Oh, 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. When they were up, they were up, And when they were down, they were down, And when they were only halfway up, They were neither up nor down.
Actions
There may be almost as many slight or great variations to the actions as there are groups to regularly perform them and pass on their style, but the core movements are often based upon the performers standing whenever a clear "up" is sung, reseating themselves whenever "down" is mentioned and briefly taking an abbreviated half-standing/crouching position for the "only half way up" phrase. A group of performers who, especially in an 'audience participation'-like situation, are originally seated will/should end the song back in their original positions. The first verse is rather gentle one to react to, with one clear standing and one clear seating action, and so other actions may be given. For example: a stiff salute for the "Duke of York", indicating "ten" by clearly displaying ten fingers and/or forming the hands/arms into a some form depicting a 'hill' summit. The second verse becomes far more rapid, especially between the two pairs"downs" the performer may make a bob, between the two, to emphasise the separate positions, rather than just stay up/down), and synchronisation is easily lost by those who are not as quick or able to change positions, or who are new to the 'game' and not as practiced. This activity does help group-bonding in young children and encourages the following the teacher/leader of the activity, but its use is often more as an easily controlled game that promotes physical activity.
Origins
Like many popular nursery rhymes the origins of the song have been much debated and remain unclear. Unusually the rhyme clearly refers to an historical person and debates have tended to circulate around identifying which Duke is being referred to in the lyrics. The lyrics were not printed in their modern form until relatively recently, in Arthur Rackham's Mother Goose in 1913. Prior to that a number of alternatives have been found including a note that in Warwickshire in 1892 the song was sung of both the Duke of York and the King of France; from 1894 that it was sung of Napoleon. The oldest version of the song that survives is from 1642, under the title 'Old Tarlton's song', attributed to the stage clown Richard Tarlton with the lyrics:
The King of France with forty thousand men, Came up a hill and so came downe againe.
As a result, the argument has been made that it may have been a common satirical verse that was adapted as appropriate and, because it was recorded in roughly the modern form, has become fixed on the Duke of York. Candidates for the duke in question include:
James II, formerly Duke of York, who in 1688 marched his troops to Salisbury Plain to resist the invasion from his son-in-law William of Orange, only to retreat and disperse them as his support began to evaporate.
A Dutch adaptation of the song replaces the Duke of York with Maurice, Prince of Orange, stadtholder of six of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic, and its most important military commander after the death of his father William the Silent in 1584. Prince Maurice was able to reconquer large parts of the Habsburg Netherlands, adding them to territory of the emergent Republic, especially during its first Ten Years. His practice of training mercenaries and subsequent military successes became famous throughout Europe. It is not known when the British song crossed the North Sea and was attributed to Maurice, but nowadays it is well-known within the Dutch scouting movement.
The song was adapted by Brazilian singer Xuxa for her circus-themed album . In this version, the Duke of York has been replaced by a king, and his ten thousand men by ten soldiers. Havia um grande rei / Que tinha dez soldados / Os dez subiam no topo da pedra / E desciam lado a lado / E o rei mandava subir / E o rei mandava descer / De tanto subir, e de tanto descer / Os dez ficaram cansados /
