"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.

It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 13530.

Text and melody

A common modern version is:

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.

\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 } }

Origin

Illustration of the poem from the 1901 Book of Nursery Rhymes

"One, Two, Three, Four, Five" 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:

One, two, three,

Four and five,

I caught a hare alive;

Six, seven, eight,

Nine and ten,

I let him go again.

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

See also

Notes