Happy Thought Lyrics
Two lines of twenty words: the world holds so many things that everyone ought to be as happy as a king. It is one of the shortest poems a child can learn by heart, and Robert Louis Stevenson called it Happy Thought.
Happy Thought
The world is so full of a number of things,
I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/happy-thought/
- Type
- Poems for Children
- Written by
- Robert Louis Stevenson
- Tune
- Said as a single breath, then repeated more slowly with a pause after 'things'
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
What Does Happy Thought Mean?
This is a poem in one sentence. The first line states a fact, that the world is full of "a number of things", which is a plain way of saying a great many. The second line draws a happy conclusion: with so much to see and do, "we should all be as happy as kings". In old sayings a king stands for someone who has everything, so being as happy as one is the top of the scale.
The two lines rhyme on things and kings. The poem is only twenty words long, which is why it is so easy to learn, and it can be said anywhere: on a walk, at a window, or at the end of a busy day.
The idea is a good one for grown-ups to use with a child who says there is nothing to do. The poem does not tell you which things to enjoy. That is left to the reader, and the activities below turn it into a game of picking some out.
History and Origin
Robert Louis Stevenson put these two lines into A Child's Garden of Verses, published in 1885, under the title Happy Thought. Stevenson was already known as the author of Treasure Island (1883) when the little collection appeared.
Learning Activities
- Number of things: set a one-minute timer and have everyone name as many things as they can see from where they sit, then count them.
- One good thing: at bedtime, say the poem and then name one thing from the day that was good.
- Memory test: learn the two lines by heart and say them back after a minute of silly talk about something else.
- Draw the list: fold a page into eight boxes and draw a different thing in each, then say the poem over the page.