Wee Willie Winkie The Gentle Bedtime Rhyme, With Lyrics and a Free Printable

🎵 Wee Willie Winkie Lyrics

These are the two classic verses, in the standard English version. The rhyme was first printed in Scots, and small words vary a little between books — the version note below the lyrics explains the one difference parents ask about most.

Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town,
Up stairs and down stairs in his night-gown,
Tapping at the window, crying at the lock,
Are the children in their bed, for it's past ten o'clock?

Hey, Willie Winkie, are you coming in?
The cat is singing purring sounds to the sleeping hen,
The dog's spread out on the floor, and doesn't give a cheep,
But here's a wakeful little boy who will not fall asleep!

🌙 About This Rhyme

Willie Winkie is the original bedtime patrol. Written by the Scottish poet William Miller and first printed in Scots in 1841, the rhyme sends Willie through the town in his nightgown, tapping at windows to check that every child is in bed where they belong. For a child being tucked in, that is the joke and the comfort at once: the whole town is going to sleep, and so should you.

The second verse zooms in on one wide-awake little boy: the cat is asleep, the dog is asleep, but he is not — a scene every parent recognizes. One honest note on wording: the early English version used here says “ten o'clock”; some modern books change it to eight o'clock for younger children. Either way, when Willie taps at your window, it is time for bed.

🖨️ How to Use This Rhyme

1. Sing it at lights-out. Keep your voice low and slow — this one works as a lullaby as much as a rhyme, and the quieter it gets, the sleepier it works.
2. Act the rounds earlier in the evening. Tiptoe around the room together, tap gently on an imaginary window, and whisper Willie's question. Save the acting for before bed, not after lights-out.
3. Print the lyrics sheet. Keep it by the bed or inside the bedtime book pile, so the words are there even when you are too tired to remember them.
4. Let your child “read” it back. A child who cannot read yet can still hold the sheet, recognize the lines, and say them back to you — that is early reading confidence.