Billy, Billy, Come and Play Lyrics
Polly calls her friend outside to play, and Billy answers every question she asks. The whole rhyme is a conversation, so it works best with two voices.
Billy, Billy, Come and Play
"Billy, Billy, come and play,
While the sun shines bright as day."
"Yes, my Polly, so I will,
For I love to please you still."
"Billy, Billy, have you seen
Sam and Betsy on the green?"
"Yes, my Poll, I saw them pass,
Skipping o'er the new-mown grass."
"Billy, Billy, come along,
And I will sing a pretty song."
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/billy-billy-come-and-play/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken rhyme
- Best for ages
- 3 to 7 years
What Does Billy, Billy, Come and Play Mean?
Polly asks Billy to come out and play on a sunny day. He agrees, and tells her he has seen two friends, Sam and Betsy, skipping "o'er the new-mown grass", which means over grass that has just been cut. The village green was the open grassy space where everyone in a village met and played.
History and Origin
The rhyme appears in The Real Mother Goose (1916) under the title "Billy, Billy". Question-and-answer rhymes like this one were made for two children, or a parent and child, to say to each other, much like Where Are You Going, My Pretty Maid?
Learning Activities
- Two voices: one person says Polly's lines and the other answers as Billy, then swap.
- Make up a verse: add a new question about someone your child knows, and let them invent Billy's answer.
- Village green: visit a park and talk about the games children played on greens long ago.