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 There Was An Old Woman
There was an old woman who lived in a shoe
She had so many children, she didn't know what to do.
She gave them some broth, Without any bread
Whipped them all soundly, and sent them to bed.
History
The history of There Was An Old Woman has two choices of origin!
The first relates to Queen Caroline (the old woman) wife of George II who had
eight children. The shoe refers to the British Isles. The second version refers
to King George who began the fashion of wearing white powdered wigs and was
consequently referred to as the old woman! The children were the members of
parliament and the bed was the Houses of Parliament which he required them to
have sessions in - even today the term 'whip' is used in the English Parliament
to describe a member of Parliament who is tasked to ensure that all members 'toe
the party line'.
About the Rhyme
This old woman actually lives in a very big shoe. She had with her "oh so many"
children that she doesn't really even know what to do with them. She's poor and
doesn't even have any bread to go with the broth she made to feed her children.
In any case, after she fed them, she beat them all thoroughly and put them to bed.
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