Miss Polly Had a Dolly
The doctor came with his bag and his hat — and knocked with a rat-a-tat-tat
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Arrangement: Ian J. Watts / Mike Wilbury · Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks
Lyrics
Miss Polly had a dolly who was sick, sick, sick,
So she called for the doctor to be quick, quick, quick.
The doctor came with his bag and his hat
And he knocked at the door with a rat-a-tat-tat.
He looked at the dolly and he shook his head,
And he said, "Miss Polly, put her straight to bed."
He wrote out a paper for a pill, pill, pill,
"I'll be back in the morning with the bill, bill, bill."
Traditional lyrics — public domain. Arrangement © Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks.
History & Background
History & Origin
"Miss Polly Had a Dolly" is an action song that has been popular in British nurseries and primary schools since the early twentieth century. The song is typically performed with accompanying mime: shaking the doll, telephoning the doctor, miming the knock at the door, shaking the head, writing the prescription, and so on.
The rhyme's first recorded appearance in print is difficult to pinpoint precisely, but it was in wide circulation by the 1930s and appears in various nursery song collections of that decade. It belongs to a tradition of songs that introduce children to domestic scenarios in a playful way — in this case, the experience of illness and a doctor's visit, seen through the safe lens of a poorly doll.
The doctor is an entirely reassuring figure here: he comes quickly when called, makes a confident diagnosis, prescribes medicine, and announces he will return. The only slightly comic note is the bill, which arrives in the morning alongside the cure — a gentle early introduction to the economics of healthcare.
The repeated triple rhymes — sick sick sick, quick quick quick, pill pill pill, bill bill bill — give the song its driving rhythm and make it irresistibly easy to learn. Children who perform all the actions have essentially rehearsed a short play, and the satisfaction of completing both the words and the mime together is considerable.
