Old King Cole — Nursery Rhyme Lyrics

Old King Cole was a merry old soul,
And a merry old soul was he.
He called for his pipe, and he called for his bowl,
And he called for his fiddlers three.
Every fiddler had a fiddle fine,
And a very fine fiddle had he, had he.
Tweedle dum, tweedle dee, went the fiddlers three,
Tweedle dum dee, dum dee deedle dee.
Tweedle dum, tweedle dee, went the fiddlers three,
Tweedle dum dee, dum dee deedle dee.

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Learning from "Old King Cole"

Nursery rhymes are some of the best teachers of rhythm and rhyme. "Old King Cole" uses 10 lines to create a memorable verse — proof that effective poetry doesn't need to be long. Pay attention to the meter: the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables is what makes the rhyme stick in your head.

Songwriters and poets can borrow these patterns. Try writing your own lyrics using the same rhyme scheme and line length as this nursery rhyme. You can also use words from the poem above as starting points — click any word to find rhymes or look up its definition, then build from there.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the words to Old King Cole?
The lyrics to Old King Cole are: Old King Cole was a merry old soul, / And a merry old soul was he. / He called for his pipe, and he called for his bowl, / And he called for his fiddlers three. / Every fiddler had a fiddle fine, / And a very fine fiddle had he, had he. ... Read the full 10-line nursery rhyme at Rhyme Buster.
How many lines does Old King Cole have?
"Old King Cole" has 10 lines of verse.

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