Up the Street, Down the Street Lyrics
A street rhyme from Philadelphia with forty horses in a row, a child on a white horse and another on a black one, all riding to Harrisburg.
Up the Street, Down the Street
Up the street, down the street,
Here's the way we go.
Forty horses standing in a row;
Dolly on the white one,
Harry on the black one,
Riding to Harrisburg five miles away.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/up-the-street-down-the-street/
- Type
- Action Songs
- Tune
- Chanted at a trot, with the stress on every beat
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Up the street, down the street | Gallop on the spot, then turn and gallop back. |
| Forty horses standing in a row | Stand in a straight line with your hands on your hips. |
| Riding to Harrisburg five miles away | Hold your reins and trot forward on tiptoe. |
What Does Up the Street, Down the Street Mean?
The rhyme sets a scene and then sends it off. There are forty horses standing in a row, like a line of runners at a start. Dolly sits on the white one and Harry on the black one, and they are riding to Harrisburg, five miles away.
The beat is a trot. Say it quickly and the lines tumble forward, which suits a rhyme for starting a race. Children can change the names and the number of miles to make it their own.
History and Origin
William Wells Newell prints the rhyme in Games and Songs of American Children under the title Rhymes for a Race, and marks it as collected in Philadelphia. He supposes that it was a rhyme for starting in a race, and he compares it with the familiar schoolboy start that begins One to make ready, which he thinks is a parody of an older English rhyme.
Learning Activities
- Starting line: use the rhyme to start a short running race in the garden or the hall.
- Name swap: put your own names in place of Dolly and Harry and change the number of miles.
- Horse colours: draw a white horse and a black horse, with a rider on each.