Search this site.

10 In The Bed

An Easy, Silly Campfire Song

10 In The Bed is a perfect campfire song - silly, simple and fun. Its repetitive structure makes it an easy song to learn, even for the youngest campers.

The words

There were ten in the bed
And the little one said,
"Roll over! Roll over!"
So they all rolled over
And one fell out.

There were nine in the bed
And the little one said,
"Roll over! Roll over!"
So they all rolled over
And one fell out.

There were eight in the bed
And the little one said,
"Roll over! Roll over!"
So they all rolled over
And one fell out.

There were seven in the bed...

There were six...

There were five...

There were four...

There were three...

There were two...

There was one in the bed
And the little one said,
"Alone at last!"

---

New words for 10 in the bed

I recently came across this version of the song.

There were ten in a bed,
And the little one said,
"Roll over, roll over!"
So they all rolled over,
And one fell out,
And they gave a little scream,
And they gave a little shout,
"Roll over, roll over!"
Please remember to tie a knot in your pajamas
Single beds are only made for one.

I found this one on Mama Lisa's world. It's a great resource for children's songs. It has a song, poem or proverb from every country in the world!

In French

Il y en avait dix dans un lit
Et le petit a dit :
"Retournez-vous, retournez-vous !
Ils se sont tous retournés
Et un est tombé...

In Spanish

Diez había en la cama
Y el pequeñito dijo:
"Dense vuelta, dense vuelta"
Todos dieron una vuelta
Y uno se cayó...

---

Hints and ideas

• For the littlest ones, or for anyone who has trouble with backwards counting, you might want to hold up ten fingers at the beginning of the song. Fold down one finger each time someone "falls out of bed".

• The very littlest children can shout out "Roll over! Roll over!" even if the rest of the song is too challenging.

• If you have a large group, you could act out this song. Have ten people stand up in a line. Each time you get to the line "one fell out", have one person fall down. Of course, if your group isn't that big, you can just sing "There were five in the bed" - or "There were three in the bed.

• Don't know the tune? Chances are good that someone in your group will - this is one of those well known kids' songs that is found on numerous CDs and DVDs. My favorite rendition is by the children's singer Fred Penner.
  

Now that you know the words to 10 in the bed, you can find the words to more of our favorite campfire songs here.

Visit The Camping Family home page for everything you need to know about planning a camping trip.