chris

Hi,

Letter.

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
Written By: Unknown
Copyright Unknown

One, two,
Buckle my shoe

Three, four,
Shut the door

Five, six,
Pick up sticks

Seven eight,
Lay them straight

Nine, ten,
Do it again!

http://www.kididdles.com/mouseum/o014.html


Another versions.

1, 2
One, two, buckle my shoe;
3, 4
Three, four, knock at the door;
5, 6
Five, six, pick up sticks;
7, 8
Seven, eight, lay them straight;
9, 10
Nine, ten, a good fat hen;
11, 12
Eleven, twelve, dig and delve;
13, 14
Thirteen, fourteen, maids a-courting;
15, 16
Fifteen, sixteen, maids a-kissing;
17, 18
Seventeen, eighteen, maids a-waiting;
19, 20
Nineteen, twenty, I've had plenty.

http://www.zelo.com/family/nursery/onetwo.asp


Campfire Song Index
ONE, TWO, BUCKLE MY SHOE

One, two. buckle my shoe
Three, four. open the door
Five. six, pick up the sticks
Seven, eight, now lay them straight
Nine, ten, do it again
Do it again, do it again
One, two, buckle my shoe
Let's do it all again

http://www.backyardgardener.com/loowit/song/song145.html


One, Two buckle my shoe

1,2, buckle my shoe,
3,4, knock at the door,
5,6, pick up sticks,
7,8, lay them straight,
9,10, a big fat hen,
11,12, dig and delve,
13,14, maids a-courting,
15,16, maids in the kitchen,
17,18, maids in waiting,
19,20, my plate's empty!

http://www.stormeducational.co.uk/internet/writingnum/poems.html#bucklemyshoe

MAF