64 Responses to “Spring has sprung, the grass has riz”

1. John Bailey says:

   16 March , 2009 at 15:38

   Who wrote this little “Ode” and when?. My father used to say it (with glee) when I was little.(In Harrogate, Yorkshire). This morning (in sunny Texas) I remembered it and am trying to find out on the internet. Thank you

2. John Bailey says:

   16 March , 2009 at 15:39

   Thanks

3. richardderwentcooke says:

   16 March , 2009 at 17:13

   I don’t know John but I’ll try ot find out and post here if I do 🙂
   I’ve been aware of it for at least 40+ years I suspect it might Ogden Nash…

4. richardderwentcooke says:

   16 March , 2009 at 17:16

   Try this http://www.nanascorner.com/2008/05/02/spring-has-sprung/, but there are othes who say this might have been Spike Milligans variation of the poem. (Did you know he once gave us a kitten??)

5. Jerome says:

   27 August , 2009 at 21:47

   Wikipedia discounts Nash and ee cummings, but I have a different quest. I had a poetry book as a kid in the early 60s, and my recollection has the poem this way:

   Spring has sprung, the grass is riz,
   I wonder where the flowers is?

   Spring has spring, fall has fell,
   winter’s here, and it’s cold as heck.

   If there are other stanzas, I can’t remember them. Not a clue who the original poem is attributed to. Could it have been Ezra Pound?

6. richardderwentcooke says:

   28 August , 2009 at 11:42

   It is amazing the emotional resonance this little rhythm has. It is one of the most read blogs I have written! I just remember it from my childhood, and have no idea where I heard it first, it was just one of those things you learnt in the playground

   rdc

7. Simon Collingridge says:

   2 March , 2010 at 12:39

   My dad used to say this every year when I was a kid – over 30 years ago, in Somerset.

   It is a much travelled little ode.

8. richardderwentcooke says:

   2 March , 2010 at 14:26

   Indeed it is Simon, and based on my blog stats much searched for too!

9. John Bailey says:

   2 March , 2010 at 14:33

   It seems that it has been a year since I asked this question. (March 16, 2009 above). Here we are again, but this year Springs springs seem to have broken, it is still stirring in the underground and has not yet sprung forth. (At least in Texas). Thanks to all who have contributed. It seems that many dads used to say it all the time. I wonder if they knew where it came from?

10. richardderwentcooke says:

    2 March , 2010 at 14:37

    John, welcome back! In England it is a beautiful, spring-like day; we’ve just been for a walk in the woods and it was lovely…

11. Phil Swampy says:

    2 March , 2010 at 15:54

    Well John, here in Wales all Welshmen/women believe that 1st March (St David’s Day) is the start of Spring. The weather here yesterday and today coupled with the show of daffodils makes you think of this poem more and more. A certain priest (Richard Mckenna) used to regularly use the lines in his sermons.

    Phil

12. richardderwentcooke says:

    2 March , 2010 at 16:36

    Thanks Phil….

13. Mary says:

    4 March , 2010 at 21:51

    Yes I remember writing it in a poetry book in 7th grade, and it was Ogden Nash

14. richardderwentcooke says:

    5 March , 2010 at 07:04

    Mary, I had heard that but apparently Wikipedia says otherwise….

15. Karen says:

    15 March , 2010 at 16:08

    My mother used to say this one as well, approximately 40-45 years ago. (USA) It came to my mind this morning and I, too, am looking for the origin. Seems that no one knows for sure? It appears to be of universal knowledge. One would think if it was truly Ogden Nash, it would be published somewhere?

16. Calli Stephens says:

    11 April , 2010 at 17:30

    I always heard it this way…….

    Spring has sprung, the grass is riz,
    I wonder where the posies is?

    I am 68 years old and my mother used to say it every spring.

17. richardderwentcooke says:

    11 April , 2010 at 17:48

    thanks Calli, it seems to live on and on… you’ll no doubt say it to your kids too

18. Jennifer says:

    12 April , 2010 at 22:55

    My Dad sang this to me every spring when I was little, and today he’s ill and I sang it to him. OUr version is:

    Spring has sprung, the grass has riz
    I wonder where the birdie (pronounced boidie) is?
    Some say the (boidie’s) on the wing
    But I say that’s absurd!
    Because every little girlie knows
    The wing is on the bird!

19. richardderwentcooke says:

    13 April , 2010 at 09:43

    Thanks Jennifer, This really seems to evoke a universal response

20. SueKerr says:

    3 August , 2010 at 10:05

    I’m 54yrs old and my Dad & I have said this poem to each other every first day of spring as long as I can remember. He turns 80 this year and I look forward to our poem.

21. richardderwentcooke says:

    3 August , 2010 at 13:18

    I amazed at the power and richness of tradition that lurks beneath this simple little rhyme… thanks for sharing Sue

22. SueKerr says:

    4 August , 2010 at 03:47

    Further to my blog yesterday, we made it into a competition, who delivered the spring message first won. We both got really inventive. One year,1st of Sept, each time I turned my pc on, the spring has sprung message would come up. Another, I painted it onto a coffee mug and Mum had to give it to him first thing in the morning. I love him to bits and enjoy our little contest. I’m going to email him this link on 1st Sept. Think I win this year Dad? xx

23. richardderwentcooke says:

    4 August , 2010 at 08:27

    Sue thanks for sharing a little slice of your family’s traditions with us. They are precious, as I know very well.

24. John Bailey says:

    4 August , 2010 at 14:28

    Why September 1st? Are you in Australia or South Africa?? I first started this string in March because that was the start of my spring.
    Thanks

25. richardderwentcooke says:

    4 August , 2010 at 14:33

    John, I believe Sue is from the land of Aus’

26. SueKerr says:

    5 August , 2010 at 04:21

    Yes guys. Adelaide, South Australia. Amazing that this little poem seems world wide.

27. Stuart Kerr says:

    31 August , 2010 at 11:02

    I am Sue’s father and always look forward spring.

28. Kara says:

    26 September , 2010 at 16:01

    I’m happily surprised to see that so many share similar memories/experiences regarding this little poem. My dad also recited this poem to me nearly every spring and summer while growing up in Michigan. His version is slightly different and a little tongue in cheek:
    “Spring has sprung
    Fall has fell
    And now that it’s summer
    It’s hotter than…..It usually is!”

29. richardderwentcooke says:

    26 September , 2010 at 18:42

    Thanks Kara for this variation on this amazingly evocative little ditty

30. John Bailey says:

    3 November , 2010 at 17:08

    This last bit is interesting, because Dad used to use the word “ummer”. As in “There will be ummer to pop”. This meant that there will be “hell to pay”. Ummer rhymes with summer, as well as in its more usual form it rhymes with “fell”. Does anyone know the origins of “ummer”

31. Dolores Lynn says:

    5 March , 2011 at 18:02

    I recited this in junior high school in Iowa in English class and the version we learned went… (Brooklyn accent required)
    Spring has sprung
    The grass is riz
    I wonder where them birdies is
    There they is, sittin on the curbin
    Burpin and churpin and eaten their worms

32. richardderwentcooke says:

    5 March , 2011 at 18:05

    Thanks Dolores… I did fine with the accent but lost it for the last two lines 🙁

33. Dolores Lynn says:

    7 March , 2011 at 11:59

    Your response made me chuckle…. we were not allowed to lose it for the last two lines!
    There they is, sittin on the coibin
    Boipin and choipin and eaten their woims!
    (I failed to mention that this particular English class exercise took place in the early 1970’s)

34. richardderwentcooke says:

    7 March , 2011 at 13:01

    Dolores… just found my Brooklyn translation module
    Lovely.. thanks 🙂

35. John Bailey says:

    7 March , 2011 at 16:53

    It must be spring again. It seems that every year we have new input. I think that this ditty is in the genes, and it is passed down the generations, and perhaps no-one really wrote it. If it is this global in the English speaking world one might be excused for thinking that it must have started in England. I wonder if there are any non-english versions in the rest of the world. I know there are not in French or Italian.

36. John Bailey says:

    7 March , 2011 at 17:49

    If there are any foreign translations, they might state the source of the original as well as the name of the translator.

37. Bruce R. Davis says:

    21 March , 2011 at 08:49

    When I recalled this poem today, somehow entertainer Red Skelton came to mind.

38. Barbara says:

    22 March , 2011 at 23:25

    That combines two poems I recall my dad reciting some 50-odd years ago, the “Spring has sprung” part being separate from the “choipin’ and boipin” part, which I recall like this: “T’ree doity blackboids, at Toity-toid ‘n’ Toid, choipin and boipin and eatin woims.” (That’s “33rd and 3rd.”) I could never recall the rest. Red Skelton seems likely to me, as he was my dad’s absolute favorite comic, and my dad would imitate him, rubber faces and all, probably every day when we were kids!

39. catherine moore says:

    14 May , 2011 at 12:37

    HI there,

    I am 47 and my dad is now 83. I can remember him saying this poem to me when I was little, pretty much as you have it above. My 6 year old son has to do a spring poem for his karate class and I immediatly thought of this poem ( I recite it frequently in spring) and I looked it up on the internet and found this interesting blog.
    How wonderful that a beautiful little poem about spring, sticks out in so many minds, and that so many relate it to an elder loved one telling it to them. This brings a loving tear to my eye.

40. richardderwentcooke says:

    14 May , 2011 at 12:42

    Catherine,
    Thank you for contributing and I too am touched and amazed that this little blog has attracted such emotion and memories. It is obviously a powerful emotional anchor for childhood memories for many people. Maybe in about 30 years time he will be repeating it to his son…. and so it travels on

41. John Bailey says:

    15 May , 2011 at 00:20

    I am convinced that this is something that has been around since Victorian Times. As I mentioned way back at the start of this, my dad used to say it in the mid 40,s. But also, my great aunts who had been around since the 1880’s also were very familiar with it. Richard and all the other great contributors, thanks for all this follow thru, it has been great, and I am sure it will continue into the future, probably forever, since all English Speaking Countries seem to know it. (again-“in their genes”?)

42. richardderwentcooke says:

    15 May , 2011 at 09:23

    Thanks John. Oddly, I asked my daughter if she had heard this yesterday and she hadn’t and didn’t seem taken by its charms….

43. Lisa says:

    29 June , 2011 at 03:09

    My Dad used to recite this when I was young as well. [Also the one about 2 Dead Boys got up to fight]. Dad is gone now and I am creating a family book about him for each of my children. I’ve included so many things that he loved and I wanted to include this poem as well. It really is wonderful to read that others also share such warm memories with a loved one from their youth.

44. richardderwentcooke says:

    29 June , 2011 at 14:58

    Lisa, It is lovely to see how powerfully resonant this simple, silly ditty is for so many people

45. Jim says:

    1 September , 2011 at 13:43

    Spring has sprung, the grass has ris’,
    I wonder where the birdie is?

    There he is up in the sky,
    He dropped some whitewash in my eye!

    I‘m alright, I won’t cry,
    I’m just glad that cows can’t fly!

46. barb says:

    4 September , 2011 at 06:06

    Wow – I have only ever known the first two lines – I’m in my 60s and my mum used to say it every spring – but only the first two lines@!
    thanks guys

47. Dorna Isaacs says:

    1 October , 2011 at 01:45

    The only version I have ever known:

    Spring has sprung
    The grass has ris
    The leaves have grown upon the tris
    The lake is thawed where it was friz
    I wonder where the flowers is.

48. richardderwentcooke says:

    1 October , 2011 at 06:59

    Heavens be praised.. another version!

    Thank you

49. Mary says:

    4 October , 2011 at 01:19

    I’ve always heard this as two separate poems:

    The poets sing concerning spring,
    and say the bird is on the wing,
    upon my word, that is absurd,
    because the wing is on the bird!

    And:

    Spring has sprung,
    the grass is riz,
    I wonder where the flowers is!

    My grandpa used to recite them to me all the time,a long with this one:

    Don’t worry if your job is small,
    and your rewards are few,
    Remember that the mighty oak
    was once a nut like you.

    I thought at one point that they were written by Edward Lear, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.

50. richardderwentcooke says:

    4 October , 2011 at 08:18

    We are becoming a worldwide resource for this topic now!!