There Was a Princess Long Ago
The Sleeping Beauty story told in song — princess, tower, forest and prince
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Arrangement: Ian J. Watts / Mike Wilbury · Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks
Lyrics
There was a Princess long ago,
Long ago, long ago,
There was a Princess long ago,
Long, long ago.
And she lived in a big high tower,
A big high tower, a big high tower,
And she lived in a big high tower,
Long, long ago.
One day a fairy waved her wand,
Yes she waved her wand, yes she waved her wand,
One day a fairy waved her wand,
She waved her wand.
The Princess slept for a hundred years,
A hundred years, a hundred years,
The Princess slept for a hundred years,
A hundred years.
A great big forest grew around,
Grew around, grew around,
A great big forest grew around,
Long, long ago.
A gallant Prince came riding by,
Riding by, riding by,
A gallant Prince came riding by,
A long time ago.
He took his sword and cut it down,
Cut it down, cut it down,
He took his sword and cut it down,
A long time ago.
He took her hand to wake her up,
To wake her up, yes to wake her up,
He took her hand to wake her up,
A long time ago.
The happy pair were married then,
Married then, married then,
The happy pair were married then,
A long time ago.
So everybody danced and danced,
Danced and danced, danced and danced,
So everybody danced and danced,
A long time ago.
So everybody's happy now,
Happy now, they're happy now,
So everybody's happy now,
A long time ago.
Traditional lyrics — public domain. Arrangement © Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks.
History & Background
History & Origin
"There Was a Princess Long Ago" is an action song based on the story of Sleeping Beauty, the fairy tale found in Charles Perrault's 1697 collection and later the Brothers Grimm. The song retells the story in eleven short verses, each naming an episode of the tale: the princess in her tower, the fairy's spell, the long sleep, the forest growing around the castle, the prince arriving on horseback, and the eventual wedding and celebration.
In its traditional use in schools and nurseries, each verse is accompanied by an action — children mime the tower with their arms, the fairy's wand with a pointed finger, the sleeping princess with hands pressed together — making it both a song and a piece of participatory storytelling.
The recording here gives the song a lively, playful arrangement that carries the story forward at a brisk pace, making all eleven verses feel purposeful rather than repetitive. The song works well as an introduction to the Sleeping Beauty story, and the repeated structure makes it easy to learn and join in with from the very first listening.
