The Old Woman And The Peddler — Nursery Rhyme Lyrics

There was an old woman, as I've heard tell,
She went to market her eggs for to sell;
She went to market all on a market-day,
And she fell asleep on the King's highway.
There came by a peddler whose name was Stout,
He cut her petticoats all round about;
He cut her petticoats up to the knees,
Which made the old woman to shiver and freeze.
When the little old woman first did wake,
She began to shiver and she began to shake;
She began to wonder and she began to cry,
"Lauk a mercy on me, this can't be I!
"But if it be I, as I hope it be,
I've a little dog at home, and he'll know me;
If it be I, he'll wag his little tail,
And if it be not I, he'll loudly bark and wail."
Home went the little woman all in the dark;
Up got the little dog, and he began to bark;
He began to bark, so she began to cry,
"Lauk a mercy on me, this is none of I!"

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Learning from "The Old Woman And The Peddler"

Nursery rhymes are some of the best teachers of rhythm and rhyme. "The Old Woman And The Peddler" uses 20 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 Old Woman And The Peddler?
The lyrics to The Old Woman And The Peddler are: There was an old woman, as I've heard tell, / She went to market her eggs for to sell; / She went to market all on a market-day, / And she fell asleep on the King's highway. / There came by a peddler whose name was Stout, / He cut her petticoats all round about; ... Read the full 20-line nursery rhyme at Rhyme Buster.
How many lines does The Old Woman And The Peddler have?
"The Old Woman And The Peddler" has 20 lines of verse.

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