Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes


"Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" is a children's song. The song has been documented as early as the 1950s, and is often sung to the tune of "There Is a Tavern in the Town".

Description

There is generally only one verse with lyrics similar to those below. The second line repeats the first line both in words and in melody, the third line has a rising tone, and the fourth line repeats the first two. Children might dance while they sing the song and touch their head, shoulders, knees, and toes in sequence while singing each word.

Lyrics

The lyrics can also be sung in reverse, like this:
Each verse is repeated, with one word being omitted each time, just touching their body parts, without actually saying the word. For example:
This pattern continues until all the words are omitted. The last verse consists of no actual singing. The very last/final verse is to put all the body part words back in. Just touching what would have been sung or singing all lyrics, but sometimes at a much faster tempo.
There is a song that was adapted from the traditional; it uses another tune and says, "Eyes and ears", "Chin/Mouth and nose" and suggests touching the body parts as in the traditional song. Another alternative from the traditional starts the line with "Eyes" and includes "chin;" however, it has the words in an order that causes the motions to zig zag.
Today there are many derivative songs that teach the vocabulary of body parts. One example, using the same tune, as featured on the Blue's Clues episode entitled, "Blue Wants to Play a Song Game!" is as follows: