Old Mother Hubbard Lyrics | Nursery Rhymes

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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

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.