Pinky, Pinky, Pang Lyrics
A tortoise sits on a slippery limb and plays his pinky pang for a dog-fish friend who has come to visit. Then he sings a little song inviting the friend to come to the willows and dance all night in the moonlight.
Pinky, Pinky, Pang
A tortoise sat on a slippery limb
And played his pinky pang
For a dog-fish friend that called on him,
And this is what he sang:
"Oh, the skies are blue,
And I wait for you
To come where the willows hang,
And dance all night
By the white moonlight
To my pinky, pinky, pang!"
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/pinky-pinky-pang/
- Type
- Poems for Children, Animal Rhymes
- Written by
- Leroy F. Jackson
- Tune
- A gentle swaying tune, with the last line sung slowly and softly, like a music box
- Best for ages
- 2 to 6 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| To come where the willows hang, | Let both arms droop and sway from side to side like willow branches. |
| To my pinky, pinky, pang!" | Strum an invisible instrument in the air, three times. |
What Does Pinky, Pinky, Pang Mean?
The poem tells a tiny story in the first four lines and then lets the tortoise sing six lines of his own. A tortoise sits on a limb, which here means a branch, and plays something called a pinky pang. The poem never says what that is. Because he played it, it must be an instrument, or a tune, and the name is as made up as the rest.
His visitor is a dog-fish, which is a kind of small shark, so the friendship is a funny, impossible one: a tortoise in a tree and a fish who calls on him. The song has the shape of a party invitation. The skies are blue, he waits, and he asks his friend to come to the willows and dance all night by white moonlight. The sounds are easy to enjoy aloud: limb rhymes with him, and pang rhymes with sang and hang, so the last words of the poem click into place.
History and Origin
Leroy F. Jackson published this poem in 1918, in his collection The Peter Patter Book of Nursery Rhymes. Its nonsense words and cheerful animals fit a book of new rhymes for children.
Learning Activities
- Invent a pinky pang: make an instrument from a tin, a spoon or a shaker, name it, and play it while saying the poem.
- Moonlight dance: dim the lights, put on a soft tune and dance slowly like the animals under the willows.
- Odd friends: ask the child which other two animals could be friends, such as a snail and a bird, and draw them together.
- Three pangs: say the last line with a different voice each time: very quiet, very loud, then whispered.