Riddle and nursery rhymes, As I Was Going to St Ives has got it all. It is a poem that confuses and amuses the children at the same time! It is a traditional song that has been in circulation for quite some time - almost 300 years. The poem has been swirling in the minds of everyone for generations and triggering their competitive side.
If you, too, spent your childhood pondering over this riddle, then you're at the right place. Let us explore its long history and evolution through the years.
Written lyrics
The lyrics to As I Was Going to St Ives go something like this:
As I was going to St. Ives,
I met a man with seven wives,
Each wife had seven sacks,
Each sack had seven cats,
Each cat had seven kits:
Kits, cats, sacks, and wives,
How many were there going to St. Ives?
Printable lyrics
Print the lyrics to this poem and try to riddle it out! Download the printable here.
Photo lyrics
Video links
What better way to find the answer to a riddle than when amazing visuals and fascinating sound effects accompany the question? Watch the video below:
Origins and History
The first version of the poem to ever exist was discovered in a manuscript called Harley MS 731, dating back to approximately 1730. Lyrics to the song were:
As I went to St Ives
I met Nine Wives
And every Wife had nine Sacs,
And every Sac had nine Cats
And every Cat had nine Kittens
A version similar to this appeared in the Weekly Magazine on August 4, 1779. It went like this:
As I was going to St Ives,
Upon the road I met seven wives;
Every wife had seven sacks,
Every sack had seven cats,
Every cat had seven kits:
Kits, cats, sacks, and wives,
How many were going to St Ives?
The earlier versions do not mention polygamy, and the part "a man with seven wives" is absent. However, the problem appears with the sentence in the 1837 version.
The riddle's location is a matter of speculation as well. Some people argue that it originates from St Ives, Cornwall. The argument is supported by the fact that Cornwall is a coastal town with a busy fishing port. It is also littered with several cats and rats. Another plausible location is St Ives, Cambridgeshire, owing to its old market.
The answer is pretty ambiguous as well. While for some, the solution is a simple calculation, for others, the answer lies in a deeper understanding of the poem's words.
If the narrator meets the group of people while going to the market, he is the only person going to St Ives. The ones who believe this answer justify the poem's wording and state that the poem's purpose is simply to send the listeners into a long calculation. In contrast, the real answers remain purposefully simple.
For others, it is a matter of calculating, and the answer comes by the sum of the powers. The total number of people going to St Ives is 2,800.
FAQ
If we try to understand the riddle's words better and if only the narrator were going to St Ives, then the answer is one. However, if we simply calculate the number of people mentioned, the answer is 2,800.
The rhyme that refers to St Ives is:
As I was going to St. Ives,
I met a man with seven wives,
Each wife had seven sacks,
Each sack had seven cats,
Each cat had seven kits:
Kits, cats, sacks, and wives,
How many were there going to St. Ives?
There are seven cats in each of the seven sacks.
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