One person is IT and stands in the middle of a circle of children who hold hands. Everyone sings:

The Farmer's in his den,
The Farmer's in his den,
E I de addy oh,
The Farmer's in his den.

The Farmer wants a wife,
The Farmer wants a wife,
E I de addy oh,
The Farmer wants a wife.

The Farmer chooses a wife to join him in the centre of the circle. They hold hands and circle round while the others sing:

The wife wants a child,
The wife wants a child,
E I de addy oh,
The wife wants a child.

The Farmer's wife chooses someone to stand in the centre. The farmer, wife and child hold hands and circle round while the others sing:

The child wants a nurse,
The child wants a nurse,
E I de addy oh,
The child wants a nurse.

The child chooses a nurse who joins the inside circle. As before, everyone sings:

The nurse wants a dog,
The nurse wants a dog,
E I de addy oh,
The nurse wants a dog.

A dog is chosen by the nurse and joins the others in the centre of the circle. Everyone sings and pats the dog on the head:

Everyone pat the dog,
Everyone pats the dog,
E I de addy oh,
Everyone pats the dog.

When the dog has been chosen and the final part of the song sung, the dog then becomes the farmer and the game starts again.