# Three Blind Mice

"Three Blind Mice" is an English round first published in 1609, which makes it one of the oldest printed songs children still sing; the tale that it hides a Tudor execution is unfounded.

## At a glance

| | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Sung in | English |
| Words by | Traditional |
| First known | 1609 |
| Best for ages | 2–7 |
| Mood | playful, traditional |
| Page | https://littlesongbook.com/songs/three-blind-mice/ |

## Lyrics

### Verse 1 (en)

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

## How to sing it

1. Learn the short tune first — it is built to be sung as a round.
2. Split into groups and start each one a line behind the last, so the parts overlap.
3. Run your fingers along in time with "see how they run" to keep everyone together.

## Common questions

**How old is "Three Blind Mice"?**

Very old. A version was printed in 1609, in Thomas Ravenscroft's music collection "Deuteromelia", which makes it one of the oldest printed songs still sung by children. The early words were a little different, mentioning a "Dame Julian" rather than the farmer's wife.

**Is it about Queen Mary I and three bishops?**

That is a popular theory — that the "three blind mice" are three Protestant bishops executed under Mary I. But it does not hold up: the bishops were burned, not blinded, the earliest version does not harm the mice at all, and the rhyme was printed long after Mary's reign.

**What is a round?**

A song where several groups sing the same tune starting at different times, so the parts overlap into harmony — like "Frère Jacques" or "Row, Row, Row Your Boat". "Three Blind Mice" was written as one.

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — Three Blind Mice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Blind_Mice)
- https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3525925