Old MacDonald Had a Farm Lyrics
Before he was Old MacDonald, he was Old Macdougal, and his farm was in Ohio. The words above come from the earliest printed version, a 1917 book of soldiers' songs, and they are still easy to sing to the tune everyone knows.
Old MacDonald Had a Farm
Old Macdougal had a farm in Ohio-i-o,
And on that farm he had some dogs in Ohio-i-o.
With a bow-wow here, and a bow-wow there,
Here a bow, there a wow, everywhere a bow-wow.
Old Macdougal had a farm in Ohio-i-o,
And on that farm he had some hens in Ohio-i-o.
With a cluck cluck here, and a cluck cluck there,
Here a cluck, there a cluck, everywhere a cluck, cluck.
Old Macdougal had a farm in Ohio-i-o,
And on that farm he had some ducks in Ohio-i-o.
With a quack quack here, and a quack quack there,
Here a quack, there a quack, everywhere a quack, quack.
Old Macdougal had a farm in Ohio-i-o,
And on that farm he had some cows in Ohio-i-o.
With a moo moo here, and a moo moo there,
Here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a moo moo.
Old Macdougal had a farm in Ohio-i-o,
And on that farm he had some pigs in Ohio-i-o.
With a grunt grunt here, and a grunt grunt there,
Here a grunt, there a grunt, everywhere a grunt grunt.
Old Macdougal had a farm in Ohio-i-o,
And on that farm he had some cats in Ohio-i-o.
With a meow meow here, and a meow meow there,
Here a meow, there a meow, everywhere a meow meow.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/old-macdonald-had-a-farm/
- Type
- Animal Rhymes
- Tune
- Traditional
- Best for ages
- 1 to 6 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Old Macdougal had a farm | Put on a pretend farmer's hat and nod along. |
| And on that farm he had some dogs | Hold up a toy or picture of each animal as it comes. |
| With a bow-wow here, and a bow-wow there | Point left, then right, making the animal sound. |
| Everywhere a bow-wow | Wave your arms in a big circle. |
What Does Old MacDonald Had a Farm Mean?
Each verse introduces a new animal and its sound, and the fun is in the noises: bow-wow, cluck cluck, quack quack, moo, grunt and meow. Because the pattern repeats, children can join in long before they know all the words, and they can add any animal they like.
History and Origin
The oldest printed version known is "Ohio" in Tommy's Tunes (1917), a collection of songs sung by British soldiers in the First World War, compiled by F. T. Nettleingham. There the farmer is Old Macdougal and every line ends "in Ohio-i-o". By the 1920s American songbooks were printing it as Old MacDonald's farm, and the E-I-E-I-O refrain most children sing today took over from the Ohio line.
Learning Activities
- Animal bag: put toy animals in a bag and let your child pull one out for each new verse.
- Sound quiz: make an animal noise and let your child guess which animal comes next.
- Your own farm: add animals that are not on most farms, like a lion or a dinosaur, and invent their sounds.