Listen
Arrangement: Ian J. Watts / Mike Wilbury · Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks
Lyrics
There's a hole in my bucket,
Dear Liza, dear Liza,
There's a hole in my bucket,
Dear Liza, a hole.
Then mend it, dear Henry,
Dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then mend it, dear Henry,
Dear Henry, mend it.
With what shall I mend it,
Dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I mend it,
Dear Liza, with what?
With straw,
Dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With straw, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With straw.
The straw is too long,
Dear Liza, dear Liza,
The straw is too long,
Dear Liza, too long.
Then cut it,
Dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then cut it, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Cut it!
With what shall I cut it,
Dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I cut it,
Dear Liza, with what?
With a knife,
Dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With a knife, dear Henry, dear Henry,
A knife.
The knife is too dull,
Dear Liza, dear Liza,
The knife is too dull,
Dear Liza, too dull.
Then sharpen it,
Dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Sharpen it!
With what shall I sharpen it,
Dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I sharpen it,
Dear Liza, with what?
With a stone,
Dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With a stone, dear Henry, dear Henry,
A stone.
The stone is too dry,
Dear Liza, dear Liza,
The stone is too dry,
Dear Liza, too dry.
Then wet it,
Dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then wet it, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Wet it!
With what shall I wet it,
Dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I wet it,
Dear Liza, with what?
With water,
Dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With water, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With water.
But where shall I get it,
Dear Liza, dear Liza?
But where shall I get it,
Dear Liza, but where?
From the well,
Dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
From the well, dear Henry, dear Henry,
The well!
In what shall I carry it,
Dear Liza, dear Liza?
In what shall I carry it,
Dear Liza, in what?
In a bucket,
Dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
In a bucket, dear Henry, dear Henry,
The bucket!
But there's a hole in my bucket,
Dear Liza, dear Liza,
There's a hole in my bucket,
Dear Liza, a hole!
Traditional lyrics — public domain. Arrangement © Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks.
History & Background
History & Origin
"There's a Hole in My Bucket" is a comic dialogue song in which Henry and Liza work their way through an endlessly circular argument. Henry begins with a problem — a hole in his bucket — and Liza offers a solution at every turn. But each solution requires a tool or material that presents its own problem, and each of those problems requires another solution, until the chain leads inevitably back to the need for a bucket of water: and the bucket, of course, has a hole.
The song is one of the finest examples of circular logic in folk music. It has its origins in a German folk song, "Hampelmann," with a version appearing in print as early as 1700. The English version became widely known in the twentieth century, particularly after a famous comic recording by Harry Belafonte and Odetta in 1960.
What gives the song its lasting appeal is the dynamic between Henry and Liza: Henry helpless and slightly aggrieved, Liza practical and increasingly exasperated. The song can be performed with enormous comic effect, and this recording makes the most of that potential, giving both characters a clear voice and letting the circular logic build to its satisfying inevitable conclusion.
