London’s Burning
Languages: English, French
Ressource Type: song, nursery rhyme
Themes: London, United-Kingdom
Age-range: infant-preschool, 4 – 8 years
Download the words of the song:
♦ London’s Burning
The lyrics of the nursery rhyme “London’s Burning” are said to be about Great Fire of London, a five-day fire in the city in 1666. It destroyed about 80% of London and left 65,000 residents homeless. The lyrics of the variant “Scotland’s Burning” refers to the Burning of Edinburgh ordered by Henry VIII of England in 1544. The lyrics of this nursery rhyme are mentioned in William Shakespeare’s comedy The Taming of the Shrew. The song can be sung as a round.
English version:
London’s Burning
London’s burning, London’s burning,
Fetch the engines, Fetch the engines,
Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!
Pour on water, Pour on Water.
French Translation:
L’incendie de Londres
Londres brûle, Londres brûle,
Va chercher les véhicules, va chercher les véhicules,
Feu ! Feu ! Feu ! Feu !
Versez de l’eau, versez de l’eau.
Vocabulary:
London, to burn, to fetch, to pour, the engines, fire, water
Grammar:
to BE + V ing (London’s burning)
Pronunciation:
- how to pronounce water in English (UK /ˈwɔːtə/ et USA /ˈwɑtəɹ/)
- pronunciation of [r] in “burning”, “fire”, “water” and in “pour on”
There is a variant on the BBC School Radio “Fetch the buckets ! Fetch the firehooks!” .
