Three Blind Mice
The three blind mice who ran after the farmer's wife — two versions in one
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Arrangement: Ian J. Watts / Mike Wilbury · Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks
Lyrics
Three blind mice, three blind mice,
See how they run, see how they run!
They all ran after the farmer's wife,
She cut a cheese with a carving knife,
Have you ever seen such a thing in your life
As three blind mice?
Three blind mice, three blind mice,
See how they run, see how they run!
They all ran after the farmer's wife,
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,
Did you ever see such a thing in your life
As three blind mice?
Traditional lyrics — public domain. Arrangement © Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks.
History & Background
History & Origin
"Three Blind Mice" is one of the oldest surviving English nursery rhymes, with a version appearing in a manuscript collection as far back as 1609. The melody to which it is most commonly sung today was published in a slightly different form in Thomas Ravenscroft's Deuteromelia in 1609, making it one of the earliest nursery rhymes with a recorded musical setting.
The rhyme is notable for having two distinct versions of the critical line: in one, the farmer's wife cuts a cheese with her carving knife; in the other, she cuts off the mice's tails. This recording includes both, giving listeners the gentle cheese version followed by the more famous and dramatic tail-cutting verse.
A serious historical theory connects the rhyme to the reign of Mary I (1516–1558), known as Bloody Mary, who persecuted Protestants with extraordinary severity after reversing the religious reforms of her father Henry VIII. In this reading, the three blind mice are Protestants who challenged her authority and were destroyed for it — the farmer's wife being Mary herself, with her husband Philip II of Spain's vast landholdings providing the "farmer" connection. The rhyme's sardonic tone fits this context well, and there are several other nursery rhymes from the same period with similarly coded anti-Catholic or anti-Protestant content. The theory is unproven but historically plausible.
The round form in which it is traditionally sung makes it a standard in children's singing groups worldwide.
For a deep analysis of the historical facts, read Andrés Ehmann's essay on the dark origins of nursery rhymes.
