Found a Peanut is a traditional children’s song that is often sung during traveling or around a campfire. Its repetitive lyrics are easy to memorize and fun. It is sung to the tune of “Oh My Darling, Clementine”, thus it will be very easy to learn.
The song’s origins are unknown although the oldest versions of the song were found during the 1930’s in the United States. There are many variations of the lyrics, below you will find the most popular.
“Found a Peanut” Lyrics
Found a peanut, found a peanut,
Found a peanut just now,
Just now I found a peanut,
Found a peanut just now.
Cracked it open, cracked it open,
Cracked it open just now,
Just now I cracked it open,
Cracked it open just now.
It was rotten, it was rotten,
It was rotten just now,
Just now it was rotten,
It was rotten just now.
Ate it anyway, ate it anyway,
Ate it anyway just now,
Just now I ate it anyway,
Ate it anyway just now.
Got a stomach ache, got a stomach ache,
Got a stomach ache just now,
Just now I got a stomach ache,
Got a stomach ache just now.
Called the doctor, called the doctor,
Called the doctor just now,
Just now I called the doctor,
Called the doctor just now.
Penicillin, Penicillin,
Penicillin just now,
Just now I took Penicillin,
Penicillin just now.
Operation, operation,
Operation just now,
Just now an operation,
An operation just now.
Died anyway, died anyway,
Died anyway just now,
Just now I died anyway,
Died anyway just now.
Went to heaven, went to heaven,
Went to heaven just now,
Just now I went to heaven,
Went to heaven just now.
Wouldn’t take me, wouldn’t take me,
Wouldn’t take me just now,
Just now Heaven wouldn’t take me,
Wouldn’t take me just now.
Went the other way, went the other way,
Went the other way just now,
Just now I went the other way,
Went the other way just now.
Didn’t want me, didn’t want me,
Didn’t want me just now,
Just now they didn’t want me,
Didn’t want me just now.
Was a dream, was a dream,
Was a dream just now,
Just now it was a dream,
Was a dream, just now.
Then I woke up, then I woke up,
Then I woke up just now,
Just now I woke up,
I woke up just now.
Found a peanut, found a peanut,
Found a peanut just now,
Just now I found a peanut,
Found a peanut just now.
“Found a Peanut” Alternative lyrics
The words of the song can be changed easily and there are many variations circulating. Sometimes “it was rotten” is changed with “it was mouldy”, and “ate it anyway” is changed by “still ate it” but most of these variations do not change the meaning of the lyrics.
Some prefer to sing a longer version of Found a Peanut in which they substitute “Operation” by “Cut me open” then add a few more verses like “Took the peanut out”, “Sewed me up again”, “Left the scissors in”, “Cut me open again”, “Took some medicine”.