I Know An Old Lady
Ives Burl Lyrics
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Title: I know an old lady
I know an old lady who swallowed a fly
I don't know why she swallowed the fly
I guess she'll die
That wriggled and jiggled 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
I know an old lady who swallowed a bird
How absurd to swallow a bird!
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled 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
I know an old lady who swallowed a cat
Imagine that, to swallow a cat!
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled 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
I know 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 wriggled and jiggled 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
I know 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 wriggled and jiggled 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
I know an old lady who swallowed a cow
I wonder 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 wriggled and jiggled 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
I know an old lady who swallowed a horse
She's dead, of course!
The lyrics to "I Know An Old Lady" by Ives Burl tell the story of an old lady who, for reasons unknown, begins to swallow various animals. The song has a repetitive structure, with each verse adding a new animal to the list of what the old lady swallows. The first verse introduces us to the old lady who swallows a fly and expresses confusion about why she would do such a thing. The chorus, "I don't know why she swallowed the fly, I guess she'll die," serves as a refrain that reinforces the absurdity of her actions and hints at the consequences.
The subsequent verses follow a similar pattern, with each animal being swallowed to catch the previous one. Each verse ends with the reiterated line "I don't know why she swallowed the fly, I guess she'll die," emphasizing the increasing strangeness and danger of her choices. The song escalates until the final verse, where the old lady swallows a horse and, unsurprisingly, meets her demise.
The lyrics to "I Know An Old Lady" can be seen as a cautionary tale about the consequences of impulsive and illogical behavior. The song suggests that actions without rational thinking or consideration of consequences can lead to disastrous outcomes. It also serves as a humorous and absurd story that captures the attention of both children and adults.
Line by Line Meaning
I know an old lady who swallowed a fly
I am familiar with an elderly woman who ingested a fly
I don't know why she swallowed the fly
I am uncertain about her rationale for consuming the fly
I guess she'll die
I presume her action will lead to her demise
I know an old lady who swallowed a spider
I am acquainted with an elderly woman who ingested a spider
That wriggled and jiggled and
Tickled inside her
That spider squirmed, wiggled, and caused tickling sensations within her body
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly
She consumed the spider in order to capture the fly
I know an old lady who swallowed a bird
I am aware of an elderly woman who ingested a bird
How absurd to swallow a bird!
What a ridiculous notion to swallow a bird!
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
She consumed the bird in order to apprehend the spider
I know an old lady who swallowed a cat
I am familiar with an elderly woman who ingested a cat
Imagine that, to swallow a cat!
Just imagine, the act of consuming a cat!
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird
She consumed the cat to capture the bird
I know an old lady who swallowed a dog
I know of an elderly woman who ingested a dog
My, what a hog, to swallow a dog!
Goodness, how gluttonous, to consume a dog!
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat
She consumed the dog to apprehend the cat
I know an old lady who swallowed a goat
I am acquainted with an elderly woman who ingested a goat
Just opened her throat and swallowed a goat!
She simply opened her throat and devoured a goat!
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog
She consumed the goat to capture the dog
I wonder how she swallowed a cow?!
I am curious about the method by which she ingested a cow!
She swallowed the cow to catch the goat
She consumed the cow to apprehend the goat
I know an old lady who swallowed a horse
I am aware of an elderly woman who ingested a horse
She's dead, of course!
Naturally, she is deceased!
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Rose Bonne, Alan Mills
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@rhainegraves7235
Lyrics
The following is one version of the lyrics to demonstrate the song's cumulative nature:
There 'was' an old tree that caught the sun, I don't know why it caught the sun;
my oh my what had it done –a leaf falls as one!
There 'was' an old tree that fell a leaf; I don't know how it fell a leaf;
But it fell the leafs that fed the tree, the leafs of tree that caught the sun;
my oh my what had it done, –another leaf falls as one!
There 'was' an old hive of leafcutter ants,
that found a tree of leafs thats spent;
I don't know how those found that tree, but it found the tree that fell those leafs;
those leafs of sun,
caught and free;
my oh my what had it done – another leaf falls as one!
There 'was' an old village that swallowed those ants,
I don't know why they swallowed those ants,
but they swallowed those ants that ate the leafs, the leafs of tree;
those leafs of sun;
Caught and free,
Each and every one
my oh my what had it done – another leaf falls one!
There 'was' an old village that swallowed some spiders
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside 'em;
'They' swallowed the spiders that caught the ants;
The leafcutter ants that ate the leafs, the leafs of tree that caught the sun;
my oh my what had it done – another leaf falls as one!
There 'was' an old village that swallowed some birds;
How absurd to swallow those birds!
'They' swallowed those birds that caught the spiders
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside 'em,
'They' swallowed the spiders that caught the ants, that ate the leafs that caught the sun
My oh my what had it done –another leaf falls one!
There 'was' an old village that swallowed some cats;
Fancy that to swallow those cats!
They swallowed those cats that caught the birds,
They swallowed those birds that caught the spiders
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside 'em,
They swallowed the spiders that caught the ants;
I don't know why they swallowed those ants, those ant that ate those leafs of tree that caught the sun
Spent and free
each and every one;
my oh my what had it done – another leaf falls one!
There 'was' an old village that swallowed some dogs;
What a hog to swallow those dogs!
They swallowed the dogs that caught the cats,
They swallowed the cats that caught the birds,
They swallowed the birds that caught the spiders
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside 'em,
They swallowed the spiders that caught the ants;
I don't know why they swallowed those ants that ate the leaf that caught the sun, my oh my what had it done – another leaf falls down!
There was an old village that swallowed some goats;
Just opened their throats and swallowed some goats!
They swallowed the goats that caught the dogs,
They swallowed the dogs that caught the cats,
They swallowed those cats that caught the birds,
They swallowed the birds that caught the spiders
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside 'em,
They swallowed the spiders that caught the ants;
I don't know why they swallowed those ants that ate the leaf that caught the sun, my oh my what had it done – another leaf falls as one!
There was an old village that swallowed a cow;
I don't know how they swallowed some cow!
They swallowed a cow that caught the goats,
They swallowed the goats that caught the dogs,
They swallowed the dogs that caught the cats,
They swallowed the cats that caught the birds,
They swallowed the birds that caught the spiders
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside 'em,
They swallowed the spider that caught the ants;
I don't know why they swallowed those ants that ate the leafs that caught the sun;
my oh my what had it done – another leaf falls as one!
……
@alexsystems2001
This reasoning here is applicable to some of the stupid stuff my work does. It’s just compounding stupidity! It doesn’t rhyme but you get the idea. This helps me get through my day, every time I see something stupid I say in my head something like...
I knew a company that didn’t buy paper... I dunno why they didn’t by paper...
I knew a company that didn’t fix the stairs... I dunno why they didn’t fix the stairs...
I knew a company that didn’t pay their workers on time... I dunno why they didn’t pay their workers on time...
I knew a company that hired a legal team to defend themselves against the class action lawsuit. I dunno why they didn’t pay their workers on timeeeeee. 🤣
More people need to see the deep meaning to this. It makes life way more fun. I remember this from kindergarten. It’s impacted my life and line of thinking, all these years later.
@BintyMcFrazzles
This brings me back so many memories and made me smile. My dad used to sing this to me when I was little, and when it was the spider, he used to tickle me.
@bobfeltham6220
Still do to my girls age 4 they like it
@alancanham2956
That's nice,good old dad
@JuliaStL
Today, my four year old grandson told me that he had swallowed a fly a few days ago; this song immediately sprang to mind and I sang it to him and I tickled his tummy when it came to the spider wriggling. He said that it was a very strange song but to me it brought bank so many lovely memories. Such is the power of music and song!
@kman216
I remember being tickled during the spider part as well… I noticed that more recent versions leave out the dying parts.
@Binyamin1444
Tickling at that part is mandatory
@sueparras6028
I've loved Burl Ives ever since I was a child in the 60's. Still love listening to him in 2022! ✌🇨🇦
@gmaneis
Same for me since the 1950's. What an amazing singer, and this song is so much fun!🙂
@smiffmeister1915
One of the songs my grandad sang to us. His funeral tomorrow. Was sat in the chapel of rest with him today listening to this ❤️❤️
@alisei6789
I'm sorry 😢