I Caught a Little Ladybird Lyrics
A child catches a ladybird, and it flies far away. The child also has a doll, a lady wife that is both serious and bright. The ladybird, though, is alive, and the child calls it back, bored with the stiff doll that cannot play.
I Caught a Little Ladybird
I caught a little ladybird
That flies far away;
I caught a little lady wife
That is both staid and gay.
Come back, my scarlet ladybird,
Back from far away;
I weary of my dolly wife,
My wife that cannot play.
She's such a senseless wooden thing
She stares the livelong day;
Her wig of gold is stiff and cold
And cannot change to grey.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/i-caught-a-little-ladybird/
- Type
- Poems for Children
- Written by
- Christina Rossetti
- Tune
- Wistful and lightly sung, calling the ladybird on the second verse
- Best for ages
- 4 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Come back, my scarlet ladybird | Hold out one open hand and wiggle the fingers, as if calling a small insect to land. |
| She stares the livelong day | Stare straight ahead without blinking, as stiff as a doll. |
What Does I Caught a Little Ladybird Mean?
The poem sets a living thing against a toy. A ladybird flies off because it is alive and free. The doll, called a dolly wife, stays where it is put, with a wooden face that stares all day. Staid and gay in the first verse means serious and cheerful at the same time, since gay in older English meant bright and merry.
In the last verse the child complains: the doll is a senseless wooden thing with a wig of gold that is stiff and cold and cannot change to grey. The child wants the scarlet ladybird back because it moves and plays. Livelong day means the whole of a long day.
The poem catches a feeling every child knows, when a toy suddenly seems dull next to something real.
History and Origin
This verse is from Christina Rossetti's Sing-Song, her 1872 book of rhymes for the nursery. Ladybirds, called ladybugs in America, turn up in many children's songs and rhymes, since the red wings with black spots are easy for a child to spot.
Learning Activities
- Ladybird hunt: look on leaves in spring and summer for ladybirds, and let one walk over your hand without holding it.
- Alive or toy: list things that can move by themselves and things that cannot, and sort them into two piles.
- Spot count: count the spots on a ladybird picture and draw one with a different number.
- Doll talk: ask the child why the doll seems dull in the poem and what would make it more interesting to play with.