Four Corners to My Bed Lyrics
Said at bedtime, this four-line verse pictures an angel at each corner of the bed, watching over the sleeper through the night.
Four Corners to My Bed
Four corners to my bed,
Four angels round my head;
One to read and one to write,
Two to guard my bed at night.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/four-corners-to-my-bed/
- Type
- Lullabies
- Tune
- Spoken softly
- Best for ages
- 2 to 7 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Four corners to my bed | Point to each corner of the bed in turn. |
| One to read and one to write | Pretend to hold a book, then a pencil. |
| Two to guard my bed at night | Cross your arms over your chest like a guard. |
What Does Four Corners to My Bed Mean?
The verse counts four angels, one for each corner of the bed. Two of them have jobs that a child can picture, one reading and one writing, and the last two stand guard at night. It is a short, calm way to settle down, and it gives children a picture of being watched over while they sleep.
The same book also gives other endings, such as "One to watch and two to pray, one to keep all fears away." Families often changed the words to suit themselves, and you can do the same.
History and Origin
Robert Ford's Children's Rhymes, Children's Games, Children's Songs, Children's Stories (1904) gives several versions and says the bedtime rhyme was old and had many varieties. It quotes an old manuscript by Aubrey, kept in the British Museum, which says people used it as a prayer when they went to bed. It also says a writer named Ody, in a book of 1656, reported that old people used it as a charm, repeating it three times before going to bed.
Another writer, Launcelot Sharpe, said in 1838 that as a boy in Kent he had often heard similar words used as a prayer. Ford adds that other forms of the rhyme began with the names of the four gospel writers.
Learning Activities
- Corner check: walk around the bedroom before bed and touch each corner as you say the first line.
- Draw the angels: draw the bed from above and put an angel in each corner.
- Your own ending: make up a new last line that makes your child feel safe.
- Bedtime routine: say it every night after the story so it becomes a signal that sleep is next.