"Knees Up Mother Brown" is a pub song, believed to date back as early as the 1800s, but first published in 1938, and with origins in the East End of London.
At the end of the First World War, it is documented to have been sung widely in London on 11 November 1918 (Armistice Night).
The most familiar version of the song is:[5] Other less common variations include: In place of the more common: A final, partly self-deprecating refrain is usually added as a chorus, particularly during a merry session at a pub or party:[citation needed] There is also a version of the song for children, with accompanying dance.
[6] In the 1964 Disney film Mary Poppins the song "Step in Time" written by the Sherman Brothers was based on Knees Up Mother Brown.
[citation needed] According to Richard Sherman, the Knees Up Mother Brown dance was taught to Walt Disney, Tony Walton, and others by Peter Ellenshaw (the Disney Studio's head of special effects) and the Sherman Brothers witnessed them doing the dance and got the idea for "Step in Time".