Abstract
Here the history of these games is outlined in the introductory pages which also offer historical and contextual information on many of the sixty-nine examples, plus variants, which follow, including illuminating comments on modern singing games and action rhymes. Nigel Kelsey notes: “I do not share the belief … that the singing game is on its way to extinction, but I do believe that the old traditional singing games are probably doomed to disappear, at least in their traditional forms.” However, he then adds: “As long as enjoyment in movement, song, and wordplay, whether separately or in combination, continues, the singing game will continue.”
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Alton, J.E., Widdowson, J.D.A. (2019). SINGING AND CHANTING GAMES. In: Alton, J., Widdowson, J. (eds) Games, Rhymes, and Wordplay of London Children. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02910-4_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02910-4_4
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