"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 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. 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. Notes English nursery rhymes English children's songs English folk songs Traditional children's songs Year of song unknown Songwriter unknown