There's a Hole in My Bucket

Not to be confused with My Bucket's Got a Hole in It.

"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 describes a deadlock situation: 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 only the leaky bucket is available, 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 mend it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
        Oh mend it, dear Henry, dear Henry, mend it.
 
With what shall I mend it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I mend it, dear Liza, with what?

        Try straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
        With straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, with straw.

But the straw is too long, dear Liza, dear Liza,
The straw is too long, dear Liza, too long.

        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 ax, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
        With an ax, dear Henry, dear Henry, an ax.

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

        Sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
        Oh sharpen it, dear Henry, dear Henry, hone it.

With what shall I sharpen it, dear Liza, dear Liza?
With what shall I sharpen it, dear Liza, with what?

        With 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.

        Then wet it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
        Then 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?

        With water, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
        With water, dear Henry, dear Henry, use water.

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

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

But 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). It is set as a dialogue between a woman named Liese, and an unnamed 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 de and de 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 with meter closer to the modern English version and beginning thus:

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 1953, Flanders and Swann wrote a parody named "There's a Hole in My Budget" satirising the British budget deficit, substituting the Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Chancellor Rab Butler for Henry and Liza, respectively. They rerecorded it in 1974, updating the characters to Harold Wilson and Denis Healey.

Czech version

Czech lyrics were written by M. Bukovič, who stayed true to the English lyrics of the song and only translated it while keeping the rhyme. It was first sung by the band Fešáci in 1977 by their front man Michal Tučný.

External links

• Folk Music Index – His to Hol
• Wenn der Pott aber nu en Loch hat / There's a hole in the bucket, ingeb.org
• Kabaret U dobré pohody, 1978, youtube.com