Courses
Courses for Kids
Free study material
Offline Centres
More
Store Icon
Store

Wheels on the Bus Lyrics for Kids

share icon
share icon

Introduction to the Kids' Rhymes

Poetry and literature are an essential part of society. Poetry is a crucial tool in every young reader's literary experience, from making reading joyful to comprehending the theme and character, poetry helps in developing a keen literary understanding.  Although getting kids interested in poems and stories might seem like a challenging task, it can be achieved. Introduction to poems, short stories, and nursery rhymes are great ways to get kids curious about literature. Nursery rhymes like “Wheels on the Bus” lyrics are simple and can be explained easily while also continuously catching the attention of the kids.


Reading poems for kids and allowing kids to recite them help not only in widening the kids' vocabulary but also in the overall development of kids. Poems targeted at kids are often short but have very critical literary elements like character, moral message, structure, and vocabulary, the same can be said about the “Wheels on the Bus” lyrics. Poems are fun to read and are engaging activities, it can help kids to generate their interest in literature even at an early age. In this article, we provide “Wheels on the Bus” lyrics, along with the summary and history of the poem. 


Synopsis of the Poem

The “Wheels on the Bus” is a short poem, with a lyrical repetition. The poem is well structured, it is based on the everyday occurrences that can be seen in the events. The rhythm of the poem is based on a poem named “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush”. One of the best literary features is the rhythmic repetition, it is the use of this repetition that makes the poem cheerful and easy to understand.


The poem begins with the description of how the wheels of the bus move throughout the day to help people reach their destination. In the first verse, the moving of the bus wheels is represented by the word round and round. It then explains the observation of a kid on the bus, who narrates the swish-swish sound produced by the wipers of the bus. The poem later describes people getting on and off the bus as they reach their destination. In the poem, this is observed as a repetitive phenomenon by the kids. The rhyme ends with a kid observing how a baby starts to cry and the parents try to console their little kid. 


The “Wheels on the Bus” lyrics are simple yet captivating. It creates a cheerful environment. It successfully depicts the joy of simple things like bus trips as kids love the experience of riding the bus.


Kids Enjoying the Bus Ride

Kids Enjoying the Bus Ride


Theme of The Rhyme

The theme of the nursery rhyme Wheels on the bus is quite simple yet fun and engaging, as it describes a bus journey, in which children observe the little things that take place on the way. It simply gives the message of a good experience on the bus. It surrounds the jovial and cheerful experience that a kid has while being amongst their friends,in that fulfilling environment just being children. Along with the cheerful moments it also describes the observations of the kids that they make.


About the Rhyme

Let us first read the wheels on the bus lyrics in the song. Here are the popular lyrics of the rhyme that are used across the globe:


The wheels on the bus go round and round

Round and round, round and round

The wheels on the bus go round and round

All through the town


The wipers on the bus go “Swish, swish, swish,

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish”

The wipers on the bus go “Swish, swish, swish”

All through the town.


The horn on the bus go “Beep, beep, beep

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep”

The horn on the bus go “Beep, beep, beep”

All through the town.


The baby on the bus goes, “wah, wah, wah!

wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah!”

The baby on the bus goes, “wah, wah, wah!”

All through the town.


The mummy on the bus go, “ssshhh,ssshhh,ssshhh”

”Ssshhh, ssshhh, ssshhh

The mummy on the bus go, “ssshhh,ssshhh,ssshhh”

All through the town.


The people on the bus go, “chat, chat, chat,

cha, chat, chat, chat, chat, chat

The people on the bus go, “, chat, chat, chat

All through the town.


The wheels on the bus go round and round

Round and round, round and round

The wheels on the bus go round and round

All through the town.


Wheels on the Bus Picture


Wheels on the Bus Picture

History of the Rhyme

The nursery rhymes the wheels on the bus is a popular and traditional American folk song. This song was first written back in the 1930s, by Verna Hills, in Boston, MA.


Back when school buses were new to everyone, the bus rides used to be silent and less entertaining for the kids. This gave rise to the creation of this rhyme. As the verses included many features that can be seen in the bus, the rhyme got very popular among the kids.


Alternative Options for the Rhyme

Just like all the rhymes, this one also follows a pattern. All the verses in the rhyme follow the same template, which can be seen if you compare the verses. There are a lot of alternatives that can be used in the rhyme. 

These are the following alternatives that can be used:


The people on the bus say, “We had a nice ride”

The lady on the bus says, “Get off my feet”

Librarians on the Bus go shh, shh, shh,

The bell on the bus goes ding-ding-ding.

The doors on the bus go open and shut.


Summary

The Wheels on the Bus rhyme is a great rhyme for children to sing. All the rhymes that we hear are created to teach kids new and interesting lessons. The rhyme on the wheels on the bus lyrics help kids to understand things around them in an innovative way.


If taught interactively, children can benefit from such rhymes as they learn. This rhyme is also available in video form for kids as cocomelon wheels on the bus.

Want to read offline? download full PDF here
Download full PDF
Is this page helpful?
like-imagedislike-image
Courses for kids
icon
English Superstar
Grade LKG - 2
icon
Maths Classes
Grade 1 - 2
icon
Spoken English
Grade 3 - 5

FAQs on Wheels on the Bus Lyrics for Kids

1. Why poems and rhymes are taught to kids.

Reciting poems and rhymes are great ways to introduce kids to literature. One of the major academic benefits of reading poems is the widening of kids' vocabulary; as kids read new poems and stories, they come across various new words which can be easily remembered. Reading poems or any form of literature also plays an important role in the development of the child as the poems and stories have characters that have inherent qualities that can be learnt. Also, kids’ literature consists of moral lessons that can be taught to kids. Reading literature can help children to develop emotional intelligence.

2. What are some activities that can be done while reciting the “Wheels on the Bus” poem?

The “Wheels on the Bus” lyrics are simple and depict various actions; hence, there are some fun activities that can be done. One such activity is practising dance for the rhyme; as the poem has a great rhythm, kids can enjoy practising dance. Kids can also depict the various actions of the poem in a small play. Although there are various activities, reciting the poem on a bus trip is also a fun way to teach kids about the rhyme.

3.  What are some other rhymes like ‘The Wheels on the Bus’?

This rhyme can be sung with alternate lyrics that are mentioned above in this article. If the kids wish to listen to a rhyme with a similar tune, they can check “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush”. This rhyme shares a similar tune.