Simple Simon

Simple Simon met a pieman
Going to the fair.
Said Simple Simon to the pieman,
"Let me taste your ware."

Said the pieman to Simple Simon,
"Show me first your penny."
Said Simple Simon to the pieman,
"Indeed I have not any!"

Simple Simon went a-fishing
For to catch a whale.
All the water he had got
Was in his mother's pail.

Dating back to roughly 1764 in England, Simple Simon is one of the oldest recorded nursery rhymes still sung today, built around a comic exchange between Simon and a pieman. It suits children ages 2-6, whose growing sense of humor makes the rhyme's gentle silliness especially appealing. The call-and-response structure between the two characters gives toddlers an early model of conversational turn-taking, something early-childhood educators often lean on when introducing dialogue in stories and songs. Its bouncy meter also makes it a natural fit for clapping or bouncing games, reinforcing rhythm alongside language. Because the rhyme has survived for over 250 years largely unchanged, it offers a small window into the everyday marketplace scenes of 18th-century England, with a pieman and a fair standing in for ordinary commerce of the time. Parents looking for more classic verses worth adding to a child's repertoire can explore the top nursery rhymes every child should know.

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