Queen Mary, Queen Mary Lyrics
A girl of sixteen sings that her father is a well-off farmer and she has fine clothes, yet no young man has come to take her away. A line game that grows one player at a time.
Queen Mary, Queen Mary
Queen Mary, Queen Mary, my age is sixteen,
My father's a farmer on yonder green,
With plenty of money to dress me fu' braw,
But nae bonnie laddie will tak' me awa'.
One morning I rose, and I looked in the glass,
Says I to myself I'm a handsome young lass;
My hands by my side and I gave a ha! ha!
Yet there's nae bonnie laddie will tak' me awa'.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/queen-mary/
- Type
- Action Songs
- Tune
- Sung line game
- Best for ages
- 5 to 10 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Queen Mary, Queen Mary | One player stands in front of the line and sings. |
| I looked in the glass | Pretend to look in a mirror and fix your hair. |
| My hands by my side and I gave a ha! ha! | Put your hands on your hips and laugh. |
What Does Queen Mary, Queen Mary Mean?
The rhyme is in Scots. Fu' braw means very fine, nae bonnie laddie is no handsome young man, and tak' me awa' means take me away, in other words marry me. The girl is cheerful about it: she looks in the mirror, calls herself a handsome young lass, and laughs.
History and Origin
Robert Ford describes the game in Children's Rhymes, Children's Games, Children's Songs, Children's Stories (1904). Girls stand in a row with one in front, who sings the verses and chooses another from the line. The two join hands, step forward and back while repeating the verses, then choose a third, until everyone has been taken over.
Learning Activities
- Play it: one player sings and picks a partner, and the group grows each round.
- Scots words: learn braw, nae and awa' and use them in the game.
- Mirror moment: say something kind about yourself in the mirror, like the girl in the song.