Half way down the stairs-
Halfway down the stairs
Halfway down the stairs
Is a stair where I sit:
There isn’t any other stair quite like it.
I’m not at the bottom,
I’m not at the top:
So this is the stair where I always stop.
Halfway up the stairs
Isn’t up, and isn’t down.
It isn’t in the nursery, it isn’t in the town:
And all sorts of funny thoughts
Run round my head:
“It isn’t really anywhere! It’s somewhere else instead!”
(A A Milne)
I love this poem by A.A. Milne!
When I was a little girl, we had a record with this song on it and I fell in love with it and him, then. I have always been a halfway down the stairs kind of girl!
I was mentioning this poem to a friend once, and she said, ” Oh , you mean that Muppet song that the little frog sang on The Muppet Show?”
NO- I mean the A.A. Milne poem that he wrote for his son, Christopher Robin!
Here’s some pictures of my grandson sitting halfway-
And here is the muppet version of A.A. Milne’s poem.
I just found this version by Ricky Gervais- let me warn you it IS a little creepy.
joanna says:
Love your charming pictures of your GS, Heidi,in our house the half way stair is where Zeb sits when he is worried – he can keep an eye on the whole of his world from there…being not really anywhere..
I do prefer Kermit’s version, Ricky G is playing up to his mega creepy image here isn’t he? He aint my favourite comic, though I see where he’s coming from. I am a Michael McIntyre and Eddie Izard fan myself!
heidiannie says:
I like Eddie Izzard better, too, Joanna. But for some reason unbeknownst to me, he has never been videotaped singing “Halfway down”.
I remember this song sung in a lilting fashion, more in a childlike wondering way- and the Muppets version is more melancholy than I like. Ricky G is annoyingly creepy in his version- but my son has told me I have a tendency to be annoyingly persistent in singing strange little songs- so maybe that is why I enjoyed it.
I also enjoy the Celtic notion of time between times and a place between places being of special note and this song touches that whimsical notion.
cynthia says:
I think it would be neat if a child did the poem. Aidan would do a better job. Kermit’s was cute,Ricky G. I didn’t like at all.
cityhippyfarmgirl says:
I think Ricky G is very funny. I would invite him to a dinner party
My eldest son likes a huge book of A.A.Milne that we have. I quite like the nutty poetry of Lewis Carrol.
Allison says:
I can’t tell you how happy this post made me! When I was little, I had a Muppet Show record with this on it, and sometimes I still sing it around the house! I am a very big fan of A.A. Milne, too, but I never knew he wrote it (or if I did know, I forgot…that happens to me a lot!).
Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial says:
I love Robin, and all things Muppet, and all things AA Milne. Is there anything more fun for kids than playing on the stairs?
heidiannie says:
This post came to me around 3 AM when I couldn’t sleep! I came down and looked up my videos and the poem, found the pictures and then put it up the next evening. I’m glad you all enjoyed it as much as I did!