One, Two, Three, Four, Five

"One, two, three, four, five" is a popular English language nursery rhyme and counting-out rhyme.[1] It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 13530.

"One, two, three, four, five"
Nursery rhyme
Published	c. 1765

Lyrics

Common modern versions include:

One, two, three, four, five,

Once I caught a fish alive.

Six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

Then I let it go again.

Why did I let it go,

Because he bit my finger so!

Which finger did he bite?

This little finger on my right![2]

Origins and meaning

Illustration of the poem from the 1901 Book of Nursery Rhymes

The rhyme is one of many counting-out rhymes. It was first recorded in Mother Goose's Melody around 1765. Like most versions until the late nineteenth 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]

Notes

1. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 334-5.
2. Lansky, Vicki (2009-02-01). Games Babies Play: From Birth to Twelve Months. Book Peddlers. p. 76. ISBN 9781931863650.

See also

• List of nursery rhymes