High Diddle Ding, Did You Hear the Bells Ring? Lyrics
Bells are ringing, soldiers are marching past, and the crowd cannot decide whether to laugh or cry. This short rhyme carries an echo of a real war in English history.
High Diddle Ding, Did You Hear the Bells Ring?
High diddle ding,
Did you hear the bells ring?
The parliament soldiers are gone to the king!
Some they did laugh, some they did cry,
To see the parliament soldiers pass by.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/high-diddle-ding/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Chanted rhyme
- Best for ages
- 6 to 11 years
What Does High Diddle Ding, Did You Hear the Bells Ring? Mean?
Church bells ring as the parliament soldiers march off to the king. Some people watching laugh and some cry, because the soldiers' leaving meant different things to different families. "High diddle ding" is a nonsense line that copies the sound of the bells.
History and Origin
James Orchard Halliwell printed the rhyme in The Nursery Rhymes of England. The parliament soldiers recall the English Civil War of the 1640s, when the armies of Parliament fought those of King Charles I. Rhymes like this kept a memory of big events alive long after the people who saw them were gone.
Learning Activities
- History chat: explain simply that Parliament and the king once disagreed so strongly that there was a war.
- Bell sounds: ring a bell on "high diddle ding".
- Happy or sad: talk about why the same event can make some people happy and others sad.