Trotty Malone Lyrics
A voice asks the children how they would like to travel. Jenny wants a sleigh, Johnny a cart, Sally a car and Benjamin a buggy, and each ride is described in noisy, bouncy words. Trotty Malone ends it with a cheer for walking on two legs.
Trotty Malone
Boys and girls, come riddle and ravel,
Tell us how you would like to travel.
Crispy, crackly, snow and tingle,
"Give me sleighs!" said Jenny Jingle.
Stony, bumpty, bang and bolter,
"Give me carts!" said Johnny Jolter.
Slidy, glidy, jerky whiff-ter,
"Give me cars!" cried Sally Swifter.
Flipetty, cricketty, elegant go,
"Give me a buggy!" said Benjamin Beau.
"A fig for them all!" cried Trotty Malone,
"Give me a stout pair of legs of my own!"
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/trotty-malone/
- Type
- Poems for Children
- Written by
- Mary Mapes Dodge
- Tune
- A quick marching rhythm, with a different sound effect for each ride, and a big cheer on the last line
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| "Give me sleighs!" | Slide one hand smoothly forward through the air. |
| "Give me a stout pair of legs of my own!" | Stamp your feet on the spot, one then the other. |
What Does Trotty Malone Mean?
The poem is a game of choosing, with a sound for every choice. Jenny Jingle asks for sleighs, and the line is all crispy, crackly, snow and tingle. Johnny Jolter asks for carts, which are stony, bumpty, bang and bolter. Sally Swifter asks for cars, slidy, glidy, jerky whiff-ter, and Benjamin Beau asks for a buggy, a light horse-drawn carriage, with its flipetty, cricketty, elegant go. Each full name repeats its first sound, as in Jenny Jingle and Benjamin Beau, which makes the names a pleasure to say too.
The last couplet is the punchline. Trotty Malone says a fig for them all, an old way of saying Trotty does not care for any of them, and asks instead for a stout pair of legs of my own. The poem lets a child pick a favourite ride and then ends by laughing gently at all of them.
History and Origin
This poem appears in Mary Mapes Dodge's Rhymes and Jingles (copyrighted 1874).
Learning Activities
- Travel sounds: make the noise of each ride, such as a bumpy cart or a tingling sleigh, and let the child guess which one it is.
- Pick a ride: ask the child which ride they would choose and what noise it would make.
- Walking tour: take a short walk around the house or garden and say the last two lines on the way.
- Name game: invent a name that repeats its first sound, as Johnny Jolter does, and give it a ride.