The Grand Old Duke of York
Languages: English, French
Ressource Type: song, nursery rhyme
Theme: English traditionnal song
Age-range: infant-preschool, 3 – 7 years
Download the words of the song:
♦ The Grand Old Duke of York
“The Grand Old Duke of York” (also sung as “The Noble Duke of York” ) is an English children’s nursery rhyme, often performed as an action song. Like many popular nursery rhymes the origins of the song have been much debated and remain unclear.
The rhyme clearly refers to an historical person and debates have tended to circulate around identifying which Duke is being referred to in the lyrics. Candidates for the duke in question include: Richard, Duke of York (1411-1460), who was defeated at the Battle of Wakefield on 30 December 1460, James II (1633-1701). But the most common attribution is to Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (1763–1827).
English Lyrics:
The Grand Old Duke of York
Oh, the grand old Duke of York,
He had ten thousand men;
He marched them up to the top of the hill,
And he marched them down again.
When they were up, they were up,
And when they were down, they were down,
And when they were only halfway up,
They were neither up nor down.
French translation:
Le grand vieux duc d’York
Oh, le grand vieux duc d’York,
Il avait dix mille hommes ;
En haut de la colline il les fit marcher,
Et les a fait redescendre.
Une fois tout en haut, tout en haut,
Et une fois tout en bas, tout en bas,
Et quand ils étaient à mi-hauteur,
Ils n’étaient ni en haut ni en bas.
Culture and Vocabulary:
- traditionnal song of the United-Kingdom
- prepositions of places : up to the top, up, down, halfway up
- numbers: ten thousand
Grammar:
- simple past verbs: had, marched, were
- subject pronouns: he, they
- conjunction: when
Phonology:
- rhythmic structure of the nursery rhyme
Teaching suggestions:
- Express possession: He had…
- The catchy tune of this rhyme greatly facilitates its teaching. Draw a hill on the blackboard and using stick-figure people and horses, show the soldiers going up the hill and going down the other side. Make the Duke of York the biggest person of the drawing. This song will probably take a while to learn. As with the other songs, it is better to sing it two or three times, go on to other activities and return to the song a little later.
Videos of the song “The Grand Old Duke of York” in English:
Video of the song “The Grand Old Duke of York” in French:
Thanks for these great resources!
I loved this post! It’s fascinating to see “The Grand Old Duke of York” presented in both French and English. The lyrics are catchy, and it’s a fun way to help kids learn. Thanks for sharing this delightful nursery rhyme!
What a delightful post! I love how you’ve provided the lyrics in both French and English. It’s a fun way to introduce children to language learning through nursery rhymes. Thanks for sharing this gem!
What a delightful post! I love how you included the lyrics in both French and English. It’s a fun way to introduce kids to language learning through music. The history behind “The Grand Old Duke of York” is fascinating too!
I loved how you presented the lyrics in both French and English! It’s such a fun way to introduce kids to bilingual learning while enjoying a classic nursery rhyme. The history behind “The Grand Old Duke of York” is fascinating too. Keep up the great work!
I absolutely loved this post! It’s fascinating to see “The Grand Old Duke of York” presented in both French and English. The lyrics are catchy, and it’s a great way to introduce young children to bilingual learning. Thank you for sharing this delightful nursery rhyme!
I loved this post! It’s such a fun way to learn a classic nursery rhyme in both English and French. The lyrics are so catchy, and I can’t wait to teach it to my kids. Great job on making it interactive with the “Speak and Play” feature!