The Ass and his Driver — Nursery Rhyme Lyrics

An Ass, being driven along the high road, suddenly started off, and bolted to the brink of a deep precipice. When he was in the act of throwing himself over, his owner, seizing him by the tail, endeavored to pull him back. The Ass persisting in his effort, the man let him go, and said: "Conquer; but conquer to your cost."
The perverse generally come to harm.

Explore Words From This Rhyme

Find Rhymes

Look Up Definitions

More Nursery Rhymes

Browse all nursery rhymes →

Learning from "The Ass and his Driver"

Nursery rhymes are some of the best teachers of rhythm and rhyme. "The Ass and his Driver" uses 2 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.

Create your own verse

Inspired by "The Ass and his Driver"? Try writing your own rhymes:

Generate a verse

Frequently asked questions

What are the words to The Ass and his Driver?
The lyrics to The Ass and his Driver are: An Ass, being driven along the high road, suddenly started off, and bolted to the brink of a deep precipice. When he was in the act of throwing himself over, his owner, seizing him by the tail, endeavored to pull him back. The Ass persisting in his effort, the man let him go, and said: "Conquer; but conquer to your cost." / The perverse generally come to harm.
How many lines does The Ass and his Driver have?
"The Ass and his Driver" has 2 lines of verse.

Explore More Word Tools