If Ifs and Ands Were Pots and Pans Lyrics
When someone keeps saying "if this" and "if that", this three-line rhyme is the quick answer. If wishes and maybes were kitchen pots, nobody would need a tinker.
If Ifs and Ands Were Pots and Pans
If ifs and ands,
Were pots and pans,
There would be no need for tinkers!
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/if-ifs-and-ands/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken rhyme
- Best for ages
- 5 to 10 years
What Does If Ifs and Ands Were Pots and Pans Mean?
Ifs and ands are "what ifs", wishes and excuses. Tinkers were traveling workers who mended pots, pans and kettles. If every what-if could turn into a pot or pan, there would be so many that nobody would bother mending old ones. In other words: wishing does not get things done.
History and Origin
James Orchard Halliwell printed the rhyme with a note calling it a short reply "to a person who indulges much in supposition", meaning someone who keeps imagining instead of doing. It is a close cousin of If Wishes Were Horses, which makes the same point with horses and beggars.
Learning Activities
- What-if game: take turns saying a what-if, then answer with the rhyme.
- Old jobs: talk about tinkers and other jobs that have mostly disappeared.
- Wish to plan: pick one wish and plan a small first step toward it.