A classic Mother Goose tune. A Mother Goose song that’s popular with children.
We’d like to introduce Mother Goose, a collection of English nursery rhymes that are especially beloved and passed down in the UK and the United States!
Mother Goose is said to include anywhere from 600 to over 1,000 rhymes, such as riddles, lullabies, play songs, tongue twisters, and memory songs.
In this article, we’ve gathered some of the most iconic and child-popular rhymes from Mother Goose.
When you listen, you’ll likely find many you already know, and because they’ve been sung for generations, they can be enjoyed by people of all ages.
Some of these songs are a fun way to spark your child’s interest in English, so be sure to enjoy them together as a parent and child, with family, or with friends!
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Classic Mother Goose songs. Popular Mother Goose songs for children (11–20)
Bingo
Many of you are probably familiar with this song.
Because the lyrics are repetitive and it includes hand motions, it’s an easy, fun favorite for children to sing! When playing with this song, each time you repeat the lyrics, you remove one letter from the word “BINGO” starting from the beginning and replace that part with a clap.
In other words, by the end, the entire “BINGO” part is clapped.
Singing it is fun on its own, but clapping together energetically really gets everyone excited!
Hush-a-bye, baby (Nennen korori yo)
Here is one of the lullabies sung to put a baby to sleep.
That said, as you read the lyrics, there’s a twist: if the branch breaks, the cradle comes crashing down and the baby falls too—hardly the kind of content that lets you sleep peacefully.
Lyrics with a slightly dark side like this might be something you’d find in Mother Goose.
The title part means something like “Good night, baby.” The words are chosen for their pleasant sound, making it a tune you can’t help but hum along to.
Star Light, Star Bright
When it comes to Mother Goose songs about stars, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” is the most famous, but did you know there are other star songs as well? One of them is “Star Light, Star Bright.” The poem from this song actually appears in Disney’s film Pinocchio.
Since the lyrics are about making a wish upon a star, it’s often sung when putting children to bed.
On a clear night when the stars are easy to see, why not try this song to help lull your child to sleep?
Do You Know The Muffin Man (The Muffin Seller)
This song is meant to be sung along with children’s play.
It’s a game where you keep repeating simple lyrics while one child at a time leaves the circle.
It’s similar to what’s known in Japan as “Hana Ichimonme.” “The Muffin Man” is such a cute song, isn’t it?
Vintery, Mintery, Cutery, corn (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)
In 1975, the American film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, starring Jack Nicholson, caused a major sensation.
Its title is derived from this song.
Pay attention to the lyrics, which strikingly depict the birds taking off into the sky one by one, each in its own freedom.
ABC Song (The ABC Song)
This is a song that everyone has heard at least once—a song for learning the English alphabet with a long history.
It was first introduced to Japan in an English conversation book translated by John Manjirō, who was active between Japan and the United States at the end of the Edo period.
The original melody is the children’s song “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” but there are other versions of the “ABC Song” as well.
The version sung to the “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” melody was first published in 1835 as “The A.
B.
C.
—A German Air, with Variations for the Flute with an Easy Accompaniment for the Piano.”
Classic Mother Goose songs. Popular Mother Goose songs for children (21–30)
Sing a Song of Sixpence
This song is known as a nursery rhyme from the English-speaking world, especially the UK, and is among the most frequently sung in the Mother Goose canon.
A sixpence is a coin that was minted in England from 1551 to 1970.
Although it’s titled “Sing a Song of Sixpence” and mentions money, the lyrics actually feature blackbirds—known in Europe as heralds of spring—and a pie.
Incidentally, part of its lyrics were reportedly quoted in the Beatles’ song “Cry Baby Cry.”