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 (21–30)
The Lion and the Unicorn
This song is about a lion and a unicorn fighting for the crown.
The lyrics are said to reflect the political situation at the time the song was created: the lion represents the coat of arms of the English royal family, and the unicorn represents that of the Scottish royal family.
In addition, in the fairy tale Through the Looking-Glass, characters based on both appear in keeping with the song’s content.
Blow, Wind, Blow! (Fuke fuke, kaze yo)
At the time, windmills were needed to grind flour, so when the wind didn’t blow, mothers in England must have been quite anxious.
The Japanese title is “Blow, Blow, Wind!”—you can feel their desperation.
This one is a poem without a melody, but it’s a Mother Goose rhyme that has been passed down for many years.
Classic Mother Goose songs. Popular Mother Goose songs for children (31–40)
Good Morning to You
It’s a refreshing Mother Goose song you might hear on a street corner or in a shop.
The lyrics repeat the same lines, but for some reason it’s a morning song that makes your heart flutter with excitement.
It gives you the energy to say, “Let’s do our best today!” Just like the title says, it suits the morning perfectly, so be sure to listen to it when you wake up.
It feels like it’s going to be a wonderful day.
Wee Willie Winkie
Willie Winkie is a sleep fairy who comes after 10 p.
m.
(in some sources, 8 p.
m.
) to check whether children are in bed, and the song shows that parents everywhere struggle to put their kids to sleep.
Originally sung in Scotland, this song has been rewritten from Scottish dialect into standard English.
The melody is almost the same as Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.
Just imagining Willie Winkie dashing around the town is delightful.
Hush little baby (Good night, baby)
Here is a traditional lullaby long passed down in the United Kingdom.
It isn’t very familiar in Japan, but it is often used as a music box tune.
There seem to be two theories about its origins: one that it comes from the American South, and another that it is a Mother Goose rhyme.
The lyrics express a mother’s affection for her child—she finds the child irresistibly cute and promises to buy various things if they’ll just sleep quietly—making it a charming and amusing song.
It’s similar to the Japanese lullaby “Nenne Korori yo.”
Tweedledum and Tweedledee (Tweedledum to Tweedledee)
Tweedledum and Tweedledee also appear as characters in Through the Looking-Glass.
The lyrics tell of the identical pair getting into a quarrel, but being startled by a crow and forgetting all about it.
Some people may know the characters from Disney’s animated film Alice in Wonderland.
Jack and Jill
The names Jack and Jill are very common personal names in the UK—like the children’s names Taro and Hanako in Japan—and this Mother Goose rhyme depicts the two having fun and getting into various mischief.
Some parts of the lyrics are a bit curious, such as going up a hill to fetch a pail of water, or putting a vinegar poultice on a bumped head—the expressions are unique.
If you can sing it, try singing out loud; you’ll enjoy the rhymes and the sound of the words.