Song: I Know an Old Woman
Year: 1946
Artist: Various
Album: Various
Language Focus: Adjective Clauses
Episode Description
In each season, we like to include a traditional song that is good for language learners of all ages. For Season 3, Episode 4, we’ve chosen a song we remember from our own childhoods, “I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.”
This song is silly and funny and since it repeats each verse, it’s great language practice.
We’ve also recorded ourselves singing the version of the song included in the lyrics on the podcast website. Have fun trying to sing along!!
Episode Transcript
<intro>
E: Hi! I’m Ece.
H: And I’m Heather.
E: We’re the co-hosts of the language learning podcast, English as a Singing Language.
H: In each episode of the podcast, we choose a song from different styles and time periods, and we talk about the language in the song.
E: We believe that music makes learning pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and fluency easier, more memorable…
H: …And a lot more fun!
E: Definitely! Singing is a really fun way to learn a language.
H: So, what song did we choose for this episode, Ece?
E: Well, you know how we include a children’s song or a folk song in every season?
H: Yes.
E: This episode is a traditional children’s song that’s great for learning adjective clauses.
H: Wow! That sounds great! I can’t wait to find out what song it is!
E: Me neither!
H: Let’s get started!
<end intro>
E: <Humming “I Know an Old Woman”>
H: Hi Ece! How’s it going?
E: Everything is going really well. How about you?
H: Me too! Now that the new school year has started, I’m pretty busy, but I’m enjoying my classes so far. And speaking of classes, how is your daughter enjoying school so far?
E: It was a big change for her, but she’s really enjoying school.
H: I’m so glad to hear that! What is her teacher like?
E: I’m very happy that she has a teacher who loves learning with her students, and classmates who play and learn together.
H: That sounds perfect. I’m sure she’s learning a lot.
E: She has already learned so much - including the song I was humming just now.
H: It sounded like the traditional children’s song, “I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.”
E: The version that my daughter learned is called, “There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly,” because there have been many variations in the lyrics for this song over the years, but yes, that’s the song!
H: There are different words and descriptions in the different versions of the song since it’s definitely been around for a long time.
E: It started out as a children’s poem, and then it became a song in the 1940s when Alan Mills wrote the music and Rose Bonne wrote the lyrics.
H: According to Wikipedia, in 1946, Dorothy B. King said this about a performance of the children’s poem, “I Know an Old Woman” that she’d seen the previous evening, “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.”
E: So, it’s a very funny song.
H: It’s very silly and very funny. And many singers have covered the song over the years. Burl Ives released a version in 1953.
E: And Judy Collins recorded a version with the Muppets in 1977.
H: And the Learning Station recorded another version in 2005.
E: And there are many other versions. We’ll put links to the YouTube videos in the episode notes.
H: Ok. So, what kind of song is, “There Was an Old Lady”?
E: Do you remember the previous children’s songs we’ve talked about?
H: Of course! There was “Down by the Bay,” in Season 2, Episode 6. That’s a really fun song.
E: It is. And what about the song from Season 1?
H: In Season 1, Episode 14, we discussed, “The Green Grass Grows All Around.”
E: Do you remember what kind of song that was?
H: Agh! Let me think! It was a…cumulative song, right?
E: That’s right! Each verse builds on the previous verse, accumulating and getting longer and longer.
H: And let me guess, “There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly,” is also a cumulative song.
E: It sure is. So, it’s perfect for learning language since every verse repeats.
H: The first verse starts, “There was an old lady who swallowed a fly.” That’s pretty weird, right? I mean, sometimes when I’m outside I will swallow a fly by accident. You know, if it just flies right into your mouth while you’re walking or riding a bicycle? But, it sounds like she did it on purpose.
E: It does. The idea that she would swallow a fly is so silly, it immediately grabs our attention.
H: And that line also contains an adjective clause with “who” to describe the woman.
E: Right. We use “who” for adjective clauses that describe people.
H: Like when you described your daughter’s teacher. She’s a person who loves teaching children.
E: Exactly. And her classmates are children who enjoy learning, playing and singing.
H: Ece, I would say you are someone who always works hard, cares deeply about other people, and thinks creatively.
E: That’s very kind of you to say, Heather.
H: It’s very true!
E: And I would say you are a person who is a great listener and gives thoughtful gifts.
H: That means a lot coming from you, Ece. Thanks!
E: That line continues, “I don’t know why she swallowed a fly - perhaps she’ll die!”
H: So, there’s rhyming in that line with “fly” and “die,” and there’s also reduced pronunciation.
E: Yes! Instead of, “I do not know why,” or “I don’t know why,” the singer uses, “I dunno why,” and that’s the way we pronounce that in everyday English.
H: And the song just gets sillier in the next line, “There was an old lady who swallowed a spider that wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her.”
E: Hmmm… so, there’s another adjective clause with “that” because we can use “that” for people and for things.
H: Right. What kind of spider was it? It was a spider that wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her.
E: Ugh. That sounds terrible. Can you imagine a spider dancing around inside your stomach?
H: Well, it’s not just dancing, it’s wriggling. “Wriggling” is like the movement you make when you’re trying to put on or take off a piece of clothing that is too small. You move side to side to try to get the clothes on or off. That’s been happening to me a lot lately.
E: And how about “jiggle”? When I think of the verb “to jiggle” I always think of jelly.
H: Me too. When you move it, it goes “wom wom wom.”
E: And “tickling” is a light touch that makes a person laugh.
H: I don’t know if the feel of a spider’s feet in my stomach would make me laugh.
E: Me neither, but those are great verbs: wriggled, and jiggled and tickled.
H: And that is probably a good description of what it would feel like.
E: Now the listener is wondering, “Ok. She swallowed a fly and we don’t know why. Why did she swallow a spider?”
H: A-ha. She swallowed the spider to catch the fly. Oh no! This is a cumulative song. Is she going to…?
E: Yep. She’s going to keep swallowing bigger and bigger animals.
H: And each animal is supposed to catch the previous one. Oh my gosh. So, what does she swallow to get the spider?
E: The next verse is, “There was an old lady who swallowed a bird; how absurd to swallow a bird!”
H: “Absurd” rhymes with bird. What does it mean if something is “absurd”?
E: “Absurd” is something extremely silly, ridiculous or senseless.
H: Well, I’d say eating a bird to catch a spider is pretty absurd.
E: Agree. What do you think she’s going to swallow next, Heather?
H: Well, my cat would love to catch a bird if I let her, so I’m going to guess she swallows a cat to catch the bird.
E: Exactly! The next line goes, “There was an old lady who swallowed a cat; Well, fancy that, she swallowed a cat!”
H: We use “fancy that” when something is hard to imagine or believe, but it’s kind of old fashioned. People don’t use that expression anymore.
E: I could say, “Fancy that! We’ve got a million Instagram followers!”
H: That’s not too hard to believe! Listeners, make sure you follow the podcast on Instagram, @singinglanguages, and maybe we will get a million followers!!
E: Ok Heather, what do you think she’s going to swallow to catch the cat?
H: That’s easy. Dogs love to catch cats. I’m sure it’s a dog.
E: You’re right! The next verse is, “There was an old lady who swallowed a dog;
What a hog to swallow a dog!
H: A “hog” is a very large pig. In fact, a hog is actually a pig that weighs over 113 kilograms.
E: You’d definitely need to be big to swallow a dog! What do you think is next?
H: Hmmmm….a llama?
E: Nope.
H: A bear?
E: No.
H: A shark?
E: A shark? No, that’s too absurd even for this silly song! She swallowed a goat!
H: Ok, that makes sense, I guess. She swallowed the goat to catch the dog.
E: Yep. “Just opened her throat and swallowed a goat!”
H: Somehow, I don’t think it would be that easy, but ok!
E: And how about the next animal? Remember, these are animals on a farm.
H: So no sharks. Ok, well, probably a cow then.
E: Exactly. “I don’t know how she swallowed a cow!”
H: Me neither. Perhaps she’ll die! This is getting crazy.
E: Funny you should say that Heather. The next animal is the last one.
H: Oh no.
E: Yep. “I know an old lady who swallowed a horse…”
E + H: She’s dead, of course!”
H: Oh my gosh. What an absurd song! I haven’t sung it since my own children were little.
E: I’m glad my daughter has a teacher who uses songs in her class.
H: And this is a great one! Well, I think we’re ready to sing!
E: Listeners, there are links to different versions of the song in the episode notes.
H: And?
E: And we’ll be including a special bonus episode of the two of us singing, “There was an Old Lady” together.
H: I’m so excited! Don’t forget to sing out loud! This is a song that is fun for people of all ages.
E: “I don’t know why she swallowed a fly…”
H: “perhaps she’ll die!”
<outtro>
E: I’m so glad we can share this song with people all over the world who love singing and learning English.
H: Me too! I know we’re not the only people in the world who enjoy singing and language learning!
E: We should encourage everyone to check out our YouTube channel.
H: Yes! Listeners who like the podcast can enjoy featured video episodes on our YouTube channel.
E: And people who want to contact us should email us at singinglanguages@gmail.com.
H: They can also send us a message on Instagram, @singinglanguages or via our website.
E: That’s right. We love to hear from our listeners.
H: Until next time, have fun and…
H + E: …just keep singing!!
Official YouTube Videos
The Learning Station 2005
Judy Collins on The Muppet Show 1977
Burl Ives 1952
Complete Lyrics
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 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 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!
Rose Bonne (lyrics) and Alan Mills (music)
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