I Knew An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

This is a classic preschool song about a carnivorous woman that's been around at least since the late 1940s/early 1950s. It's classed as a "rhyme and nonsense song" which appeals to me. There is also a moral: never try to eat a horse. They're simply too big to eat. It's ridiculous. Actually, don't eat flies either. This is a cumulative children’s song, meaning that it has repetitions designed to learn language patterns and improve memory skills. And if you forget to take a big breath before the verse you'll be gasping for air like me. I still remember when I was five years old and the Muppet Show did a shadow puppet version of this song. It was hilarious. Also, when I looked into the history of this song I learned that it has Canadian roots.