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.

To make the song even more fun, caregivers can add some movement to go along with the words of the song. Moreover, See You Later, Alligator can also be used as a call and response song.

“See You Later, Alligator” Kids Lyrics

See you later, alligator,
After a while, crocodile,
Blow a kiss, jellyfish.
Give a hug, ladybug,
See you soon, big baboon,
Out the door, dinosaur,
Take (good) care, polar bear,
Wave goodbye, butterfly.

“See You Later, Alligator” Alternative Version Lyrics

See You Later Alligator
Toodle-oo, Kangaroo
Bye-bye Butterfly
Gotta go, Buffalo
See you later, Alligator, that’s all for now
Gotta go
See you later, Alligator, that’s all for now
Gotta go

Lyrics

There was a little girl
Who had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good,
She was very very good
But when she was bad
She was horrid.

The lyrics of this beautiful song tell the bedtime story of three little sailors in a shoe-boat made of wood and their adventures fishing stars, meant to send any baby to sleep.

“Wynken, Blynken, and Nod” Lyrics

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe —
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
Into a sea of dew.
“Where are you going, and what do you wish?”
The old moon asked the three.
“We have come to fish for the herring fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we!”
Said Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
That lived in that beautiful sea —
“Now cast your nets wherever you wish —
Never afeard are we”;
So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

All night long their nets they threw
To the stars in the twinkling foam —
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
Bringing the fishermen home;
‘Twas all so pretty a sail it seemed
As if it could not be,
And some folks thought ’twas a dream they’d dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea —
But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one’s trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

Solomon Grundy poem was first recorded in 1842 by nursery rhyme and fairy-tale collector James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps. The song was translated in different languages including French, German or Italian. Being very easy to memorize, Solomon Grundy is used as a tool to teach kids the days of the week.

Solomon Grundy Poem Meaning

The song is telling the story of Solomon Grundy, a man who, metaphorically, lives and dies his entire life in one single week. Born on Monday, each day of the week he is growing older facing a different stage of his life, and his life ends on Saturday.

Solomon Grundy born on a Monday, became a character of urban legends and comics. To scare children who are not wise, it is said that Solomon Grundy will return on Monday, in a similar way to a bogeyman.

There are many suggestions that Solomon Grundy phonetically derived from the food with the same name which is a pickled fish pâté, with salad and eggs.

The word for the English dish comes from the Salmagundi, an ingredient used in Solomon Grundy, originally a Jamaican mix of meat and salad, adapted into French Cuisine around the 17th century and then English cuisine around the 18th century.

Solomon Grundy Nursery Rhyme Lyrics

Solomon Grundy,
Born on a Monday,
Christened on Tuesday,
Married on Wednesday,
Took ill on Thursday,
Grew worse on Friday,
Died on Saturday,
Buried on Sunday.
That was the end,
Of Solomon Grundy.

It is also one of the oldest ones as it first was published by the English poet Edmund Spenser in 1590:

She bath’d her brest
the boyling heat t’allay;
She bath’d with roses red
and violets blew.

By 1784 a version that resembles the current version of the poem was published in Gammer Gurton’s Garland:

The rose is red
the violet’s blue
The honey’s sweet
and so are you.
Thou are my love and I am thine;
I drew thee to my Valentine

“Roses are Red” Lyrics

Modern Version

Today although there are plenty of variations of this very popular nursery rhyme and poem (including many spoof versions) the most popular rhyme is:

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Sugar is sweet
And so are you.

The poem was first told at her sister’s house, Judith Anne Marti, wife of the notorious politician John Pollexfen Bastard. The lyrics were actually inspired by an old housekeeper of her sister’s house, who lived in a cottage on their property after giving up work. Like other 19th century rhymes such as The Muffin Man, Old mother Hubbard is a song that refers to the general poverty in England at the time.

When the illustrated book was first published in 1805 it was very successful and the poem became one of the most popular nursery rhymes of all times.

It is possible that the story was based on an earlier poem for children, “Old Dame” that appeared in 1803, which is written in a very different manner though.

Old Mother Hubbard character was related to either St. Hubert, the protector of hunters, mathematicians, opticians and metalworkers, or more commonly with Cardinal Thomas Wolsey – just like another nursery rhyme Little Boy Blue – but there are no evidences to support either one of these theories.

“Old Mother Hubbard” Lyrics

Old Mother Hubbard
Went to the cupboard,
To give the poor dog a bone:
When she came there,
The cupboard was bare,
And so the poor dog had none.

She went to the baker’s
To buy him some bread;
When she came back
The dog was dead!

She went to the undertaker’s
To buy him a coffin;
When she came back
The dog was laughing.

She took a clean dish
to get him some tripe;
When she came back
He was smoking his pipe.

She went to the alehouse
To get him some beer;
When she came back
The dog sat in a chair.

She went to the tavern
For white wine and red;
When she came back
The dog stood on his head.

She went to the fruiterer’s
To buy him some fruit;
When she came back
He was playing the flute.

She went to the tailor’s
To buy him a coat;
When she came back
He was riding a goat.

She went to the hatter’s
To buy him a hat;
When she came back
He was feeding her cat.

She went to the barber’s
To buy him a wig
When she came back
He was dancing a jig.

She went to the cobbler’s
To buy him some shoes;
When she came back
He was reading the news.

She went to the sempstress
To buy him some linen;
When she came back
The dog was spinning.

She went to the hosier’s
To buy him some hose;
When she came back
He was dressed in his clothes.

The Dame made a curtsy,
The dog made a bow;
The Dame said, Your servant;
The dog said, Bow-wow.

This wonderful dog
Was Dame Hubbard’s delight,
He could read, he could dance,
He could sing, he could write;
She gave him rich dainties
Whenever he fed,
And erected this monument
When he was dead.