There's a Hole in My Bucket

Various versions exist but they differ only slightly, all describing a "deadlock" situation essentially as follows: Henry's bucket leaks, so Liza tells him to repair it.

[6] Wenn der Beltz em Loch hat – stop es zu meine liebe Liese Womit soll ich es zustopfen – mit Stroh, meine liebe Liese.

In the 19th century it was sung as a commercium song and printed in the 1858 Allgemeines Deutsches Kommersbuch.

The German song became even more widespread when it was included in the Wandervogel songbook Der Zupfgeigenhansl in 1909.

In George Korson's Pennsylvania Songs and Legends (1949) there is a song with meter closer to the modern English version and beginning thus: Wann der Tschock awer en Loch hot Liewer Georgie Liewer Georgie, Wann der Tschock a wer en Loch hot?

An English version of the song existed by 1937, when it was quoted in the novel Starting Point by Cecil Day-Lewis.

[9] In 1953, Flanders and Swann wrote a parody named "There's a Hole in My Budget" satirising the British budget deficit, substituting the Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Chancellor Rab Butler for Henry and Liza, respectively.

[10] A Hebrew version (יש חור בדלי / "There is a hole in the bucket") was written by Israeli songwriter Dan Almagor and was recorded in 1961, sung by Yossi Banai and Yona Atari.

[12] It was also performed by Jim Henson as Henry and Rita Moreno as Liza for a 1976 episode of Sesame Street.

It was first sung by the band Fešáci [cs] in 1977 by their front man Michal Tučný.

[15] Chumbawamba included a version of one verse of this song titled "Knickers" in their 2000 album WYSIWYG.

[16] The first lines are sung by a Hybrid being in the science-fiction TV series Battlestar Galactica, in the 2009 episode "Islanded in a Stream of Stars.

"[17] It is a reference to an eternal, unresolvable cycle, an infinite loop, which is relevant to the show's themes.

[18][19] In the lead up to the 2022 Australian federal election, a version of the song was used by the Liberal Party of Australia in an campaign ad to attack the Australian Labor Party over their alleged deficits and paying for them with new taxes while in government.