Here We Go Looby Loo — Free Piano Sheet Music for Kids, With a Play Button

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, oom-pah in 6/8: low C on the first big beat, then E and G; low G, then B, D and F. 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

The ring dance in which everyone puts a hand in, takes it out and shakes it, in a swinging 6/8. Three of the four lines start the same way, three quick Cs and an E for “here we go loo-by”, followed by a long note held for the whole bar: G, then D, then G again. The last line steps down from A to C. The right hand stays in C position with the thumb on middle C and reaches up to A once, in bar 7. The notes are quavers (eighth notes), a crotchet and quaver pair, and dotted minims. The left hand plays a bass note and a chord on each big beat, C and G7.

Practice tip: Count two big beats in every bar and hold the long notes right to the end of the bar. Play the chorus, then sing a verse to it: put your right hand in, put your right hand out.

The words

Here we go looby loo, here we go looby light, here we go looby loo, all on a Saturday night.

A short history

In the game, children dance round in a ring for the chorus, then stop for each verse to put in a right hand, a left hand, a foot or their head, shake it and turn about. James Orchard Halliwell printed an early form, “Dancing Looby”, in Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales in 1849, and Alice Gomme’s Traditional Games (1894) gives several tunes for “Lubin”, with the line “Here we dance lubin, lubin, lubin, on a Saturday night”. It is number 5032 in the Roud Folk Song Index.

No one is sure where the name comes from. The tune used here, the one sung today, was printed in Old English Singing Games by L. Edna Walter and Annie Warburton (London, 1926), with the words “Here we dance Looby Loo”.

The Hokey Cokey, which became popular in the 1940s, plays the same game to a different tune.

Quick facts

Tune: Traditional (English and American singing game; words from 1849)
Key: C major, C position
Time signature: 6/8
Length: 8 bars
Tempo: Dancing, dotted crotchet = 66
Difficulty: Level 2: Left-hand chords (piece 22 of 201)
Type: Children's song
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 Here We Go Looby Loo in?

C major, in 6/8 time. There are no sharps or flats in the key signature.

How long is it?

C major, 6/8, 8 bars. The tempo marking is Dancing, dotted crotchet = 66.

Is Here We Go Looby Loo out of copyright?

Yes. The tune is traditional (English and American singing game; words from 1849). Our piano arrangement is free for personal and classroom use.

What is the hardest part?

Count two big beats in every bar and hold the long notes right to the end of the bar. Play the chorus, then sing a verse to it: put your right hand in, put your right hand out.

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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