The Lion and the Unicorn
The lion and the unicorn
Were fighting for the crown;
The lion beat the unicorn
All around the town.
Some gave them white bread,
And some gave them brown;
Some gave them plum cake
And drummed them out of town.
And when he had beat him out,
He beat him in again;
He beat him three times over,
His power to maintain.
Where the rhyme comes from
The two animals are not random. The lion and the unicorn are the heraldic supporters in the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, the lion standing for England and the unicorn for Scotland. The pairing dates from 1603, when James VI of Scotland also became James I of England. That much is solid heraldry; it is the rhyme itself that is harder to pin down.
The earliest trace of the words that the Opies found, in The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, is a verse by the writer William King, recorded as appearing in 1708 and very similar to the first stanza above. That is one year after the Acts of Union of 1707 between England and Scotland. It is tempting to read the rhyme as a comment on that moment, and the Acts may well have sharpened its appeal — but that is an interpretation. No dated source places the rhyme’s composition in 1603 or in 1707, and its author is unknown. The third stanza is a less common verse, which has survived alongside the familiar two; the rhyme seems to have grown by accretion over time.
The rhyme found a famous new home in 1871, in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass. In Chapter VII, titled “The Lion and the Unicorn”, Alice runs alongside the White King and recites “the old song”. Carroll then plays with its every line: the two creatures fight (the King’s messenger reports that each has been down “about eighty-seven times”), white and brown bread are handed round — very dry — the Unicorn demands plum cake, and the chapter ends with drums so loud that Alice is deafened. John Tenniel’s illustrations for the book have been said to caricature the politicians Disraeli and Gladstone as the Unicorn and the Lion, though there is no evidence that Carroll intended it.
What does it mean?
England and Scotland. A common reading is that the rhyme is about the rivalry of the two kingdoms, with the lion and the unicorn standing for their nations. The animals certainly do, in heraldry; whether the rhyme was ever meant as political comment is a matter of interpretation, and there is no contemporary evidence either way.
The bread and the cake. Nobody knows what the white bread, the brown bread and the plum cake are supposed to signify, nor what lies behind “drummed them out of town”. The lines may simply be what they appear to be: a town’s reaction to a very noisy fight, with the bystanders offering food and sending the fighters on their way. Clever explanations for each detail are easy to find, but none is backed by evidence, so we leave the question open.
Sharing it with children
This is a rhyme for two voices. Let one person be the lion and one the unicorn, each taking a line and growling or snorting in character, then join together for “Some gave them white bread”. With a group, split the room in two and let each side defend its animal.
For “drummed them out of town”, hand out wooden spoons and saucepans and march round the room, keeping a steady beat on each word. Slow the drumming down for a quiet finish and the fighters can tiptoe away. It is a good rhyme for practising a steady beat.
For older children, look at a picture of the royal coat of arms together and ask them to find the lion and the unicorn on either side of the shield. Then give them paper and crayons to draw or colour their own pair — with, if they like, a crown for the one they think should win.
Extra verses to sing
These verses aren’t traditional — they’re ours. Sing them if you would rather the two ended up friends.
The lion and the unicorn
Grew tired of the crown;
They shook each other by the paw
And hoof, and sat right down.
Some brought them cups of tea,
And some brought honey-bread;
The drummers drummed a lullaby
And sent them off to bed.