"Wind The Bobbin Up" is an English language

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 children's nursery rhyme

Nursery rhyme

The term nursery rhyme is used for "traditional" poems for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the 19th century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.-Lullabies:...

 and singing game

Singing game

A singing game is an activity based around a particular verse or rhyme, usually associated with a set of actions and movements. They have been studied by folklorists, ethnologists and psychologists and are seen as important part of childhood culture...

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Lyrics

Among modern lyrics is:

Wind the bobbin up,

Wind the bobbin up,

Pull, pull, clap, clap, clap.

Wind it back again,

Wind it back again,

Pull, pull, clap, clap, clap,

Point to the ceiling,

Point to the floor,

Point to the window,

Point to the door,

Clap your hands together, 1, 2, 3,

Put your hands upon your knee.

Origins

Iona and Peter Opie traced this rhyme back to Yorkshire in the 1890s. When they were collecting games in the 1960s and 70s the version they encountered was:

Wind the bobbin up,

Wind the bobbin up,

Pull, pull,

Tug, tug, tug.

The game

In the 1970s the game involved two players winding fists around each other. At "Pull, Pull" they pushed their fists away from each other and when "Tug, Tug" was reached they pulled their elbows back. It has now become a much more sedate action game, often with small children carrying out the actions in the lyrics.