"There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" (alternatively "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") is a children's

rhyme A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...

and nonsense song of a kind known as cumulative. The song tells the nonsensical story of an old woman who swallows 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. An early documentation of the story appears in English author Dorothy B. King's 1946 book ''Happy Recollections.'' Shortly afterwards, the journal ''Hoosier Folklore'' published three versions of the story from different parts of the United States (Colorado, Georgia and Ohio) in its December 1947 edition. The editor calls it a "cumulative tale", and asks readers for information on its origins. 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 artist Alan Mills copyrighted a version of the song, respectively contributing lyrics and music. At that time it was entitled simply "I Know an Old Lady." A widely distributed version of the song was released on

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History From 1916 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing prod ...

in 1953, where it was sung by

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

. Ives' rendition appears on his album, ''Folk Songs, Dramatic and Humorous''—which debuted in late summer, 1953. According to the album

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the record sleeve, sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner n ...

, the song was "derived from an old ballad", rewritten by Alan Mills, and passed to Ives by Edith Fowke of

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

. The 1961 illustrated book by Rose Bonne also indicates that the

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer ...

are hers, whereas the music was composed by Alan Mills.For a further example remaining in print, see

Lyrics

The following is one form of the lyrics, that are representative of the nature of this cumulative lyric:

In other media

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notabl ...

released a version on the '' Birds Bugs and Little Fishes'' LP (Folkways Records FC7610) in 1955. * Composer Alan Mills recorded a version for Scholastic Records released in 1956 on Animals, Vol.1. * The song's lyrics were used as the text of a children's book by Simms Taback. * The song and its title are the basis of a children's book that has been in print since the early 1970s, from illustrator Pam Adams. * The song was performed by

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ...

and

Statler and Waldorf Statler and Waldorf are a pair of Muppet characters best known for their cantankerous opinions and shared penchant for heckling. The two elderly men first appeared in '' The Muppet Show'' in 1975, where they consistently jeered the entirety o ...

with shadow puppets, on a 1977 episode of ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two television pilot, pilot episodes produced by Henson for American Broadcasting Company, ABC in 1974 and 1975. ...

''. *

Meredith Tax Meredith Jane Tax (September 18, 1942 – September 25, 2022) was an American feminist writer and political activist. Early life Tax was born on September 18, 1942, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the daughter of Archie Tax, a physician, and Martha Br ...

used this

poetic form Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

in her feminist poem ''There was a young woman who swallowed a lie'', in which the woman finally "throws up" the lies she swallowed. Pete Seeger performed the work during a 1980 concert at the Sanders Theater in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

. * San Francisco-based punk rock band Flipper included a version of "The Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly" on their 1988 compilation album '' Sex Bomb Baby''.

References

External links

* . Compilation containing the

1977 episode of ''

. {{Authority control English children's songs Traditional children's songs American picture books Cumulative songs Songs about insects Fictional flies 1961 children's books

Lyrics

In other media

See also

References

External links