Description
Nonsense Songs were inspired by the poetry of the British poet and painter known for his absurd wit, Edward Lear. The text was taken from his first book of poems, A Book of Nonsense, which was written in 1846. Lear is remembered as the creator of the form and meter of the modern limerick.
Text by Edward Lear
1. 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!’
2. There was a Young Lady whose chin
There was a Young Lady
whose chin,
Resembled the point of a pin;
So she had it made sharp,
And purchased a harp,
And played several tunes with her chin.
3. There was an Old Man with a beard
There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, ‘It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!’
4. There was an Old Man on a hill
There was an Old Man on a hill,
Who seldom, if ever, stood still;
He ran up and down,
In his Grandmother’s gown,
Which adorned that Old Man on a hill.
5. There was a Young Lady of Russia,
There was a Young Lady of Russia,
Who screamed so that no one could hush her;
Her screams were extreme,
No one heard such a scream,
As was screamed by that lady of Russia.
