There's a Hole in My Bucket

"There's a Hole in My Bucket" (or "...in the Bucket") is a children's song, along the same lines as "Found a Peanut". The song is based on a dialogue about a leaky bucket between two characters, called Henry and Liza. The song incorporates an infinite-loop motif: Henry has got a leaky bucket, and Liza tells him to repair it. But to fix the leaky bucket, he needs straw. To cut the straw, he needs an axe. To sharpen the axe, he needs to wet the sharpening stone. To wet the stone, he needs water. However, when Henry asks how to get the water, Liza's answer is "in a bucket". It is implied that one bucket is available — the leaky one, which, if it could carry water, would not need repairing in the first place.

Lyrics

There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza,

There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, a hole.

Then fix it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,

Then fix it, dear Henry, dear Henry, fix it.

With what shall I fix it, dear Liza, dear Liza?

With what shall I fix 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 an axe, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,

With an axe, dear Henry, dear Henry, with an axe.

The axe is too dull, dear Liza, dear Liza,

The axe is too dull, dear Liza, too dull.

Then sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,

Then sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, hone it.

On what shall I sharpen it, dear Liza, dear Liza?

On what shall I sharpen it, dear Liza, on what?

On 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.

Well wet it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,

Well 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?

try water, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,

try water, dear Henry, dear Henry, water.

In what shall I fetch it, dear Liza, dear Liza?

In what shall I fetch it, dear Liza, in what?

In a bucket, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,

In a bucket, dear Henry, dear Henry, bucket.

There's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza,

There's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, a hole.

Origins and development

The earliest known archetype of this song seems to be in the German collection of songs Bergliederbüchlein (c 1700).^[1] It is set as a dialogue between a woman named Liese, and an un-named man.

Wenn der Beltz em Loch hat - stop es zu meine liebe Liese Womit soll ich es zustopfen - mit Stroh, meine liebe Liese

When the jug has a hole - stop it up my dear Liese With what shall I stop it - with straw my dear Liese

In later German sources the song is reproduced under the title of Heinrich und Liese and credited as a folk song from Hesse. In the 19th century it was sung as a commercium song and printed in the 1858 Kommersbuch. The renowned song collection Deutscher Liederhort (3 volumes, 1856–1894) edited by Ludwig Erk and Franz Magnus Böhme includes the song, relating it also to the Flemish song Mooy Bernardyn ("Wat doet gy in het groene veld ?"). The German song became even more widespread when it was included in the famous Wandervogel songbook Der Zupfgeigenhansl in 1909.

In George Korson's "Pennsylvania Songs and Legends" (1949) there is a song

Wann der Tschock awer en Loch hot Liewer Georgie Liewer Georgie, Wann der Tschock a wer en Loch hot? Dummer Ding, dann schtopp'n zu!

When the jug has a hole Dear Georgie, dear Georgie When the jug has a hole Stupid thing, then stop it up!

This was collected in 1940, and is earlier than any known English-language version. This suggests that it might be a traditional "Pennsylvania Dutch" (i.e. German) song. Ed McCurdy recorded it in 1958 on "Children's Songs". Harry Belafonte recorded it with Odetta in 1960. It was in the UK charts in 1961. In his book "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" (1993), Pete Seeger refers to it as an originally German song, "Lieber Heinrich". "Songs Along the Mahantongo: Pennsylvania Dutch Folksongs" (1951), by Boyer, Buffington, & Yoder, has a version

Was soll ich koche, liewer Hei, Liewer Heinrich, liewer Heinrich? Was soll ich koche, liewer Heinrich, Was Dann?

What should I cook, dear Henry, Dear Henry, dear Henry? What should I cook, dear Henry, Tell me what. (literally: What then?)

These German-American versions all have Henry as the stupid questioner, and Lisa as the common-sense woman.

In popular culture

The song in its best-known form is referenced as far back as 1949 in W. V. Awdry's story "Thomas Goes Fishing", from the book Tank Engine Thomas Again. When Thomas and his crew stop at a river bridge to fill his tank with water (the tank at the station being out of order) they are having to do so with a leaky bucket. The fireman begins to sing the song but is interrupted by the driver who urges him to forget about Liza and empty the bucket before any water is spilled over him.

Burl Ives recorded it in 1959 with the title "There's A Hole In My Bucket".

In 1961 a popular version of the song was recorded by Harry Belafonte and Odetta. They reached #32 in the UK Singles Chart.^[2]

In 1961 the Israeli artists Yosi Banai and Yona Atari (sister of Shosh and Gali Atari) has recorded it in Hebrew.

Sesame Street incorporated the song as a comedic skit in the 1970s, with Henry and Liza portrayed by Muppets, except instead of straw, Liza prescribes fixing the hole in the bucket "with a stick".

Billy Joel incorporated some of the song's tune into his song "Two Thousand Years".

The Dutch artist Tom Manders (Dorus) has recorded it in Dutch with the title "Er zit een gat in m'n emmer".

There is a children's book called "This is My Bucket" ^[3] based upon this song. The song also has a version where the man is named will you sillyhttp://www.kidsongs.com/lyrics/there-s-a-hole-in-my-bucket.html

The song is featured in Carly Rae Jepsen's song, "Bucket", from 2008.

Michael Franti and Spearhead incorporated the opening lines into the chorus of their 1994 single "Hole in the Bucket".

References

1. ^ "Hole in the Bucket". KidsMusicClub.com. Maremel Media, LLC. 2008. http://www.kidsmusicclub.com/lyrics/holebucket.html. Retrieved 8 January 2010. 
2. ^ Chartstats.com - Harry Belafonte and Odetta
3. ^ [1]

External links

• Mudcat discussion
• Liewer Heinrich
• Folk Music Index - His to Hol