The Great and the Little Fishes — Nursery Rhyme Lyrics

A Fisherman was drawing up a net which he had cast into the sea, full of all sorts of fish. The Little Fish escaped through the meshes of the net, and got back into the deep, but the Great Fish were all caught and hauled into the ship.
Our insignificance is often the cause of our safety.

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Learning from "The Great and the Little Fishes"

Nursery rhymes are some of the best teachers of rhythm and rhyme. "The Great and the Little Fishes" 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.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the words to The Great and the Little Fishes?
The lyrics to The Great and the Little Fishes are: A Fisherman was drawing up a net which he had cast into the sea, full of all sorts of fish. The Little Fish escaped through the meshes of the net, and got back into the deep, but the Great Fish were all caught and hauled into the ship. / Our insignificance is often the cause of our safety.
How many lines does The Great and the Little Fishes have?
"The Great and the Little Fishes" has 2 lines of verse.

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