Diddley-Diddley-Dumpty Lyrics
A cat is stuck up a plum tree, and someone offers half a crown to get her down. That is the whole story, told in five bouncy lines that babies like to hear on a grown-up's knee.
Diddley-Diddley-Dumpty
Diddley-Diddley-Dumpty,
The cat ran up the plum-tree,
Half a crown
To fetch her down,
Diddley-diddley-dumpty.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/diddley-diddley-dumpty/
- Type
- Animal Rhymes, Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken rhyme
- Best for ages
- 0 to 4 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Diddley-Diddley-Dumpty | Bounce your baby gently on your knee. |
| The cat ran up the plum-tree | Walk your fingers up your baby's arm. |
| Half a crown to fetch her down | Walk your fingers slowly back down. |
| Diddley-diddley-dumpty | Finish with three bigger bounces. |
What Does Diddley-Diddley-Dumpty Mean?
A cat has climbed a plum tree and will not come down, which anyone who has owned a cat will recognize. Somebody is so keen to get her back that they offer half a crown as a reward.
Half a crown was a British silver coin worth two shillings and sixpence, one eighth of a pound. It was a decent sum for a child to earn by climbing a tree. The coin was taken out of use in 1970, a year before Britain switched to decimal money.
History and Origin
This version comes from Walter Jerrold's Big Book of Nursery Rhymes (1903). Similar nonsense openings, like "hiddlety, diddlety, dumpty", turn up in other old collections, which suggests the sound of the words mattered more than any meaning.
Learning Activities
- Finger climb: use two fingers as the cat and make her climb up and down different "trees": an arm, a leg, a teddy bear.
- Coin talk: older children can compare old British coins with the money they use today.