Hold Fast My Gold Ring Lyrics
One child taps every closed fist in a circle, pretending to pass on a gold ring, and the others must guess who has it.
Hold Fast My Gold Ring
Biddy, biddy, hold fast my gold ring,
Till I go to London, and come back again.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/hold-fast-my-gold-ring/
- Type
- Action Songs
- Tune
- Spoken as the leader goes around
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Biddy, biddy, hold fast my gold ring | Tap each closed fist in turn with your own closed hands. |
| Till I go to London | Walk a little way around the circle. |
| and come back again | Return to where you began. |
What Does Hold Fast My Gold Ring Mean?
The words are the leader's chant in a guessing game. The children sit in a circle with their hands closed. The leader walks around holding a small ring and taps the closed fists as if putting the ring into each one, while saying the two lines. The words ask a player to hold the ring tight while the leader goes to London and comes back.
Then each child in turn guesses who has the ring. A right guess earns the leader's place, and a wrong guess means paying a forfeit.
History and Origin
William Wells Newell describes the game as number 97 in Games and Songs of American Children (1884) and reports it from Georgia. He adds that in Massachusetts it is known by the question "Button, button, who's got the button?", another form asks "Fox, fox, who's got the box?", and in England it goes "My lady's lost her diamond ring, I pitch on you to find it."
So the same guessing game has had many names, with different objects hidden in the hands.
Learning Activities
- Play the ring: sit in a circle, pass a small ring between closed fists and guess who has it.
- Button version: play with a button and ask the question 'who's got the button?'
- Poker face: practice keeping a straight face so the guessers cannot tell.
- Forfeit ideas: make a list of kind forfeits, such as a funny face or a short song.