Lyrics
Do your ears hang low? Do they wobble to and fro? Can you tie them in a knot? Can you tie them in a bow? Can you throw them o'er your shoulder like a Continental Soldier? Do your ears hang low?
#Does your tongue hang down? Does it flop all around? Can you tie it in a knot? Can you tie it in a bow? Can you throw it o'er your shoulder like a Continental Soldier? Does your tongue hang down?
#Does your nose hang low? Does it wiggle to and fro? Can you tie it in a knot? Can you tie it in a bow? Can you throw it o'er your shoulder like a Continental Soldier? Does your nose hang low?
#Do your eyes pop out? Do they bounce all about? Can you tie them in a knot? Can you tie them in a bow? Can you throw them o'er your shoulder like a Continental Soldier? Do your eyes pop out?
#Do Your Ears Hang Low? at a glance
- Country of origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Sung in
- English
- Words by
- Traditional
- First known
- children's version popularised after WWI
- Best for ages
- 2–7
- Mood
- playful, traditional
- Last updated
- 25 July 2026
How to sing it
- Mime each action as you sing — pull your ears down long, wobble them, tie a knot, tie a bow.
- Throw them "over your shoulder like a Continental soldier" with a big arm swing.
- Speed up each time round, and swap in new body parts (tongue, nose, eyes) for extra silliness.
Meaning and origin
This is a song made entirely of impossible actions, and children adore it for exactly that reason. Can your ears hang low, wobble to and fro, be tied in a knot or a bow, be flung over your shoulder “like a Continental soldier”? Of course they can’t — and the fun is in trying to mime it anyway, then doing the same for your tongue, your nose and your popping eyes, faster and sillier each time. It is nonsense as a whole-body game.
Its melody is borrowed: it is usually sung to a short version of the American folk tune “Turkey in the Straw”. The song’s own history is a little more grown-up than its playground reputation suggests — the version children sing is a cleaned-up descendant of a rowdier song popular with British soldiers in the trenches of the First World War. After the war the words were tidied and the Scouting movement adopted it as a campfire staple, and from there it hopped into the nursery, where its cheerful impossibility has kept it going ever since.
Common questions
- What is "Do Your Ears Hang Low?" about?
- Pure silliness. It asks whether your ears (then your tongue, nose and eyes) can do impossible things — hang low, wobble to and fro, be tied in a knot or a bow, and be thrown over your shoulder "like a Continental soldier". Children act it all out, which is the whole point.
- What tune is "Do Your Ears Hang Low?" sung to?
- Most often to a short version of the American folk tune "Turkey in the Straw" (it can also be sung to the "Sailor's Hornpipe"). The bouncy melody suits the exaggerated, comic actions.
- Where does "Do Your Ears Hang Low?" come from?
- The children's version we sing today is a tidied-up one. A rowdier adult version was sung by British soldiers on the Western Front during the First World War; afterwards the words were cleaned up and it was taken up by the Scouting movement as a campfire favourite.
