The tongue twister, "She sells seashells by the seashore," is based on a song written by Terry Sullivan. It's thought the song is about a real seashell seller named Mary Anning (1799 – 1847). Mary Anning was more than a seashell seller. She collected fossils and contributed important information about prehistoric life to the scientific community. She supported herself selling fossils to geologists and to tourists.
She sells seashells by the seashore,
The shells she sells are seashells, I'm sure.
So if she sells seashells on the seashore,
Then I'm sure she sells seashore shells.
Notes
The vaudeville entertainer Wilkie Bard popularized this rhyme in a show called "Dick Whittington and His Cat" that he performed in London in 1908. This verse quickly became a tongue twister used to practice annunciation. Nowadays, kids only recite the first line.
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Variations:
She sells sea shells on the sea shore,
Sea shore shells sells she,
And the sea shells she sells on the sea shore,
Are sea shore shells I'm sure.
Another version:
She sells seashells by the seashore,
Shall Susan sell seashells?
Photos & Illustrations
Thanks and Acknowledgements
1st image from a painting of Mary Anning by B. J. Donne from 1847. 2nd image from Zoological Illustrations, Volume III (1882-3), edited by Mama Lisa.
