According to Wikipedia, the song “London Bridge Is Falling Down” (also known as “My Fair Lady” or “London Bridge”) is a traditional English nursery rhyme and ‘singing game’ found in different versions all over the world. It deals with the dilapidation of the London Bridge and attempts, realistic or fanciful, to repair it with considerable variation in lyric.

We all know this verse:

London Bridge is falling down,

Falling down, falling down,

London Bridge is falling down,

My fair lady.

How about this one?

London Bridge is broken down,

Broken down, broken down.

And these?

Namby Pamby is no clown,

London Bridge is broken down:

Now he courts the gay lay-dee

dancing o’er the Lady-Lee.

Build it up with stone so strong,

Dance o’er my Lady Lee,

Huzza! ‘twill last for ages long,

with a gay lady.

Some say the rhyme relates to the supposed destruction of London Bridge by Olaf II in 1014 or was it 1009? History seems uncertain of the exact date though chockfull of supportive Medieval verses. Here are two:

London Bridge is broken down.

Gold is won and bright renown.

Shields resounding

War-horns sounding,

Hild is shouting in the din!

Arrows singing,

Mail-coats ringing.

Odin makes our Olaf win!

Alice Bertha Gomme (1853-1938), a leading British folklorist, and pioneer in the study of children’s games, put forward the hypothesis that “London Bridge is Falling Down” refers to “the burying, perhaps alive, of children in the foundations of the bridge.” According to English superstition, bridges would collapse unless the body of a human sacrifice was buried in its foundations. In 2007, it was reported by one questionable source that human skeletal remains were found during the bridges renovation. 

And so it seems, bridges fall and rise for different reasons. In between, some are worthy of repair.

The Callicoon Bridge is currently being rebuilt and therefore under a very noisy and inconvenient reconstruction. The sidewalk’s been trimmed by at least half-a-foot, and plans for a bike lane seem non-existent. Cyclists  such as me will have to continue riding either on the narrow sidewalk or in the car lane. Several stoplights have been installed because there’s only one lane now purported to be that way for the next year or two. The good news is the bridge no longer shakes, rattles and undulates like a tsunami wave when a truck passes over it.

The Skinner’s Falls Bridge, on the other hand, may be destined to disappear unless the  Go-Fund-Me initiated by Damascus Citizens for Sustainability raises enough money to rescue it. This fundraiser, for a bridge that crosses the Delaware connecting the communities of Milanville, PA and Skinners Falls, NY, is intended to transfer ownership, and responsibilities of upkeep, from the states to the people.

Whether a bridge changes face or is entirely lost, what remains is the memory, the spirit, and the unbreakable symbol of connection. Perhaps it’s time to sure-up emotional connections between people as well.

RAMONA JAN is the Founder and Director of Yarnslingers, a storytelling group that tells tales both fantastic and true. She is also the roving historian for Callicoon, NY and is often seen giving tours around town. You can email her at callicoonwalkingtours@gmail.com.