Story Song · Lullaby · Grades PreK–1
Fiddle Dee Dee lyrics — all 7 verses — and a complete teaching guide for PreK through 1st grade. Draw the fly and bumblebee's wedding on the board as you sing. A wonderful Valentine's Day song, a gentle lullaby, and a rare example of a multi-verse story song for the youngest students.
All 7 verses · with chorus
The chorus repeats between every verse — have children join in on "Fiddle dee dee" while you sing the story verses. Keep the lyrics nearby while you draw; it can be hard to remember which verse comes next!
The drawing activity
Use black and yellow dry-erase markers — or dry-erase crayons, which have a better yellow and no odor. Draw each new element as its verse arrives. Don't worry about your drawing skills — sometimes the worse the picture, the funnier it is.
About this song
Fiddle Dee Dee provides something genuinely rare in the PreK–1 repertoire: a multi-verse story song with a complete narrative arc. Most songs for this age group are short — 2 or 4 phrases, repeated. Fiddle Dee Dee tells a whole story: the proposal, the answer, the wedding, the cake, the dancing, the homecoming. That arc gives young students an experience of musical form that short songs simply can't provide.
The drawing activity is what makes it work for the youngest students. The board becomes a storybook built in real time — each verse adds a new illustration, and children watch the wedding scene accumulate across the song. The drawing also solves the engagement problem: even children who aren't yet singing are watching intently, waiting to see what gets added next.
"Don't worry if your drawing skills aren't strong — sometimes the worse the picture is, the funnier it is and the more kids love it. They especially love if you name the result. You may be trying to draw a cat, but end up with something more like a 'dog-mouse.'"
— Deborah Skydell Pasternack, The Singing ClassroomThe song has two natural seasonal applications. As a Valentine's Day song, the wedding story is perfectly timed — and the whimsical insect romance is age-appropriate for the youngest students without being saccharine. As a lullaby, the melody is gentle enough to use for a calming transition at the end of class.
The chorus structure — "Fiddle dee dee, fiddle dee dee, the fly has married the bumblebee" — gives students immediate participation. They can join in on the chorus from the very first hearing while you carry the story verses.
Teaching guide
Have black and yellow dry-erase markers or crayons ready. Keep the full lyrics visible to yourself — the verse order is easy to lose track of while you're drawing and singing simultaneously. There's no shame in a lyric sheet when you're illustrating a wedding at the same time.
Before you start drawing, teach the chorus: "Fiddle dee dee, fiddle dee dee, the fly has married the bumblebee." Students only need this phrase to participate fully — they sing it every time it returns while you carry the story verses. Two or three repetitions and they have it.
Start drawing as you sing. Add each new character and scene with the verse that introduces it. Invite children to suggest wedding guests — other bugs, classroom puppets, animals, even their teachers. Draw whatever they suggest, however badly, and name the result if it doesn't quite resemble what you intended.
For Valentine's Day, the wedding theme is a natural fit — whimsical and age-appropriate for PreK and K. As a lullaby or end-of-class song, sing it more slowly and gently; the melody supports both uses. The drawing can stay on the board as a classroom decoration.
Common questions
The chorus — "Fiddle dee dee, fiddle dee dee, the fly has married the bumblebee" — repeats between every verse. The 6 story verses cover: the fly proposing ("Will you marry me, sweet bumblebee?"), the bee accepting ("I'll live under your wing, and you'll never know I carry a sting"), the wedding beginning with everyone having fun, the cake made by the spider and flea, the dancing and bell-ringing, and finally the fly and bee going home and leaving the party behind.
You only need black and yellow — black for outlines and details, yellow for the bumblebee's stripes. Yellow dry-erase markers are hard to find in standard packaged sets. Dry-erase crayons are a better option: less expensive, better yellow color, and no odor. They take slightly more effort to erase than liquid markers, but are worth it. If you have an interactive whiteboard, all of this is handled digitally.
Yes — it's one of the better Valentine's Day songs for PreK and K precisely because the romance is whimsical rather than sentimental. A fly proposing to a bumblebee, a spider and flea baking the cake, bells ringing — the whole thing is gently absurd in a way that delights young students without feeling forced or age-inappropriate. It also has enough verses to fill a meaningful portion of class time, unlike many short holiday songs.
Most songs for PreK and K are 2–4 phrases long, which is appropriate for the age but means students rarely experience a complete musical narrative. Fiddle Dee Dee tells a full story — beginning, middle, and end — across 7 verses. That experience of musical form (verse, chorus, verse, chorus) and narrative arc is genuinely different from what short songs provide. The drawing activity makes the length manageable by giving students something to watch and respond to throughout.
More story songs & drawing songs
Nine verses, song card partner game, rhyming pairs. Another multi-verse story song for the same age range.
See teaching guide →Draw Ebeneezer on the board while you sing. Major scale, melodic contour, hula hoops. A natural companion to Fiddle Dee Dee.
See teaching guide →Story song with 10 dramatic roles, motions, and unpitched percussion. Same age range, same narrative energy.
See teaching guide →The real problem
Every teacher knows this feeling. You find a song, try it on Monday, and something goes sideways — the kids don't engage, you're not sure how to introduce it, the lesson loses momentum. It's not that the song was wrong. You just didn't have a clear picture of how it actually goes.
That's what makes The Singing Classroom different. Every song in the library — including this one — has a full video of Deborah teaching it with real students. You don't have to guess how to introduce it, how to structure the activity, or how to handle the tricky moments. You watch it. Then you teach it.
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