Keys of Heaven Lyrics
Standing in the middle of a ring, one child offers gifts, from a golden ring and singing birds to the keys of heaven, and then chooses a friend to dance with.
Keys of Heaven
I will give you a golden ring,
And jewels to hang and birds to sing,
If you'll be my true lover,
And true love of mine.
I will give you the keys of the chest,
And gold enough to dress you in church,
If you'll be my true lover,
And true love of mine.
I will give you the keys of heaven,
And angels to wait upon you six and seven,
If you'll be my true lover,
And true love of mine.
More verses from the original
I will give you a golden ring,
And jewels to hang and birds to sing,
If you'll be my true lover,
And true love of mine.
I will give you the keys of the chest,
And gold enough to dress you in church,
If you'll be my true lover,
And true love of mine.
I will give you the keys of heaven,
And angels to wait upon you six and seven,
If you'll be my true lover,
And true love of mine.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/keys-of-heaven/
- Type
- Action Songs
- Tune
- Sung ring game
- Best for ages
- 4 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| I will give you a golden ring | Hold up a finger to show off the ring. |
| I will give you the keys of the chest | Jingle imaginary keys. |
| If you'll be my true lover | Choose a partner and dance round together. |
What Does Keys of Heaven Mean?
The singer is making a very generous offer. The gifts get bigger each verse: first a golden ring and jewels and singing birds, then the keys to a chest of gold, and finally the keys of heaven with angels to wait on you, "six and seven". The refrain asks for a loyal friend or sweetheart, which is what "true lover" meant in old songs.
In the game the child in the middle sings, picks another from the ring, and they dance round together. There is no winner. The pleasure is in the singing, the pile of grand promises and the dancing at the end.
History and Origin
Alice Bertha Gomme included it in the second volume of The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1898), recording that it was sung in Marylebone, in London. She notes that the game was probably only a fragment of a longer one.
In the full game, she suggests, children would have stood in two lines, not a ring, and the chosen girl would have answered "No" or "Yes" after each offer. Gomme also links it to another game called "Paper of Pins", which has a similar set of offers. So the rhyme in this form is a piece of something older that children kept playing.
Learning Activities
- Gift list: think up bigger and bigger gifts of your own, and add them as new verses.
- Ring game: stand in a circle, choose a partner after the verse and dance round.
- Treasure box: make a paper key and a card chest to act out the middle verse.