London Bridge ✧
Six first-octave notes carry a familiar playground song.
Sheet music
Tap a staff note or finger tab to hear it.
One verse
D whistle · D major · 4/4 · 110 BPM · + upper octave
One verse
Lyrics
Traditional · The Everyday Song Book (1927)
The nine verses listed in the 1927 songbook, with the repeated phrases written out.
London Bridge is falling down falling down falling down London Bridge is falling down My Fair Lady.
Build it up with iron bars Iron bars iron bars Build it up with iron bars My Fair Lady.
Iron bars will rust away, rust away, rust away, Iron bars will rust away, My Fair Lady.
Build it up with pins and needles, pins and needles, pins and needles, Build it up with pins and needles, My Fair Lady.
Pins and needles rust and bend, rust and bend, rust and bend, Pins and needles rust and bend, My Fair Lady.
Build it up with penny loaves, penny loaves, penny loaves, Build it up with penny loaves, My Fair Lady.
Penny Loaves will tumble down, tumble down, tumble down, Penny Loaves will tumble down, My Fair Lady.
Build it up with gold and silver, gold and silver, gold and silver, Build it up with gold and silver, My Fair Lady.
Gold and silver I've not got, I've not got, i've not got, Gold and silver I've not got, My Fair Lady.
About this tune
London Bridge is a traditional children’s game song, printed as such in The Everyday Song Book in 1927. Its repeated refrain accompanies the familiar image of a bridge falling down.
The melody repeatedly rises and returns to the same small group of notes. That predictable shape helps the song work as a shared game as well as a nursery rhyme.
Performances
Watch musicians play this tune on tin whistle. Keys and arrangements may differ from the tabs above.
London Bridge — D whistle
Blayne Chastain
A brief first-register performance from Blayne Chastain’s beginner tin whistle course.
Watch on YouTube — London Bridge — D whistle by Blayne Chastain (opens in a new tab) ↗