Green Cheese

Green cheese,
Yellow laces,
Up and down
The market places.

Listen as male British:

Listen as female American:

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Posted in All Rhymes, Daily Life & Objects, Nonsensical

Tagged cheese, colors, laces, market, yellow

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Meaning

This short rhyme is playful and nonsensical, stringing together vivid colors and everyday imagery. It evokes the sights and delights of a market—cheese wheels, colorful goods, laces for shoes or clothes—but without a clear narrative. Its charm lies in its rhythm and whimsical word pairings rather than any concrete story or lesson. For children, it’s primarily a rhyming chant for fun or movement.

Origin

The rhyme appears to be of English-language origin, reflecting traditions of simple, rhythmic verses for children. It incorporates the folkloric motif of “green cheese” (traditionally meaning young, unaged cheese) from older proverbs, but this expanded form seems to be a variant or an inventive regional version, likely arising from playground or oral tradition rather than a published source.

Time Period

This version does not appear in standard nursery rhyme collections from the 19th or early 20th centuries. Its style is consistent with 20th-century or later playground rhymes, suggesting it may have originated or evolved in the mid to late 20th century.

Why It Became Popular

Its sing-song rhythm and sensory appeal lend themselves to memory games, hand-clapping, skipping, or counting activities in group play. Like many playground chants, it likely spread informally among children.

First Known Publication

No definitive printed edition is widely recognized for this exact version. It may exist in oral tradition or regional collections but is not part of the mainstream Mother Goose or classic nursery rhyme corpus.

Structure and Style

Meter: Mostly iambic dimeter (short, upbeat lines)
Rhyme Scheme: None (first two lines as a pair, second two as a pair; subtle assonance with “laces/places”)
Line Count: 4
Style Notes: Simple, direct, and rhythmic; designed for easy chanting, repetition, and movement.

Themes

Colors (green, yellow)
Food (cheese)
Clothing (laces)
Marketplace/busy places
Playful nonsense

Language Notes

“Green cheese” refers to unaged, fresh cheese, not the color green. “Yellow laces” likely evokes shoe or clothing laces, chosen for their color contrast and internal rhyme. The repetition of “places” with “laces” is playful and musical.

Moral or Lesson

None clearly intended.

Suggested Activities

Color Hunt: Ask children to find objects in the room or playground that are green or yellow.
Market Roleplay: Set up a pretend marketplace where “cheese” and “laces” are bought and sold.
Movement Game: March or skip “up and down” as the rhyme is chanted.
Rhyme Extension: Encourage kids to add their own colorful, rhyming pairs and places to extend the rhyme.
Art Time: Draw a market scene with green cheese and yellow laces.

Historical or Cultural Notes

This version ties into a longstanding tradition where children invent or adapt rhymes locally, using catchy word pairs and familiar settings. It demonstrates how motifs like “green cheese” shift from standard proverbs (“The moon is made of green cheese”) into playful nonsense.

Notable Variants

Children may expand the rhyme with additional lines, colors, foods, or “market” items to personalize the chant during group play.

Appearances in Media or Literature

Not widely collected in classic anthologies or media; most commonly encountered as a playground rhyme or shared orally among children.

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Green Cheese

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