One, Two, Three Aleerie

One, two, three aleerie

Four, five, six aleerie

Seven, eight, nine aleerie

Ten aleerie overball

'Aleerie' is a very old word that means holding your leg crooked. You bounce the ball three times, then lift your leg and bounce the ball under it when you come to ‘Aleerie’. The song was also used for skipping, and it has lots of other verses from different parts of Scotland and other countries.

For example,

One, two, three aleerie

I saw Mrs Peerie

Sittin on her bumbaleerie

Eatin chocolate biscuits

For much more information about 'One, Two, Three Aleerie', see the book 'Doh Ray Me, When Ah Wis Wee' (McVicar, 2007).

'One, Two, Three Aleerie', sung by Kathleen Campbell
From Traditional Scottish Songs and Music, Gallus recordings

Download Adobe Flash Player to listen to the audio online.

Title

One, Two, Three Aleerie (Kathleen Campbell)

Lyrics

Word file: One, Two, Three Aleerie (lyrics) (19 KB)

Notation

Word file: One, Two, Three Aleerie (notation) (81 KB)