My Household Lyrics
One child in the middle of a ring sings about a pet rooster, then a lamb, and each animal answers with its own cry, so the singing gets louder with every verse.
My Household
I had a little rooster, and my rooster pleased me,
I fed my rooster beneath that tree;
My rooster went, Cookery-cooery!
Other folks feed their rooster, I feed my rooster too.
I had a little lamb, and my lamb pleased me,
I fed my lamb beneath that tree;
My lamb went, Ma-a-a!
Other folks feed their lamb, I feed my lamb too.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/my-household/
- Type
- Action Songs, Animal Rhymes
- Tune
- Sung by one child in the middle, with the animals answering
- Best for ages
- 3 to 7 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| I fed my rooster beneath that tree | Scatter pretend grain on the floor with one hand. |
| My rooster went, Cookery-cooery! | Tuck your hands under your arms and flap them like wings. |
| My lamb went, Ma-a-a! | Bend down on all fours and bleat. |
What Does My Household Mean?
Every verse follows the same pattern. In each verse the singer is pleased with a little animal, feeds it under a tree, and then the animal makes its noise. The last line says that other folks feed their animal, and the singer feeds the same one too. The first verse is for a rooster, the second for a lamb.
The song is really a game of animal noises. The point of the words is to leave a gap where each child can crow, bleat or bark as loudly as possible.
History and Origin
William Wells Newell prints the game in Games and Songs of American Children, in his chapter on birds and beasts, with the words as they were sung in Georgia. He describes the play: the names of animals are handed out among the children, and one child in the centre of the ring sings the words. At the proper point the child who is playing that animal must imitate its cry. Each animal that has already had its turn joins in the next verse, so the game becomes rather noisy. After the rooster and the lamb, the book says, it goes on with the names of other beasts.
Newell adds that another version, also noted in the book, says the animals are kept under the green bay-tree. He compares the song with German versions that list a household by comical names, such as a goose called Wag-tail and a pig called Lard-pot.
Learning Activities
- Hand out the animals: give each child an animal to be, then let one singer stand in the middle and sing the verses.
- Add a verse: choose a new animal, such as a duck or a cow, and sing a third verse with its sound.
- Farmyard chorus: at the end, let every animal make its sound at once and see who is loudest.
- Animal sounds quiz: make a sound and ask the others to guess which animal it is.