Inky Pinky, My Black Hen Lyrics
A Scottish counting-out chant about a black hen that lays one egg, two eggs or a black crow, finishing on 'You are out!'
Inky Pinky, My Black Hen
Inky pinky, my black hen
Lays eggs for gentlemen;
Whiles ane, whiles twa,
Whiles a bonnie black craw.
One, two, three,
You are out!
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/inky-pinky-my-black-hen/
- Type
- Counting Rhymes
- Tune
- Chanted while pointing at each player
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Inky pinky, my black hen | Point to a different child on each beat. |
| Whiles ane, whiles twa | Hold up one finger, then two. |
| You are out! | Point at the child the last word lands on. |
What Does Inky Pinky, My Black Hen Mean?
Children use this rhyme to choose who is out of a game. The leader points at one player for each beat, and whoever is pointed at on "out" leaves the circle or becomes the one to go first, depending on the game.
The words come from Scots. Whiles ane, whiles twa means sometimes one, sometimes two, and a craw is a crow, so the black hen sometimes lays a bonnie black crow instead of an egg. The joke is the surprise in the last line before the counting begins.
History and Origin
Robert Ford prints the rhyme in Children's Rhymes, Children's Games, Children's Songs, Children's Stories in a long run of counting-out rhymes from different places.
The book gives no author or date for it.
Learning Activities
- Choose a leader: use the rhyme at the start of a game to pick who goes first.
- Scots words: make a small list of Scots words in the rhyme and what each one means.
- Black hen drawing: draw the hen with one egg, two eggs and a crow.
- Invent a rhyme: change the hen to another animal and see how the last lines change.