There was an old lady who swallowed a fly a nonsense nursery rhyme for children with no origins in history

"A Nursery Rhyme,
the first step to
your children's education"

There was an old lady: lyrics

Nonsense nursery rhyme which aids memory retention
 A favourite nonsense nursery rhyme amongst most children whose famous lyrics aid memory retention and whose origins have no basis in history! Just look at a child's face the first time the rhyme is repeated to them! Sheer delight in what is happening - the imagery paints a very strong picture which stimulates the imagination whilst clarifying the relative size and order of all of the animals mentioned. The words become more incredulous as they progress and there is almost a sense of relief and also astonishment at the abrupt ending of the tale! There is no basis for the words and lyrics in history -it is perhaps better described as a traditional folksong, the lyrics of which have been set to music and recorded by many various artists.

 
 

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 wiggled and tiggled 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,
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;
Fancy that  to swallow a cat!
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
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 that 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,
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 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,
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! 

There was an old lady rhyme: no origins in history!