There Was an Old Woman and What Do You Think?
There was an old woman, and what do you think?
She lived upon nothing but victuals and drink;
Victuals and drink were the chief of her diet,
And yet this old woman could never be quiet.
Origin
In the grand tapestry of nursery rhymes, the shimmering thread of "There Was an Old Woman and What Do You Think?" is woven with a delicate and intriguing ambiguity. Its lineage, although somewhat obscured by the veils of time, traces back to the rich and fertile soil of traditional English folk rhymes.
Meaning
Peeling back the layers of this engrossing verse, we find ourselves in a realm of simple surface meaning. An elderly woman subsists on nothing more than victuals and drink – a reference to food and beverages that were typical sustenance in olden times. Yet, despite her comfortable means of sustenance, the woman's spirit remains restless, her heart continues to echo with unheard laments.
