So, that nursery rhyme about Lizzie Borden is almost completely factually incorrect

There’s a nursery rhyme about Lizzie Borden, that people are suddenly being reminded of now that the season of Monster that tells her story has been released on Netflix. A part of the gruesome verse was used by Ryan Murphy in a teaser for the show. 

The show has focused on the macabre story of the American woman, who was accused of two grisly murders in August 1892. She was accused of killing her step mother, and her father. Despite later being acquitted, the dark rhyme names Lizzie Borden as the killer. 

Some say the rhyme came about around the time of the trial, others claim it didn’t come around at the same time as the murders, and it dates back to around the start of the 20th century. Either way, it’s like a trending TikTok audio, but the equivalent of that in the 1800s or 1900s. Yep, soundbites like this were around way before TikTok was!

It was apparently written by an anonymous writer, in a bid to sell newspapers. We’re still talking about it today, so if true, I think they can say they did their job well. 

via Netflix

What is the nursery rhyme about Lizzie Borden?

The first verse of the rhyme is quite widely known, and then the second verse is less so. The lyrics to the nursery rhyme in full are: 

“Lizzie Borden took an axe,
And gave her mother forty whacks.
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.

Most Read

Celebrities are calling out Ariana Grande’s team for ‘absolutely appalling’ petal music video

The internet never forgets: The biggest male celeb nude leaks ever, and how they responded

Love Island’s over, so here’s every 2026 couple’s relationship status and who’s already split

“Andrew Borden now is dead,
Lizzie hit him on the head.
Up in heaven he will sing,
on the gallows she will swing.”

Here’s how it’s (pretty much all) wrong

The rhyme isn’t even remotely accurate. Basically not a single thing it says is true to the story. 

Lizzie didn’t supposedly “whack” her mother, it was her stepmother. In reality, Lizzie’s stepmother Abby was struck around 18 times (not 40), and her father Andrew about 11 times (not 41). As well as this, the weapon was a hatchet – although, it was never actually found.

Finally, Lizzie Borden was acquitted for the murders, so it was never really proven that she did it. She certainly didn’t get sentenced to death afterwards. Nobody was ever found guilty for the murders. Theory goes, the rhyme might have been written before her trial ended, so we can maybe let them off for this one. 

The only accurate part about the rhyme is that Abby was attacked first, and then Andrew was. Also, it’s all just a bit bleak for a nursery rhyme, don’t you think?  

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news and drops, like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.