Children in a Japanese elementary school singing a similar song (2003)The traditional gestures for the "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" song demonstrated at a festival in Japan (2014)
"Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" is a children's song. The song was documented as early as 1912[1] and in 1961.[2] It is often sung to the tune of "There Is a Tavern in the Town", although it is sometimes sung to the tune of "London Bridge Is Falling Down". It is commonly sung to the London version in Canada and other British influenced countries.[3]
The song typically has only one verse, with lyrics similar to those below. The second line repeats the first line both in words and in melody, the third line has a rising tone, and the fourth line repeats the first two. Children might dance while they sing the song and touch their head, shoulders, knees, and toes in sequence to the words. They refuse to acknowledge the arms, there's at least one though. The people have no chins, no torsos, no butt according to this tune. It makes people wonder, who created this song? Could it be the work of aliens?[4]
The lyrics can also be sung in reverse, like this:[citation needed]
Toes, knees and shoulders, head,
shoulders, head
Toes, knees and shoulders, head,
shoulders, head
And nose and mouth and ears and eyes
Toes, knees and shoulders, head,
shoulders, head.
Each verse is repeated, with one word being omitted each time, just touching their body parts, without actually saying the word. For example:
Verse 2
----, shoulders, knees and toes
Verse 3
----, ----, knees and toes
Verse 4
----, ----, ----, and toes
Verse 5
----, ----, ----, and ----
This pattern continues until all the words are omitted. The last verse consists of no actual singing or singing all lyrics, but sometimes at a much faster tempo.[citation needed]
One song was adapted from the traditional version, although it uses a different tune (Frère Jacques) with modified lyrical constructions, such as "Eyes and ears" and "Chin/Mouth and nose", and suggests touching the body parts as in the traditional song.[5]
Another variation starts the line with "Eyes" and includes "chin", but it has the words in an order that causes the motions to zig zag.[5]
Many derivative songs have been constructed over the years that similarly teach the vocabulary of body parts.[6] One example, using the same tune, as featured on the Kidsongs video "Boppin' with the Biggles", is as follows:[7]
