Ho, Dandelion! My Lightsome Fellow! Lyrics
Where has the dandelion's yellow gone? The poem asks, and the flower answers that the yellow turned into a misty, feathery ball, and that blowing on it will tell the time. The puffs are counted: the last seed goes on the sixth, and it is time for tea.
Ho, Dandelion! My Lightsome Fellow!
Ho, Dandelion! my lightsome fellow!
What's become of all your yellow?
"My bonnie yellow it wouldn't stay,
It turned about and it went away,
Till nothing at all was left of me
But the misty, feathery ball you see;
Yet pluck me off, and blow me well,
The time o' day I'll surely tell."
Whiff! whiff! "Blow again, -
Blow with all your might and main."
Whiff! whiff! That is four.
Now I've but two feathers more.
Whiff! How tight the last one sticks!
Whiff! It's gone; and that makes six.
The sun is getting low, I see,
And we must hurry home to tea.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/ho-dandelion-my-lightsome-fellow/
- Type
- Poems for Children
- Written by
- Mary Mapes Dodge
- Tune
- Chatty for the question, a whisper for the answer, then one puff per 'whiff'
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Whiff! whiff! | Blow out gently, as if blowing a dandelion clock. |
| Whiff! It's gone; and that makes six. | Hold up six fingers and wave. |
What Does Ho, Dandelion! My Lightsome Fellow! Mean?
The poem is a game and a science lesson in one. A dandelion's yellow flower becomes a round ball of fluff, and each tiny seed has its own feathery parachute. The poem calls the ball misty and feathery and says the time can be told by blowing it: the number of puffs it takes to clear every seed is the hour. This is the old children's game of the dandelion clock.
In the poem the count goes whiff, whiff, then four, then two more feathers, then the stubborn last one. That makes six, and since the sun is getting low it is tea time. Lightsome means light and cheerful. Main in might and main means strength. The child talks to the flower as if it were a friend, and the flower answers back.
History and Origin
Dodge's 1874 book Rhymes and Jingles carries this poem. Telling the time by dandelion puffs is an old country game, and the poem turns it into a short conversation. The flower is not at all sad that its yellow has gone.
Learning Activities
- Find a clock: look for a dandelion seed head in a park, blow once and count how many puffs it takes.
- Guess the hour: before blowing, let the child guess how many puffs it will take.
- Draw the change: draw a yellow dandelion, then the fluffy ball, and talk about what happened in between.
- Watch the seeds: after you blow, follow where the seeds float and say where they might land.