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Home » Nursery Rhymes

Published: Jan 30, 2023 by Birute Efe · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

Cuckoo, Cherry Tree Printable Lyrics, Origins, and Video

We have all made our childhood more fun by playing along to Cuckoo, Cherry Tree lyrics. The short and sweet nursery rhyme takes us through a journey of discovering a tree that catches a bird and delivers it to the awaiting hands of the narrator. No matter how low or high the tree might be, and the weather could be rain, hail, or snow, the narrator knows they’ll get the bird! 

If you have spent years learning the poem by heart and wish to learn more about its origin, read on!

Jump to:
  • Written lyrics
  • Printable lyrics
  • Photo lyrics
  • Video links
  • Origins and history
  • FAQ

Written lyrics

Let’s reminisce about the good old days by reading Cuckoo, Cherry Tree lyrics. Here’s how it goes:

Cuckoo Cherrytree, catch a bird

And give it to me.

Let the tree be high or low,

Let it hail, rain, or snow.

Printable lyrics

Download this cute song for your child’s room or print this out to teach the rhyme you once loved. Find it here. 

Photo lyrics

Cuckoo Cherry Tree lyrics

Video links

Sing along to the cheerful lyrics of the song by watching the following video!

Origins and history

The nursery rhyme Cuckoo, Cherry Tree is pretty old and traces back its origins from the 19th century. It started as “A Game at ball” by the author Andrew Lang. He published it as The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by him and illustrated by L. Leslie Brooke in 1897. 

Walter Crane also illustrated another version of the song published in The Sleeping Beauty Picture Book. It went as:

Cuckoo, cherry tree

Come down & tell me

How many years

I have to live!

Another instance of the poem can be found in Phrase and Fable (1905). It traces the story of how the Cuckoos are attracted to the cherry tree and can only cease singing when they have three good meals filled with cherries. 

The rhyme version that this particular book gives is:

Cuckoo cuckoo, cherry-tree,

Good bird prithee tell to me,

How many years I am to see?

The book further says: “The answer to the question asked in the last line is to be determined by the cuckoo repeating its prophetic cry according to the fated number.”

Some other variations of the song can be found in “The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (Vol I of II) with Tunes, Singing-Rhymes and Methods of Playing” (1894). This particular version was annotated and compiled by Bertha Gomme and went like this:

Cuckoo

A child hides and cries “Cuckoo.”

The seekers respond--

“Cuckoo cherry-tree,

Catch a bird and bring it me.”

“Burne’s Shropshire Folk-lore, p. 222.”

The latest version, as we see it now, was compiled by Halliwell, a 19th-century rhyme collector. He called the poem “a game at ball,” and it used to run as:

Cuckoo cherry tree,

Catch a bird and bring it me;

Let the tree be high or low,

Let it hail, rain, or snow.

The cuckoo cherry tree has now become a well-loved ball game played by children of all generations. The game follows a slightly tweaked version of the original rhyme and goes like this:

Cuckoo! Cherry tree,

Catch a bird, and give it to me.

Let the tree be high or low,

Let it hail, or rain, or snow. Cuckoo!

Cuckoo! Cherry tree,

Catch the ball, roll it to me.

Cuckoo! Cherry tree,

Catch the ball, throw it to me.

Cuckoo! Cherry tree,

Catch the ball, bounce it to me.

With each subsequent verse, the children have to stand around in a circle and keep throwing the ball at their peers. Whoever drops the ball will be eliminated. Continue singing till we have a winner! 

FAQ

What is the rhyme about the cuckoo and cherry tree?

The verse about the cuckoo and cherry tree has been in establishment since the 19th century. The rhyme goes like this:

Cuckoo! Cherry tree,
Catch a bird, and give it to me.
Let the tree be high or low,
Let it hail, or rain, or snow. Cuckoo!

How do you play the rolling-ball game with Cuckoo, Cherry Tree rhyme?

To play the rolling-ball game with Cuckoo, Cherry Tree rhyme, all the children must stand around in a circle with a significant distance between them. With the verse “Cuckoo! Cherry tree, Catch the ball, roll it to me,” they have to throw the ball towards each other. 

The ones who fail to catch will be eliminated. It will continue until only one kid is remaining – remember to increase the distance as players get less!

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