One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

A common version

One, two, Buckle my shoe; Three, four, Knock at the door; Five, six, Pick up sticks; Seven, eight, Lay them straight: Nine, ten, A big fat hen; Eleven, twelve, Dig and delve; Thirteen, fourteen, Maids a-courting; Fifteen, sixteen, Maids in the kitchen; Seventeen, eighteen, Maids in waiting Nineteen, twenty, My plate's empty.

Other versions

one two buckle my shoe three four open the door

five six pick up sticks

seven eight lay them straight nine ten the big fat hen

eleven twelve dig and delve thirteen fourteen maids a courting fifteen sixteen maids in the kitchen seventeen eighteen ladies waiting nineteen twenty my plate's empty

Origins and meaning

The rhyme is one of many counting-out rhymes. It was first recorded in Songs for the Nursery, published in London in 1805. This version differed beyond the number twelve, with the lyrics:

Thirteen, fourteen, draw the curtain, Fifteen sixteen, the maid's in the kitchen, Seventeen, eighteen, she's in waiting, Nineteen, twenty, my stomach's empty.

A version published five years later in Gammer Gurton's Garland (1810) had the following different lines:

Three, four, Lay down lower ... Eleven twelve, Who will delve... Fifteen, sixteen, Maidsa-kissing... Nineteen, twenty, My Belly's empty.

According to Henry Bolton, collector of counting rhymes in the 1880s, the rhyme was used in Wrentham, Massachusetts as early as 1780.