Jeremy Shatan wrote from New York: "It’s the vernal equinox, the first day of spring. Around this time of the year, my mom would always say: ‘Spring has sprung, the grass is riz, the boid is on the wing.’ Yes, just like that."
This saying is all in "New Yorkese", a New York accent. It seems of course to come from the New York area. Some quote it from Ogden Nash, but from what I can tell looking through some books, this is incorrect.
The saying is sometimes called "The Brooklyn National Anthem" and it dates back to at least 1940. There are many versions of it. Here’s one:
Spring has sprung, the grass is ris,
I wonder where the boidies is
The boid is on the wing,
But that’s absoid
From what I hoid
The wing is on the boid!
Here are other versions I found:
The spring is sprung, The grass is ris, I wonder where the birdies is.
(1951 – The New Mexico folklore record: Volume 6)Spring has sprung The grass has riz Come out yourself And see how ‘tiz.
(1956 – Canadian bee journal: Volumes 64-65)
And a sadly rye one:
"Spring has sprung, the grass has riz, where last year’s reckless driver is."
Some others:
"Spring has sprung and the grass has riz, I wonder where the flowers is."
"Spring has sprung and the grass has riz, I wonder where the daisies is."
However you want to say it, the important part here is that Spring has sprung.
Happy Spring everyone!
Mama Lisa
This article was posted on Tuesday, March 20th, 2012 at 11:43 am and is filed under Countries & Cultures, England, English, Languages, New York, Poetry, Poets, Proverbs, Sayings, Sayings from the 1940's, Seasonal, Spring, USA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
March 21st, 2012 at 12:28 pm
is this EVER cool!
April 3rd, 2014 at 7:12 pm
The way that I’ve always heard it is:
“Spring iz sprung,
da grass iz riz,
I wonder where dem boidies iz?
Da little boids is on da wing.
Ain’t dat absoid?
Da little wings isz on da boid.”
April 9th, 2015 at 7:13 pm
First read it in Archie comic books!
It was a favorite poem of Jughead’s.
October 5th, 2015 at 4:38 am
Spring has sprung the grass is wiz I wonder where the birdie is. Some people say the bird is on the wing but that’s upsurd the wing is on the bird. My father was a well read man my mother a music teacher. My family speech is from two different worlds. I would hope that the words of this saying not to be confused with lazy slang. The words da and what ever else would not be something from any language would want a child to miss anounceate.
October 14th, 2015 at 7:18 am
This is how I always heard it as a child in the 60’s
Spring is sprung the grass is riz
I wonder where the birdie is
The bird is on the wing?
How absurd!
I always thought the wing was on the bird.
and Spring, the use of common/local colloquialisms such as ‘da’ are an essential part of the rich tapestry of language and should never be dismissed as mispronunciation.
April 3rd, 2016 at 8:42 pm
My Mom loved poetry and would recite the first pargraph on the first noticable Spring day. An old woman I cared for who was in her 90’s remembered bits and peices of the rest. I forgot about it until recently and actually found the whole poem. Written by unknown.
De spring is sprung, de grass is riz
I wonder where de boidies is?
De boid is on de wing, but dat’s absoid,
De wing is on de boid
De grass is riz de trees is green
And in de moitle tree a boid is seen.
A boid is seen and also hoid
And also felt. He dropped a toid.
Dis gets woise
And so de boid what did doit
Has got to die and dat’s a coit
I gets me gat intent on moider
Detoimined dis won’t get no foider
Oh boy! Oh boy! Am I pertoibed
I lifts me gat de boidie choips
I gotta give de squoit de woiks
But in the moitle tree above
There sits a little toitle dove
Remember moitle?
I’ve got me shooter primed but now
2 boids are sitting on de bough
And so, I cannot shoot de dove
Because de spring’s de time for love
April 28th, 2016 at 4:38 am
Thank you for the complete poem. My 96 year old mother has asked about how this peom goes so many times. I know she will be delighted to see it in its entirety.
February 22nd, 2017 at 7:57 pm
I’ve been trying too remember this little poem!
I’m a retired hairdresser. One of our clients always had a poem. Or something funny to say. Such a clever soul. She has now past. I think of her often . . Spring has sprung the grass has Riz, where’z all the posies iz.
March 3rd, 2017 at 10:53 am
At school we always sang:
Spring has sprung, the grass is riz.
I wonder where the birdies is?
Spring has sprung, the buds do break;
Spring has sprung and nature wakes.
Spring has sprung, the winter’s gone,
And now we sing our happy song:
Fa la la, la la la lay
Sweep those old dead leaves away!
March 5th, 2017 at 2:21 pm
These are great versions! Would anyone like to sing or recite it for Mama Lisa’s World? We’d love to post a recording! -Lisa
March 22nd, 2017 at 7:35 pm
Mama Lisa: So glad I found your site…
The complete rhyme was awesome!!!
When I get more time I will send you more details about this poem…
Cheers, JohnG
March 23rd, 2017 at 1:10 pm
Thanks John G.! Looking forward to it. :) Mama Lisa
May 22nd, 2017 at 1:55 am
My Dad always recited this poem like this from as far back as I can remember (1950’s):
Spring has sprung,
the grass is riz,
I wonder where the boidies is?
Some say the boid is on the wing.
But that’s absoid,
I always thought the wing was on the boid
June 11th, 2017 at 10:47 am
I am 80 now and heard this as a child. I always thought it was recited in a Bronx accent and it started. I remember old black and white films of the Bowery Boys:
Hoity toity little boid sitting in the coib (Kerb) eating doity woims
Da woims is in the grass, the grass is green, the green has riz
I wonder where da boidie is?
The boidie’s on da wing
Now that’s absoid, the wing is on da boid
October 22nd, 2017 at 8:21 pm
I had only ever heard the first two lines, so I sorta came up with my own version:
“All year long.”
Spring has sprung,
The grass has riz,
I wonder where the birdies is?
Summer call,
We have a ball,
This is where the birdies is.
Fall answers summers call,
Leaves answer falls call,
Birdies flying south is.
Winter cold,
Year is old,
No birdies here,
Soon, another year.
But after reading comments on here….yep, any version has to be done “New York” style……lol
February 5th, 2018 at 9:53 pm
The version I learned as a child was:
Spring has sprung
The grass is riz
I wonder where the boidy is?
Sloiping and boiping and choiping
And eating doity little woims.
March 9th, 2018 at 12:15 pm
This version from my funny college roommate- we used it every spring-
Spring has sprung- the grass is Ruiz- I wonder where the flowers is- I saw a bird upon the wing- ain’t that absurd- I thought the wing was on the bird.
March 11th, 2018 at 8:23 pm
It goes on to say…
Winter’s here the wind has blew
The rain will friz
And it will snew.
March 11th, 2018 at 9:05 pm
My mother (deceased 2007 at age 83) taught it to her children thus, with the Bronx accent.
Now here’s the appropriate poem as I learned it, mouth to ear, in a fine Bronx (?) dialect…
Spring is sprung
da flowers riz
I wonder where da boidies is?
Da boid is on da wing!
Now, ain’t dat absoid?
I allus t’ought da wing was on da boid!
—anonymous
March 20th, 2018 at 8:56 pm
My mother from Sayville would say it thus:
Spring has Sprung
Da grass is riz
I wondah wheah da boidies is
Da bird is on da wing they say
But dat’s absoid, from what I hoid
Da wing is on da boid!
Love seeing the various versions, and the complete one!
March 26th, 2018 at 4:54 am
I was thinking about “spring has sprung” when I saw the forsythia blossoms springing forth through the snow encrusted branches and it’s so long ago I had thought of it I was trying to remember how it went…so I got to “the grass has riz” and then I drew a blank…so it was fun seeing the versions posted here on.
April 6th, 2018 at 4:58 pm
Spring has Sprung
The Sun has Riz
Where da hell
The Flowers is ?
April 30th, 2018 at 10:20 pm
Spring has sprung
The grass has riz
Where last year’s
Careless drivers is.
This was a BurmaShave series of road signs. Another was:
Don’t lose your head
To save a minute
You need your head
Your brains are in it!!
September 13th, 2018 at 11:23 pm
I’ve loved reading all the different versions of this poem! My version is different again..here goes! Spring has sprung, the grass is riz, I wonder where the flowers is. They say the bird is on the wing, to me that seems a silly thing! The reason why it sounds absurd, ‘‘tis because the wing is on the bird 🦅
November 30th, 2018 at 1:08 am
This was one of my father’s favorites. He’s been gone awhile and I’ve been trying to remember it as he said it. I know there were several verses which I have mostly forgotten. Perhaps though someone here has heard this version and could share more of it:
Spring is sprung, the grass is riz, I wonder where the boidies iz, the boidz is on the wire…
It went on and I do recall it included something about wondering where the flowers iz, but my befuddled mind simply won’t recall it.
January 11th, 2019 at 6:20 pm
The version I heard when I was a young kiddie (a lot younger than my current 74 years) was
De spring is sprung, da grass is ris
I wonder where da boidies is.
De little boids is on de wing.
But dat’s absoid,
I taught de wings was on da boid.
February 3rd, 2019 at 6:55 pm
Toity-tree doity poiple boids
Sittin’ on the coib,
boipin and choipin and eatin’ woims.
February 3rd, 2019 at 7:42 pm
:)
February 4th, 2019 at 8:32 pm
Spring has sprung the grass has ris
I wonder where the birdies is
There’s one up there in that tree
He did something down on me
I’m a big boy now so I don’t cry
But I’m sure glad that cows don’t fly!!!!
March 1st, 2019 at 7:13 am
The version my dad always used to tell me was ..
Spring is sprung
The grass has Riz
I wonder where my lawnmower is🤔
🤣very Spike Milligan?…not sure where this version comes from.
March 18th, 2019 at 9:22 pm
My mom’s version was:
Spring has sprung,
The grass has riz,
I wonder where the birdies is.
Summer’s gone,
Fall has fell,
Winter’s here and it’s cold as H***.
She taught the us the first part when we were small but we didn’t hear the second verse until much later! :-)
March 19th, 2019 at 11:34 pm
We always said this minor variation:
Spring has sprung,
the grass has riz,
I wonder where the birdies is.
The birdies they is on the wing.
My word,
how absurd,
I thought the wing was on the bird.
March 23rd, 2019 at 4:09 am
I first saw a variation in a Popeye the Sailor comic strip, circa 1936
It went :
Spring has spring has sprung
the grass has riz
I wonder where the lovers iz
April 10th, 2019 at 11:10 am
Found this on another site, but it must clearly resembles the one my grandmother used to say:
Spring has sprung, the grass is ris’
I wonder where the birdie is?
There he is up in the sky,
He dropped some whitewash in my eye!
I’m alright, I won’t cry,
I’m just glad that cows can’t fly!
June 12th, 2019 at 4:19 pm
Occasionally it’s hard to remember what ya really remember and what you only think ya remember.
Gettin’ old is OK – It’s just a bother – sometimes.
Was this “ditty” ever actually used on BurmaShave signs?
June 12th, 2019 at 4:27 pm
Tom, Here’s the version I found on a couple of sites about this saying on a Burma-Shave sign:
Spring
Has sprung
The grass has riz
Where last year’s
Careless drivers is.
-Burma-Shave
October 3rd, 2019 at 5:30 am
I learned it this way nearly 50 years ago in fourth grade. Recited it to the class who thought the last line, in its conspicuous departure from rhyme, was scandalously funny:
The wind riz
And then it blew
The rain friz
And then it snew
Spring has sprung
The grass has riz
I wonder where the flowers iz?
Spring has sprung
Fall has fell
Winter’s here
And it’s cold as heck.
February 27th, 2020 at 9:50 am
what does riz mean?
February 27th, 2020 at 2:15 pm
“The grass is/has riz” means the grass has risen = “the grass is coming up”.
March 25th, 2020 at 3:28 pm
My husband’s grandmother from rural Iowa used to say: Spring has sprung, the grass is riz, I wonder where my blanket is?
March 25th, 2020 at 4:51 pm
I love it Phoebe! :)
April 10th, 2020 at 11:03 am
I always felt the rhyme ought to have more rythm, how about the following (my own extra words).
Spring is sprung,
The grass is riz.
I wonder where the birdies is.
They say the bird is on the wing.
Now isn’t that a silly thing
It’s clearly got to be absurd
Because the wing is on the bird.
April 28th, 2020 at 11:55 am
I love coming across this! My daddy always used to say:
Spring is spring
The grass is riz’
I wonder where the birdies is?
High above a tree somewhere…
I wonder if da birdie’s there?
:)
August 12th, 2020 at 5:30 pm
Peter Parrish sent this version:
Spring has sprung, the grass has riz
I wonder where the daisies is?
Spring has sprung, the grass has riz,
I wonder where my sweetheart is?
August 16th, 2020 at 10:55 pm
I’m down-under in Australia, and the version we had here began:
“Spring has sprung,
And the world’s begun,
Anew”
I always think it when I see the first spring flowers – to me that line perfectly embodies Spring :)
August 31st, 2020 at 10:36 pm
australia also…first time heard was 1976
Spring has sprung, the grass is ris,
I wonder where the boidies is
The boid is on the wing,
But that’s absoid
From what I hoid
The wing is on the boid!
September 20th, 2020 at 12:30 pm
Hey!
Like alla pomes dat folks has rit!
Remembrin’ times is parta it!
Da sounds ya catch down roun’a Bronx
Da people yell – da taxis honks,
Fum alla places dat I seen
I t’ink da Bronx da best I been.
An’ ah’m fae Scotland whaur we ken
That folk talk diffrint now an’ then
Which gie’s us a’ a richt guid sound
An’ tells us whaur we’re tae be found!
I hoid it dis ways wen I wus dere!
Toity poiple boids
A-sittin’ onna coib
A-choipin’ an’ a-boipin’
Anna eatin’ doity woims!
March 21st, 2021 at 2:24 pm
In the 1950s, one of my elementary school classmates recited a version I don’t see here:
Spring is sprung,
The grass is riz,
I wonder what that white stuff is?
This is perfect for Colorado!
March 30th, 2021 at 12:49 pm
The spring is sprung, the grass is riz, I wonder where dem boides is, dem little boides is on dem wings, ain’t that absoird, dem little wings is on dem boids
I’m a 48 year old scotsman who was taught this poem when I was 8 years old and it has always stuck in my head for some reason
April 25th, 2021 at 7:43 pm
Anyone ever heard/read this?
Spring has come the people are gay
the birds are singing all through the day
the flowers are waving the tops of their heads
and people are hurrying out of their beds.
I claimed this as my own as a child, the teacher said i had copied it from somewhere,
it has remained in my head ever since:)