Song Video
Lyrics
There was an old lady who swallowed a fly.
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
I guess she'll die.
There was an old lady who swallowed a spider,
that wiggled and wiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
I don't know why she swallowed the fly.
I guess 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 wiggled and wiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
I don't know why she swallowed the fly.
I guess she'll die.
There was an old lady who swallowed a cat.
Imagine that, she swallowed a cat.
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird.
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
that wiggled and wiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
I don't know why she swallowed the fly.
I guess she'll die.
There was an old lady who swallowed a dog.
My 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 wiggled and wiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
I don't know why she swallowed the fly.
I guess 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 wiggled and wiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that 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 wiggled and wiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly
Perhaps she'll die.
There was an old lady who swallowed a horse -
She's dead, of course.
Information About There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
The lyrics of "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" were written by Alan Mills and then sung by Rose Bonne. However, the version that is the most, well known is sung by Burl Ives in 1953.
The song tells a tale of a woman that swallows a series of animals starting from the smallest, leading to the biggest which is a horse. However, lyrics have been changed over time from dying to I don't know why.
This song has been used in a series of children's books, while also being sung in some well-known shows such as The Muppets and movies such as A Bug's Life.
Peer International (Canada) Ltd. bought the song's copyright 1952 and has held the copyright since 1966.
After the "dog" verse, there is another verse that you can add and it goes: "I knew an old lady who swallowed a goat; Just opened her throat and swallowed a goat!' She swallowed the goat to catch the dog".
There is a book called "The Fireside Book of Childrens Songs" collected and edited by Marie Winn, published by Simon & Schuster under Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 65-171.
Alternative Lyrics & Related Songs
Here is another fun version
There was an old lady who swallowed a fly.
I don't now why she swallowed a fly. Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a spider
that wriggled and wiggled and wriggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed a spider to catch the fly.
I don't now 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.
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.
Fancy that to swallow a cat.
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird.
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider.
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 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.
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 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.
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!