One, Two, Three, Four, Five
"One, Two, Three, Four, Five" (also known as "1, 2, 3, 4, 5" or "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Once I Caught a Fish Alive" in other versions) is a popular English-language nursery rhyme and counting-out rhyme.[1] It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 13530.[2]
| "One, Two, Three, Four, Five" | |
|---|---|
| Nursery rhyme | |
| Published | c. 1765 |
| Songwriter(s) | Traditional |
Text and melody
A common modern version is:
One, two, three, four, five,
Once I caught a fish alive.
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
Then I let it go again.
Why did you let it go?
Because he bit my finger so.
Which finger did it bite?
This little finger on my right.[3]
Origins and meaning
The rhyme is one of many counting-out rhymes. It was first recorded in Mother Goose's Melody around 1765. Like most versions until the late nineteenth century, it had only the first stanza, and dealt with a hare not a fish, with the words:
- One, two, three, four and five,
- I caught a hare alive;
- Six, seven, eight, nine and ten,
- I let him go again.[1]
The modern version is derived from three variations collected by Henry Bolton in the 1880s from America.[1]
See also
Notes
- Iona and Peter Opie (1997) [1951]. The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 334–335.
- "Roud Number 13530". Vaughan Williams Memorial Library.
- Lansky, Vicki (1 February 2009). Games Babies Play: From Birth to Twelve Months. Book Peddlers. p. 76. ISBN 9781931863650.