Over in the Meadow
Over in the meadow,
In the sand in the sun
Lived an old mother toadie
And her little toadie one.
“Wink!” said the mother;
“I wink!” said the one,
So they winked and they blinked
In the sand in the sun.
Over in the meadow,
Where the stream runs blue
Lived an old mother fish
And her little fishes two.
“Swim!” said the mother;
“We swim!” said the two,
So they swam and they leaped
Where the stream runs blue.
Over in the meadow,
In a hole in a tree
Lived an old mother bluebird
And her little birdies three.
“Sing!” said the mother;
“We sing!” said the three
So they sang and were glad
In a hole in the tree.
Over in the meadow,
In the reeds on the shore
Lived an old mother muskrat
And her little ratties four.
“Dive!” said the mother;
“We dive!” said the four
So they dived and they burrowed
In the reeds on the shore.
Over in the meadow,
In a snug beehive
Lived a mother honey bee
And her little bees five.
“Buzz!” said the mother;
“We buzz!” said the five
So they buzzed and they hummed
In the snug beehive.
Over in the meadow,
In a nest built of sticks
Lived a black mother crow
And her little crows six.
“Caw!” said the mother;
“We caw!” said the six
So they cawed and they called
In their nest built of sticks.
Over in the meadow,
Where the grass is so even
Lived a gay mother cricket
And her little crickets seven.
“Chirp!” said the mother;
“We chirp!” said the seven
So they chirped cheery notes
In the grass soft and even.
Over in the meadow,
By the old mossy gate
Lived a brown mother lizard
And her little lizards eight.
“Bask!” said the mother;
“We bask!” said the eight
So they basked in the sun
On the old mossy gate.
Over in the meadow,
Where the quiet pools shine
Lived a green mother frog
And her little froggies nine.
“Croak!” said the mother;
“We croak!” said the nine
So they croaked and they splashed
Where the quiet pools shine.
Over in the meadow,
In a sly little den
Lived a gray mother spider
And her little spiders ten.
“Spin!” said the mother;
“We spin!” said the ten
So they spun lacy webs
In their sly little den.
Where the rhyme comes from
Most nursery rhymes have no author anyone can name. This one does. “Over in the Meadow” was written by Olive A. Wadsworth — the pen name of Katherine Floyd Dana — and first published in 1870, in her collection Kit, Fan, Tot, and the Rest of Them (Boston: American Tract Society). The words above are Wadsworth’s original ten verses: ten mothers, from a winking toad to a spinning spider.
If you know it as a song that begins with a mother turtle in the sand, you know one of its descendants. The versions most often sung today keep Wadsworth’s pattern but use a different, often shorter, cast — turtles, ducks and beavers in place of the crickets, lizards and spider. At least one song reference credits a version published in 1968 to Lee Hays and Doris Kaplan.
Wadsworth wrote a poem, not a song. According to several published songbooks, the words were noted in the Ozarks in 1882 by Mabel Wood Hill, who wrote down a tune for what is believed to be the first time — a story that rests on publishers’ notes rather than any musical history we could check.
What does it mean?
Nothing hidden. This is a counting-up poem, and its charm is the machinery: each verse finds a new corner of the meadow and one more young one than before; the mother gives an instruction, the young repeat it, and they all do it together. The places are chosen for the numbers — two and blue, six and sticks, ten and den — so the rhyme tells you which number is coming. (The “gay” mother cricket is gay in the old sense: merry.)
Sharing it with children
Count on your fingers. One finger for the toadie, two for the fishes, until both hands are open for the spiders — a complete run from one to ten.
Be the little ones. Read the mother’s line and let the child answer with the echo, and do it: a wink, swimming hands, a buzz, a caw, a lazy bask, a croak, fingers spinning a web.
Guess the number. Pause before each number and let the rhyme give it away: “a nest built of sticks” can only lead to six.
Add our own animal. Choose a creature, a place that rhymes with the next number, and the one thing its mother would tell it to do.
Extra verses to sing
These verses aren’t traditional — they’re ours. Wadsworth stopped at ten; for anyone who wants to keep counting, the meadow has room for a skylark and a badger.
Over in the meadow,
Where the larks climb to heaven
Lived a brown mother skylark
And her little larks eleven.
“Soar!” said the mother;
“We soar!” said eleven,
So they soared and they trilled
Up the blue towards heaven.
Over in the meadow,
Where the old badger delves
Lived a striped mother badger
And her little badgers twelve.
“Dig!” said the mother;
“We dig!” said the twelve,
So they dug and they snuffled
Where the old badger delves.