Marum Lyrics
A garden saying: whether the plant is set or sown, the cats will eat it or find it.
Marum
If you set it,
The cats will eat it;
If you sow it,
The cats will know it.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/marum/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken like a gardener's warning
- Best for ages
- 4 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| If you set it | Press an imaginary plant into the ground with both hands. |
| If you sow it | Scatter pretend seeds from a closed fist. |
| The cats will know it | Cup your hands behind your ears like a listening cat. |
What Does Marum Mean?
The title is Marum, and the lines are about growing it. A gardener can set a plant, which means put a young plant in the ground, or sow it from seed. Either way, the rhyme says, the cats will eat it or will know where it is.
Marum is a herb, also called cat thyme, that cats are very fond of, rather like catnip, which is why the cats find it however it is planted. Sow and know rhyme exactly, while set it and eat it nearly rhyme, so it is a good rhyme for listening to the endings of lines.
History and Origin
James Orchard Halliwell prints the lines in Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales (1849) under the title "Marum". They sit among his rhymes and sayings about plants and trees, such as apples, the walnut tree, the ash and peas.
Learning Activities
- Sow and set: plant some seeds in a pot and put a seedling in another, then watch both.
- Garden cats: talk about why cats visit gardens and what they like to do there.
- Listen for rhymes: clap when you hear the matching end words.
- Garden sign: make a sign for a garden that uses the rhyme's words.