Mary Had a Little Lamb

"Mary Had a Little Lamb" Lyrics

In the 1830s, Lowell Mason set the nursery rhyme to a melody adding repetition in the verses:

Mary had a little lamb, little lamb,
little lamb, Mary had a little lamb
whose fleece was white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went
Mary went, Mary went, everywhere
that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go.

He followed her to school one day,
school one day, school one day,
He followed her to school one day,
Which was against the rules,
It made the children laugh and play,
laugh and play, laugh and play,
It made the children laugh and play,
To see a lamb at school.

And so the teacher turned it out,
turned it out, turned it out,
And so the teacher turned it out,
But still it lingered near,
He waited patiently about,
ly about, ly about,
He waited patiently about,
Till Mary did appear.

“Why does the lamb love Mary so?”
love Mary so?” love Mary so?”
“Why does the lamb love Mary so?”
The eager children cried.
“Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know,”
lamb, you know,” lamb, you know,”
“Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know,”
The teacher did reply.

"Mary Had a Little Lamb" Chords

A
Mary had a little lamb,
E            A
Little lamb, little lamb,
A
Mary had a little lamb,
    E                   A
Its fleece was white as snow

A
Everywhere that Mary went,
E          A
Mary went, Mary went,
A
Everywhere that Mary went
    E                A
The lamb was sure to go

   A
It followed her to school one day
E               A
School one day, school one day
   A
It followed her to school one day
      E               A
Which was against the rules.

   A
It made the children laugh and play,
E               A
Laugh and play, laugh and play,
   A
It made the children laugh and play
   E             A
To see a lamb at school

    A
And so the teacher turned it out,
E              A
Turned it out, turned it out,
    A
And so the teacher turned it out,
    E                 A
But still it lingered near

    A
And waited patiently about,
       E                A
Patiently about, patiently about,
    A
And waited patiently about
     E          A
Till Mary did appear

A
"Why does the lamb love Mary so?"
E                       A
Love Mary so? Love Mary so?
A
"Why does the lamb love Mary so?"
    E              A
The eager children cry

      A
"Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know."
          E                        A
Loves the lamb you know, loves the lamb you know
      A 
"Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know."
    E             A
The teacher did reply

"Mary Had a Little Lamb" Origins

The nursery rhyme was first published by the Boston publishing firm Marsh, Capen & Lyon, as an original poem by Sarah Josepha Hale on May 24, 1830, and was inspired by an actual incident.

As a young girl, Mary Sawyer (later Mary Tyler) kept a pet lamb that she took to school one day at the suggestion of her brother. A commotion naturally ensued. Mary recalled: “Visiting school that morning was a young man by the name of John Roulstone, a nephew of the Reverend Lemuel Capen, who was then settled in Sterling. It was the custom then for students to prepare for college with ministers, and for this purpose Roulstone was studying with his uncle. The young man was very much pleased with the incident of the lamb; and the next day he rode across the fields on horseback to the little old schoolhouse and handed me a slip of paper which had written upon it the three original stanzas of the poem…”