Anonymous: Collected Lyrics
19 / 26
Public-domain lyrics

Old King Cole

Anonymous

“Old King Cole” as printed in A First Series of Hymns and Songs (1853).

Anonymous: Collected Lyrics Text 19 1853 · historical text
Public domainHymnSacred song
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from A First Series of Hymns and Songs, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

Old King Cole was a merry old soul,

And a merry old soul was he;

And he call'd for his pipe, and he call'd for his bowl,

And he called for his fiddlers three.

Ev'ry fiddler had a fine fiddle,

A very fine fiddle had he.

Then twee tweedle-dee, tweedle-dee, went the fiddler;

And so merry we'll all be.

Verse 2

Old King Cole was a merry old soul,

And a merry old soul was he;

He call'd for his pipe, and he call'd for his bowl,

And he call'd for his harpers three.

Ev'ry harper had a fine harp,

And a very fine harp had he.

Then twang, twanga-twang, twanga-twang, went the harper;

Twee, tweedle-dee, tweedle-dee, went the fiddler;

And so merry we'll all be.

Verse 3

Then too, tootle-too, tootle-too, went the piper;

Twang, twanga-twang, &c.

Twee, tweedle-dee, &c.

Verse 4

Then rub, rub-a-dub, rub-a-dub, went the drummer;

Too, tootle-too, &c.

Credits

Written by Anonymous

Words by Anonymous. Historical text published in A First Series of Hymns and Songs (1853); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

A First Series of Hymns and Songs (1853), “Old King Cole”

Every text in this 1853 collection is by Henry Formby (1816-1884), who died more than 140 years ago, so the text is in the public domain worldwide; the edition carries a Wikisource PD-old determination.

How to read this historical text and its source

Read the source on Wikisource

View copyright evidence · Transcription terms (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Retrieved 2026-10-26. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
Keep tracing

More from Anonymous: Collected Lyrics.

01Auld Rob Morris 1Public-domain lyrics02Comin' thro' the rye 1Public-domain lyrics03Comin' thro' the rye 2Public-domain lyrics04Ettrick BanksPublic-domain lyrics