Nursery rhymes are fun because of the alliterations and rhyme schemes. Down by the Bay is no different. It’s a fun song with a common first stanza that sets the tone for the rest. If you and your little ones love to make up lyrics, this rhyme is perfect for you.
There are countless variations of Down by the Bay, each of them as quirky and silly as the other. They follow the same format, where the first stanza is repeated alternatively. The rhyme can be as long or short as you want!
Continue reading to find more details about the nursery rhyme.
Written Lyrics
First Stanza:
Down by the bay,
Where the watermelons grow,
Back to my home,
I dare not go,
For if I do,
My mother will say:
A Longer Version:
Down by the bay,
Where the watermelons grow,
Back to my home,
I dare not go,
For if I do,
My mother will say:
Did you ever see a goose,
Kissing a moose?
Down by the bay!
Down by the bay,
Where the watermelons grow,
Back to my home,
I dare not go,
For if I do,
My mother will say:
Did you ever see a llama,
Eating his pajamas?
Down by the bay!
Down by the bay,
Where the watermelons grow,
Back to my home,
I dare not go,
For if I do,
My mother will say:
Did you ever see a bear,
Combing his hair?
Down by the bay!
Down by the bay,
Where the watermelons grow,
Back to my home,
I dare not go,
For if I do,
My mother will say:
Did you ever see a whale,
With a polka dot tail?
Down by the bay!
Down by the bay,
Where the watermelons grow,
Back to my home,
I dare not go,
For if I do,
My mother will say:
Did you ever see a fly,
Wearing a tie?
Down by the bay!
Down by the bay,
Where the watermelons grow,
Back to my home,
I dare not go,
For if I do,
My mother will say:
Did you ever see a bee,
With a sunburned knee?
Down by the bay!
Down by the bay,
Where the watermelons grow,
Back to my home,
I dare not go,
For if I do,
My mother will say:
Did you ever see a pig,
Wearing a wig?
Down by the bay!
Down by the bay,
Where the watermelons grow,
Back to my home,
I dare not go,
For if I do,
My mother will say:
Did you ever have a time,
When you couldn’t make a rhyme?
Down by the bay!
Printable Lyrics
Click on the link to download a printable PDF of the lyrics. We provided the first stanza and a few examples to complete the rhyme with your choice of words.
Photo Lyrics
Save the below image on your device.
Video Links
Here’s a super cute animation of the nursery rhyme:
This is another version with a different set of lyrics:
Origins and History
'Down by the Bay' is a traditional folk song written sometime between 1914 and 1918. While the origins are not entirely clear, we know that it became famous when Raffi Cavoukian added a version of it in his album Singable Songs for the Very Young in 1976.
He is a Canadian singer-lyricist and author with Egyptian roots. He is famous for children’s music and said that the song is an old one. He says the folk song could date back to WWI and comes from England. There’s a Greek folk song with the same melody, a style popularly used in 19th-century music.
Down by the Bay became famous as a campfire song during the Scouting Movement in Britain. British folk band Fiddler's Dram used the chorus from Down by the Bay in its song Johnny John.
Neither the writer nor the reason for writing the song is known. However, there’s a Reddit thread dedicated to analyzing the lyrics and interpreting their meaning. The members came out with their own speculations and theories about the intent/ meaning.
That said, we have no authentic records about why or how the song was written. Right now, it’s just a fun and quirky number for kids to learn new words.
FAQs
The song has internal rhyming or AA rhyme scheme, depending on how you write it. An example is,
Did you ever see a fly wearing a tie?
Or
Did you ever see a fly,
wearing a tie?
A possible theory is that the mother is suffering from dementia and is confused, thus asking silly questions. However, there’s another theory that the mother was judgmental about people living on the bay and could possibly have been an abusive woman.
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