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Arrangement: Ian J. Watts / Mike Wilbury · Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks
Lyrics
The grand old Duke of York,
He had ten thousand men.
He marched them up to the top of the hill
And he marched them down again.
And when they were up they were up.
And when they were down they were down.
And when they were only half way up,
They were neither up nor down.
Traditional lyrics — public domain. Arrangement © Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks.
History & Background
History & Origin
"The Grand Old Duke of York" has been sung in England since at least the early nineteenth century, and the rhyme carries a satirical edge: the Duke marches his men to the top of a hill for no apparent purpose and then marches them down again, achieving nothing. The philosophical punchline — "when they were only half way up, they were neither up nor down" — is either a military absurdity or a small insight into the nature of commitment.
The "Grand Old Duke" has been associated with various historical figures. The most commonly proposed candidate is Richard, Duke of York (1411–1460), whose ill-fated campaigns during the Wars of the Roses involved various strategic advances and retreats. Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (1763–1827), a son of George III who had a disastrous military career, has also been proposed. Neither identification is certain.
What is certain is that the rhyme captures something true about the futility of pointless activity, expressed through the simple image of ten thousand men going up and then coming straight back down. As a marching song with actions — up on tiptoes for the hill, crouching for coming down — it remains popular in primary schools and nurseries for the physical play it invites as much as for its gentle military satire.
