On Top of Spaghetti Lyrics

Tom Glazer's 1963 children's parody of the American folk song 'On Top of Old Smoky.' It tells the absurd story of a meatball that rolls off a plate, escapes through the door, and grows into a meatball tree. The shaggy-dog structure makes it a favorite for older preschoolers and early elementary kids. Best for ages 5–10. The cause-and-effect chain (sneeze → meatball rolls → off the table → through the door → onto the floor → into the garden → grows a tree) is one of the cleanest examples of sequential storytelling in children's music — children grasp it quickly and love retelling it. For more silly story-songs, see [best funny and silly stories](/blog/best-funny-silly-stories).

On top of spaghetti,
All covered with cheese,
I lost my poor meatball,
When somebody sneezed.

It rolled off the table,
And onto the floor,
And then my poor meatball,
Rolled out of the door.

It rolled in the garden,
And under a bush,
And then my poor meatball,
Was nothing but mush.

The mush was as tasty,
As tasty could be,
And then the next summer,
It grew into a tree.

The tree was all covered,
All covered with moss,
And on it grew meatballs,
And tomato sauce.

So if you eat spaghetti,
All covered with cheese,
Hold on to your meatball,
Whenever you sneeze.