Itsy Bitsy Spider
nursery rhyme
"The Itsy Bitsy Spider" (also known as "The Incey Wincey Spider" in Australia or "Incy Wincy Spider" in the United Kingdom, and other anglophone countries) is a popular nursery rhyme, folksong, and fingerplay that describes the adventures of a spider as it ascends, descends, and re-ascends the downspout or "waterspout" of a gutter system or open-air reservoir. It is usually accompanied by a sequence of gestures that mimic the words of the song. Its Roud Folk Song Index number is 11586.
Lyrics
A commonly used version uses these words and gestures:
Other versions exist.
History
The exact origin for the song "Itsy Bitsy Spider" is unknown. The song is sung by and for children in countless languages and cultures.
It is similar to the melodies (metric line) of the children's songs "Sweetly Sings the Donkey" in the United States, and "Auf der Mauer, auf der Lauer" (1890) ("On the wall, on the lurk"), "Ich bin ein kleiner Esel" ("I'm a little donkey", the German-language version of "Sweetly Sings the Donkey") and "Spannenlanger Hansel" (1838) (see: Hansel and Gretel) in German-speaking countries.
In 1910, the song was published in a book by Arthur Walbridge North (1874–1943), Camp and Camino in Lower California, a record of the adventures of the author while exploring peninsular California, Mexico, where it is referred to as (the classic) "Spider Song".
In 1912, a version reported to have been heard at an Indiana college commencement resembles the common modern version:
In 1948, one of the song's several modern versions appeared in Western Folklore, by the California Folklore Society (1948), and in Ruth Crawford Seeger's, American Folk Songs for Children (1948).
Score
Source
Legacy
The British broadcaster Wincey Willis (1948–2024) took her name from the nursery rhyme.
“Itsy Bitsy Spider” enters the record as nursery rhyme. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Itsy, Bitsy and Spider can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q759432. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1890, 1838, 1910 and 1874.
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This entry incorporates text from “Itsy Bitsy Spider” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.