Jock Out, Jock In Lyrics
A four-line Scottish rhyme that finishes on 'Eetle-ottle, out!' and is used to count out a player, or to link little fingers over a promise.
Jock Out, Jock In
Jock out, Jock in,
Jock through a hickle-pin.
Eetle-ottle, black bottle;
Eetle-ottle, out!
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/jock-out-jock-in/
- Type
- Counting Rhymes
- Tune
- Chanted briskly
- Best for ages
- 4 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Jock out, Jock in | Point out, then in, with your thumb. |
| Eetle-ottle, black bottle | Tap each player on a word. |
| out! | Point at the player who is out. |
What Does Jock Out, Jock In Mean?
Most of the words in this rhyme are chosen for the way they sound. Jock is the Scots form of John, and Eetle-ottle, black bottle is nonsense that fills a beat. The rhyme ends on the word out, so the child touched on the last word is out.
The same rhyme did other duty too: Robert Ford says it is most often used as a test of truth-telling, said while two children link their little fingers.
History and Origin
Robert Ford prints the rhyme in Children's Rhymes, Children's Games, Children's Songs, Children's Stories and says that in Dundee these lines are added to the "Eenity feenity" counting-out rhyme. He adds that, on the East Coast, the lines are used as a counting-out rhyme as well as in the finger-linking test.
No author or date is given for it.
Learning Activities
- Pinky promise: link little fingers with a friend and say the rhyme.
- Count out: use it to choose who sits out of the next game.