Hickory, Dickory, Sackory Down Lyrics
A traveler asks how many miles it is to Richmond town and is told to turn left and right and they will get there by Saturday night.
Hickory, Dickory, Sackory Down
Hickory, dickory, sackory down
How many miles to Richmond town?
Turn to the left and turn to the right,
And you may get there by Saturday night.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/hickory-dickory-sackory-down/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken rhyme
- Best for ages
- 3 to 7 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Hickory, dickory, sackory down | Tap your knees, then your shoulders, then your head. |
| Turn to the left and turn to the right | Turn your body one way, then the other. |
What Does Hickory, Dickory, Sackory Down Mean?
The first line is rhythm words, in the same bouncing pattern as "hickory, dickory, dock". The second line asks the question: how many miles to Richmond town? The answer does not give a number. Instead the directions are "turn to the left and turn to the right", and the traveler will arrive by Saturday night. In other words, the way is long and winding, but the journey ends in a few days.
It is like the better-known rhyme "How many miles to Babylon?", which also asks a distance and gets a playful answer.
History and Origin
The rhyme is printed in The Little Mother Goose (1912), a picture book of nursery rhymes. Richmond is the name of several towns in England and America, and the book does not say which one is meant.
The book gives no writer, and the same book prints "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" on the next page.
Learning Activities
- Make a map: draw a winding road with left and right turns and a town at the end.
- Move to the words: turn left and right on the matching lines.
- Days of the week: count the days until Saturday on a calendar.
- Your own town: swap in the name of a nearby town and sing it again.