There was an old woman tossed up in a blanket*,
Seventeen times as high as the moon;
Where she was going I could not but ask it,
For in her hand she carried a broom.
"Old woman, old woman, old woman," quoth I;
"O whither, O whither, O whither so high?"
"To sweep the cobwebs from the sky,
And I'll be with you by-and-by!"
Notes
*In some versions the woman's tossed up in a basket.
Here's a version found in A History of Nursery Rhymes (1899) by Percy B. Green:
There was an old woman toss'd up in a blanket
Ninety-nine times as high as the moon,
But where she was going no mortal could tell,
For under her arm she carried a broom.
"Old woman, old woman, old woman," said I,
"Whither, ah! whither, whither so high?"
"Oh, I'm sweeping the cobwebs off the sky,
And I'll be with you by-and-by!"
Here's a slightly different version from The Only True Mother Goose Melodies (c. 1843):
There was an old woman tost up in a blanket,
Seventy times as high as the moon,
What she did there, I cannot tell you,
but in her hand she carried a broom.
Old woman, old woman, old woman, said I,
O whither, O whither, O whither so high?
To sweep the cobwebs from the sky,
And I shall be back again by and by.
Photos & Illustrations
Comments
This is a longer version of "Old Woman, Old Woman".
Thanks and Acknowledgements
The version of the rhyme at the top of the page is from The Baby's Bouquet, A Fresh Bunch of Rhymes and Tunes by Walter Crane (1878). The 1st illustration is from The Real Mother Goose (1916), illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright. The 2nd illustration is from The Little Mother Goose (1912), illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith. The 3rd illustration can be found in Traditional Nursery Songs of England with Pictures by Eminent Modern Artists edited by Felix Summerly (1843).
