Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush Lyrics, Origins, and Video  

"Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush" is a traditional English nursery that is very popular among kids. It is used as a song to teach kids a routine and enact actions like brushing their teeth, waking up early, etc. 

While singing the first (and the last) verse, the kids hold hands in a circle and move around. In the following verses (where some action is specified), they imitate the activities mentioned in those specific verses with their hands.

Written Lyrics

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush

The mulberry bush

The mulberry bush

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush

On a cold and frosty morning

This is the way we wash our face

Wash our face

Wash our face

This is the way we wash our face

On a cold and frosty morning

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush

The mulberry bush

The mulberry bush

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush

On a cold and frosty morning

This is the way we brush our teeth

Brush our teeth

Brush our teeth

This is the way we brush our teeth

On a cold and frosty morning

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush

The mulberry bush

The mulberry bush

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush

On a cold and frosty morning

This is the way we comb our hair

Comb our hair

Comb our hair

This is the way we comb our hair

On a cold and frosty morning

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush

The mulberry bush

The mulberry bush

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush

On a cold and frosty morning

This is the way we put on our clothes

Put on our clothes

Put on our clothes

This is the way we put on our clothes

On a cold and frosty morning

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush

The mulberry bush

The mulberry bush

Here we go 'round the mulberry bush

On a cold and frosty morning

Printable Lyrics

Print out the full lyrics of this song from here directly.

Photo Lyrics

Video Link

It is an enjoyable and educational song. Both kids and parents can sing and enjoy themselves. You can use it to enact the actions to teach the kids. Here is a YouTube link to the rhyme. 

Link:

Origin and History

James Orchard Halliwell first recorded the rhyme as a children's game in the mid-19th century. There is a similar game with the lyrics "Here we go round the bramble bush", because mulberries do not grow on bushes. 

It is a traditional song and game and has parallels in Scandinavia and the Netherlands. Local historian R. S. Duncan has another version about female prisoners at HMP Wakefield prison, where they exercised around a mulberry tree in the moonlight.

The song has many forms, and the lines are often modified depending on who is singing it. For example, “This is the way we mend our shoes” or “This is the way ladies walk”.

Another interpretation of the rhyme relates to Britain’s struggle to produce silk. Silkworms eat mulberry leaves, and during the 18th and 19th centuries, Britain tried to surpass the success of the Chinese silk production industry. Britain’s frosty cold winters were harsh for the mulberry trees to thrive, and this hampered the development of a booming silk production industry. 

A variant of this rhyme is "Nuts in May", sharing the tune and the traditional closing line "On a cold and frosty morning".

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