Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary

Tick Tock Goes The Clock

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

Tick Tock Goes The Clock 32 Bar Jig For 3 Couples In A 4 Couple Set, Devised By Viktor Lehmann 2019.

1-4 First couple cast into second place, pass partner left shoulder to face first corner, back to back with partner.
5-16 "TickTock" (new figure):
 4 bar pattern, to dance three times for 12 bars in total:
 Dancers in the center change places right hand with the dancers they face on the diagonal, and while setting on the corner position, the new center dancers (being back to back) move on one corner person clockwise, with setting step;
 while free corners chase clockwise half way round the set to change places.
 On bar 16, corners have moved on one place anticlockwise (women in top places, men in bottom places), first couple being back to back in the center again, facing second corner position.
17-20 First couple with third lady and second man dance half a reel of four on second diagonal, giving right shoulder to begin with and finishing in second place on opposite sides (2x 1x 3x).
21-24 All couples set and cross over to own side giving right hand.
25-32 All circle for 4 slip steps, then set turning on the spot pulling right shoulder back to face clockwise, and then chase to own side (to 2 1 3).

(Dance crib compiled by the deviser, Viktor Lehmann, under the CCA NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, August 2019)


Dance Instruction Videos

Tick Tock Goes The Clock - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video

Dance Information

In essence, this dance is a nod to the region where I grew up, the Black Forest. It's famous for its "Cuckoo Clocks", and the "Tick Tock" figure reflects the movement of the hands of the clock; the clock then has to be wound up to make it go round again...

Music Suggestion: Oh Whistle and I'll come tae ye, my lad (Muriel Johnstone's Scottish Dance Band)
Alternatives: Bonnie Dundee (Sandy Legget), Two and two (Ron Kerr)

(Dance information by the deviser, Viktor Lehmann, under the CCA NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, August 2019)


A cuckoo clock is a pendulum-driven timepiece that marks the hours with a sound mimicking the call of the Common Cuckoo. This distinctive call is produced using small bellows and pipes, often accompanied by the striking of a wire gong. The mechanism responsible for the cuckoo call has been a hallmark of these clocks since the mid-eighteenth century, remaining largely unchanged to this day.

Most are made in the "traditional style" (also known as "carved") or "chalet" to hang on a wall. In the "traditional style" the wooden case is decorated with carved leaves and animals.

Cuckoo clocks are synonymous with the Black Forest, the first of which were created between 1740 and 1750 with hand-painted shields.

A Cuckoo Clock - Information Video

Tick Tock Go The Cuckoo Clock
Black Forest Cuckoo Clocks


Published in Tick Tock Goes The Clock, reproduced here under this Creative Commons Attribution - NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
This page contains both original content, which is copyrighted, and excerpts from Wikipedia and other sources using the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Text from this original Cuckoo Clock article on Wikipedia.
Image copyright Gary Bembridge from London, UK, Creative Commons Licence 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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