Oranges and Lemons is an English nursery rhyme which refers to the bells of several churches, all within or close to the City of London. In its common version, the lyrics refer to, in turn, St Clement Eastcheap, St Martin Orgar, St Sepulchre-without-Newgate (opposite the Old Bailey), St Leonard's, Shoreditch, St Dunstan's, Stepney, and St Mary-le-Bow. Some claim that the St Clement's mentioned is actually St Clement Danes.^[1] Given the present state of St Martin Orgar, St Martin-in-the-Fields makes a convenient stand-in. Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... A nursery rhyme is a traditional rubbish sony that edgar nursery invented while feeding a pig from his asssong or poem taught to young children, originally in the nursery. ... The City of London is a geographically-small city within Greater London, England. ... ... St Martin Orgar was a church in the City of London in Martin Lane, off Cannon Street, most famous as being one of the churches mentioned in the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons. ... St Sepulchre Church Newgate Execution Bell St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, also known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Holborn), is an Anglican church in the City of London. ... The Old Bailey An Old Bailey trial circa 1808. ... St Leonards, Shoreditch is a church in Shoreditch just outside the City of London. ... St. ... St Mary-le-Bow Church, built 1671-1680, one of Wrens City Churches built after the Great Fire of London Interior St Mary-le-Bow (Bow Church) is a historic church in the City of London, off Cheapside. ... Italic textOranges and lemons! // Headline text St Clement Danes at night St Clement Danes is a church in the City of Westminster, London. ... St Martin-in-the-Fields, London Interior of St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields and Charing Cross, circa 1562 The ceiling of the café in the crypt St. ...

The tune is reminiscent of change ringing, and the intonation of each line is said to correspond with the distinct sounds of each church's bells. Today, the bells of St Clement Danes actually ring out the tune of the rhyme. Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a series of mathematical patterns called changes, without attempting to ring a conventional tune. ...

Common lyrics

The most common lyrics are as follows:^[2]

"Oranges and lemons", say the bells of St. Clement's

"You owe me five farthings", say the bells of St. Martin's

"When will you pay me?" say the bells of Old Bailey

"When I grow rich", say the bells of Shoreditch

"When will that be?" say the bells of Stepney

"I do not know", says the great bell of Bow

Here comes a candle to light you to bed

And here comes a chopper to chop off your head!

Chip chop chip chop - The last man's dead.

Party game

The song is used in a children's party game with the same name, in which the players file, in pairs, through an arch made by two of the players (made by having the players face each other, raise their arms over their head, and clasp their partners' hands). Two (or three) lines are added at the end: Party games are games which share several features suitable to entertaining a social gathering of moderate size. ...

Here comes a candle to light you to bed.

Here comes a chopper to chop off your head.

(Chip chop, chip chop, the last man's dead.)

On the last word, the children forming the arch drop their arms to catch the pair of children currently passing through, who are then "out" and must form another arch next to the existing one. In this way, the series of arches becomes a steadily lengthening tunnel through which each set of two players have to run faster and faster to escape in time. The game works best with a pianist to play the tune, so that unpredictable changes of tempo can be introduced.

Alternative lyrics

A less well known version of Oranges and Lemons (also known as the "London Bells" nursery rhyme) includes a number of other London churches:^[3]

Gay go up and gay go down, to ring the bells of London town.

"Oranges and Lemons" say the bells of St Clement's.

"Bull's eyes and targets" say the bells of St Margaret's.

"Brickbats and tiles" say the bells of St Giles'.

"Halfpence and farthings" say the bells of St Martin's.

"Pancakes and fritters" say the bells of St Peter's.

"Two sticks and an apple" say the bells of Whitechapel.

"Pokers and tongs" say the bells of St John's.

"Kettles and pans" say the bells of St Anne's.

"Old Father Baldpate" say the slow bells of Aldgate.

"You owe me ten shillings" say the bells of St Helen's.

"When will you pay me?" say the bells of Old Bailey.

"When I grow rich" say the bells of Shoreditch.

"Pray when will that be?" say the bells of Stepney.

"I do not know" says the great bell of Bow.

Here comes a candle to light you to bed,

Chip chop, chip chop, the last man's dead.

Origins and meaning

The origins of Oranges and Lemons are not well known, but are thought to date to at least the 17th or 18th century. A square dance named "Oranges and Lemons" dates to 1665.^[2] (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Square dance is often used as a general term for modern Western square dance. ...

The lyrics may reflect trades and activities that took place near the location of the churches mentioned.

Some believe that it may be a reference to when King Charles I was beheaded and all the church bells rang to mark his execution. The final lines in the children's party game may refer to capital punishment. The tenor bell of St Sepulchre-without-Newgate was rung to mark executions at Newgate prison.^[2] Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. ... Beheading. ... Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offences. ... St Sepulchre Church Newgate Execution Bell St Sepulchre-without-Newgate, also known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Holborn), is an Anglican church in the City of London. ... Old Newgate Prison, which was replaced in the 18th century. ...

In Heavy Words Lightly Thrown, published in 2003, Chris Roberts claimed that Oranges and Lemons is a wedding song: for example, "a candle to light you to bed" describes a new bride tempting her new husband.^[4][5]

Cultural references

• A half-and-half mixture of orange juice and bitter-lemon soda water is known as a "St Clements".
• The rhyme makes an appearance in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four as a snippet of nursery rhyme whose ending Mr Charrington cannot remember. Various characters contribute snippets of the rhyme as the book goes on, and the last lines figure symbolically into the closing events of the second section. It serves as an example of the near-complete eradication of shared culture, and is foreshadowed as being lost forever after the final few people who remember it die. In the second line, "You owe me five farthings" is given as "You owe me three farthings".
• The lines of "Here comes a candle to light you to bed/Here comes a chopper to chop off your head" appear in the Supertramp song "Brother Where You Bound".
• The initial line of the nursery rhyme inspired the song, "Oranges and Lemons," by 1980s synth-pop group Book of Love, from their 1989 LP, "Lullaby".
• The rhyme plays a prominent role in the opening scenes of the British black comedy Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly, in which the eponymous characters take the last three lines of the rhyme literally.
• Here Comes a Candle is the title of a book written by the author Fredrick Brown.
• Here Comes a Candle is the title of a book written by the author Jane Aiken Hodge.
• Here Comes a Candle is the title of a fictional book written by the fictitious author Erasmus Fry in an issue of Neil Gaiman's Sandman comic titled "Calliope".
• An instrumental version of the rhyme's melody appears in the 1973 film The Wicker Man as "Chop Chop". The tune soundtracks a scene in which characters, chanting "chop chop", conduct a ceremony with swords reminiscent of the children's party game mentioned above.
• The song is featured many times in the Michael Morpurgo book Private Peaceful. One of the book's characters, Big Joe, due to mental complications, tends to sing this song in times of joy, or when there is other singing going on.
• The less well known version of the lyrics are featured in the book The Night Watch by Sarah Waters.
• The song "Cold Light" by Schaft features the lines, "Here comes a candle to light you to bed. Here comes a chopper to chop off your head."
• The song "Clash City Rockers" by the Clash feature a parody on the rhyme with a verse altered to reflect the music scene of that time: "You owe me a move say the bells of st. groove/Come on and show me say the bells of old bowie/When I am fitter say the bells of Gary Glitter/No one but you and I say the bells of Prince Far-I".
• The novel "The First Verse" by Barry McCrea features a mysterious character named Pablo Virgomare whose appearance is marked or brought on by a line from Oranges and Lemons.
• The lines of "Here comes a candle to light you to bed/Here comes a chopper to chop off your head" are displayed whenever a post is made on the text-based boards of 4chan.
• "Oranges and Lemons" is the name of an album by British post-punk/alternative-rock band XTC (their most successful album, by chart position).

Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903[1][2] – 21 January 1950), better known by the pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist. ... Nineteen Eighty-Four (commonly written as 1984) is a dystopian novel by the English writer George Orwell, published in 1949. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Book of Love was, from 1986 to 1993, one of the most popular synth pop and dance music bands, right alongside Sire Records labelmates Depeche Mode and Erasure. ... Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny, and Girly is the name of a 1969 British horror-comedy cult film. ... Dream Country is the third graphic novel collection of the comic book series The Sandman, published by DC Comics. ... Neil Richard Gaiman () (born November 10, 1960, Portchester, Hampshire) is an English author of numerous science fiction and fantasy works, including many graphic novels. ... The Sandman is a comic book series written by Neil Gaiman and published in the United States by DC Comics for 75 issues from 1988 until 1996. ... Detail of painting The Muses Urania and Calliope by Simon Vouet, in which she is supposedly holding a copy of The Odyssey In Greek mythology, Calliope (Kaliope or Kalliope) (Greek: Καλλιόπη, beautiful-voiced) was the muse of epic poetry, daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne, and is now best known as Homer... For the Iron Maiden song, see The Wicker Man (song). ... grew describook Poetry in the Making by Ted Hughes made him decide to write instead. ... A book cover of the novel Private Peaceful is a novel written by Michael Morpurgo. ... The Night Watch is a 2006 historical fiction novel by Sarah Waters. ... Sarah Waters (born in Wales, 1966) is a British novelist. ... Schaft is a Japanese musical side project of Maki Fujii, of Soft Ballet, and Imai Hisashi, of Buck-Tick. ... Clash City Rockers is a single by The Clash. ... The Clash were an English punk rock band who were active from 1976 to 1986. ... David Bowie (IPA: []) (born David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947) is an English Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, arranger and audio engineer. ... Paul Francis Gadd aka Gary Glitter (born May 8, 1944) is an English rock and pop singer and songwriter who had a string of chart successes with a collection of 1970s glam rock hits including Rock and Roll parts 1 & 2, I Love You Love Me Love, Im the... Prince Far I Prince Far I (1945–1983), born Michael James Williams, was a reggae toaster and producer and a Rastafarian who was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... 4chan (Japanese: Yotsuba, lit. ... XTC are an influential new wave band from Swindon, England. ...

See also

• List of churches and cathedrals of London

St. ...

References

1. ^ In and around Covent Garden - St Clement Danes School
2. ^ ^{a b c} Nursery Rhymes - Oranges and Lemons
3. ^ Nursery Rhymes - London Bells Nursery Rhyme
4. ^ Sex and scandal in nursery rhymes (BBC News, 2 March 2004)
5. ^ Article from H2G2.