There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly is a cumulative tale (also called chain tale). This means that the action repeats, but also accumulates during the rhyme. The kids find this technique very fascinating, and singing this nursery rhyme is great fun!
Do you think the lyrics are weird? We agree! But remember that this is a piece of cultural heritage. And quite fun too - right?:)
There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly - Lyrics
There was an old lady who swallowed a flyI don't know why she swallowed a fly - perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a spider
That wriggled and wiggled and tiggled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly
I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a bird
How absurd to swallow a bird.
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly
I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a cat
Fancy that to swallow a cat!
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly
I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady that swallowed a dog
What a hog, to swallow a dog.
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly
I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a cow
I don't know how she swallowed a cow.
She swallowed the cow to catch the dog
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly
I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a horse...
She's dead - of course!