As I Was Going to Derby (The Derby Ram) Lyrics
A tall tale about the biggest ram anyone ever saw: ten yards round, horns up to the sky, and a tail so long it rang the market bell in Derby.
As I Was Going to Derby (The Derby Ram)
As I was going to Derby upon a market day,
I met the finest ram, sir, that ever fed on hay,
On hay, on hay, on hay,
I met the finest ram, sir, that ever fed on hay.
This ram was fat behind, sir; this ram was fat before;
This ram was ten yards round, sir; indeed he was no more.
No more, no more, no more;
This ram was ten yards round, sir; indeed he was no more.
The horns grew on his head, sir, they were so wondrous high,
As I've been plainly told, sir, they reached up to the sky.
The sky, the sky, the sky,
As I've been plainly told, sir, they reached up to the sky.
The tail grew on his back, sir, was six yards and an ell,
And it was sent to Derby to toll the market bell,
The bell, the bell, the bell,
And it was sent to Derby to toll the market bell.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/as-i-was-going-to-derby/
- Type
- Animal Rhymes, Mother Goose
- Tune
- Traditional English folk tune
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| I met the finest ram, sir | Hold your hands up by your head like curly horns. |
| This ram was ten yards round | Stretch your arms out as wide as they go. |
| They reached up to the sky | Reach up high on tiptoe. |
| To toll the market bell | Pull a pretend bell rope: ding, dong. |
What Does As I Was Going to Derby (The Derby Ram) Mean?
The song is a tall tale: every verse makes the ram bigger and sillier. He is ten yards round, his horns touch the sky, and his tail is six yards and an ell long. An ell was an old measure for cloth, about 45 inches. Derby is a market town in the middle of England, and the joke is that the ram's tail ends up as the rope for its market bell.
History and Origin
This version is printed in The Only True Mother Goose Melodies (1833), an early American Mother Goose book. The Derby Ram is an old English folk song with many verses. The ram is still a symbol of Derby today: its football club is nicknamed the Rams.
Learning Activities
- Bigger and bigger: make up a new verse that makes the ram even bigger.
- Measure it: mark out ten yards in the yard or hall to see how big the ram would be.
- Echo lines: one group sings the verse, the other echoes "on hay, on hay, on hay".