I Love Sixpence Lyrics
Start with sixpence, spend some, take some home, and then do it again. I Love Sixpence is a cheerful song that doubles as a small math lesson.
I Love Sixpence
I love sixpence, a jolly, jolly sixpence,
I love sixpence as my life;
I spent a penny of it, I spent a penny of it,
I took a penny home to my wife.
The second verse
Oh, my little fourpence, a jolly, jolly fourpence,
I love fourpence as my life;
I spent twopence of it, I spent twopence of it,
And I took twopence home to my wife.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/i-love-sixpence/
- Type
- Mother Goose, Counting Rhymes
- Tune
- Traditional
- Best for ages
- 4 to 9 years
What Does I Love Sixpence Mean?
The singer loves his little silver sixpence. He spends a penny, then another penny, and takes a penny home. In the second verse he has fourpence left, spends twopence and takes twopence home. The numbers do not add up exactly, which older children enjoy pointing out, and that is part of the fun.
A sixpence was a small silver coin worth six old pennies. It was used in Britain until 1980, and many families still hide one in a Christmas pudding for luck.
History and Origin
The song is in Halliwell's Nursery Rhymes of England from the 1840s, and versions of it were sung in the countryside long before. Older versions go on counting down, verse by verse, from sixpence to nothing at all.
Learning Activities
- Coin math: use real or toy coins. Start with six and act out each verse. Does the math work?
- Count down: make up more verses: "Oh, my little twopence..." until nothing is left.
- Old money: look at pictures of a sixpence and talk about how money has changed.