Trupa trupa capaillín
This is a "horse" trotting rhyme to play with a child while trotting them on your lap.
Capaillín means pony in Gaelic, but it's also the diminutive of horse (i.e. horsey). "Trupa" is the clomping of the horse's feet.
"My Mother would sing to us while hopping us on her knee! Imagine this rhyme was sung to me over 60 years ago by my mother! I still remember it as if it was yesterday..." -Claire
Trupa trupa capaillín
Lap Rhyme
Trupa trupa capaillín
Down, down again
How many miles to Dublin
Three score and ten.
I'll be there by candlelight
There and back again,
Trupa trupa capaillín
Down, down again.
Notes
If anyone can knows any other versions of this rhyme, please email me. Thanks! –Mama Lisa
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Thanks to Claire Divilly for sharing this rhyme with us! This rhyme can be found in "Irish English Volume 2: The Republic of Ireland" (2013) by Jeffrey L. Kallen.