Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

The following music will give you the general tune to use, but it does not coincide with the number of lines in each verse.

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly.
I dunno why she swallowed that fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a spider,
That wiggled and wiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that 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 wiggled and wiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly -
Perhaps she'll die

There was an old lady who swallowed a cat.
Imagine that, she swallowed a cat.
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird ...
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wiggled and wiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly
Perhaps she'll die

There was an old lady who 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 wiggled and wiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that 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 wiggled and wiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that 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 wiggled and wiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a horse -
She's dead, of course.

For Parents

Healthy eating is one important way to strengthen your family’s personal environmental health. For example: follow safety instructions on household and garden chemicals; check if persistent colds may in fact be an allergy; and keep drugs, drain openers, and vitamins out of children’s reach.

GirlsHealth.gov
was created by the National Woman's Health Information Center (NWHIC), US Department of Health and Human Services and the Office on Women's Health, to help adolescent girls (ages 10-16) learn more about some of the unique health issues and social situations they will encounter in the upcoming years. The Parent/Caregiver section provides resources and links to extremely helpful information for you, as a parent/caregiver, to be prepared to deal with some of the issues that face adolescent girls.

For Kids

We don’t recommend swallowing a fly, but healthy eating should definitely have been on this old lady’s menu! That means fruits, veggies, and other nutritious food, along with milk and water to drink. What have you eaten today? Ask your parents to help you make a healthy snack. You can use this recipe from an elementary school in Galena Park, Texas.

For Teachers

" U R What You Eat" is a colorful, downloadable chart to remind students about foods characterized as “go,” “slow,” and “whoa.” The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute has created this and many other resources for children and teens that promote eating right.

For Teachers

A film about the history and importance of the fruit fly Drosophila as a model in research.