The Old Woman of Leeds Lyrics
An old woman in the city of Leeds spends every day helping people who have less than she does, working until her fingers are sore. It is a five-line rhyme about kindness.
The Old Woman of Leeds
There was an old woman of Leeds,
Who spent all her time in good deeds;
She worked for the poor
Till her fingers were sore,
This pious old woman of Leeds!
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/the-old-woman-of-leeds/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Spoken rhyme
- Best for ages
- 4 to 9 years
What Does The Old Woman of Leeds Mean?
The old woman spends all her time doing good deeds, sewing and working for poor people until her fingers ache. Pious means deeply faithful and devoted, and here it describes someone whose faith shows in how she cares for others.
History and Origin
The rhyme is a limerick, the five-line form made famous by Edward Lear, and it is printed in The Real Mother Goose (1916). Leeds is a large city in Yorkshire, in the north of England. Many early limericks were about an old man or old woman from a particular town.
Learning Activities
- Good deeds: plan one small kind act together this week.
- Limerick pattern: clap the rhythm: two long lines, two short lines and a long one.
- Find Leeds: look for the city on a map of England.