The Farmer's in His Den
Here's the British version of "The Farmer in the Dell"…
The Farmer's in His Den
Children's Song
The farmer's in his den
The farmer's in his den
Ee-i, adio*
The farmer's in his den.
The farmer wants a wife
The farmer wants a wife
Ee-i, adio
The farmer wants a wife.
The wife wants a child
The wife wants a child
Ee-i, adio
The wife wants a child.
The child wants a nurse
The child wants a nurse
Ee-i, adio
The child wants a nurse.
The nurse wants a dog
The nurse wants a dog
Ee-i, adio
The nurse wants a dog.
The dog wants a bone
The dog wants a bone
Ee-i, adio
The dog wants a bone.
We all clapped the dog
We all clapped the dog
Ee-i, adio
We all clapped the dog.
Notes
*According to Wikipedia, per Iona Opie, throughout the song this line can be found as "'Ee-i, tiddly-I', in London, 'Ee-i, adio', 'Ee-i, andio', 'Ee-i, en-gee-oh' or 'Ee-i, entio', in Northern England, and 'Ee-i, ee-I', in the West Country."
Game Instructions
The kids stand in a circle holding hands while singing the first verse and moving around the player in the middle, who is the farmer. When the verse is over they stop, and the farmer makes his choice of a wife. The wife joins him in the center for her verse, and this pattern is repeated through the verses until either the bone or dog is chosen, or only one kid is left. That child usually becomes the farmer for the next round.
Thanks!
Thanks!
