Twa Little Doggies Gaed to the Mill Lyrics
A Scottish rhyme for a grown-up to bounce a child's feet to: two little dogs go to the mill, take a lick of meal, jump in the stream and gallop home.
Twa Little Doggies Gaed to the Mill
Twa little doggies gaed to the mill,
This way and that way, and this way and that way;
They took a lick out o' this wife's poke,
And a lick they took out o' that wife's poke,
And a loup in the lade, and a dip in the dam,
And hame they cam' wallopin', wallopin', wallopin'.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/twa-little-doggies-gaed-to-the-mill/
- Type
- Animal Rhymes, Action Songs
- Tune
- Chanted with a bounce, faster and faster on 'wallopin'
- Best for ages
- 1 to 4 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Twa little doggies gaed to the mill | Hold the child on your knee and take a little foot in each hand. |
| This way and that way, and this way and that way | Move the feet to one side and then the other, in time with the words. |
| They took a lick out o' this wife's poke | Tap one foot down on the knee for the first lick and the other foot for the second. |
| And hame they cam' wallopin' | Make the feet go up and down faster and faster, as galloping. |
What Does Twa Little Doggies Gaed to the Mill Mean?
This is a foot-dandling rhyme. The grown-up sits the child on one knee, takes a little foot in each hand and makes the feet go up and down, side to side, as the two little dogs.
The story is short and playful. Two dogs go to the mill, where grain is ground into meal. They take a lick of meal from one woman's bag and then from another's. Then they leap into the water channel, take a dip in the mill pond, and finally go home at a gallop. The last line repeats wallopin' three times so the rhythm speeds up, and the feet go faster with it.
The Scots words: twa is two, gaed is went, poke is a bag, loup is leap, lade is the channel of water that drives a mill wheel, dam is the pond held back to feed it, hame is home, cam' is came and wallopin' is a rushing gallop.
History and Origin
Robert Ford prints the rhyme in his Children's Rhymes, Children's Games, Children's Songs, Children's Stories (Paisley, 1904). He gives it as one of the action rhymes for the youngest children. He says that action rhymes, with their practical drollery, never fail to amuse, and that among the very earliest practised is the nurse who takes the child on her knee and, with a little foot in either hand, makes them go merrily up and down.
Ford adds that after one such rhyme, to keep up the diversion, the next may follow in the same manner, and this is the one he gives. The last line in his book ends with etc., a sign that the last word is repeated again and again; this page leaves the mark out and ends the rhyme at the third wallopin'.
Learning Activities
- Foot ride: bounce the child's feet gently on your knee, and speed up only on the last line.
- Mill picture: draw a mill with a wheel, a stream and two dogs on the bank.
- Dog voices: let the child bark like the two dogs between lines, and go quiet for 'hame they cam'.
- Scots words: pick two of the Scots words each time, and use them in everyday talk for a day.