Conkers (Obli, Obli, Onker) Lyrics
Horse chestnuts on strings, a call to claim the first strike, and a rule that only the conker may be hit: three versions of the old conkers chant.
Conkers (Obli, Obli, Onker)
Obli, obli O, my first go;
And when the nut is struck,
Obli, obli onker, my nut will conquer.
Obbly, obbly onkers, my first conquers;
Obbly, obbly O, my first go.
Hobley, hobley, honcor, my first conkor;
Hobbley, hobbley ho, my first go;
Hobley, hobley ack, my first crack.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/conkers/
- Type
- Action Songs
- Tune
- Called out before each turn
- Best for ages
- 6 to 12 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| my first go | Hold your conker up on its string to claim the first turn. |
| my first conquers | Raise your free hand like a champion. |
| my first crack | Take aim, then swing at the other conker. |
What Does Conkers (Obli, Obli, Onker) Mean?
Two players take turns swinging a conker, a horse chestnut threaded on a string, at the other player's conker until one splits. The chants are the calls a player shouted to claim the first strike. Onker looks like a word invented to rhyme with conquers, and a writer Gomme quotes guesses that obbly began as nobbly, a word for the knobbly look of the chestnuts on their string. A conker that beats another is called a conqueror of one, then of two, and so on, which gives the game its older name.
History and Origin
Alice Bertha Gomme prints the calls in The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1894). She prints five versions of the call; the three here come from Notes and Queries and from word-books of Upton-on-Severn and West Worcestershire. She notes that it was usually played with both players standing and holding their strings, and that striking the other player's string was bad play. Players sometimes made their conkers harder by keeping them up the chimney or in a warm pocket, and Gomme notes that a conker with many wins could be sold or swapped for toys. In one part of Yorkshire the same game was played with snail shells.
Learning Activities
- Safety first: a chip of flying conker can hurt an eye, so wear safety glasses or stand well back, hold the string firmly, and play one pair at a time. Never eat conkers, because horse chestnuts are poisonous.
- Autumn hunt: gather fresh, shiny conkers from the ground under a horse chestnut tree. An adult should make the string hole with a skewer.
- Soft version: for little ones, swing pom-poms or balls of yarn on strings and bump them gently together.