Up The Wooden Hills to Bedfordshire is a traditional English nursery rhyme that dates back to the early 20th century.
The phrase ‘Up The Wooden Hills’ is an old Cockney slang term for going upstairs to bed.
The term “Bedfordshire” in this context is often used as a metaphor for going to sleep.
However it can be confused for being about an actual place – Bedfordshire the country, the name of real place in the United Kingdom, which has a capital named Bedford.
The rhyme is typically sung or recited to soothe children to sleep.
It’s a simple and gentle verse that parents or caregivers use as part of a bedtime routine to calm children and help them transition into sleep.
The imagery of going “up the wooden hill” suggests climbing stairs, as many older homes in England would have had wooden staircases leading to the bedrooms.
“Bedfordshire” serves as a whimsical and poetic way of referring to the act of going to bed.
Lyrics for Up The Wooden Hills to Bedfordshire
Up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire;
And down Sheet Lane to Blanket Fair.
Up the wooden hill to Blanket Fair,
What shall we have when we get there?
A bucket full of water and a pennyworth of hay,
Gee up, Dobbin, all the way!
