Gordon Brown Went to Town
Gordon Brown went to town / With his pants on upside down…
Gordon Brown went to town
With his pants on upside down.
He lost a nickel,
And bought a pickle,
The pickle was sour,
He bought a flower.
The flower was yellow,
He met a fellow,
The fellow was mean,
He bought a bean.
The bean was hard,
He bought a card,
And on the card
Was “Red Hot Pepper”
How to play
On "Red Hot Pepper" the turners turn the rope as fast as they can.
Where this rhyme comes from
- Sung in
- UK (this version); the chain is US in origin
This belongs to an older 'went to town' chain rhyme (nickel–pickle–flower–bell), and the 'nickel' points to American origin. The same chain appears on the submitted page as 'I went down town, I met Miss Brown', so 'Gordon Brown' is probably a local name swapped in, not necessarily the politician (Chancellor 1997–2007, PM 2007–10). We haven't found a dated record of it yet.
Do you know an older version, or where this rhyme comes from? Teachers can tell us with the feedback button below.
Older and newer versions
The same rhyme, changed by children over the years.
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My mother she is dead…
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