Pumpkins remind us of Halloween, don’t they? We’ve got a cute little spooky rhyme to sing this Halloween season. The nursery rhyme has no real meaning or significance except that it describes a spooky setting in a fun verse.
The rhyme has less than ten lines and is easy to memorize. Grab a copy of the lyrics from this post and sing along with your little ones.
Oh, guess what? The nursery rhyme might give you a few ideas for costumes too. And who doesn’t love kiddo dressed as a round pumpkin? So edible! 😉
Written Lyrics
Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate
The first one said, “Oh my, it’s getting late”
The second one said, “There are witches in the air”
The third one said,“But we don’t care!”
The fourth one said, “Let’s run and run and run”
The fifth one said, “I'm ready for some fun!”
Wooooo, went the wind
And out went the light
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!
Printable Lyrics
Download the printable PDF with lyrics by clicking on this link.
Photo Lyrics
Click on the image to download it on your device.
Video Links
Watch the video of Five Little Pumpkins here:
Origins and History
There is hardly any information about the origins of Five Little Pumpkins. It is possibly a traditional song from the US, like many other nursery rhymes. The song became famous when Raffi, a Canadian singer and composer of children’s folk songs, published it in one of his albums.
David S Polansky used the same song in his album Fun Food Songs released in 2013. Dan Yaccarino published a picture book with the same story. The book illustrates the song in cute pictures, making it easy for little ones to read aloud and memorize the lyrics. The book was first published in 1998.
Another song with the same title exists, but it has different lyrics. That song teaches emotional vocabulary to kids using pumpkins. Each pumpkin in the song has a different expression (smiling- happy, grumpy, sleepy, etc.)
The intent of using pumpkin in rhymes is because of the vegetable’s shape and color. Children like to sing about pumpkins.
FAQs
Yes, it is a counting rhyme and a Halloween song. Kids can use hand gestures to count the pumpkins on their fingers. They can also enact the lines in class/ home. Of course, it would be a good time to tell kids that the word ‘witch’ doesn’t automatically refer to anything bad/ derogatory.
Nothing happens to the pumpkins. They just roll out of sight or move on from the stage. The last line signifies the end of the rhyme and nothing else. At the most, it adds a creepy touch that’s a trademark of Halloween. That said, there is nothing sinister about the Five Little Pumpkins rhyme.
Leave a Reply