View source for There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

{{Use American English|date=June 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox song
| name     = There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
| cover    = {{Photo montage
| color = #FFFFFF
| photo1a = Noto Emoji v2.034 1fab0.svg
| photo1b = Noto Emoji v2.034 1f577.svg
| photo1c = Noto Emoji v2.034 1f424.svg
| photo2a = Noto Emoji v2.034 1f408.svg
| photo2b = Noto Emoji v2.034 1f415.svg
| photo2c = Noto Emoji v2.034 1f410.svg
| photo3a = Noto Emoji v2.034 1f404.svg
| photo3b = Noto Emoji v2.034 1f40e.svg
}}
| alt      =
| type     = song
| artist   = [[Burl Ives]]
| album    =
| language = English 
| released = 1953
| format   = 
| recorded =
| studio   =
| venue    =
| genre    = Children's rhyme, nonsense song
| length   =
| label    = [[Brunswick Records]]
| writer   = Rose Bonne and [[Alan Mills (music)|Alan Mills]]
| producer =
| misc     =  {{External music video|header=Official audio|{{YouTube|I4fHv08ZSbQ|"There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly"}}}} 
}}

"'''There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly'''"  is a 1953 [[Cumulative song|cumulative]] (repetitive, connected [[Poetry|poetic]] lines or [[song]] lyrics) children's [[nursery rhyme]] or [[nonsense song|nonsensical song]] by [[Burl Ives]].  Other titles for the [[rhyme]] include "'''There Was an Old Lady'''", "'''I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly'''", "'''There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly'''" and "'''I Know an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly'''". An early documentation of the story appears in English author Dorothy B. King's 1946 book ''Happy Recollections.''

== Content ==
The song tells the nonsensical story of an old woman who [[swallowing|swallows]] increasingly large animals, each to catch the previously swallowed animal, but dies after swallowing a horse. There are many variations of phrasing in the lyrics, especially for the description of swallowing each animal. 

{{Blockquote
|text=Our first Wren evening was a "knockout," in the spring of 1943. The Hall was so packed that men were even perched on the window ledges. No audience could possibly have been more enthusiastic or shown their appreciation in a greater degree. I am sorry I have not that first program. Third Officer Phillips and several of the other officers sat in the front row of the Rest Room, really the dressing room on concerts nights. One of the officers recited and I have never laughed so much as I did that night she told us about the woman who swallowed a fly and then swallowed a cat to eat that fly and a dog to eat the cat, and so on: her "swallows" each time were so realistic. |author=Dorothy B. King
|source=''Happy Recollections'' (1946)<ref>{{cite book | author = King, Dorothy B. | year = 1946 | title = Happy Recollections | location = Dorchester, UK | publisher = Henry Ling | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=Uwc_AQAAIAAJ}}</ref>}}

Shortly afterwards, the journal ''Hoosier Folklore'' published three versions of the story from different parts of the United States ([[Colorado]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] and [[Ohio]]) in its December 1947 edition. The editor calls it a "cumulative tale", and asks readers for information on its origins.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Little Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly|journal=Hoosier Folklore|date=December 1947|volume=6|issue=4|pages=153–156|jstor=27649913|last1=Martin|first1=Lee|last2=McIntosh|first2=Eva H.|last3=Newcomb|first3=Mildred}}</ref> All three versions begin with a lady swallowing the fly and end with her dying after swallowing a horse, but there are variations in what animals are swallowed and the rhymes for each animal.

== Recording ==
In 1952, Rose Bonne (lyrics) and Canadian/English folk artist [[Alan Mills (music)|Alan Mills]] copyrighted a version of the song, respectively contributing lyrics and music. At that time it was entitled simply "I Know an Old Lady."<ref>Catalog of Copyright Entries, Third Series, Volume 6, Part 5B, No. 1, January–June 1952 (US Copyright Office), p. 86.  The submission date is given as March 28, 1952.  The 1954 edition relists it, providing the same date and giving Alan Mills as a pseudonym for Albert Miller.</ref> A widely distributed version of the song was released on [[Brunswick Records]] in 1953, where it was sung by [[Burl Ives]].  Ives' rendition appears on his album, ''Folk Songs, Dramatic and Humorous''—which debuted in late summer, 1953.<ref>Decca DL 5467, reviewed in ''Billboard'', September 12, 1953, p. 36.  The record label also indicates the Mills-Bonne credit.</ref>  According to the album [[liner notes]], the song was "derived from an old ballad", rewritten by Alan Mills, and passed to Ives by [[Edith Fowke]] of [[CBC Radio]].<ref>[https://www.discogs.com/master/961076-Burl-Ives-Folk-Songs-Dramatic-and-Humorous/image/SW1hZ2U6NTAyNzQ4NDM=  Liner notes for ''Folk Songs Dramatic and Humorous'', Decca DL 5467]. Retrieved May 4, 2022</ref>  The 1961 illustrated book by Rose Bonne also indicates that the [[lyrics]] are hers, whereas the music was [[songwriter|composed]] by Alan Mills.<ref>{{cite magazine |author = M.B.K. |date=November 12, 1961 |title= Songs with Pictures [review of ''I Know an Old Lady,'' "words by Rose Bonne; music by Alan Mills; illustrated by Abner Graboff…"] |url= http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1961/11/12/page/208/article/songs-with-pictures | format= children's book review |magazine= Chicago Sunday Tribune, Magazine of Books (Books for Children) | location=Chicago|publisher= Chicago Tribune |issue= Part 4, Section 2 |page= 34, col. 3 | access-date= June 9, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | author = Bonne, Rose | others = Alan Mills, music; Abner Graboff, illustrations | year = 1961 | title = I Know an Old Lady | location = Skokie, IL | publisher = Rand McNally |  url =https://archive.org/details/iknowoldlady00mill| url-access = registration }}</ref>{{primary source inline|date=June 2016}}<ref name=Adams73>For a further example remaining in print, see {{cite book | author = Adams, Pam | year = 1973 | title = There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly | series = Classic books with holes | location = Swindon, UK | publisher = Child's Play (International) | url = https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0859530213 | isbn = 0859530213 | access-date = June 9, 2016 }}</ref>

==Lyrics==
The following is one version of the lyrics to demonstrate the song's cumulative nature:

{{Poem quote
|text=There was an old lady who swallowed a fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly – perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a spider
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her;
: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 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 a fly – perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a cat;
Well, fancy that, she swallowed 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 a fly – perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady that 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
:That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
: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 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 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 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 a fly – perhaps she'll die!

There was an old lady who swallowed a horse...
She's dead, of course!<ref name= allnurseryrhymes>{{cite web|url=https://allnurseryrhymes.com/there-was-an-old-lady-who-swallowed-a-fly|title= There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly |website=allnurseryrhymes.com |date= October 26, 2020 |access-date=27 January 2023}}</ref>
}}

==In other media==
<!--PLEASE DO NOT ADD FURTHER ENTRIES TO THIS SECTION WITHOUT SOURCES. WIKILINKS DO NOT SATISFY WP:VERIFY (ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE AS SOURCES). ISBNs ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE SOURCES (BUT ONLY PART OF A CITATION). PLEASE ADD SOURCES WITH ALL FURTHER ENTRIES.-->
* [[Pete Seeger]] released a version on the ''[[Birds, Beasts, Bugs & Fishes (Little & Big)|Birds Bugs and Little Fishes]]'' LP ([[Folkways Records]] FC7610) in 1955.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.folkways.si.edu/pete-seeger/birds-beasts-bugs-and-fishes-little-and-big/american-folk-childrens/music/album/smithsonian|title=Birds, Beasts, Bugs and Fishes (Little and Big) |website=Smithsonian Folkways Recordings}}</ref>
* In 1956, composer [[Alan Mills (musician)|Alan Mills]] recorded a version for Scholastic Records released on his children's album ''Animals, Vol.1''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.folkways.si.edu/alan-mills/animals-vol1/childrens/music/album/smithsonian|title=Animals, Vol. 1|website=Smithsonian Folkways Recordings}}</ref>
* In 1964, the [[National Film Board of Canada]] released the award-winning 5-minute cartoon ''I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly'', directed by [[Derek Lamb]].<ref>{{cite web |title=I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly |url=http://onf-nfb.gc.ca/en/our-collection/?idfilm=76041 |website=onf-nfb.gc.ca |publisher=National Film Board of Canada |access-date=January 16, 2023}}</ref>
* [[Meredith Tax]] used this [[Poetry#Forms|poetic form]] in her 1970 [[feminist]] poem ''There Was a Young Woman Who Swallowed a Lie'', in which the woman finally "throws up" the lies she swallowed.<ref>{{cite web|title=There was a young woman who swallowed a lie|url=https://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/wlmpc_wlmms01010/|work=[[Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance]] archives|publisher=[[Duke University]]}}</ref> Pete Seeger performed the work during a 1980 concert at the [[Sanders Theater]] in [[Boston]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://folkways-media.si.edu/liner_notes/smithsonian_folkways/SFW40225.pdf|title=Pete Seeger |publisher=[[Smithsonian Folkways]] |year=2019}}</ref>
* In 1973, illustrator Pam Adams used the song and its title as the basis of a children's book.<ref>{{cite web|title=There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly |url=https://www.booktrust.org.uk/book/t/there-was-an-old-lady-who-swallowed-a-fly/ |work=[[BookTrust]] |quote=One of the Classic Books-with-Holes that have been around for 30 years.}}</ref>
* [[Bobby Darin]] performed the song in duet with 8-year-old Charlene Wong on an episode of ''The Bobby Darin Show'' in March 1973.<ref>{{IMDB name|6543200|Charlene Wong|section=bio}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Bobby Darin Show |date=March 23, 1973|url=http://www.bobbydarin.net/darin323.html}} ''bobbydarin.net''</ref>
* The song was performed by [[Judy Collins]] and [[Statler and Waldorf]] with shadow puppets, on a 1977 episode of ''[[The Muppet Show]]''.<ref>{{YouTube|qC_xO2aN_IA|Judy Collins  – "Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly" Muppet Show 1977}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=6/21/1977 – 'Judy Collins (MS)' |work=Jim Henson's Red Book |date=June 21, 2012 |url=https://www.henson.com/jimsredbook/2012/06/6211977/ |author=[[Jim Henson]]}}</ref>
* [[San Francisco]]-based punk rock band [[Flipper (band)|Flipper]] included a version of "The Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly" as the b-side of their 1982 "Get Away" single, and subsequently on their 1988 compilation album ''[[Sex Bomb Baby]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Flipper – Sex Bomb Baby! |url=https://www.discogs.com/master/42636-Flipper-Sex-Bomb-Baby |website=Discogs |year=1987 |access-date=March 13, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Raggett |first1=Ned |title=Flipper – Sex Bomb Baby! |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sex-bomb-baby%21-mw0000173749?1647196709592 |website=AllMusic |publisher=Netaktion LLC |access-date=March 13, 2022}}</ref>
* In 1997, the song's lyrics were used as the text of a children's book by [[Simms Taback]].<ref>{{cite web|title=1998 Caldecott Medal and Honor Books|date=November 30, 1999 |url=http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecotthonors/1998caldecott|publisher=[[American Library Association]]}}</ref> This version is narrated and sung by [[Cyndi Lauper]].
<!--PLEASE DO NOT ADD FURTHER ENTRIES TO THIS SECTION WITHOUT SOURCES. WIKILINKS DO NOT SATISFY WP:VERIFY (ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE AS SOURCES). ISBNs ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE SOURCES (BUT ONLY PART OF A CITATION). PLEASE ADD SOURCES WITH ALL FURTHER ENTRIES.-->

==See also==
{{Portal |Children's literature}}
* [[Chad Gadya]], cumulative song 
* [[The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)|The Twelve Days of Christmas]], cumulative song 
* [[The Rattlin' Bog]], cumulative song

==References==
{{Reflist}} 

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0485453|Children's Songs and Stories with the Muppets (1985)}}. Compilation containing the [[Judy Collins]] 1977 episode of ''[[The Muppet Show]]''.{{verification needed|date=June 2016}}

{{Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:English children's songs]]
[[Category:Traditional children's songs]]
[[Category:American picture books]]
[[Category:Cumulative songs]]
[[Category:Fictional flies]]
[[Category:1961 children's books]]
[[Category:Songs about old age]]
[[Category:Songs about fictional female characters]]
[[Category:Songs about death]]