One, Two, Three, Four, Five

"One, Two, Three, Four, Five" (also known as "1, 2, 3, 4, 5" or "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Once I Caught a Fish Alive" in other versions) is a nursery rhyme and counting-out rhyme.[1] It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 13530.[2]

For the Lou Bega song whose lyrics begin "One, two, three, four, five", see Mambo No. 5.

"One, Two, Three, Four, Five"
Nursery rhyme
Publishedc. 1765

Text and melody

A common modern version is:

\header { tagline = ##f } \layout { indent = 0 \context { \Score \remove "Bar_number_engraver" } } global = { \key f \major \numericTimeSignature \time 4/4 \autoBeamOff } sopranoVoice = \relative c'' { \global a4 a g8 f f4 | c8 f a c c bes bes4 | bes bes8. bes16 a8 g g4 | f8 e d e g f f4 | a a8. a16 g8 f f8. f16 | c8 f a c c bes bes4 | bes bes8. bes16 a8 g g4 | f8 e16 e d8 e g f f4 \bar "|." } verseOne = \lyricmode { \set stanza = \markup \bold "1." One, two, three, four, five, Once I caught a fish a -- live. Six, se -- ven, eight, nine, ten, Then I let it go a -- gain. } verseTwo = \lyricmode { \set stanza = \markup \bold " 2." Why did you let it go? Be -- cause he bit my fin -- ger so. Which fin -- ger did it bite? This lit -- tle fin -- ger on my right. } \score { \new Staff \with { midiInstrument = "vibraphone" } { \sopranoVoice } \addlyrics { \verseOne \verseTwo } \layout { } \midi { \tempo 4=100 } }

One, two, three, four, five,
Once I caught a fish alive.
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
Then I let it go again.

Why did you let it go?
Because he bit my finger so.
Which finger did it bite?
This little finger on my right.[3]

Origin
Illustration of the poem from the 1901 Book of Nursery Rhymes

This is one of many counting-out rhymes. It was first recorded in Mother Goose's Melody around 1765. Like most versions until the late 19th century, it had only the first stanza and dealt with a hare, not a fish, with the words:

One, two, three, four and five,
I caught a hare alive;
Six, seven, eight, nine and ten,
I let him go again.[1]

The modern version is derived from three variations collected by Henry Bolton in the 1880s from America.[1]

See also

Notes
  1. Iona and Peter Opie (1997) [1951]. The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 334–335.
  2. "Roud Number 13530". Vaughan Williams Memorial Library.
  3. Lansky, Vicki (1 February 2009). Games Babies Play: From Birth to Twelve Months. Book Peddlers. p. 76. ISBN 9781931863650.
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