Water Lyrics
A twelve-line list of places to find water, from the rain barrel to the ocean to a crying child's eyes, with a silly desert at the end.
Water
There's water in the rain barrel,
And water in the well,
There's lots of water in the pond
Where Hannah Hawkins fell.
There's water in the ocean,
And water in the skies,
And when a fellow blubbers
He gets water in his eyes.
But in the Barca desert
Where the hippodoodles play,
The water in the rivers
Just dries up and blows away.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/water/
- Type
- Poems for Children
- Written by
- Leroy F. Jackson
- Tune
- Spoken rhyme
- Best for ages
- 3 to 7 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| There's water in the rain barrel | Hold your hands in a big circle for the barrel. |
| He gets water in his eyes | Pretend to rub your eyes and sniffle. |
| Just dries up and blows away | Blow on your open palm and wave it away. |
What Does Water Mean?
The first two verses count up the places where water can be found: a rain barrel that catches rainwater, a well, a pond, the ocean, the sky, and the tears of a child who is crying. In the last verse the list flips. In a far-off desert, where the hippodoodles play, even the rivers dry up and blow away. Hippodoodles are not real animals, so the poet is having a little joke at the end.
It is a good rhyme for a rainy day or a bath, and it opens a talk about where water comes from and where it goes.
History and Origin
This poem is from The Peter Patter Book of Nursery Rhymes by Leroy F. Jackson, with pictures by Blanche Fisher Wright, published by Rand McNally in 1918. Jackson dedicated the book to three boys he calls his first appreciative audience.
The book is made up of newly written rhymes in the style of the old ones, with a lot of nonsense words and funny made-up creatures like the one in this poem.
Learning Activities
- Water hunt: walk around the house and garden and count every place you can find water.
- Rain barrel: leave a bowl outside on a rainy day and see how much water collects.
- Draw a hippodoodle: invent the animal that plays in the desert and give it a name for its feet.
- Water words: make a list of words that rhyme with well, pond and sky.