Butterfly, Butterfly, Whence Do You Come? Lyrics
A child asks a butterfly where it comes from and where it is going. The butterfly has no home, and goes wherever the sun shines and the buds grow.
Butterfly, Butterfly, Whence Do You Come?
Butterfly, butterfly, whence do you come?
I know not, I ask not, I never had home.
Butterfly, butterfly, where do you go?
Where the sun shines, and where the buds grow.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/butterfly-butterfly-whence-do-you-come/
- Type
- Animal Rhymes
- Tune
- Spoken, in two voices
- Best for ages
- 2 to 6 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Butterfly, butterfly | Hook your thumbs together and flap your hands as wings. |
| I never had home | Shrug and shake your head. |
| Where the sun shines | Make a big sun with your arms over your head. |
| And where the buds grow | Open your hands slowly like a flower. |
What Does Butterfly, Butterfly, Whence Do You Come? Mean?
Whence is an old word for "from where". The butterfly's answer is true to life: butterflies do not build nests or homes. They rest on leaves and flowers wherever they land, and they look for sunny spots and flowers full of nectar, which is exactly where the rhyme says they go.
History and Origin
The rhyme comes from The Little Mother Goose (1912). Its question-and-answer shape makes it easy to say in two voices, with a child asking and a grown-up answering for the butterfly.
Learning Activities
- Two voices: one person asks the questions, the other answers as the butterfly.
- Butterfly hunt: look for butterflies on sunny flowers and watch where they go.
- Folded paint: paint one half of a paper, fold it, and open a matching butterfly.