| "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" | |
|---|---|
        | |
| Song byBurl Ives | |
| Language | English |
| Released | 1953 |
| Genre | Children's rhyme, nonsense song |
| Label | Brunswick Records |
| Songwriter(s) | Rose Bonne andAlan Mills |
| Official audio | |
| "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" onYouTube | |
"There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" is a 1953cumulative (repetitive, connectedpoetic lines orsong lyrics) children'snursery rhyme ornonsensical song byBurl Ives. Other titles for therhyme include "There Was an Old Lady", "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly", "There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly" and "I Know an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly". An early documentation of the story appears in English author Dorothy B. King's 1946 bookHappy Recollections.
The song tells the nonsensical story of an old woman whoswallows increasingly large animals, each to catch the previously swallowed animal, but dies after swallowing a horse. There are many variations of phrasing in the lyrics, especially for the description of swallowing each animal.
Our first Wren evening was a "knockout," in the spring of 1943. The Hall was so packed that men were even perched on the window ledges. No audience could possibly have been more enthusiastic or shown their appreciation in a greater degree. I am sorry I have not that first program. Third Officer Phillips and several of the other officers sat in the front row of the Rest Room, really the dressing room on concerts nights. One of the officers recited and I have never laughed so much as I did that night she told us about the woman who swallowed a fly and then swallowed a cat to eat that fly and a dog to eat the cat, and so on: her "swallows" each time were so realistic.
— Dorothy B. King,Happy Recollections (1946)[1]
Shortly afterwards, the journalHoosier Folklore published three versions of the story from different parts of the United States (Colorado,Georgia andOhio) in its December 1947 edition. The editor calls it a "cumulative tale", and asks readers for information on its origins.[2] All three versions begin with a lady swallowing the fly and end with her dying after swallowing a horse, but there are variations in what animals are swallowed and the rhymes for each animal.
In 1952, Rose Bonne (lyrics) and Canadian/English folk artistAlan Mills copyrighted a version of the song, respectively contributing lyrics and music. At that time it was entitled simply "I Know an Old Lady."[3] A widely distributed version of the song was released onBrunswick Records in 1953, where it was sung byBurl Ives. Ives' rendition appears on his album,Folk Songs, Dramatic and Humorous—which debuted in late summer, 1953.[4] According to the albumliner notes, the song was "derived from an old ballad", rewritten by Alan Mills, and passed to Ives byEdith Fowke ofCBC Radio.[5] The 1961 illustrated book by Rose Bonne also indicates that thelyrics are hers, whereas the music wascomposed by Alan Mills.[6][7][non-primary source needed][8]
The following is one version of the lyrics to demonstrate the song's cumulative nature:
There was an old lady who swallowed a fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly – perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a spider
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled 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
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled 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 cat;
Well, fancy that, she swallowed a cat!
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled 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 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
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled 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 goat;
Just opened her throat and swallowed a goat!
She swallowed the goat 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
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled 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 cow;
I don't know how she swallowed a cow!
She swallowed the cow to catch the goat,
She swallowed the goat 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
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled 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 horse...
She's dead, of course![9]
One of the Classic Books-with-Holes that have been around for 30 years.
