Playtime Nursery Rhyme

Once I Caught A Fish Alive

Leigha Marina Nursery Rhymes and Kids Songs, Vol. 2 • Track 25 • Album released October 28, 2022

Once I Caught A Fish Alive by Leigha Marina is a fun counting song about Bebo the penguin and Grandpa Penguin fishing on the ice. As little fish swim by, children count from 1 to 10. Bebo catches a fish, but it jumps out of his hand and splashes back into the water. When Grandpa Penguin asks why he let it go, Bebo says it bit his finger. Then Okee and Mia join them to fish too.

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🎵 Song Lyrics

One two three four five
Once I caught a fish alive
Six seven eight nine ten
Then I let it go again

Why did you let it go
Because it bit my finger so
Which finger did it bite
This little finger on my right

One two three four five
Six seven eight nine ten
Now we'll sing our song again
One two three four five
Once I caught a fish alive
Six seven eight nine ten
Then I let it go again

Why did you let it go
Because it bit my finger so
Which finger did it bite
This little finger on my right

One two three four five
Six seven eight nine ten
Now we'll sing our song again
One two three four five
Once I caught a fish alive
Six seven eight nine ten
Then I let it go again

Why did you let it go
Because it bit my finger so
Which finger did it bite
This little finger on my right
One two three four five
Six seven eight nine ten
Now our song is at the end

The Story Behind Once I Caught A Fish Alive

Once I Caught A Fish Alive is one of the oldest counting rhymes in English. It was first recorded around 1765 in a London book called Mother Goose's Melody, but back then it was not about a fish at all. In the first version, someone counts to ten after catching a hare, and then lets the hare go again. The fish version we sing today comes from rhymes collected in America in the 1880s. That is when the famous questions were added, asking why you let it go and which finger it bit.

Our Little Penguin Version

Leigha Marina's version first came out on YouTube on November 5, 2018, and later became track 25 on Vol. 2. It is a sunny day on the ice, with seagulls flying overhead the whole time. Bebo the penguin and Grandpa Penguin sit on a block of ice, fishing through a little hole with their fishing rods, while a small wooden boat rocks gently next to them.

Under the water, five little fish swim by one at a time as we count from 1 to 5. Then Bebo catches a fish and holds it up proudly. Back under the water, more fish appear for 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. Suddenly the fish jumps out of Bebo's hand and splashes back into the water, and Bebo looks very surprised. Grandpa asks why he let it go, and Bebo says it bit his finger. Near the end, Okee and Mia join them on the ice to fish too.

This song is a great counting game. Hold up one finger for each number, and when the song asks which finger the fish bit, wiggle the little finger on your right hand together.

Credits

Project Director

Dalibor Menićanin

Animation

Johnny Khoi Lé
Helen Lé

Music

K. Schumacher
A. Schumacher

Illustration & Graphic Design

Dalibor Menićanin
Sonam Singh