Benny's Buttons Lyrics
How many buttons has Benny? The poem lists them part by part: jacket, back, sleeves, trousers, vest, shoes and cap. At the end it asks the question again, and counts the price too, six for a penny.
Benny's Buttons
How many buttons has Benny,
Counting 'em six for a penny?
Why, five on his sacque,
And two on the back,
And - would you believe? -
A pair on each sleeve;
And six on his trowsers,
Yes, regular rousers!
And eight on his vest -
A grand double-breast -
All eight in full sight
When buttoned up tight.
Then three on one shoe,
While the mate has but two;
And one at the end
Of his top-snare, depend.
And, ah! there's the strap
On his regiment-cap,
It begins with a button
And ends with a button;
And really that's all
I now can recall.
So, counting them six for a penny,
How many buttons has Benny?
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/bennys-buttons/
- Type
- Poems for Children, Counting Rhymes
- Written by
- Mary Mapes Dodge
- Tune
- Quick and chattering, like someone counting out loud
- Best for ages
- 4 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| A pair on each sleeve | Tap two spots on one arm, then two spots on the other. |
| Then three on one shoe | Point to a shoe and count three on your fingers. |
What Does Benny's Buttons Mean?
This is a counting puzzle. The question, "How many buttons has Benny?", is asked in the first line and again in the last, and in between the poem gives the numbers: five on the sacque (a loose jacket), two on the back, a pair on each sleeve, six on the trousers, eight on the vest, three on one shoe and two on the other, one on the end of his "top-snare" and a strap on the cap that begins and ends with a button. Adding them up gives 33, if the sleeves count as four and the cap strap as two.
The poem is joking about how many a child can have on one set of clothes. "Counting 'em six for a penny" means that buttons cost six to the penny, so 33 buttons come to five pennies and a half. The word trowsers is an old spelling of trousers, and "Yes, regular rousers!" is a cheerful rhyme with it. The poem does not explain "top-snare", so leave it as a mystery button.
History and Origin
Rhymes and Jingles, Mary Mapes Dodge's book of 1874, is where this counting puzzle appears. The price in the poem, six for a penny, is part of the puzzle.
Learning Activities
- Button hunt: count the buttons on what the child is wearing, part by part, as the poem does.
- Add it up: write the numbers on paper and add them together, then check against 33.
- Sort a button tin: sort real buttons by size, colour or number of holes and count each pile.
- Shop game: at six buttons for a penny, ask the child how many pennies they would need for twelve.