There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
Encyclopedia
"There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" (alternatively "There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly" or "I Know an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly") is a children's song
with a cumulative
structure. The song was written
by Alan Mills
, and the lyrics
were penned by Rose Bonne. Probably the best-known version of the song was released on Brunswick Records
in 1953, and sung by Burl Ives
.
The song tells the story of an old woman who swallowed increasingly large animals, each to catch the previously swallowed animal. There are many variations of phrasing in the lyrics, especially for the description of swallowing each animal. The spider and fly are described each verse, but the other animals are only described when they are introduced. The joke of the song comes from the fact that the woman clearly should have died after swallowing the bird, but manages to swallow even more animals of ridiculous sizes with no problem and survives, and yet she suddenly dies after swallowing a horse (which is not much larger than the donkey she swallows).
In some versions, "perhaps she'll die" is replaced with "don't ask me why". Also, "she died of course" is replaced with "of course, of course, she swallowed a horse", leading to yet another cumulative verse that ends the tale.
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
with a cumulative
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"...
structure. The song was written
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
by Alan Mills
Alan Mills (music)
Alan Mills, CM, born Albert Miller was a Canadian folksinger, writer, and actor...
, and the lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
were penned by Rose Bonne. Probably the best-known version of the song was released on Brunswick Records
Brunswick Records
Brunswick Records is a United States based record label. The label is currently distributed by E1 Entertainment.-From 1916:Records under the "Brunswick" label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company...
in 1953, and sung by Burl Ives
Burl Ives
Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an American actor, writer and folk music singer. As an actor, Ives's work included comedies, dramas, and voice work in theater, television, and motion pictures. Music critic John Rockwell said, "Ives's voice .....
.
The song tells the story of an old woman who swallowed increasingly large animals, each to catch the previously swallowed animal. There are many variations of phrasing in the lyrics, especially for the description of swallowing each animal. The spider and fly are described each verse, but the other animals are only described when they are introduced. The joke of the song comes from the fact that the woman clearly should have died after swallowing the bird, but manages to swallow even more animals of ridiculous sizes with no problem and survives, and yet she suddenly dies after swallowing a horse (which is not much larger than the donkey she swallows).
In some versions, "perhaps she'll die" is replaced with "don't ask me why". Also, "she died of course" is replaced with "of course, of course, she swallowed a horse", leading to yet another cumulative verse that ends the tale.
Animals swallowed (and their descriptions)
- FlyFlyTrue flies are insects of the order Diptera . They possess a pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax...
– "I don't know why." - SpiderSpiderSpiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
– "It wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her." - BirdBirdBirds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
– "Quite absurd." - CatCatThe cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
– "Fancy that." - DogDogThe domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
– "What a hog." - PigPigA pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
– "Her mouth was so big." - GoatGoatThe domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
– "She just opened her throat." - Cow – "I don't know how."
- DonkeyDonkeyThe donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
– "It was rather wonky." - HorseHorseThe horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
– "She's dead, of course."
In other media
- The song's lyrics were used as the text of a children's book by Simms TabackSimms TabackSimms Taback is an American author, graphic artist, and illustrator and winner of the Caldecott Medal. Taback has illustrated over 35 books, including the Caldecott Medal winning Joseph Had a Little Overcoat and the Caldecott Honor book There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.Taback graduated...
. A video version of the song by the publisher was sung by Cyndi LauperCyndi LauperCynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
. - The song's title is shared with a book by children's illustrator, Pam Adams. (ISBN 0-85953-727-7)
- A version of this song was recorded by San FranciscoSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
punkPunk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
bandMusical ensembleA musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, FlipperFlipper (band)Flipper is a punk band formed in San Francisco, California in 1979, continuing in often erratic fashion until the mid-1990s, then reuniting in 2005. The band influenced a number of grunge,, punk rock and noise rock bands...
and released on a 7" singleGramophone recordA gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
. - A videoMusic videoA music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
version of this song was recorded with Judy CollinsJudy CollinsJudith Marjorie "Judy" Collins is an American singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records ; and for her social activism. She is an alumna of the University of Colorado.-Musical career:Collins was born and raised in Seattle, Washington...
and The MuppetsThe MuppetsThe Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark owned by the Walt Disney Company in reference...
in 1977. - The song appeared in an episode of Desperate Housewives in the season 5 finale.
- In Disney/PixarPixarPixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
's A Bug's LifeA Bug's LifeA Bug's Life is a 1998 American computer animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States on November 25, 1998. A Bug's Life was the second Disney·Pixar feature film after Toy Story, and the third American computer-animated film after Toy...
, a cricket mentions the first verse of this song at the bar.