There Was an Old Maid — Nursery Rhyme Lyrics

There was a maid on Scrabble Hill,
And, if not dead, she lives there still.
She grew so tall, she reached the sky,
And on the moon hung clothes to dry.

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Learning from "There Was an Old Maid"

Nursery rhymes are some of the best teachers of rhythm and rhyme. "There Was an Old Maid" uses 4 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 There Was an Old Maid?
The lyrics to There Was an Old Maid are: There was a maid on Scrabble Hill, / And, if not dead, she lives there still. / She grew so tall, she reached the sky, / And on the moon hung clothes to dry.
How many lines does There Was an Old Maid have?
"There Was an Old Maid" has 4 lines of verse.

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