The Old Man of Tobago Lyrics
This five-line rhyme may be the most important limerick ever written. When the young Edward Lear read it, it gave him the idea for his famous books of nonsense verse.
The Old Man of Tobago
There was an old man of Tobago
Who lived on rice, gruel, and sago,
Till much to his bliss,
His physician said this:
"To a leg, sir, of mutton, you may go."
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/the-man-of-tobago/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken rhyme
- Best for ages
- 5 to 11 years
What Does The Old Man of Tobago Mean?
An old man on the island of Tobago lives on bland food meant for invalids: rice, gruel (thin porridge) and sago (a starchy pudding). To his delight, his doctor finally tells him he may move on to a leg of mutton, a proper roast dinner.
History and Origin
The rhyme appeared in a small book of comic verses in the early 1820s, one of the first collections of what we now call limericks. Edward Lear later said that a friend showed him "There was an old man of Tobago", and that it inspired his Book of Nonsense (1846). This version is from The Real Mother Goose (1916).
Learning Activities
- Write a limerick: follow the same pattern: two long lines, two short, one long, with the first, second and fifth lines rhyming.
- Find Tobago: look for the island on a map of the Caribbean.
- Invalid food: talk about what people eat when they are ill today.