A Song for Bertie Lyrics
Baby Buffetty goes out meeting animals. The cow gets a bow and the sheep gets a leap, and both answer with a friendly moo or baa. The lion answers with a roar, and Baby Buffetty runs off crying.
A Song for Bertie
Baby Buffetty met a cow -
Moo, moo! How d'ye do?
Baby Buffetty made a bow -
Moo, moo! How d'ye do?
Baby Buffetty met a sheep -
Baa, baa! How's your ma?
Baby Buffetty gave a leap -
Baa, baa! How's your ma?
Baby Buffetty met a lion -
Roar, G-r-r-rooo! Go away!
Baby Buffetty ran off crying,
Roar, G-r-r-rooo! Go away!
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/a-song-for-bertie/
- Type
- Poems for Children, Animal Rhymes
- Written by
- Mary Mapes Dodge
- Tune
- Cheerful and bouncy for the cow and sheep, then a big roar and a wobbling cry
- Best for ages
- 1 to 4 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Baby Buffetty made a bow | Bow forward from the waist with a smile. |
| Baby Buffetty gave a leap | Take a small hop on the spot. |
| Roar, G-r-r-rooo! Go away! | Make claws with your hands and growl, then pretend to run off, crying 'boo hoo'. |
What Does A Song for Bertie Mean?
The song works as a short greeting game with three turns. In the first two, Baby Buffetty is polite: Moo, moo! How d'ye do? is the cow's friendly answer, and Baa, baa! How's your ma? is the sheep asking after the baby's mother, which is the sort of thing an old-fashioned neighbour would ask. How d'ye do is an old way of saying how do you do. The third turn changes the mood: the lion does not say hello at all, and the same line comes twice, so a child can join in with the growl.
The baby's name, Buffetty, is fun to say, and a child can swap in their own name each time it comes round.
History and Origin
Mary Mapes Dodge printed this verse in her 1874 book Rhymes and Jingles. The title says it is a song for Bertie; the poem itself never says who Bertie is.
Learning Activities
- Hello to every animal: use toy animals, and let a baby or toddler wave, bow or say hello to each as you sing.
- Roar practice: take turns making a big roar and a very tiny roar, and talk about how big animals can feel scary to little ones.
- Make a fourth animal: add a duck, a dog or a horse with its sound and a polite question, and see where the verse goes.
- Brave baby: after the lion, have a cuddle and add a new ending in which the lion turns out to be a friendly one.