Three Little Fishies facts for kids

Three Little Fishies, also called "Three Little Fishes", is a fun song from 1939. Josephine Carringer and Bernice Idins wrote the words, and Saxie Dowell wrote the music.

The song tells a story about three young fish. Their mother tells them to stay safe in their meadow home. But the adventurous fish swim over a dam and out to the big, wide sea! There, they meet a shark. The little fish think it's a huge whale. They get scared and quickly swim back home to their safe meadow.

The song became very popular. Kay Kyser and His Band had a number one hit with it in the United States in 1939. Later, in 1949, British comedian Frankie Howerd released it in the UK. The song was even brought back in 2012 by Ray Stevens for a big collection of comedy music.

Other Popular Versions

Many other artists have recorded "Three Little Fishies" over the years. Here are some of them:

• In 1939, Nat Gonella and The Georgians made a recording. You can find it on an album called Children's Wartime Favourites.
• Spike Jones and his City Slickers recorded a version in 1953. It featured George Rock singing in a high, child-like voice.
• In 1961, Buzz Clifford released his version as a single. It reached number 102 on the Billboard pop music chart.
• The famous singing group The Andrews Sisters recorded the song in 1963 for their album “Greatest Hits Volume 2”.
• Jon Pertwee sang the song for a children's album called Children's Favourites in 1966.
• In 1980, the song appeared on The Muppet Show. A Muppet eel sang it with Muppet fish and a shark.
• The song was used in a 1981 episode of Three's Company. A funny misunderstanding happens when a character tries to remember the song's words.
• In 1982, Stephen Collins sang the song in an episode of Tales of the Gold Monkey. He sang it to keep spirits high during a storm.
• The characters Barney and Baby Bop sang the song with children in two episodes of Barney & Friends in the early 1990s.
• Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels used part of the song in their 1966 version of "Too Many Fish in the Sea".
• Ray Walston and the Do Re Mi Children's Chorus recorded a version in 1965.
• The song has also been recorded in other languages, like Dutch and Norwegian.
• The Kidsongs Kids sang this song on Kidsongs: Play Along Songs.
• In 1995, the song was performed in Mickey's Fun Songs: Beach Party at Walt Disney World.
• Canadian children's singers Sharon, Lois, and Bram recorded the song for their 1984 album "Mainly Mother Goose".