Nursery rhymes often originate from old folk songs from different parts of the world. Similarly, ‘Did You Ever See A Lassie’ is not only a nursery rhyme but also a folk song and a singing game song as well.
It is a great song to teach your toddler some simple dance steps, and you can join in too. It can be used for playing games as well.
Different new verses have also been added to it. Let’s read the rhyme and find out more about it.
Written Lyrics:
Did you ever see a lassie,
A lassie, a lassie?
Did you ever see a lassie,
Go this way and that?
Go this way and that way,
Go this way and that way.
Did you ever see a lassie,
Go this way and that?
Did you ever see a laddie,
A laddie, a laddie?
Did you ever see a laddie,
Go this way and that?
Go this way and that way,
Go this way and that way.
Did you ever see a laddie,
Go this way and that?
Printable Lyrics
Download the printable PDF of the lyrics by clicking here.
Photo Lyrics
Activities:
- Use this fun activity for small kids.
- Circle singing game - Players sit or stand in a circle with one person in the middle and sing the song. When they stop, the kid in the middle performs some act like a dance or something else. Then, one new person goes to the center. This way, all the kids get a chance to perform.
Video Links
There are many versions of the song where people have added more verses with similar words.
Modern version-
Alternate versions-
Origin and History
The rhyme was first published in the USA in the late nineteenth century. In 1909, it featured in the Games for the Playground, Home, School and Gymnasium by Jessie Hubbell Bancroft. The song's tune is similar to the German tune ‘O Du Lieber Augustine’, also used for the song ‘The More We Get Together’.
The words ‘laddie’ and ‘lassie’ indicate that it might have been written by someone of Scottish descent.
The song was also featured in the 1963 motion picture Ladybug, Ladybug where the children sang it as a part of a game. They were walking home from school during a nuclear bomb attack drill.
It was also a part of an episode of The Simpsons, "The Otto Show", and was titled "Hail to the Bus Driver".
FAQs
The words ‘lassie’ and ‘laddie’ signify a girl and a boy in the Scottish language. That is why many sources refer to this rhyme as having a Scottish origin.
‘Did You Ever See A Lassie’ is not just a nursery rhyme but a folk song in the US introduced by Scottish immigrants.
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