Quotes

Quotes

Quotes to inspire and reflect

Anonymous
Anonymous

Come, let’s to bed, Says Sleepyhead; Tarry awhile, says Slow; Put on the pot, Says Greedy-gut, We’ll sup before we go.

Let’s to Bed

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Anonymous
Anonymous

Bye baby bunting, Daddy’s gone a-hunting. Gone to get a rabbit skin To wrap the baby bunting in.

Bye Baby Bunting

12
Anonymous
Anonymous

The Queen of Hearts She made some tarts, All on a summer’s day; The Knave of Hearts He stole the tarts, And took them clean away.

The Queen of Hearts

13
Anonymous
Anonymous

Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief; Taffy came to my house and stole a piece of beef. I went to Taffy’s house, Taffy wasn’t in; Taffy came to my house and stole a silver pin. I went to Taffy’s house; Taffy wasn’t home. Taffy came to my house and stole a marrow bone. I went to Taffy’s house and Taffy was in bed; So I picked up the poker and hit him in the head.

Taffy Was a Welshman

14
Anonymous
Anonymous

Seesaw, Margery Daw, Jacky shall have a new master; Jacky must have but a penny a day, Because he can work no faster.

Seesaw, Margery Daw

14
Anonymous
Anonymous

Jack and Jill went up the hill To fetch a pail of water; Jack fell down and broke his crown, And Jill came tumbling after.

Jack and Jill

10
Anonymous
Anonymous

Three wise men of Gotham Went to sea in a bowl: And if the bowl had been stronger, My song had been longer.

Three Wise Men of Gotham

14
Anonymous
Anonymous

High diddle diddle The cat and the fiddle, The cow jumped over the moon; The little dog laughed To see such craft And the dish ran away with the spoon.

High Diddle Diddle

14
Anonymous
Anonymous

Crosspatch, draw the latch, Set by the fire and spin: Take a cup and drink it up, Then call your neighbors in.

Crosspatch

16
Anonymous
Anonymous

Little Tom Tucker Sings for his supper; What shall he eat? White bread and butter. How will he cut it Without e’er a knife? How will he be married Without e’er a wife?

Little Tom Tucker

21
Anonymous
Anonymous

Simple Simon met a pieman Going to the fair: Says Simple Simon to the pieman, “Let me taste your ware.”

Simple Simon

11
Anonymous
Anonymous

Ding dong bell, Pussy’s in the well. Who put her in? Little Johnny Green.

Ding Dong Bell

14
Anonymous
Anonymous

Little boy blue, come blow your horn, The sheep’s in the meadow, the cow’s in the corn; But where is the boy who looks after the sheep? He’s under the haystack fast asleep. Will you wake him? No, not I, For if I do, he’ll be sure to cry.

Little Boy Blue

14
Anonymous
Anonymous

This little pig went to market; This little pig stayed home; This little pig had roast beef; This little pig had none; And this little pig cried, Wee, wee, wee! All the way home.

This Little Pig

14
Anonymous
Anonymous

“Who saw him die?” “I,” said the fly, “With my little eye, I saw him die.”

Who Killed Cock Robin?

15
Anonymous
Anonymous

“Who killed Cock Robin?” “I,” said the sparrow, “With my bow and arrow, I killed Cock Robin.”

Who Killed Cock Robin?

15
Anonymous
Anonymous

Oranges and lemons, Say the bells of St. Clement’s. You owe me five farthings, Say the bells of St. Martin’s. When will you pay me? Say the bells of Old Bailey. When I grow rich, Say the bells of Shoreditch.

Oranges and Lemons

7
Anonymous
Anonymous

Here comes a candle to light you to bed, Here comes a chopper to chop off your head.

Oranges and Lemons

11
Anonymous
Anonymous

Baa, baa, black sheep, Have you any wool? Yes, sir, yes, sir, Three bags full: One for my master, And one for my dame, And one for the little boy Who lives down the lane.

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep

18
Anonymous
Anonymous

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow? With silver bells, and cockleshells, And pretty maids all in a row.

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

15
Anonymous
Anonymous

Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home, Your house is on fire, and your children will burn.

Ladybug, Ladybug

13
Anonymous
Anonymous

Hickory dickory dock, The mouse ran up the clock, The clock struck one, The mouse ran down; Hickory dickory dock.

Hickory Dickory Dock

11
Anonymous
Anonymous

The man in the wilderness asked of me How many strawberries grew in the sea. I answered him as I thought good, “As many as red herrings grow in the wood.”

The Man in the Wilderness

26
Anonymous
Anonymous

As I was going to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives, Each wife had seven sacks, Each sack had seven cats, Each cat had seven kits: Kits, cats, sacks, and wives, How many were there going to St. Ives?

As I Was Going to St. Ives

9
Anonymous
Anonymous

London Bridge is falling down, My fair lady.

London Bridge

12
Anonymous
Anonymous

Tell tale tit, Your tongue shall be slit, And all the dogs in our town Shall have a bit.

Tell Tale Tit

15
Anonymous
Anonymous

The lion and the unicorn Were fighting for the crown; The lion beat the unicorn All round about the town. Some gave them white bread, And some gave them brown; Some gave them plum cake, And sent them out of town.

The Lion and the Unicorn

13
Anonymous
Anonymous

Rain, rain, go away, Come again another day.

Rain, Rain

19
Anonymous
Anonymous

The King of France went up the hill With forty thousand men; The King of France came down the hill And ne’er went up again.

The King of France

14
Anonymous
Anonymous

Jack Sprat could eat no fat, His wife could eat no lean; And so betwixt them both, They licked the platter clean.

Jack Sprat

16
Anonymous
Anonymous

Old King Cole Was a merry old soul, And a merry old soul was he, He called for his pipe, And he called for his bowl, And he called for his fiddlers three.

Old King Cole

13
Anonymous
Anonymous

With a rowley powley gammon and spinach, Heigh-ho says Anthony Rowley.

A Frog He Would A-Wooing Go, chorus

15
Anonymous
Anonymous

A frog he would a-wooing go. Sing heigh-ho says Rowley.

A Frog He Would A-Wooing Go

10
Anonymous
Anonymous

Three blind mice, see how they run! They all ran after the farmer’s wife, She cut off their tails with a carving knife, Did you ever see such a sight in your life, As three blind mice?

Three Blind Mice

17
Anonymous
Anonymous

It’s like a lion at the door; And when the door begins to crack, It’s like a stick across your back; And when your back begins to smart, It’s like a penknife in your heart; And when your heart begins to bleed, You’re dead, and dead, and dead, indeed.

A Man of Words and Not of Deeds

14
Anonymous
Anonymous

Cock a doodle doo! My dame has lost her shoe; My master’s lost his fiddle stick, And knows not what to do.

Cock a Doodle Doo

12
Anonymous
Anonymous

A man of words and not of deeds Is like a garden full of weeds.

A Man of Words and Not of Deeds

15
Rita Dove
Rita Dove

Every day a wilderness—no shade in sight. Beulah patient among knickknacks, the solarium a rage of light, a grainstorm as her gray cloth brings dark wood to life.

Museum [1983]. Dusting

34
Anne Carson
Anne Carson

SPIRIT RULES SECRETLY ALONE THE BODY ACHIEVES NOTHING is something you know instinctively at fourteen and can still remember even with hell in your head at sixteen.

Autobiography of Red [1998]

38
Rita Dove
Rita Dove

You start out with one thing, end up with another, and nothing’s like it used to be, not even the future.

The Yellow House on the Corner [1980]. O

50
Leslie Marmon Silko
Leslie Marmon Silko

It’s only a matter of time, Indian you can’t sleep with the river forever.

Storyteller [1981]. Indian Song: Survival

13
Bob Marley
Bob Marley

We’re leaving Babylon We’re going to our Father’s land.

Movement of Jah People [1977]

17
Bob Marley
Bob Marley

A hungry mob is an angry mob.

Natty Dread [1974]. Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)

15
Bob Marley
Bob Marley

And hey Mr. Cop Ain’t got no birth certificate on me now

Natty Dread. Rebel Music (3 O’Clock Roadblock)

19
Bob Marley
Bob Marley

Every day the bucket a go a well One day the bottom a go drop out.

Burnin’ [1973]. I Shot the Sheriff

18
Bob Marley
Bob Marley

Slave driver, the table is turn. Catch a fire so you can get burn.

Catch a Fire [1973]. Slave Driver

14
Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin

Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes-Benz, My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.

Mercedes-Benz [1970]

14
Bob Marley
Bob Marley

One good thing about music When it hits you You feel no pain.

Trench Town Rock [1971]

15