Ride a Toy Horse
Riding to Banbury Cross to hear music wherever she goes
Listen
Arrangement: Ian J. Watts / Mike Wilbury · Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks
Lyrics
Ride a toy horse to Banbury Cross,
To see a fine lady upon a white horse.
Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes,
She shall have music wherever she goes.
Traditional lyrics — public domain. Arrangement © Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks.
History & Background
History & Origin
This rhyme is a variant of the much older "Ride a Cock Horse to Banbury Cross", one of the most enduring nursery rhymes in the English language. The original was first recorded in 1784, though it is believed to be considerably older. This version uses "toy horse" in place of "cock horse" — a cock horse was a high-spirited riding horse, or alternatively a hobby horse used by children.
Banbury Cross was a famous landmark in Banbury, Oxfordshire, demolished by Puritans in 1602 as a symbol of paganism and later replaced. The "fine lady" with rings on her fingers and bells on her toes has never been conclusively identified. Candidates have included Queen Elizabeth I, Lady Godiva of Coventry, and various unidentifiable figures of local legend. The details — white horse, rings, bells, music — suggest a person of high status and celebratory purpose, possibly connected to the market town's festivals.
The final line — "she shall have music wherever she goes" — has the character of a blessing or a promise, giving the rhyme an open, generous quality that has contributed to its long survival.
