There Was a Young Lady Whose Bonnet Lyrics
A short nonsense verse by Edward Lear. A young lady's bonnet comes untied whenever birds sit on it, and she says every bird in the air is welcome to sit there. Four printed lines, one cheerful answer to a small annoyance.
There Was a Young Lady Whose Bonnet
There was a Young Lady whose bonnet
Came untied when the birds sate upon it;
But she said, "I don't care! all the birds in the air
Are welcome to sit on my bonnet!"
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/there-was-a-young-lady-whose-bonnet/
- Type
- Poems for Children
- Written by
- Edward Lear
- Tune
- Light and sing-song, with the lady's reply said in a bright, carefree voice
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Came untied | Pull the loose ends of an imaginary ribbon under your chin. |
| I don't care! | Shrug both shoulders and smile. |
| Are welcome to sit on my bonnet! | Hold one arm out sideways, as if for a bird to land. |
What Does There Was a Young Lady Whose Bonnet Mean?
A bonnet is a hat that ties under the chin with ribbons or strings, and a young lady wears one here. Birds keep landing on it. The weight makes the bow come loose, so it "came untied". Most people would shoo the birds away. The lady does the opposite and says, "I don't care!" and welcomes every bird that flies.
That is the whole joke, and it is the kind of nonsense Lear liked best: a calm person in a ridiculous situation who is quite happy. The poem has a limerick's shape, a short story and a funny last line, though the book prints the long lines split into two, so it takes four printed lines instead of five. Sate is an old way of writing sat. The words "all the birds in the air" make the offer huge: not just a sparrow or two, but every bird there is.
For a child the verse also models a way to react. A small annoyance, like a loose bow or a spilled drink, does not have to spoil the day. Read it aloud and ask what the lady would say to the next thing that goes wrong.
History and Origin
Edward Lear (1812 to 1888) was an English artist and writer who made a name with his nonsense verses. This limerick is in the part of the book called A Book of Nonsense. The book's own notice says that the first Book of Nonsense was published in 1846, and the book used here is a collected edition of Lear's nonsense books dated 1894.
Many of Lear's verses describe a person with an odd habit or an odd problem and end on the person's own answer, as this one does.
Learning Activities
- Bird bonnet: make a paper hat with two ribbons and perch a paper bird on top, then untie it on the second line.
- Your own limerick: start with 'There was a young person whose ...' and let each child say how the person reacts.
- Welcome list: name five birds that might land on the bonnet, and draw them.
- Say it brightly: read the last line three ways, cross, sad and cheerful, and decide which one the lady means.