Nursery Rhymes

My Breakfast Lies Over The Ocean

All Nursery Rhymes — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 06:35:22 +0000

This pun version of the more well-known “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” was most likely popularized among scouts. Sung to the tune of “My Bonnie …”, this humorous version has many different variations. Below you can find the lyrics to the most popular form.

“My Breakfast Lies Over The Ocean” Lyrics

My breakfast lies over the ocean,
My dinner lies over the sea,
My stomach is in a commotion,
Don’t mention my supper to me.

(Chorus)
Bring back, bring back,
O bring back my bucket to me, to me.
Bring back, bring back,
O bring back my bucket to me.

I really felt rotten this morning,
They tell me I really looked pale,
My stomach gave adequate warning,
To lean far out over the rail.

(Chorus)
Bring back, bring back,
O bring back my bucket to me, to me.
Bring back, bring back,
O bring back my bucket to me.

The sound of a stomach in motion,
A murmuring noise inside me,
I looked down and there on the water,
Was breakfast and dinner and tea.

(Chorus)
Bring back, bring back,
O bring back my bucket to me, to me.
Bring back, bring back,
O bring back my bucket to me.

The Owl and the Pussycat

All Nursery Rhymes — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 06:30:20 +0000

This conventional children’s poem was authored by Edward Lear in 1871. However, a lot of historians consider this as one of his nonsense poems written for the three-year-old daughter of his poet friend, John Symonds. In the word ‘runcible spoon’ that has been debated for its meaning, it turns out that the word runcible is in fact, one of Lear’s famous nonsense invented words that he used quite much in his works.

The Owl and the Pussycat was voted the most popular children’s poem on the UK’s National Poetry Day ahead of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Humpty Dumpty.

Lyrics

The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.

The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
‘O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!’

Pussy said to the Owl, ‘You elegant fowl!
How charmingly sweet you sing!
O let us be married! too long we have tarried:
But what shall we do for a ring?’

They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows,
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose,
His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.

‘Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
‘Your ring?’ Said the Piggy, ‘I will.
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.

They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

Fifty Nifty United States

All Nursery Rhymes — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 06:18:07 +0000

A contemporary song written by Ray Charles while he was the music director of the choral grouo “The Young Americans”, “Fifty Nifty United States” is a popular song used to teach children the names of the fifty states of the USA.

The lyrics of the song list all fifty states in alphabetical order, making it easier for children to memorize them. The catchy tune and repetitive nature of the song have made it a popular educational tool in classrooms across the United States.

“Fifty Nifty United States” Lyrics

Fifty nifty United States from thirteen original colonies;
Fifty nifty stars in the flag that billows so beautif’ly in the breeze.
Each individual state contributes a quality that is great.
Each individual state deserves a bow, we salute them now.
Fifty nifty United States from thirteen original colonies,
Shout ’em, scout ’em, Tell all about ’em,
One by one till we’ve given a day to ev’ry state in the U.S.A.
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut;
Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana;
Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan;
Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada;
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio;
Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas;
Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
North, south, east, west, in our calm, objective opinion,
(Name of home state) is the best of the
Fifty nifty United States from thirteen original colonies,
Shout ’em, scout ’em, Tell all about ’em,
One by one till we’ve given a day to ev’ry state in the good old
U_______S__________A_________.

Horsey, Horsey

All Nursery Rhymes — Mon, 25 Mar 2024 06:11:32 +0000

Originally written as a comedy song in 1937 by Paddy Roberts, this nursery rhyme is well-loved by parents and schools because it institutes the use of onomatopoeia – words that sound like their meanings. These words are pronounced rather exaggeratedly or with much emphasis to entice the children’s attention and stimulate memory retention.

“Horsey, Horsey” Lyrics

Horsey horsey don’t you stop
Just let your feet go clippetty clop
The tail goes swish and the wheels go round
Giddy up, we’re homeward bound

162 English Tongue Twisters

All Nursery Rhymes — Sun, 24 Mar 2024 09:29:25 +0000

Listed below you will find one of the most varied collections of tongue twisters in English:

B: Brad’s big black bath brush broke.

B: a Big black bug bit a big black bear,
made the big black bear bleed blood.

B: a Box of biscuits, a batch of mixed biscuits

B: a Bitter biting bittern
Bit a better brother bittern,
And the bitter better bittern
Bit the bitter biter back.
And the bitter bittern, bitten,
By the better bitten bittern,
Said: “I’m a bitter biter bit, lack!”

B: Brisk brave brigadiers brandished broad bright blades,
blunderbusses, and bludgeons — balancing them badly.

B: Betty Botter had some butter,
“But,” she said, “this butter’s bitter.
If I bake this bitter butter,
it would make my batter bitter.
But a bit of better butter–
that would make my batter better.”
So she bought a bit of butter,
better than her bitter butter,
and she baked it in her batter,
and the batter was not bitter.
So ’twas better Betty Botter
bought a bit of better butter.

B: Betty and Bob brought back blue balloons from the big bazaar.

B: Black bug’s blood.

B: the Boot black bought the black boot back.

B: Ruby Rugby’s Brother bought and brought her
back some rubber baby-buggy bumpers.

B: Betty better butter Brad’s bread.

B: a bloke’s back bike brake block broke.

B: Good blood, bad blood.

B: The blue bluebird blinks.

C: Crisp crusts crackle crunchily.

Kris Kringle carefully crunched on candy canes.

D: If one doctor doctors another doctor, does the doctor
who doctors the doctor doctor the doctor the way the
doctor he is doctoring doctors? Or does he doctor
the doctor the way the doctor who doctors doctors?

F: Fat frogs flying past fast.

F: Flee from fog to fight flu fast!

F: a Flea and a fly flew up in a flue.
Said the flea, “Let us fly!”
Said the fly, “Let us flee!”
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.

F: Friendly Frank flips fine flapjacks.

F: One smart fellow, he felt smart.
Two smart fellows, they felt smart.
Three smart fellows, they all felt smart.

F: Freshly fried fresh flesh.

Freshly-fried flying fish.

F: Of all the felt I ever felt,
I never felt a piece of felt
which felt as fine as that felt felt,
when first I felt that felt hat’s felt.

There was a young fisher named Fischer
Who fished for a fish in a fissure.
The fish with a grin,
Pulled the fisherman in;
Now they’re fishing the fissure for Fischer.

G: Girl gargoyle, guy gargoyle.

G: Gertie’s great-grandma grew aghast at Gertie’s grammar.

G: Greek grapes.

G: Cows graze in groves on grass which grows in grooves in groves.

G: Give me the gift of a grip top sock:
a drip-drape, ship-shape, tip-top sock.

G: three Gray geese in the green grass grazing.
Gray were the geese and green was the grass.

G: Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager
imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?

I: Inchworms itching.

K: Knapsack straps.

L: Lovely lemon liniment.

L: Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better.

L: Red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry.

L: A lusty lady loved a lawyer
and longed to lure him from his laboratory.

L: Lily ladles little Letty’s lentil soup.

M: Mix, Miss Mix!

M: the Myth of Miss Muffet.

N: Nine nice night nurses nursing nicely.

N: a Noisy noise annoys an oyster.

N, Kn: I need not your needles, they’re needless to me;
For kneading of noodles, ’twere needless, you see;
But did my neat knickers but need to be kneed,
I then should have need of your needles indeed.

M,N: Moose noshing much mush.

M,N: Many an anemone sees an enemy anemone.

O: Old oily Ollie oils old oily autos.

O: Are our oars oak?

P: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers?
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

P: I am not the pheasant plucker,
I’m the pheasant plucker’s mate.
I am only plucking pheasants
’cause the pheasant plucker’s running late.

P: A pleasant place to place a plaice is a place
where a plaice is pleased to be placed.

P: Pick a partner and practice passing,
for if you pass proficiently,
perhaps you’ll play professionally.

P: Please pay promptly.Q: Quick kiss. Quicker kiss.

S: Preshrunk silk shirts

S: a Skunk sat on a stump and thunk the stump stunk,
but the stump thunk the skunk stunk.

S: I Slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit.

S: Six sick slick slim sycamore saplings.

S: Six thick thistle sticks. Six thick thistles stick.

S: Six sharp smart sharks.

S: She sells sea shells by the sea shore.
The shells she sells are surely seashells.
So if she sells shells on the seashore,
I’m sure she sells seashore shells.

S: “Surely Sylvia swims!” shrieked Sammy, surprised.
“Someone should show Sylvia some strokes so she shall not sink.”

S: Sam’s shop stocks short spotted socks.

S: Shy Shelly says she shall sew sheets.

S: the Sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick.

S: Pope Sixtus VI’s six texts.

S: Sly Sam slurps Sally’s soup.

S: Is this your sister’s sixth zither, sir?

S: Suddenly swerving, seven small swans
Swam silently southward,

S: Seeing six swift sailboats
Sailing sedately seaward.

S: Six short slow shepherds.

S: Say this sharply, say this sweetly,
Say this shortly, say this softly.
Say this sixteen times in succession.

S: Six sticky sucker sticks.

S: Silly Sally swiftly shooed seven silly sheep.
The seven silly sheep Silly Sally shooed
shilly-shallied south.
These sheep shouldn’t sleep in a shack;
sheep should sleep in a shed.

S: Mrs. Smith’s Fish Sauce Shop.

S: Swan swam over the sea,
Swim, swan, swim!
Swan swam back again
Well swum, swan!

S: Six shimmering sharks sharply striking shins.

S: Selfish shells fish.

S: Six slippery snails, slid slowly seaward.

S: Mr. See owned a saw.
And Mr. Soar owned a seesaw.
Now See’s saw sawed Soar’s seesaw
Before Soar saw See,
Which made Soar sore.
Had Soar seen See’s saw
Before See sawed Soar’s seesaw,
See’s saw would not have sawed
Soar’s seesaw.
So See’s saw sawed Soar’s seesaw.
But it was sad to see Soar so sore
Just because See’s saw sawed
Soar’s seesaw!

S: we Surely shall see the sun shine soon.

S: Shelter for six sick scenic sightseers.

S: Six twin screwed steel steam cruisers.

S: Sure the ship’s shipshape, sir.

S: What a shame such a shapely sash
should such shabby stitches show.

S: Sarah saw a shot-silk sash shop full of shot-silk sashes
as the sunshine shone on the side of the shot-silk sash shop.

S: Strict strong stringy Stephen Stretch
slickly snared six sickly silky snakes.

S: I saw Esau kissing Kate. I saw Esau,
he saw me, and she saw I saw Esau.

S: Susan shineth shoes and socks;
socks and shoes shines Susan.
She ceased shining shoes and socks,
for shoes and socks shock Susan.

S: the soldiers shouldered shooters on their shoulders.

S: Shredded Swiss cheese.

Strange strategic statistics.

The sawingest saw I ever saw saw
was the saw I saw saw in Arkansas.

Sarah sitting in her Chevrolet,
All she does is sits and shifts,
All she does is sits and shifts.

S: Sixish.

T: The two-twenty-two train tore through the tunnel.

T: Twelve twins twirled twelve twigs.

T: a Tudor who tooted a flute
tried to tutor two tooters to toot.
Said the two to their tutor,
“Is it harder to toot
or to tutor two tooters to toot?”

T: Three free throws.

T: Tim, the thin twin tinsmith

T: Tragedy strategy.

T: Two toads, totally tired.

T: Two Truckee truckers truculently truckling
to have truck to truck two trucks of truck.

Three twigs twined tightly.

Th: They both, though, have thirty-three thick thimbles to thaw.

Th: I thought a thought.
But the thought I thought wasn’t the thought
I thought I thought.

Tw: When a twister a-twisting will twist him a twist,
For the twisting of his twist, he three twines doth intwist;
But if one of the twines of the twist do untwist,
The twine that untwisteth untwisteth the twist.Untwirling the twine that untwisteth between,
He twirls, with his twister, the two in a twine;
Then twice having twisted the twines of the twine,
He twitcheth the twice he had twined in twain.

Tw: The twain that in twining before in the twine,
As twines were intwisted he now doth untwine;
Twist the twain inter-twisting a twine more between,
He, twirling his twister, makes a twist of the twine.

Hi-Tech Traveling Tractor Trailor Truck Tracker

V: Vincent vowed vengeance very vehemently.

W: Which witch wished which wicked wish?

W: how much Wood Would a woodchuck chuck
if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
He would chuck, he would, as much as he could,
and chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would
if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

W: While we were walking, we were watching window washers
wash Washington’s windows with warm washing water.

W: Will you, William?

Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches?

W: Who washed Washington’s white woolen underwear
when Washington’s washer woman went west?

Ght: You’ve no need to light a night-light
On a light night like tonight,
For a night-light’s light’s a slight light,
And tonight’s a night that’s light.
When a night’s light, like tonight’s light,
It is really not quite right
To light night-lights with their slight lights
On a light night like tonight.

Toy boat. Toy boat. Toy boat.

Cheap ship trip.

Flash message!

Peggy Babcock.

Thieves seize skis.

Chop shops stock chops.

Truly rural.

Pacific Lithograph.

Unique New York.

Don’t pamper damp scamp tramps that camp under ramp lamps.

The Leith police dismisseth us.

If Stu chews shoes, should Stu
choose the shoes he chews?

I cannot bear to see a bear
Bear down upon a hare.
When bare of hair he strips the hare,
Right there I cry, “Forbear!”

Give papa a cup of proper coffee in a copper coffee cup.

My dame hath a lame tame crane,
My dame hath a crane that is lame.

The seething seas ceaseth
and twiceth the seething seas sufficeth us.

Plague-bearing prairie dogs.

Ed had edited it.

A tree toad loved a she-toad
Who lived up in a tree.
He was a two-toed tree toad
But a three-toed toad was she.
The two-toed tree toad tried to win
The three-toed she-toad’s heart,
For the two-toed tree toad loved the ground
That the three-toed tree toad trod.
But the two-toed tree toad tried in vain.
He couldn’t please her whim.
From her tree toad bower
With her three-toed power
The she-toad vetoed him.

The crow flew over the river
with a lump of raw liver.

I correctly recollect Rebecca MacGregor’s reckoning.

Cedar shingles should be shaved and saved.

Amidst the mists and coldest frosts,
with stoutest wrists and loudest boasts,
he thrusts his fist against the posts
and still insists he sees the ghosts.

Listen to the local yokel yodel.

Give Mr. Snipa’s wife’s knife a swipe.

The epitome of femininity.

She stood on the balcony
inexplicably mimicing him hiccupping,
and amicably welcoming him home.

On mules we find two legs behind
and two we find before.
We stand behind before we find
what those behind be for.

What time does the wristwatch strap shop shut?

One-One was a racehorse.
Two-Two was one, too.
When One-One won one race,
Two-Two won one, too.

Once upon a barren moor
There dwelt a bear, also a boar.
The bear could not bear the boar.
The boar thought the bear a bore.
At last the bear could bear no more
Of that boar that bored him on the moor,
And so one morn he bored the boar–
That boar will bore the bear no more.

If a Hottentot taught a Hottentot tot
To talk ere the tot could totter,
Ought the Hottenton tot
Be taught to say aught, or naught,
Or what ought to be taught her?
If to hoot and to toot a Hottentot tot
Be taught by her Hottentot tutor,
Ought the tutor get hot
If the Hottentot tot
Hoot and toot at her Hottentot tutor?

Just think, that sphinx has a sphincter that stinks!

If you stick a stock of liquor in your locker,
It’s slick to stick a lock upon your stock,
Or some stickler who is slicker
Will stick you of your liquor
If you fail to lock your liquor
With a lock!

Ned Nott was shotand Sam Shott was not.So it is better to be Shottthan Nott.
Some say Nottwas not shot.But Shott sayshe shot Nott.
Either the shot Shott shot at Nottwas not shot,or
Nott was shot.If the shot Shott shot shot Nott,
Nott was shot.But if the shot Shott shot shot Shott,
then Shott was shot,not Nott.
However,the shot Shott shot
shot not Shott –but Nott.

Pretty Kitty Creighton had a cotton batten cat.
The cotton batten cat was bitten by a rat.
The kitten that was bitten had a button for an eye,
And biting off the button made the cotton batten fly.

The ochre ogre ogled the poker.

Theophiles Thistle, the successful thistle-sifter,
in sifting a sieve full of un-sifted thistles,
thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb. Now…..if Theophiles
Thistle, the successful thistle-sifter,
in sifting a sieve full of un-sifted thistles,
thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb,
see that thou, in sifting a sieve full of un-sifted thistles,
thrust not three thousand thistles through the thick of thy thumb.Success to the successful thistle-sifter!

Thank the other three brothers of their father’s mother’s brother’s side.

Irish wristwatch.

Fred fed Ted bread, and Ted fed Fred bread.

They have left the thriftshop, and lost both their theatre tickets and the
volume of valuable licenses and coupons for free theatrical frills and thrills.

Whereat with blade,
with bloody, blameful blade,
he bravely broached his boiling bloody breast.

Some International Tongue Twisters

These are in Dutch

Ik zag de zon zakken in de Zuiderzee.

Hoor de kleine klompjes klepperen op de klinkers.

To en Tom aten tomaten; To at en Tom vrat.

Soldatententententoonstelling.

These are in French (and might show up incorrectly on your browser).

Un chasseur sachant chasser chassait sans son chien de chasse.

Ton thé, t’a-t-il ôté ta toux?

Étant sorti sans parapluie, il m’eût plus plu qu’il plût plus tôt.

These are in Pinoy

Minimekaniko ni Monico ang makina ng Minica ni Monica.

Botica, Bituka, Butiki.

This one is in Hebrew.

Sara shara shir sameyach.

This one is Japanese.

Namamugi, Namagome, Namatamago.

Old mother Twitchett

All Nursery Rhymes — Sun, 24 Mar 2024 07:15:33 +0000

This nursery rhyme and riddle was first recorded in England in the 19th century.

Below you will find the most popular version of the riddle as well as a more recent version.

Riddle:

Old mother Twitchett has but one eye,
And a long tail which she can let fly,
And every time she goes over a gap,
She leaves a bit of her tail in a trap.
(click on the riddle to find out the answer)

Little Nancy Etticoat

All Nursery Rhymes — Sun, 24 Mar 2024 07:10:11 +0000

This riddle was first published in 1843 in Traditional Nursery Songs of England with Pictures.

The most common version as we know it today appeared in 1912 in Jessica Wilcox Smith’s The Little Mother Goose.

Below you can find both versions of this riddle:

Riddle:

Little Nancy Etticoat
In a white petticoat,
And a red nose;
She has no feet or hands
The longer she stands
The shorter she grows

Older Version

Little Nan Etticoat
In a white petticoat
And a red nose,
The longer she stands,
The shorter she grows.

(click on the riddle to find out the answer)

In Marble Walls as White as Milk

All Nursery Rhymes — Sun, 24 Mar 2024 07:08:02 +0000

This fun riddle was first published in the 1921 book Children’s Literature, A Textbook of Sources for Teachers and Teacher-Training Classes written by Charles Madison Curry and Erle Elsworth Clippinger.

Riddle:

In marble walls as white as milk,
Lined with a skin as soft as silk,
Within a fountain crystal clear,
A golden apple doth appear.
No doors there are to this stronghold,
Yet thieves break in and steal the gold.
(click on the riddle to find out the answer)

Flour of England, Fruit of Spain

All Nursery Rhymes — Sun, 24 Mar 2024 07:05:49 +0000

This riddle is one of the many collected in Leslie Brooke’s 1916 nursery rhyme collection.

Riddle:

Flour of England, fruit of Spain,
Met together in a shower of rain;
Put in a bag tied round with a string,
If you’ll tell me this riddle, I’ll give you a ring.
(click on the riddle to find out the answer)

As Soft As Silk

All Nursery Rhymes — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 14:19:24 +0000

This children’s riddle was first published in Leslie Brooke’s collection of nursery rhymes from 1916.

Riddle:

As soft as silk, as white as milk,
As bitter as gall, a thick wall,
And a green coat covers me all.
(click on the riddle to find out the answer)