Nursery Rhymes & Songs

English Vocabulary

Sing a song of sixpence

Sing a song of sixpence*,
A pocket full of rye*;
Four and twenty* blackbirds
Baked in a pie.

When the pie was opened,
The birds began to sing;
Wasn't that a dainty* dish
To set before the king?

The king was in his counting house,
Counting out his money;
The queen was in the parlour,
Eating bread and honey.

The maid* was in the garden,
Hanging out the clothes,
There came a little blackbird,
And snapped off* her nose.

• sixpence - a coin
• rye - a cereal plant
• Four and twenty - 24
• dainty - delicately pretty
• maid - a servant
• snapped off - break off or bite off

Little Miss Muffet

Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet*,
Eating her curds* and whey*;
Along came a big spider,
Who sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away.

• tuffet - a low seat
• curds - the cheesy, acidy substance left on milk
• whey - water liquid left when milk goes off

There was an old woman

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe,
She had so many children
she didn't know what to do;
She gave them some broth*
without any bread;
She whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.

• broth - a thin soup of fish or meat stock

Rock-a-bye baby

Rock-a-bye, baby, on the tree top,
When the wind blows the cradle* will rock;
When the bough* breaks the cradle will fall,
Down will come baby, cradle, and all.

• cradle - a babies bed or cot that rocks from side-to-side
• bough - a branch of a tree

Three blind mice

Three blind mice.
Three blind mice.
See how they run.
See how they run.
They all ran after the farmer's wife,
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,
Did you ever see such a sight in your life,
As three blind mice?

• blind - cannot see, has no sight

Polly put the kettle on

Polly put the kettle on,
Polly put the kettle on,
Polly put the kettle on,
We'll all have tea.

Sukey take it off again,
Sukey take it off again,
Sukey take it off again,
They've all gone away.

• kettle - a utensil used for boiling water in

Humpty Dumpty

Humpty dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men,
Couldn't put Humpty together again.

Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater

Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater,
Had a wife and couldn't keep her;
He put her in a pumpkin shell
And there he kept her very well.

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep

Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes, sir, yes, sir
Three bags full;
One for the master,
And one for the dame,
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.

• wool - hair from a sheep, goat, etc.
• master - a person who has control over people or things
• dame - a young woman
• lane - a narrow road

One, Two, Three, Four, Five

One, two, three, four, five,
Once I caught a fish alive,
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
Then I let it go again.

Why did you let it go?
Because it bit my finger so.
Which finger did it bite?
This little finger on the right.

Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water;
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.

Up Jack got, and home did trot,
As fast as he could caper,
To old Dame Dob, who patched his nob.
With vinegar and brown paper.

• pail - a bucket
• crown - the top of one's head
• tumbling - to suddenly fall down end over end
• trot - to run slowly
• caper - a level that you can no longer pass
• nob - your head

Hey Diddle Diddle

Hey diddle diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon;
The little dog laughed to see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.

• fiddle - an instrument similar to a violin

This Little Piggy went to the Market

This little piggy went to market,
This little piggy stayed home,
This little piggy had roast beef,
This little piggy had none,
And this little piggy cried,
Wee-wee-wee-wee
All the way home!

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Twinkle*, twinkle, little star
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!

• twinkle - to shine or sparkle

Oh Where, Oh Where has my Little Dog Gone?

Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone?
Oh where, oh where can he be?
With his ears cut short and his tail cut long,
Oh where, oh where is he?

This is the house that Jack built

This is the house that Jack built.
This is the malt*
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house
that Jack built.

This is the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the cow with the crumpled horn*,
That tossed* the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the maiden* all forlorn*,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the man all tattered*and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the priest all shaven* and shorn*,
That married the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the cock that crowed* in the morn,
That woke the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the farmer sowing* his corn,
That kept the cock that crowed in the morn,
That woke the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.

• malt - a grain similar to wheat
• crumpled - crushed, squashed
• horn - a growth on an animal's head
• maiden - a young unmarried woman
• forlorn - sad and lonely
• tattered - a piece of material that has been torn
• torn - to break or pull something apart
• shave - to remove hair from one's body
• shorn - to remove or cut
• crowed - the loud cry of a bird
• morn - morning
• sowing - to plant seeds

Little Bo-Peep

Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep.
And can't tell where to find them;
Leave them alone, and they'll come home,
And bring their tails behind them.

Little Bo-Peep fell fast asleep,
And dreamt she heard them bleating*;
And when she awoke, she found it a joke*,
For they were still all fleeting*.
Then up she took her little crook*,
Determined for to find them;
She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed*,
For they'd left their tails behind them.

It happened one day, as Bo-Peep did stray*
Into a meadow* hard by,
There she espied* their tails side by side,
All hung on a tree to dry.

She heaved a sigh, and wiped her eye,
Then went o'er* hill and dale*,
And tried what she could, as a shepherdess* should,
To tack to each sheep its tail.

• bleating - the sound that sheep make
• joke - something said or done that makes people laugh
• fleeting - light and fast in running
• crook - a stick with a hook at the top
• bleed - to loose blood
• stray - to move away from a group with no particular destination
• meadow - land full of grass
• espied - to see
• o'er - over
• dale - a valley
• shepherdess - a woman who looks after sheep (shepherd - masculine)

Hot Cross Buns!

Hot cross buns!
Hot cross buns!
One a penny*, two a penny,
Hot cross bun!
If your daughters do not like them
Give them to your sons;
But if you haven't any of these pretty little elves*
You cannot do better than eat them all yourselves.

• penny - a small British coin
• elves - a small fairy that plays tricks on people

Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat

Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been?
I've been to London to visit the Queen.
Pussy cat, pussy cat, what did you there?
I frightened a little mouse under her chair.

There was an old woman

There was an old woman
Lived under a hill,
And if she's not gone
She lives there still.

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

Mary, Mary quite contrary*,
How does your garden grow?
With silver* bells and cockleshells*,
And pretty maids all in a row*.

• contrary - opposite in nature
• silver - white precious metal
• cockleshells - small edible shellfish
• row - a tidy line

Ring-a-Ring O'Roses

Ring-a-ring o'roses,
A pocket full of posies*,
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all fall down.

• posies - a small bunch of flowers

Three Little Kittens

Three little kittens* they lost their mittens*,
And they began to cry,
Oh, mother dear, we sadly fear
That we have lost our mittens.
What! Lost your mittens, you naughty* kittens!
Then you shall have no pie*.
Meow, meow, meow.
No, you shall have no pie.

The three little kittens they found their mittens,
And they began to cry,
Oh, mother dear, see here, see here,
For we have found our mittens.
Put on your mittens, you silly kittens,
And you shall have some pie.
Purr-r, purr-r, purr-r.
Oh, let us have some pie.

The three little kittens put on their mittens,
And soon ate up the pie;
Oh, mother dear, we greatly fear
That we have soiled* our mittens.
What! Soiled your mittens, you naughty kittens!
Then they began to sigh*,
Meow, meow, meow.
Then they began to sigh.

The three little kittens they washed their mittens,
And hung them out to dry;
Oh! mother dear, do you not hear
That we have washed our mittens?
What! Washed your mittens, then you're good kittens,
But I smell a rat close by.
Meow, meow, meow.
We smell a rat close by.

• kittens - baby cats
• mittens - a type of glove that covers your four fingers and thumb
• naughty - to behave badly
• pie - meat or fruit baked in a dish covered with pastry
• soiled - to get dirty
• sigh - to take a long, deep breath

Wee Willie Winkie

Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town,
Upstairs and downstairs in his nightgown*,
Rapping* at the window, crying through the lock,
Are all the children all in bed, for now it's eight o'clock.

• nightgown - a night dress, or dressing gown
• rapping - a sharp tapping sound

Next Activities

We have two game about Nursery Rhymes.

Characters and Events from Nursery Rhymes and

Vocabulary from Nursery Rhymes (Intermediate / Advanced level)

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