Lyrics
(Folk song / Nursery Rhyme)
Oranges and lemons
Say the bells of St. Clements
I owe you five farthings
Say the bells of St. Martins
When will you pay me?
Say the bells at Old Bailey
When I grow rich
Say the bells at Shoreditch
Here comes a candle to light you to bed
Here comes a chopper to chop off your head*
(See my more child-friendly lyrics below!)
See also
- Subjects: nursery rhymes / food
- Harmony: I IV V chords
- Melody: tonic triad / dominant triad
- Meter: 3/4
- Scale: major
- Source: The Singing Game, Iona & Peter Opie, Oxford University Press, 1985 / The baby’s opera, Walter Crane, 1877
- Song with chords, Adapted lyrics (PDF)
- MIDI file
- Listen to the song
