One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
Counting from buckled shoes to big fat hens and back again
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Arrangement: Ian J. Watts / Mike Wilbury · Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks
Lyrics
One, two, buckle my shoe,
Three, four, knock at the door,
Five, six, pick up sticks,
Seven, eight, lay them straight,
Nine, ten, a big fat hen.
Eleven, twelve, dig and delve,
Thirteen, fourteen, maids a-courting,
Fifteen, sixteen, maids in the kitchen,
Seventeen, eighteen, maids in waiting,
Nineteen, twenty, my plate's empty.
One, two, buckle my shoe,
Three, four, knock at the door,
Five, six, pick up sticks,
Seven, eight, lay them straight,
Nine, ten, a big fat hen.
Eleven, twelve, dig and delve,
Thirteen, fourteen, maids a-courting,
Fifteen, sixteen, maids in the kitchen,
Seventeen, eighteen, maids in waiting,
Nineteen, twenty, my plate's empty.
Traditional lyrics — public domain. Arrangement © Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks.
History & Background
History & Origin
"One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" was first published in "Songs for the Nursery" in 1805, though it was in oral circulation long before that and may have reached America with English emigrants as early as 1780. It is one of the most straightforward of all counting rhymes: each couplet pairs a number with a simple action or image, with no deeper meaning required or intended.
The rhyme was designed as a memory exercise, the kind of thing a child might recite while clapping hands or performing small actions to match each pair of numbers. "Dig and delve" (twelve) is an archaic agricultural term for digging. "Maids a-courting" (fourteen) suggests the rhyme is old enough to come from a world of domestic servants. "My plate's empty" at twenty is a satisfyingly practical ending to a rhyme that makes no great claims for itself.
The song has entered popular culture in various forms, including Agatha Christie's 1940 novel of the same name. This recording gives it a spirited rock arrangement inspired by the British guitar tradition — a far cry from 1805, but just as memorable.
