Chickidy Hand Lyrics
Fists on the lamp-post, a four-line chant, then a mad dash: the player in the middle tries to catch everyone and link them into a long chain.
Chickidy Hand
Chickidy hand,
Chickidy hand,
The Warner, my Cock,
Crows at four in the morning.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/chickidy-hand/
- Type
- Action Songs
- Tune
- Chanted, then a dash
- Best for ages
- 5 to 10 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Chickidy hand | Press your clasped fists against a post or tree. |
| The Warner, my Cock | Flap your elbows once like a rooster. |
| Crows at four in the morning | Cup your hands round your mouth, crow, and run. |
What Does Chickidy Hand Mean?
The chant is the starting signal. A warner is someone who gives a warning, and here it seems to be the cock, who crows before dawn to wake the farm. The game itself is chain tag: the catcher in the middle chases the runners, and each one caught takes hands with the others to make a growing chain. The free players then try to break through the chain and set the caught ones loose.
History and Origin
Alice Bertha Gomme took the game from Deptford, which she lists under Kent, where a correspondent named Miss Chase described it, and printed it in The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1894). She says the boy caught last but one became "it" in the next game, and sends readers to the similar games Hunt the Staigie, Stag Warning and Whiddy.
Learning Activities
- Play it: use a tree or a post as home. After the chant, the runners scatter, the catcher tags them one at a time, and the caught players hold hands in a chain.
- Safety first: play on grass, tag lightly, and let go of hands rather than being dragged if the chain gets tugged. Rescuers should touch the chain, never pull it apart by force.
- Crow practice: hold a contest for the loudest and best rooster crow.