Girls and Boys Come Out to Play
Version 1
Girls and boys come out to play,
The moon does shine as bright as day;
Leave your supper and leave your sleep,
And join your playfellows in the street.
Come with a whoop, and come with a call,
Come with a good will or not at all.
Up the ladder and down the wall,
A penny loaf will serve us all.
Source: Songs the Children Love to Sing (1916)
Version 2
Girls and boys come out to play,
The moon doth shine as bright as day:
Come with a hoop, come with a call,
Come with a good will, or not at all:
Leave your supper and leave your sleep,
Come to your playfellows in the street:
Up the ladder and down the wall,
A penny loaf will serve us all.
(Traditional)
Version 3
Boys and girls come out to play,
The moon doth shine as bright as day.
Leave your supper and leave your sleep,
And join your playfellows in the street.
Come with a whoop and come with a call,
Come with a good will or not at all.
Up the ladder and down the wall,
A half-penny loaf will serve us all;
You find milk, and I’ll find flour,
And we’ll have a pudding in half an hour.
But when the
Loaf is gone, what will you do?
Those who would eat must work ‘tis true’
Source: Mother Goose’s Melody (c. 1765)
Historical Background
Though written for and about children, the earliest references to “Girls and Boys Come Out to Play” are found in adult literature—in dance books of 1708, 1719, 1728, in satires of 1709 and 1725, and in a political broadside of 1711. “Girls and Boys Come Out to Play” was collected as a nursery rhyme in “Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Song Book,” published around 1744, which only included the first six lines.
