There Was an Old Woman, and What Do You Think? Lyrics
An old woman who lived on nothing but food and drink. Which is, of course, what everybody lives on. A four-line joke that sounds like a mystery.
There Was an Old Woman, and What Do You Think?
There was an old woman, and what do you think?
She lived upon nothing but victuals and drink;
Victuals and drink were the chief of her diet,
And yet this old woman could never be quiet.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/a-strange-old-woman/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken rhyme
- Best for ages
- 5 to 10 years
What Does There Was an Old Woman, and What Do You Think? Mean?
Victuals, said VIT-ulz, is an old word for food. So the woman lives on "nothing but" food and drink, exactly like everyone else. The rhyme builds it up as something strange, and the joke is that it is completely ordinary. The last line adds that she still never stopped talking.
History and Origin
The rhyme is printed in The Real Mother Goose (1916) as "A Strange Old Woman". It belongs with Comical Folk and other joke rhymes that promise something amazing and deliver the obvious.
Learning Activities
- Spot the joke: ask what is strange about eating food and drinking drinks.
- Say victuals: learn the old word and its odd pronunciation.
- Obvious facts: make up your own: "She walked on nothing but her two feet!"