Aidy wrote: "I am from Huddersfield in England. When I was a child we used to say this rhyme..."

You Know Last Night and The Night Before - English Children's Songs - England - Mama Lisa's World: Children's Songs and Rhymes from Around the World - Intro Image

Notes

Some people do this as a game where the child sits on the adult's lap and recites it while gently bouncing the child. Karen R. explains below how her family played it:

My mom's English grandfather used to sing it to her while holding her hands while bouncing on the knees, then her father carried on the tradition and sang to all of us, we've sang to all our children. I'm sure it's been altered by us but I'm so glad to see similar versions here! We sang:

There was a little man who had a little gun,
Down yon fields he did so run.
With an oilskin cap and a bottle on his back
And a pancake tied to his bum bum bum.

That last bit usually was accompanied by us falling backwards almost to the floor while he held our hands and pretended to not know how we ended up there. 'What are you doing down there?!' Great fun."

Thanks and Acknowledgements

Thanks to Aidy for sharing this rhyme! Thanks to Karen R. for sharing her version.

Image created by Mama Lisa with AI.