Up and Down the City Wall (The Eagle)

Up and down the city wall, / In and out "The Eagle,"…

ChantsLong rope

Up and down the city wall,
In and out "The Eagle,"
That's the way the money goes,
Pop goes the weazel.

Where this rhyme comes from

Printed: 1898
Where: London ("From A London Maid")

We have copied these words exactly as they were printed in 1898, spelling and all. The book marks it as a skipping rhyme.

The Eagle was a famous tavern and music hall on City Road in London, the one in the song "Pop Goes the Weasel".

Source: Alice Bertha Gomme, The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland, vol. II (London: David Nutt, 1898), 'Skipping', pp. 200–204. Rhymes collected by Miss Chase (public domain).

Older and newer versions

The same rhyme, changed by children over the years.

Pepper (fast)Printed 1898Up and Down the City WallUp and down the city wall,
Ha'penny loaf to feed us all…Pepper (fast)Printed 1916Up the Ladder, Down the WallUp the ladder, down the wall,
Ha’penny loaf to feed us all…Fortune tellingPrinted 1898Up and Down the Ladder WallUp and down the ladder wall,
Ha'penny loaf to feed us all…ChantsPrinted 1898Half Pound Tuppeny RiceHalf pound tuppeny rice,
Half a pound of treacle…

More rhymes like this

ChantsPrinted 1898Dancing Dolly (1898)Dancing Dolly had no sense,
For to fiddle for eighteenpence…ChantsPrinted 1898My Mother SaidMy mother said
That the rope must go…ChantsPrinted 1898When I Was Young and AbleWhen I was young and able,
I sat upon the table…