There Was an Old Man in a Tree Lyrics
An old man in a tree is not scared of a bee, only horribly bored by it. When asked whether it buzzes, he replies that it does, and calls it a regular brute of a bee.
There Was an Old Man in a Tree
There was an Old Man in a tree,
Who was horribly bored by a Bee;
When they said, "Does it buzz?"
He replied, "Yes, it does!
"It's a regular brute of a Bee!"
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/there-was-an-old-man-in-a-tree/
- Type
- Poems for Children
- Written by
- Edward Lear
- Tune
- Snappy and dry, with a buzz on the word buzz
- Best for ages
- 4 to 9 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Does it buzz? | Hold up a pointing finger and buzz like a bee. |
| Yes, it does! | Nod firmly and fold your arms. |
What Does There Was an Old Man in a Tree Mean?
The joke is the old man's complaint. A bee in a tree could be frightening or dangerous, but his only grumble is that it is dull. The question "Does it buzz?" brings the answer "Yes, it does!", and a buzzing bee is exactly as boring as a person who says the same thing over and over. Regular here means thorough or complete, so a "regular brute" is an out-and-out nuisance.
The five lines follow the limerick pattern: the first, second and last lines rhyme (tree, Bee, Bee) and the third and fourth are shorter and rhyme with each other (buzz, does). The speaker in the third line is "they", so the poem has its own audience asking questions.
History and Origin
Edward Lear (1812 to 1888) was an English artist and writer who made a name with his nonsense verses. A Book of Nonsense first came out in 1846 and was enlarged in 1861. Many of Lear's limericks describe a person with an odd problem, and this one gives the old man the last word.
Learning Activities
- Make a bee voice: practise a low buzz, a high buzz and a bored sigh.
- Act the interview: one child is the old man in the tree, another asks, Does it buzz?
- Rhyme check: clap on tree, Bee and Bee, then on buzz and does.
- Your own bored man: make up a limerick about an old man bored by something small, such as a fly or a clock.