And The Green Grass Grows All Around, also known as The Green Grass Grew All Around is a song that was first published in 1912, with words by William Jerome

William Jerome

William Jerome was an American songwriter, born in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York of Irish immigrant parents, Mary Donnellan and Patrick Flannery...

 and melody by Harry Von Tilzer

Harry Von Tilzer

Harry Von Tilzer was a very popular United States songwriter.-Biography:Von Tilzer was born in Goshen, Indiana under the name Aaron Gumbinsky which he shortened to Harry Gumm. He ran away and joined a traveling circus at age 14, where he took his new name by adding 'Von' to his mother's maiden...

. Today it is a popular children's song

Children's song

Children's song may be a nursery rhyme set to music, a song that young children invent and share among themselves, or a modern creation intended for entertainment, use in the home, or education...

, and a good example of a cumulative song

Cumulative song

A cumulative song is a song whose verses are built from earlier verses, usually by adding a new stanza to the previous verse. A simple cumulative song having n verses is structured as-Examples of cumulative songs:* "The Twelve Days of Christmas"...

.

There are many variations of phrasing in the lyrics. Most versions tell a similar story of a “pretty” hole in the middle of ground, and of all the surroundings. It need not be a hole in the ground. One such version by The Singing Kettle

The Singing Kettle

The Singing Kettle is a folk music group who are well known for performing traditional children's songs with a distinctly Scottish flair.-Career:...

contains the lyrics "There was a tree, a beautiful tree, The beautiful-est tree you ever did see".