HomeRhymes & SongsOld Macdonald Had A Farm Nursery Rhyme For Kids

Old Macdonald Had A Farm Nursery Rhyme For Kids

The Old MacDonald Had A Farm song is a traditional children’s song about a farmer and the various animals he keeps. It is one of the most popular and commonly sung English nursery rhymes in preschools across the world. The song has existed as a folk song in Britain, Ireland, and North America for hundreds of years before being standardized in the 20th Century. However, one of the versions was probably written by Thomas d’Urfey for an opera in 1706. Folklorists collected several versions in England around the turn of the 20th Century.

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Lyrics Of Old MacDonald Had A Farm In English  

The lyrics of the Old MacDonald Had A Farm poem are:

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Old MacDonald had a farm 
E-I-E-I-O 
And on his farm he had a cow 
E-I-E-I-O 
With a moo moo here 
And a moo moo there 
Here a moo, there a moo 
Everywhere a moo moo
Old MacDonald had a farm 
E-I-E-I-O 

Old MacDonald had a farm 
E-I-E-I-O 
And on his farm he had a pig 
E-I-E-I-O 
With an oink oink here 
And an oink oink there 
Here an oink, there an oink
Everywhere an oink oink 
Old MacDonald had a farm 
E-I-E-I-O 

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Old MacDonald had a farm 
E-I-E-I-O 
And on his farm he had a duck 
E-I-E-I-O 
With a quack quack here 
And a quack quack there 
Here a quack, there a quack 
Everywhere a quack quack 
Old MacDonald had a farm 
E-I-E-I-O 

Old MacDonald had a farm 
E-I-E-I-O 
And on his farm he had a horse 
E-I-E-I-O 
With a neigh neigh here 
And a neigh neigh there 
Here a neigh, there a neigh 
Everywhere a neigh neigh 
Old MacDonald had a farm 
E-I-E-I-O 

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Old MacDonald had a farm 
E-I-E-I-O  
And on his farm he had a lamb
 E-I-E-I-O 
With a baa baa here 
And a baa baa there 
Here a baa, there a baa 
Everywhere a baa baa 
Old MacDonald had a farm 
E-I-E-I-O 

Old MacDonald had a farm 
E-I-E-I-O 
And on his farm he had some chickens 
E-I-E-I-O 
With a cluck cluck here 
And a cluck cluck there 
Here a cluck, there a cluck 
Everywhere a cluck cluck 
With a baa baa here 
And a baa baa there 
Here a baa, there a baa 
Everywhere a baa baa 
With a neigh neigh here 
And a neigh neigh there 
Here a neigh, there a neigh 
Everywhere a neigh neigh 
With a quack quack here 
And a quack quack there 
Here a quack, there a quack 
Everywhere a quack quack 
With an oink oink here 
And an oink oink there 
Here an oink, there an oink 
Everywhere an oink oink 
With a moo moo here
And a moo moo there 
Here a moo, there a moo 
Everywhere a moo moo 

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Old MacDonald had a farm 
E-I-E-I-OOOOOOO………  

Old Macdonald Had A Farm Nursery Rhyme

What Will Your Child Learn From Old MacDonald Had A Farm?  

Your child will learn the different sounds farm animals make. The poem is based on a farmer who has cows, pigs, ducks, horses, lambs and chickens on his farm. The poem takes us through the different animals and the sounds each animal makes. We all know that the cow goes moo, which is what the author has depicted in the nursery rhyme too. Similarly, we know that chickens go cluck, and this, too, has been sung about in the rhyme. Each verse focuses on a different animal and the sounds they make. Teaching your child different noises animals make will help them understand sound association better.     

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Theme Of The Rhyme Old MacDonald Had A Farm  

The theme of the Old MacDonald Had A Farm nursery rhyme is that of a farmer who keeps cows, pigs, ducks, horses, chickens and lambs on his farm. The titular farmer then takes us through all his animals while narrating and singing the sounds that they make. Hence, we can say that the theme of the nursery rhyme is that of a farmer and his farm!  

Rhyming Pattern Of Old MacDonald Had A Farm  

Although the nursery rhyme does not have a rhyming scheme, it does have a very noticeable pattern! We can see a lot of repetition and passage-pattern repetition throughout the nursery rhyme. Each verse has a similar structure wherein the vocalist talks about a particular animal and sings out the sounds that they make. They also repeat the sounds of the animals multiple times. This is a form of repetition, and we see this throughout the nursery rhyme.   

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Words That Your Child Will Learn From Old MacDonald Had A Farm  

Nouns Like

  • Farm 
  • Cow
  • Pig
  • Duck
  • Horse
  • Lamb
  • Chicken  

Sound Words Like

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  • Moo
  • Oink
  • Quack
  • Neigh
  • Baa
  • Cluck  

Suggested Activities

While teaching your child anything, it is important to make learning fun and interesting to build strong foundations of learning and to encourage your little one to form a healthy relationship with learning new things. Your child should view learning as a fun and interesting thing rather than a burden. One of the best ways to do this is by engaging your little one in activities through which they can learn. Some suggested activities are:  

1. Explore  

  • Take your little one to a local farm or a zoo where they can see and hear all the animals that are sung about in the nursery rhyme.
  • This will be a wonderful experience for you and your child.
  • Your child will visually learn what animals look like and be able to hear their sounds, making their word-sound association stronger.

2. Create 

  • Take print-outs of animals and let your little one colour them in!
  • Do not set any boundaries or restrictions on your child, and let them colour each animal in whichever colour or pattern they wish.
  • This will help their creativity and imagination.
  • Once your little one is done colouring, show them what the actual animal looks like.
  • This could be a good way to compare both in a healthy and knowledgeable way.

FAQs  

1. How old is the Old MacDonald Had A Farm song?

The earliest versions come from the 1700s.   

2. Is the Old MacDonald Had A Farm poem too long?

The nursery rhyme is a little long, but it is very easy to learn and is loved by children! 

Also Read:

Betty Botter Rhyme for Children
Yankee Doodle Rhyme for Nursery Kids
The Ants Go Marching Nursery Rhyme with Lyrics for Kids

Author
About the Expert
About the Author
Shraddha Mishra
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