What are the lyrics to ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’, the popular nursery rhyme?

24 November 2023, 17:02

Why *did* Mary take her woolly companion to school one day? We explore…

‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ is one of the world’s most popular nursery rhymes. While its subjects may sound biblical in origin, the classic rhyming tale is rooted in 19th-century America.

The story goes that 14-year-old New England schoolgirl Mary Sawyer, egged on by her brother, took her pet lamb “with fleece as white as snow” to school one day.

The lamb, much like a dog brought to an office today, was soon everyone’s favourite distraction.

Today, a Mary’s Little Lamb statue can be found in Sterling, Massachusetts. Below the statue is a plaque inscribed: “Mary had a little lamb/ Its fleece was white as snow/ And everywhere that Mary went/ The lamb was sure to go.” – John Roulstone

But did Roulstone really write the rhyme? And who was Mary?

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Who was Mary in ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’?

Mary Sawyer was born in Sterling, MA in 1806. As a girl, Mary was helping her father on the farm when they discovered a lamb who was weak and unable to move. She nursed the animal to health, and according to a book published in 1928 by Henry Ford, made a friend for life.

An adult Sawyer recalls in the book: “I got the lamb warm by wrapping it in an old garment and holding it in my arms beside the fireplace.

“In the morning, much to my girlish delight, it could stand; and from that time it improved rapidly. It soon learned to drink milk; and from the time it would walk about, it would follow me anywhere if only I called it.”

Sawyer whistled for the lamb before leaving for school one day, and it faithfully came to heel. Her brother suggested Mary bring her loyal farmyard friend to school, which she did.

In class, Mary tried to hide the lamb in a basket under her chair covered in a blanket. But as she was called to the front of the class to recite her lessons, the lamb gave itself away. Mary’s teacher had her take the lamb outside, where it waited until Mary could take it home at lunch.

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Mary Had A Little Lamb | Animal Song | Super Simple Songs

Who wrote ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’?

But who wrote this charming story? Well, it’s debatable...

Sarah Josepha Hale published Poems for our Children in 1830, and her collection included an extended version of ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’.

In 1876 Mary Sawyer, by then known as Mary Tyler, proclaimed that she was the Mary in the poem, and that a John Roulstone had written the words after visiting her school, and seeing the lamb.

It is generally believed now that Roulstone wrote the first three stanzas, and the rest were Hale’s original material.

The poem was set to music in 1830 by Lowell Mason and published the same year by Marsh, Capen & Lyon.

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What are the lyrics to ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’?

Mary had a little lamb
Little lamb, little lamb
Mary had a little lamb
Its fleece was white as snow

Everywhere that Mary went
Mary went, Mary went
Everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go

It followed her to school one day
School one day, school one day
It followed her to school one day
Which was against the rules

It made the children laugh and play
Laugh and play, laugh and play
It made the children laugh and play
To see the lamb at school

And so the teacher turned it out
Turned it out, turned it out
And so the teacher turned it out
But still it lingered near

Why does the lamb love Mary so?
Love Mary so, love Mary so
Why does the lamb love Mary so?
The eager children cry

Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know
The lamb, you know, the lamb, you know
Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know
The teacher did reply