As I Was Going Along Lyrics
A song about singing a song, on a lane that goes on and on. The echoing "long, long, long" makes it a natural walking rhyme for small children.
As I Was Going Along
As I was going along, along,
A-singing a comical song, song, song,
The lane that I went was so long, long, long,
And the song that I sang was so long, long, long,
And so I went singing along.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/as-i-was-going-along/
- Type
- Mother Goose, Action Songs
- Tune
- Chanted or sung
- Best for ages
- 2 to 7 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| As I was going along, along | March on the spot. |
| A-singing a comical song, song, song | Cup your hands round your mouth as if singing loudly. |
| The lane that I went was so long, long, long | Stretch your arms out wide to show how long. |
What Does As I Was Going Along Mean?
The singer walks down a long lane singing a long, funny song, and the rhyme itself keeps going in the same way. Comical means funny. The repeated words at the end of each line are an echo, which children love to shout.
History and Origin
The rhyme is printed in The Real Mother Goose (1916). Walking songs with repeated words were useful on long journeys on foot, when the only way to pass the time was to sing, and the echo lines let a whole group join in.
Learning Activities
- Walking song: say it on the way to school or the park, stepping on each echo word.
- Echo game: one person says the line and everyone else shouts the echo.
- Long and short: say it once in a big voice and once in a tiny whisper.