I Know an Old Lady Lesson

I Know An Old Lady
Traditional folk song sung by Burl Ives

I know an old lady who swallowed a fly, 1.
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

I know an old lady who swallowed a spider, 2.
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
But I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.


I know an old lady who swallowed a bird, 3.
Now how absurd to swallow a bird!
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
But I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

I know an old lady who swallowed a cat, 4.
Now fancy that, to swallow a cat!
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
But I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.
I know an old lady who swallowed a dog, 5.
What a hog, to swallow a dog!
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

I know an old lady who swallowed a goat, 6.
She just opened her throat and swallowed a goat!
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog,
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
But I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.
I know an old lady who swallowed a cow, 7.
I don’t know how she swallowed a cow?!
She swallowed the cow to catch the goat,
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog,
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
But I don't know why she swallowed the fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

I know an old lady who swallowed a horse, 8.
She's dead, of course!!
1. What word from the song means “ate without chewing.” _____________
2. What word means “I don’t know for sure”? ______________________
3. What insects and animals did she swallow?
a. She swallowed ____ _________.
b. ____ _______________________
c. ____ _______________________
d. ____ _______________________
e. ____ _______________________
f. ____ _______________________
g. ____ _______________________
h. ____ _______________________

4. What word means “to move like a snake”? _______________________
5. What word means “to shake”? ________________
6. What word means “the act of touching a part of the body, so as to cause involuntary twitching movements or laughter”? _____________
7. What word means “weird or strange”? ______________________
8. What phrase of surprise means “Wow, I can’t believe it!”?
_________________________________________
9. What phrase means “You are a pig. You eat too much”?
_________________________________________
10. What’s another phrase that means “swallowed”?
_________________________________________
11. What word means “to be amazed, don’t know how it is possible”?
_________________________________________
12. What happened to the old lady after she swallowed the horse?
_______________________________ (What’s the past tense of die ?)
13. What phrase means “for sure or certainly”? ____________________
14. Can you answer the following questions with “Of course” in a sentence of your own? For example, A: Can you help me with my homework?
B: Of course I can.

A: Will you be here in school tomorrow?
B: Of course I will.

A: Are you taking the bus?
B: Of course I am.

A: Did you watch TV last night?
B: Of course I did.

A: _______________________________________________________________________

B: ______________________________________________________________________
15. What rhymes with what?

a. _______________ and ___________________ rhyme with fly
b. ___________________ rhymes with spider.
c_______________ and ___________________ rhyme with tickled d.___________________ rhymes with bid
e.___________________ rhymes with cat
f.___________________ rhymes with dog
g.___________________ rhymes with goat
h.___________________ rhymes with cow
i.___________________ rhymes with horse


16. Is this a serious or silly song?

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Gati©2008