The Sleigh-Ride Lyrics
A family rides in a sleigh over valleys, hills and snow to visit grandmamma. The bells jingle on the way, and at the end Aunt Mary is waiting with outstretched hands to welcome them.
The Sleigh-Ride
Jingle, jingle, go the bells;
A right good time have we,
Over the valleys and over the hills,
Dear grandmamma to see.
The day is bright, and away we go
As swift as swift can be,
Over the smoothly trodden snow,
Dear grandmamma to see.
And look, do look, for there she stands,
Aunt Mary by her side,
To welcome us with outstretched hands
After our pleasant ride.
And there are George and Carlo, too,
For they heard the tell-tale bells,
As over the shining road we flew,
And down the slippery hills.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/the-sleigh-ride/
- Type
- Poems for Children
- Tune
- A trotting rhythm with a bell sound on the jingle line
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Jingle, jingle, go the bells | Shake a pretend set of bells with a loosely held fist. |
| And away we go | Lean forward and sway as if the sleigh has moved off. |
What Does The Sleigh-Ride Mean?
A sleigh is a sled on runners for carrying people over snow, pulled by a horse, and it had bells on the harness so that others on the road could hear it coming. The bells are why the poem calls them tell-tale bells: they tell people on the way that someone is approaching, and here they let the people at grandmamma's house hear the visitors before they see them.
The poem is a short journey with a happy end. The first two verses finish on the same line, "Dear grandmamma to see", which tells the reader where the sleigh is going. In the third, Aunt Mary stands beside grandmamma with outstretched hands, and in the last, George and Carlo are there too, because they heard the bells. The last line is a downhill rush: "down the slippery hills."
History and Origin
The poem is printed in Songs for the Little Ones at Home, a children's song collection with copyright dates of 1884 and 1911. The book does not name an author for it. In snowy places a sleigh was a common winter way to travel before roads were cleared for cars.
Learning Activities
- Make a bell sound: shake keys or a string of bells and jingle in time with the first line.
- Plan a visit: ask who the child would visit by sleigh, and what they would take.
- Pretend sleigh: sit on a blanket or cushion and let an adult pull it gently across a smooth floor, with the child holding on.
- Who heard the bells? ask who in the poem heard the sleigh coming, and why.