It's Raining, It's Pouring

"It's raining, it's pouring, The old man is snoring..." This traditional nursery rhyme and children's song is a staple of rainy days. With its simple melody, often sung to the same tune as "A-Tisket, A-Tasket," the verse is easy for toddlers to memorize, though the story it tells is surprisingly dark.

Origins

The exact origin of the rhyme is not fully known, but the earliest fragments appeared in the United States. In 1909, the first two lines were printed in a short story by Edwina Stanton Babcock, and they later appeared in The Little Mother Goose collection in 1912. The complete version, including the lines about the old man bumping his head, was first captured in an audio recording in New York in 1939 by folklorist Herbert Halpert. That same year, composer Charles Ives notated the melody, and a version was formally copyrighted in 1944.

Meaning & Interpretation

On the surface, the rhyme is a simple rainy-day song with a surprisingly dark ending. Some modern commentators have compared the old man's story with a serious head injury, while others read it as a joke about heavy drinking. These are later interpretations, not evidence of what the rhyme originally meant.

Is the rhyme "It's Raining, It's Pouring" about a head injury?

Some people interpret it that way, but there is no evidence that the rhyme was written with that meaning. It is a modern reading rather than part of its documented history.

When was the first recording of the rhyme made?

The first audio recording of the rhyme was made in New York in 1939 by folklorist Herbert Halpert. This recording is preserved in the Library of Congress as a significant piece of American children's folklore.