Over in the Meadow

'Over in the Meadow' is a well-known and oft-performed song for children. There have been numerous variants in the lyrics over the past century and some. This is the version I've worked out for my own use and may actually get around to recording someday.

Over in the Meadow

Over in the meadow, in a pond in the sun,
lived a proud mother duck and her little duckling one.
Quack, said the mother. I quack said the one,
and they quacked and were happy in their pond in the sun.

Over in the meadow, in a worn out shoe,
lived a proud mother mouse and her little mousies two.
Squeak, said the mother. We squeak, said the two,
and they squeaked and were happy in their worn out shoe.

Over in the meadow, in a hole in a tree,
lived a proud mother owl and her little owlets three.
Hoot, said the mother. We hoot, said the three,
and they hooted and were happy in their hole in a tree.

Over in the meadow, on a sandy shore,
lived a proud mother snake and her little snakes four.
Hiss, said the mother. We hiss, said the four,
and they hissed and were happy on their sandy shore.

Over in the meadow, in a snug bee hive,
lived a proud mother bee and her little bees five.
Buzz, said the mother. We buzz, said the five,
and they buzzed and were happy in their snug bee hive.

Over in the meadow, in a nest of sticks,
lived a proud mother crow and her little crows six.
Caw, said the mother. We caw, said the six,
and they cawed and were happy in their nest of sticks.

Over in the meadow, in the sight of heaven,
lived a proud mother lark and her little larks seven.
Sing, said the mother. We sing, said the seven,
and they sang and were happy in the sight of heaven.

Over in the meadow, in an old packing crate,
lived a proud mother cat and her little kittens eight.
Mew, said the mother. We mew, said the eight,
and they mewed and were happy in their old packing crate.

Over in the meadow, in a morning glory vine,
lived a proud mother cricket and her little crickets nine.
Chirp, said the mother. We chirp, said the nine,
and they chirped and were happy in their morning glory vine.

Over in the meadow, in a cozy little den,
lived a proud mother fox and her little kits ten.
Bark, said the mother. We bark, said the ten,
and they barked and were happy in their cozy little den.

This arrangement by Stephen Brooke ©2024