"When I Was a Bachelor" is an English nursery rhyme.

Lyrics

One of the most commonly used modern versions of the rhyme is:

When I was a Bachelor

When I was a bachelor I lived by myself, And all the bread and cheese I got I laid upon the shelf; The rats and the mice, they made such a strife, I had to go to London to buy me a wife.

When I was a Bachelor

The streets were so bad and the lanes were so narrow, I was forced to bring my wife home in a wheelbarrow. The wheelbarrow broke and my wife had a fall; Down came wheelbarrow, little wife and all.

When I was a Bachelor

Notes

English nursery rhymes

English children's songs

English folk songs

Traditional children's songs

Year of song unknown

Songwriter unknown