Dickery, Dickery, Dare Lyrics
A pig takes off into the sky, and a man in brown has to bring him back down. Four lines of pure nonsense with a bouncy start and finish.
Dickery, Dickery, Dare
Dickery, dickery, dare,
The pig flew up in the air;
The man in brown soon brought him down,
Dickery, dickery, dare.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/dickery-dickery-dare/
- Type
- Animal Rhymes
- Tune
- Spoken rhyme
- Best for ages
- 2 to 6 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Dickery, dickery, dare | Bounce your child gently on your knee. |
| The pig flew up in the air | Lift your child up high. |
| The man in brown soon brought him down | Bring them gently back down. |
| Dickery, dickery, dare | Finish with a final bounce. |
What Does Dickery, Dickery, Dare Mean?
Pigs cannot fly, which is exactly why this rhyme is funny. "Dickery, dickery, dare" is nonsense that sets the rhythm, like the "hickory, dickory" in Hickory Dickory Dock. Nobody knows who the man in brown is; he is simply the one who gets the pig back on the ground.
History and Origin
James Orchard Halliwell printed the rhyme in The Nursery Rhymes of England. English speakers have long used flying pigs to mean something impossible, as in the saying "pigs might fly", and this rhyme turns the idea into a little scene.
Learning Activities
- Lift and land: use it as a lifting game, up on "air" and down on "down".
- Impossible things: make a list of other things that could never happen, like a cow driving a bus.
- Draw it: draw the flying pig and the man in brown.