The Grand Old Duke of York,
He had ten-thousand men,
He marched them up the top of the hill,
And he marched them down again.
And when they’re up, they’re up,
And when they’re down, they’re down,
And when they were only halfway up,
They were neither up nor down.
He marched them to the left,
he marched them to the right,
he marched them over the top of the hill,
and that was quite a sight!
This is a great, interactive song to get the entire group of Cubs actively involved, both with their friends and the meeting as a whole.
Start with all the Cubs sitting down. Then every time you sing ‘up,’ the whole group jumps to their feet. Match your movements to the rest of the directions in the song: down, halfway up, left, right, etc. I guarantee you’ll have the whole group singing and laughing by the end. For even more fun, sing slowly the first time and increase the tempo each round.
Enjoy this classic American campfire song at your next Den meeting or Pack camp out! For more great ideas, check out our Scout song list.
Use this song to fulfill one of the following Cub Scout Adventure requirements:
- Tiger
- Tiger Tales #6: Sing two folk songs.