London Bridge Is Falling Down

Free beginner piano sheet music: C major, 4/4, 8 bars. Press Play to hear it on a real piano, slow it down, or hear one hand at a time; click any note to start from there; print it for the music stand.

The chords in this piece

Your left hand plays two chords in this piece. The shaded keys are the notes of each chord, and the numbers under them are the left-hand fingers (1 is the thumb). Just two shapes, split in two all the way through (oom-pah): low C, then E and G together; low G, then B, D and F together. All the common piano chords, with diagrams →

C C

C – E – G · Left hand 5 3 1

C, E and G: the home chord. Little finger on C, middle finger on E, thumb on G.

G7 G7

G – B – D – F · Left hand 5 3 2 1

G, B, D and F, the whole G7 chord. Little finger reaches down to the low G; the other three fingers play B, D and F together.

About this arrangement

An English singing game at least three hundred years old; the words were printed in 1744. The new thing is the very first beat: “Lon-don” is a dotted crotchet and a quaver (a dotted quarter and an eighth), long-short, the skip you hear in so many nursery songs. The tune runs from D up to A, so the hand sits one step higher than usual, with the thumb on D and the little finger on A. Everything else is crotchets and minims, and the left hand just swaps between C and G7.

Practice tip: Say “LON-don” with a quick “don”, then play it the same way. The rest of the bar is plain crotchets, so don’t rush them.

The words

London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down, London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady.

A short history

London Bridge has fallen down, burned and been rebuilt several times since the Romans first built one across the Thames, and a game in which children form an arch and catch the one who passes under it has been played since the Middle Ages.

The words were printed around 1744 in Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Song Book, and a version of the game is mentioned in a play of the 1650s. The tune we use was first written down in 1879 in an American collection of children’s games.

Similar arch games with similar words exist in France, Germany, Denmark and Italy, so the song may be much older than its English printing.

Quick facts

Tune: Traditional (English, 18th century)
Key: C major, C position
Time signature: 4/4
Length: 8 bars
Tempo: Marching, crotchet = 104
Difficulty: Level 2: Left-hand chords (piece 20 of 201)
Type: Nursery rhyme
Hands: Both: melody in the right hand, chords in the left
Chords: C and G7 (diagrams above)
Copyright: Public domain tune; arrangement by Digital Greenhouse, free for personal and classroom use

Questions and answers

What key is London Bridge Is Falling Down in?

C major, in 4/4 time. There are no sharps or flats in the key signature.

How long is it?

C major, 4/4, 8 bars. The tempo marking is Marching, crotchet = 104.

Is London Bridge Is Falling Down out of copyright?

Yes. The tune is traditional (English, 18th century). Our piano arrangement is free for personal and classroom use.

What is the hardest part?

Say “LON-don” with a quick “don”, then play it the same way. The rest of the bar is plain crotchets, so don’t rush them.

Can I print it?

Yes. Press Print above to put this piece on its own page, or choose Save as PDF as the printer for a file. It prints on A4 paper; if yours is US Letter, choose US Letter in the box beside Print. The notes are the same size as a printed music book.

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