Lyrics
Open, shut them, open, shut them, Give a little clap. Open, shut them, open, shut them, Put them in your lap.
#Creep them, crawl them, creep them, crawl them, Right up to your chin. Open wide your little mouth, But do not let them in!
#Creep them, crawl them, creep them, crawl them, Right down to your toes. Let them fly up in the air, And bop you on the nose.
#Open, shut them, open, shut them, Give a little clap. Open, shut them, open, shut them, Put them in your lap.
#Open, Shut Them at a glance
- Country of origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Sung in
- English
- Words by
- Traditional
- First known
- traditional action song; author unknown
- Best for ages
- 2–7
- Mood
- dancing, playful
- Last updated
- 27 August 2026
How to sing it
- Open and close your fists on "open, shut them", then clap and drop them in your lap.
- "Creep" your fingers slowly up towards your chin, then back down to your toes.
- Let the hands "fly up" and gently bop your own nose at the end for a giggle.
Meaning and origin
This is one of the first action songs many children ever learn, and it is really a gentle work-out for a pair of small hands. The fists open and shut, give a little clap, and settle into the lap; then the fingers “creep and crawl” slowly up towards the chin — with a teasing warning not to let them into the open mouth — before creeping down to the toes and suddenly flying up to bop the singer on the nose. Each line is a new instruction, and the fun is in following them.
Behind the fun is quiet learning: opening and closing the hands, clapping, moving fast and slow on cue, all held together by a tune. Like most nursery action songs it has no known author and drifts a little from place to place, with different verses added over the years. The one source retrieved for this page, Mama Lisa’s World, files it among songs from the USA and prints versions sent in by American parents and library programmes; nothing older was found, so the page gives the country as the USA without claiming the song began there. What stays constant is the shape — a calm open-and-shut, a slow creeping climb, and a giggle at the end.
Common questions
- How do you play "Open, Shut Them"?
- With your hands. You open and shut your fists, give a little clap, and rest your hands in your lap; then your fingers "creep and crawl" up to your chin and down to your toes, before flying up to bop you on the nose. Every line has its own movement.
- What is "Open, Shut Them" good for?
- Building hand control and following directions. For babies and toddlers it is a gentle way to practise opening and closing the hands, clapping, and moving slowly and quickly on cue — all wrapped in a game that ends in a tickle.
- Who wrote "Open, Shut Them"?
- No author is recorded. It is a traditional action song passed down in nurseries, libraries and playgroups, with many small variations in the words. The only source retrieved for this page files it among songs from the USA; no earlier history of the song was found.
