There Was an Old Lady Who Played the Bell

I’m a big fan of all the “old lady” books, including There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly and I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie.  That old lady was the inspiration for today’s song, which I wrote for my students to accompany bells of any kind.

I incorporated a few different ways of playing the bells, but there is definitely opportunity for additional verses. Here’s what I came up with:

There was an old lady who played the bell,
Just like you she played the bell,
She played so well.

There was an old lady who played so fast,
Quickly as the time flew past,
Just like you she played the bell,
She played so well.

There was an old lady who played so slow,
On and on and on, she’d go,
And after that, she played so fast,
Quickly as the time flew past,
Just like you she played the bell,
She played so well.

There was an old lady who played up high,
In the air, from morning to night,
And after that, she played so slow,
On and on and on, she’d go,
And after that, she played so fast,
Quickly as the time flew past,
Just like you she played the bell,
She played so well.

I’d love to make a little picture book to go along with this song eventually. Or maybe even an entire series about the old lady who played different kinds of instruments. How fun would that be?!