You know how it goes. She starts with a fly. Then a spider. Before you know it, she’s housing a whole zoo in her digestive tract. There was an old lady song—officially titled "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly"—is arguably one of the most bizarre pieces of children's media ever conceived. It’s dark. It’s repetitive. It ends with the protagonist’s literal demise. Yet, we sing it to toddlers before naptime without a second thought.
Why?
Honestly, it’s because the song is a masterpiece of "cumulative" storytelling. It builds a tower of absurdity that kids find hilarious and adults find slightly disturbing. But there’s a lot more to this track than just a woman with a very peculiar appetite. From its murky folk origins to the way it actually helps kids develop cognitive mapping, let’s peel back the layers on this nursery rhyme classic.
The Weird History of the Swallowing Lady
Most people assume this song has been around since the Middle Ages, right alongside "Ring Around the Rosie." Not really. While the style of the song is old—folklorists call it a "cumulative song"—this specific version didn't really hit the mainstream until the mid-20th century.
Rose Bonne wrote the lyrics, and Alan Mills, a Canadian folk singer, composed the music around 1952. Mills wasn’t just some random guy; he was a giant in the folk scene who recorded for Smithsonian Folkways. If you go back and listen to those early recordings, there’s a certain dry, campfire quality to it that makes the grim ending feel a bit more like a tall tale and less like a horror movie.
Burl Ives, the voice of Sam the Snowman in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, is the one who truly launched it into the stratosphere. His 1953 version gave it that warm, grandfatherly vibe that masked the fact that we are literally singing about a woman dying from internal trauma caused by a horse.
Why the variations matter
Depending on where you grew up, the lyrics change. Some versions say she swallowed the spider to "catch" the fly. Others get more descriptive about the spider "wriggling and jiggling and tickling inside her."
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There are even regional variants where the animals change entirely. In some parts of the UK, the order might swap, or the "horse" is replaced by something else equally lethal. But the core structure—the there was an old lady song DNA—always stays the same: one mistake leads to a bigger one, which leads to an even bigger one, until the system collapses. It’s basically a musical lesson in the "Sunk Cost Fallacy."
The Psychology of Why Kids Love It
It seems counterintuitive. Why do four-year-olds laugh at a song about a woman eating a cat?
Cognitive scientists and child development experts, like those who study the "Incongruity Theory" of humor, suggest it's the sheer impossibility that does the trick. Kids spend their whole lives being told what not to put in their mouths. Seeing an adult figure violate every safety rule imaginable is peak comedy to a preschooler.
It’s also about the "cumulative" nature.
- Memory Anchoring: Every time you repeat the list (fly, spider, bird, cat...), you are reinforcing a sequence.
- Predictability: Children crave knowing what comes next. It makes them feel smart and in control.
- The Big Payoff: The "I don't know why she swallowed the fly" refrain acts as a tension release.
Is it too dark?
Some modern parents have actually tried to "sanitize" the ending. I've seen versions where she just gets a stomachache or goes to sleep. Honestly? That ruins it. Kids are more resilient than we give them credit for, and the absurdity of "perhaps she'll die" followed by the final "she's dead of course" provides a definitive, albeit dark, punctuation mark that helps children understand the concept of a finale.
The Modern "Old Lady" Empire
If you walk into any primary school classroom today, you won't just find the song. You'll find a massive franchise. Author Lucille Colandro and illustrator Jared Lee turned this single song into a juggernaut of picture books.
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They’ve got an old lady swallowing:
- Leaves (for Fall)
- Snow (for Winter)
- Clover (for St. Patrick’s Day)
- Bat (for Halloween)
It’s genius, really. They took the there was an old lady song structure and turned it into a seasonal teaching tool. My nephew has a version where she swallows a whole bunch of school supplies. It doesn’t make logical sense—how do you swallow a desk?—but the rhythmic cadence of the original song is so strong that you can swap in almost any noun and it still works.
Breaking Down the "Chain of Command"
Let’s look at the biological (and very illogical) hierarchy in the classic version.
The Fly: The catalyst. Usually depicted as a common housefly. Harmless, but annoying.
The Spider: Swallowed to catch the fly. This is where the "wriggle and jiggle" line comes in.
The Bird: Swallowed to catch the spider. This is where the logic starts to fail. How does a bird catch a spider inside a person?
The Cat: To catch the bird.
The Dog: To catch the cat. "What a hog, to swallow a dog!"
The Goat: To catch the dog. (Why a goat? No one knows. Goats are just funny).
The Cow: To catch the goat.
The Horse: The finale. "She's dead, of course."
From a biological standpoint, the "Old Lady" is essentially a walking, talking ecosystem collapse.
The Educational Value (Seriously)
Teachers use this song for more than just a time-filler. It’s a foundational tool for sequencing. Sequencing is the ability to remember the order of events, which is a precursor to reading comprehension and even basic coding logic.
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When a kid sings the song, they aren't just memorizing lyrics; they are building a mental flowchart. If $A$ happens, then $B$ must follow. It’s a "Last-In, First-Out" (LIFO) stack, for the tech-minded folks out there.
How to Perform It Without Losing Your Mind
If you're a parent or educator, you've probably performed this song 500 times. It can get old. To keep it fresh—and to keep the "human-quality" engagement high—you’ve gotta lean into the performance art of it.
- Speed it up: Start slow and increase the tempo with every animal. By the time you get to the cow, you should be breathless.
- Visual Aids: Get a literal "Old Lady" puppet with a hole in the mouth. I've seen some made out of tissue boxes and old socks. Dropping plastic animals into a "stomach" (a clear plastic bag) helps kids visualize the sheer volume of her meal.
- Change the Ending: If you really can't handle the "she's dead" part, make it a "burp" that sends all the animals flying out in reverse order. It's a crowd-pleaser.
The Lasting Legacy of the Fly-Swallower
Why does there was an old lady song still rank at the top of nursery rhyme playlists on Spotify and YouTube?
It's the "earworm" factor. The melody is simple, using a standard folk progression that feels familiar even if you've never heard it before. It’s also one of the few children's songs that doesn't talk down to them. It’s weird, it’s slightly gross, and it has a punchline.
In a world of "Baby Shark" and over-produced nursery rhymes, there’s something grounded about a folk song that originated from the 1950s folk revival. It reminds us that storytelling doesn't need to be complex to be effective. It just needs a good rhythm and a lady willing to eat a horse.
Put This Knowledge Into Action
If you want to use this song effectively, whether for teaching or just entertaining a bored toddler in a car, follow these steps:
- Focus on the Reiteration: Don't skip the "swallowed the spider to catch the fly" parts. That repetition is where the brain-building happens.
- Ask "What's Next?": Before moving to the next animal, pause. Let the child guess. This builds predictive skills.
- Explore Variations: Check out the Lucille Colandro books if you need to tie the song into a specific holiday or season.
- Embrace the Dark Humor: Don't be afraid of the ending. It's a great way to talk about consequences (in a very exaggerated way) and the finality of a story.
There’s no need to overthink it. At its heart, the song is just a fun, rhythmic romp through a very bad digestive decision. Keep it light, keep it fast, and maybe don't try it at home with actual spiders.