Old Mother Hubbard Lyrics | Nursery Rhymes
Singing a nursery rhyme is a great way to bond with your little one. Have a go at following the song lyrics to Old Mother Hubbard and watch the video for the music below.
Old Mother Hubbard Lyrics in English
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 bakerтАЩs
To buy him some bread;
When she came back
The dog was dead!
She went to the undertakerтАЩs
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 fruitererтАЩs
To buy him some fruit;
When she came back
He was playing the flute.
She went to the tailorтАЩs
To buy him a coat;
When she came back
He was riding a goat.
She went to the hatterтАЩs
To buy him a hat;
When she came back
He was feeding her cat.
She went to the barberтАЩs
To buy him a wig
When she came back
He was dancing a jig.
She went to the cobblerтАЩs
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 hosierтАЩs
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 HubbardтАЩs 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.
The poem was first told at her sisterтАЩs house, Judith Anne Marti, wife of the notorious politician John Pollexfen Bastard. The lyrics were actually inspired by an old housekeeper of her sisterтАЩs house, who lived in a cottage on their property after giving up work.
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, тАЬOld DameтАЭ 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 тАУ just like another nursery rhyme Little Boy Blue тАУ but there are no evidences to support either one of these theories.
