There Was an Old Woman of Gloucester Lyrics
An old woman pays two guineas for a parrot, and its tongue never stops, which vastly displeases her.
There Was an Old Woman of Gloucester
There was an old woman of Gloucester,
Whose parrot two guineas it cost her,
But its tongue never ceasing,
Was vastly displeasing
To the talkative woman of Gloucester.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/there-was-an-old-woman-of-gloucester/
- Type
- Animal Rhymes
- Tune
- Spoken with a chattering, quick voice
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Whose parrot two guineas it cost her | Hold out two fingers for the two coins. |
| But its tongue never ceasing | Open and close your hand quickly like a chattering beak. |
| Was vastly displeasing | Cover your ears and wrinkle your nose. |
What Does There Was an Old Woman of Gloucester Mean?
A guinea was an old gold coin worth twenty-one shillings, so two guineas was a lot to pay for a bird. The old woman bought a parrot, and it talked without stopping. Ceasing means stopping and vastly means very much, so the chatter was very displeasing to the woman who owned it.
The joke is in the last line: the woman who could not bear the parrot's endless chatter is called talkative herself. Gloucester, a city in the west of England, is said GLOSS-ter, which is how it rhymes with cost her.
History and Origin
The rhyme is in The Real Mother Goose (1916) under the title The Old Woman of Gloucester. It has five lines in a single verse.
Learning Activities
- Chatter and hush: one child is the parrot and talks on and on, then freezes when the old woman holds up a hand.
- Parrot repeats: say a short phrase and let the others repeat it back, like a parrot.
- Coins: count out two play coins into a pretend purse.
- Draw the parrot: draw a bright parrot with a wide-open beak.