Over The Sea
When I was two I buckled my shoe, / Going over the sea…
When I was two I buckled my shoe,
Going over the sea.
I jumped aboard a sailorman's ship,
And the sailorman said to me, . . ..
When I was three I banged my knee,
When I was four I shut the door,
When I was five I learned to jive,
When I was six I picked up sticks,
When I was seven I went to heaven,
When I was eight I learned to skate,
When I was nine I climbed a vine,
When I was ten I caught a hen.
How to play
Chant it through while the skipper jumps. How far can they get without a miss?
Where this rhyme comes from
- Sung in
- UK
It plays on 'One, two, buckle my shoe', which Douglas recorded as a London skipping rhyme in 1916 and Ford called common 'all over Britain and America' in 1904. The 'going over the sea / sailorman' version itself isn't dated.
Sources: Robert Ford, Children's Rhymes, Children's Games, Children's Songs, Children's Stories (1904), pp.40–41; Norman Douglas, London Street Games (1916), p.63.
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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