There was an old woman

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe,
She had so many children she didn't know what to do!
So she gave them some broth without any bread,
And she whipped them all soundly and sent them to bed!














There are two theories of the history of this rhyme - both in English History.

The first references Queen Caroline as the 'old woman'. Caroline was the wife of King George II who had eight children.

The second theory places King George as the 'old woman'. King George was the one to begin the men's fashion of wearing white powdered wigs, thus making him the old woman. The 'children' in this theory are the members of parliament and the bed was the Houses of Parliament. The term 'whip' is still used in the English Parliament to describe a member of Parliament who is assigned to making sure that all members 'toe the party line'.