Bobby Shaftoe Lyrics
Bobby Shaftoe has sailed away in smart silver buckles, and the girl who waits for him is sure he will come home to marry her.
Bobby Shaftoe
Bobby Shaftoe's gone to sea,
With silver buckles on his knee:
He'll come back and marry me,
Pretty Bobby Shaftoe!
Bobby Shaftoe's fat and fair,
Combing down his yellow hair;
He's my love for evermore,
Pretty Bobby Shaftoe.
More verses from the original
Bobby Shaftoe's gone to sea,
With silver buckles on his knee:
He'll come back and marry me,
Pretty Bobby Shaftoe!
Bobby Shaftoe's fat and fair,
Combing down his yellow hair;
He's my love for evermore,
Pretty Bobby Shaftoe.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/bobby-shaftoe/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Traditional folk tune (often sung)
- Best for ages
- 2 to 7 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| With silver buckles on his knee | Tap each knee in turn. |
| Combing down his yellow hair | Run a pretend comb down the side of your head. |
| Pretty Bobby Shaftoe | Salute like a sailor. |
What Does Bobby Shaftoe Mean?
The singer is waiting for a sailor. In the 1700s men wore short trousers called breeches that fastened below the knee with a silver buckle, so the buckles tell us Bobby was dressed up and well off. He is fat and fair, which here means healthy and fair-haired, and she remembers him combing his yellow hair. In the second verse she promises to stay true to him, because she says he is hers for evermore.
Children like the bouncing rhythm and the repeated name. Because he goes off and comes back in the rhyme, it is also a gentle way to talk about family members who travel for work.
History and Origin
The verses are printed in The Real Mother Goose (1916), and it appears in The Little Mother Goose (1912) too. It is better known as a song from the north of England, and the Shafto family name belongs to county Durham and Northumberland.
Many people link it to Robert Shafto of Whitworth, who sat in Parliament for Durham in the 1700s, but the connection is probably a local story rather than a proved fact. The tune is a lively dance tune and is still played at gatherings in the region.
Learning Activities
- Sailor dress-up: a paper hat and a pair of cardboard buckles make a simple costume.
- Knee game: tap your knees to the beat, then pass the beat around a circle.
- Draw the voyage: map where a ship might sail and where it would come home.