Old MacDonald Had a Farm lyrics
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!
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 sheep, 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 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!
Actions to do together
- Let your child pick the next animal, and make its sound together.
- Point “here” and “there” to different sides of the room.
- Act out each animal: waddle like a duck, gallop like a horse.
- For a memory challenge, repeat every earlier animal sound in each new verse.
What children learn
- Animal names and the sounds they make
- Memory and sequencing, especially in the long version
- Letters, by singing E-I-E-I-O
The story behind the rhyme
Old MacDonald is a farmyard song that has been sung for well over a hundred years, with versions printed in the early 1900s. The farmer’s name and the animals change from place to place, but the E-I-E-I-O stays.
Because any animal can join the farm, children can keep the song going as long as they like, and it grows with them.
Questions parents ask
What does E-I-E-I-O mean?
It doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a fun string of sounds to sing, which is part of why children love it.
Which animals are in Old MacDonald Had a Farm?
Any you like! Cows, pigs, ducks, sheep and horses are the usual ones; chickens, dogs, cats and goats are popular too.
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