For Every Evil Under the Sun Lyrics
If a problem can be fixed, go and fix it. If it cannot, stop worrying about it. This four-line rhyme is old-fashioned advice that still works.
For Every Evil Under the Sun
For every evil under the sun
There is a remedy or there is none.
If there be one, seek till you find it;
If there be none, never mind it.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/for-every-evil-under-the-sun/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken rhyme
- Best for ages
- 5 to 11 years
What Does For Every Evil Under the Sun Mean?
Evil here does not mean wickedness. It is an old word for any trouble or problem, and a remedy is a cure or a fix. The rhyme says every problem either has a fix or it does not. If it has one, keep looking until you find it. If it has none, there is no point worrying, so let it go.
It is a simple way to talk with children about worries: which ones we can do something about, and which ones we cannot.
History and Origin
The rhyme was already in print in the 1840s, and it appears in The Real Mother Goose (1916). Its idea is much older and turns up in proverbs in many languages. A similar thought is at the heart of the well-known Serenity Prayer, written in the 20th century.
Learning Activities
- Worry sorting: write small worries on slips of paper and sort them into "can fix" and "can't fix" piles.
- Fix it: for each "can fix" worry, think of one small step to try.
- Learn it by heart: it is short enough to remember, and useful to say when something goes wrong.