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"Itsy Bitsy Spider" (also known as "Incy Wincy Spider" and several other similar-sounding names) is a popular nursery rhyme and fingerplay that describes the adventures of a spider as it ascends, descends, and reascends the downspout or "waterspout" of a gutter system (or, alternatively, the spout of a teapot or open-air reservoir). It is usually accompanied by a sequence of gestures that mimic the words of the song. Its Roud Folk Song Index number is 11586.
Contents
Lyrics
A commonly used version uses these words and gestures:
Other versions exist.
Origins
The song can be found in publications including an alternative version in the book, Camp and Camino in Lower California (1910), where it was referred to as [the classic] "Spider Song". It appears to be a different version of this song using “blooming, bloody” instead of just "itsy bitsy". It was later published in one of its several modern versions in Western Folklore, by the California Folklore Society (1948), Mike and Peggy Seeger's, American Folk Songs for Children (1948). In 2013 Maziar Bahari's company Off-Centre Productions created an animated version of the song featuring an animated mouse character called "Journo".
Lyrics as described in 1910, as being from the 'classic' "Spider Song":
The song is sung by and for children in countless languages and cultures. In Germany the melody is used for the song "Spannenlanger Hansel".
Recordings
The popular nursery rhyme has been covered and sampled a number of times. Bart Simpson sang the rhyme in the tenth episode of season four of The Simpsons, "Lisa's First Word". It was featured in the children's program Dora the Explorer and in the South Park episode "Something You Can Do with Your Finger". A child singing the rhyme twice can be heard in the opening of the Criminal Minds episode, "Gatekeeper".