{"id":66,"date":"2013-05-02T14:43:52","date_gmt":"2013-05-02T18:43:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.katecooch.com\/blog\/?p=66"},"modified":"2013-05-02T22:22:26","modified_gmt":"2013-05-03T02:22:26","slug":"the-history-of-popular-western-nursery-rhymes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.katecooch.com\/blog\/2013\/05\/02\/the-history-of-popular-western-nursery-rhymes\/","title":{"rendered":"The History of \u2026 Popular Western Nursery Rhymes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Parents have always used song and rhyme to entertain and soothe their children.\u00a0 Our modern nursery rhymes have their origins in the last couple hundred years from Western Europe.\u00a0 I had fun discovering the sources of some of the ones my kids and I like.\u00a0 While a few of the origins of our favorite rhymes are well accepted and documented, others veer more toward the legend category or have several explanations.\u00a0 I tried to indicate how firm the \u2018history of\u2019 is for each rhyme.<\/p>\n

The rhyme \u201cJack Sprat\u201d is a purported reference to the younger brother of King Richard I of England, John.\u00a0 Both Richard and John are well known today because they figure in the fictional tale of Robin Hood.\u00a0 John was cast as the villain, trying to usurp the throne from Richard the Lionheart while he was away fighting in the Crusades.\u00a0 While Robin Hood is a fictional story it did correctly portray that John was not a beloved figure.\u00a0 He was widely disliked for his lack of military success and because he was believed to have tried to take the throne from Richard.\u00a0 The rhyme therefore refers to John and his wife Isabella taking so much in taxes that they \u201clicked the plate clean.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jack Spratt could eat no fat,
\nHis wife could eat no lean,
\nAnd so between them both
\nThey licked the platter clean.<\/p>\n

The rhyme \u201cBaa Baa Black Sheep\u201d is commonly thought to celebrate England\u2019s very important wool industry.\u00a0 There are suggestions that it contains political statements.\u00a0 The original rhyme, prior to its 1765 publishing in \u201cMother Goose\u2019s Melody,\u201d had the last two lines as \u201ctwo thirds to the dame and none to the little boy who cries in the lane.\u201d\u00a0 These previous lines are believed to refer to the tax on wool that the English King Edward I, known as \u201cLongshanks,\u201d initiated in 1275.\u00a0 The poem was a complaint that none of the money from shepherding went to the shepherd since one third went to the king and two thirds went to the dame (the church).<\/p>\n

Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?
\nYes sir, yes sir, three bags full,
\nOne for the master, one for the dame,
\nAnd one for the little boy who lives down the lane.<\/p>\n

There is some disagreement about the origins of \u00a0\u201cRing Around a Rosie.\u201d\u00a0 In the past it was understood to be about the Black Plague or the Great Mortality which killed a third of Europe in the 14th century (as well as a third of the Middle East and most likely China).\u00a0 This claim has been more recently disputed because no record of it was made until the 19th century.\u00a0 It is now starting to be understood as nothing more than a nonsensical children\u2019s rhyme but there is disagreement.<\/p>\n

Ring around a rosie
\nA pocket full of posies
\nAshes, ashes
\nWe all fall down.<\/p>\n

If \u201cRing Around a Rosie\u201d does indeed reference the Plague there are several different versions of its meaning.\u00a0 One is that the rosie means rosary beads to pray to not get sick.\u00a0 Posies are flowers to keep the smell of dead bodies at bay or (for some) to try and prevent contagion (for those who thought bad smells transmitted it).\u00a0 Ashes refer to burning bodies when there were too many to bury and the last sentence is about dying.\u00a0 Another interpretation has the ring around the rosie referencing bruise-like purple splotches which were a part of bubonic plague.<\/p>\n

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey is famous in history for failing to secure Henry VIII of England a divorce from his first wife so he could marry his mistress.\u00a0 Eventually Henry VIII broke from the Catholic church over the divorce and started his own church.\u00a0 Wolsey\u2019s failure with the divorce is documented in \u201cOld Mother Hubbard\u201d with the bone being the divorce.<\/p>\n

Old Mother Hubbard
\nWent to the cupboard
\nTo get her poor doggie a bone,
\nWhen she got there
\nThe cupboard was bare
\nSo the poor little doggie had none.<\/p>\n

\u201cThree Blind Mice\u201d possibly comes from the reign of Queen Mary I.\u00a0 She was a Catholic who wanted to restore the Catholic church in England and therefore persecuted Protestants.\u00a0 Because of her vast farm estates she was referred to as the farmer\u2019s wife.\u00a0 The three blind mice were three men of noble birth who plotted against her.\u00a0 She had them tortured and burned at the stake.<\/p>\n

Three blind mice, three blind mice,
\nSee how they run, see how they run,
\nThey all ran after the farmer\u2019s wife,
\nShe cut off their tails with a carving knife,
\nDid you ever see such a sight in your life as three blind mice?<\/p>\n

Queen Mary I is also featured in \u201cMary Mary Quite Contrary.\u201d\u00a0 Her detractors called her \u2018Bloody Mary\u2019 because of her persecution of Protestants.\u00a0 The poem talks about torture and death.\u00a0 Silver bells and cockleshells were torture devices while \u201cmaids in a row\u201d refers to her use of one of the precursors to the guillotine, called a maiden.<\/p>\n

Mary Mary quite contrary,
\nHow does your garden grow?
\nWith silver bells and cockle shells
\nAnd pretty maids all in a row.<\/p>\n

In \u201cRain Rain Go Away\u201d the Spanish fleet is taunted by the English who, under Queen Elizabeth I, vanquished the Spanish armada in 1588 because they better understood the unpredictable weather in the English Channel.\u00a0 Sir Francis Drake famously waited and waited to launch against the approaching Spanish because he saw the weather was worsening.\u00a0 When he finally did launch, his ships were able to out maneuver the Spanish and won the day.\u00a0 Johnny was a term used to describe Englishmen.<\/p>\n

Rain, rain, go away,
\nCome back again another day;
\nLittle Johnny wants to play.
\nRain, rain go to Spain,
\nNever show your face again.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoosey Goosey Gander\u201d dates to the 16th century.\u00a0 It appears to refer to \u2018priest holes\u2019 which were secret rooms where Catholic priests could hide from persecution from Protestants during the reign of Elizabeth I.\u00a0 They were threatened with death if they practiced their faith.\u00a0 When the rhyme talks about an old man who would not say his prayers it means a priest who would not say prayers in the Protestant manner (English verses Latin) or swear allegiance to the Queen.<\/p>\n

Goosey Goosey Gander where shall I wander,
\nUpstairs, downstairs and in my lady\u2019s chamber
\nThere I met an old man who wouldn\u2019t say his prayers,
\nI took him by the left leg and threw him down the stairs.<\/p>\n

Sometimes rhymes were used as a way of passing information.\u00a0 In an age where news of battle wins and losses could take weeks and months to hear, an easily remembered rhyme was a reasonable way to get news out.\u00a0 In the case of \u201cRemember, Remember the Fifth of November\u201d it was a way to get a punishment known as well.<\/p>\n

In 1605 Englishman Robert Catesby and his band of terrorists, which included the infamous Guy Fawkes, tried and failed to blow up the Parliament building on the first day of its new session.\u00a0 If successful, their plan would have resulted in the deaths of most of the governing elite, including King James I.\u00a0 The plot was learned of when a member of the gang told a family member not to go to Parliament that day and that person tipped off the authorities.\u00a0 Fawkes was discovered hiding in the Parliament cellar waiting for morning to light the fuses.\u00a0 The rhyme was created as a way of commemorating the foiling of the plot and as a reminder of the dangers of high treason.<\/p>\n

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
\nGunpowder, treason and plot;
\nI see no reason why gunpowder, treason
\nShould ever be forgot.<\/p>\n

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, it was his intent
\nTo blow up the King and the Parliament;
\nThree score barrels of powder below,
\nPoor old England to overthrow.<\/p>\n

By God\u2019s providence he was catch\u2019d
\nWith dark lantern and lighted match;
\nHoller boys, holler boys, make the bells ring,
\nHoller boys, holler boys, God save the King.<\/p>\n

In the 17th Century George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham was a notorious scoundrel.\u00a0 His affair with the queen of France was featured in the story \u201cThe Three Musketeers.\u201d\u00a0 He enjoyed the favor of the King of England, James I and was therefore mostly protected from his bad behavior.\u00a0 His sexual conquests and fear of retribution \u201cwhen the boys came out to play Georgie Porgie ran away\u201d are referenced in the rhyme \u201cGeorgie Porgie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Georgie Porgie pudding and pie,
\nKissed the girls and made them cry
\nWhen the boys came out to play,
\nGeorgie Porgie ran away.<\/p>\n

We all know the classic nursery rhyme \u201cHumpty Dumpty.\u201d\u00a0 It is possible that Humpty Dumpty was a canon used during the English Civil War in the 17th century.\u00a0 Calling someone Humpty Dumpty was a slang term for fat.\u00a0 In the case of the rhyme it refers to a huge cannon used by the Royalists to defend the strategically key town of Colchester.\u00a0 When the Roundheads (which refers to the close cropped hair of the Puritans) or Parliamentarians were able to damage the wall underneath the Royalists huge cannon Humpty Dumpty they were unable to move it to another wall and thus eventually lost the town.\u00a0 Hence:<\/p>\n

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
\nHumpty Dumpty had a great fall.
\nAll the King\u2019s horses, And all the King\u2019s men
\nCouldn\u2019t put Humpty together again!<\/p>\n

So why then do we know Humpty as an egg?\u00a0 One of the first references seems to be in Lewis Carroll\u2019s late 19th century story, \u201cThrough the Looking Glass\u201d in which Alice has a deep conversation with Humpty Dumpty \u2018through the looking glass\u2019 as put back together in the form of an egg high up on a wall.<\/p>\n

Oliver Cromwell was the leader of England from 1649-1660.\u00a0 He was the last person to rule it as a republic.\u00a0 There was much surprise when he appointed his rather unaccomplished son, Richard to succeed him.\u00a0 Richard was not up to the job and only served a year before he was removed.\u00a0 \u201cHickory, Dickory, Dock\u201d may record his short duration in office.\u00a0 The clock striking one marks the one year he served.\u00a0 One of his nicknames was Hickory Dick.<\/p>\n

Hickory, dickory dock,
\nThe mouse ran up the clock.
\nThe clock struck one,
\nThe mouse ran down,
\nHickory, dickory, dock.<\/p>\n

In 17th century England \u201cMatthew, Mark, Luke, and John\u201d was used to ward off evil spirits on Twelfth Night (the 12th day of Christmas, January 5th).\u00a0 It was repeated three times.<\/p>\n

There are four corners at my bed,
\nThere are four angels there.
\nMatthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
\nGod bless the bed that I lay on.<\/p>\n

The nursery rhyme \u201cBoys and Girls Come Out to Play\u201d was published in 1708.\u00a0 It was written during a time when most children in England worked all day, usually for their parents on a farm and later in factories.\u00a0 Only wealthy children were educated.\u00a0 The rhyme is about kids going out to play when the work day\u00a0was done.<\/p>\n

Boys and girls come out to play,
\nThe moon does shine as bright as day;
\nCome with a hoop, and come with a call,
\nCome with a good will or not at all
\nLose your supper, and lose your sleep,
\nCome to your playfellows in the street;
\nUp the ladder and down the wall.
\nA halfpenny loaf will serve us all.
\nBut when the loaf is gone, what will you do?
\nThose who would eat must work \u2013 \u2018tis true.\u2019<\/p>\n

It is possible that the rhyme \u201cThere was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe\u201d was made about the English King George II who reigned from 1683 to 1760.\u00a0 He ruled at a time when Parliament was strong and the country\u2019s economy was in a downturn.\u00a0 Therefore, in the rhyme the King is the old woman and the Parliament are the children.\u00a0 Giving them broth without bread refers to the King\u2019s attempt at austerity and sending the children to bed refers to forcing them to attend Parliament sessions daily.<\/p>\n

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe,
\nShe had so many children she didn\u2019t know what to do;
\nSo she gave them some broth without any bread,
\nAnd she whipped them all soundly and sent them to bed.<\/p>\n

The character Mother Goose was first mentioned in French writings in the 17th century, although not connected to the rhymes we associate with Mother Goose today.\u00a0 In the 18th century in England Mother Goose started to be associated with many of the rhymes we now know.\u00a0 Curiously she was depicted as an old lady flying on a Goose.\u00a0 This indicates some association with witchcraft and magic.\u00a0 During the time of her origination, natural disasters, disease, and life\u2019s other hardships were sometimes explained by witchcraft.\u00a0 The first Mother Goose had many of the characteristics of a witch; she was an old lady living alone, she had the ability to fly on her goose, and she was associated with an animal that worked for her.\u00a0 Kids of the time would have been familiar with this connection.<\/p>\n

Old Mother Goose
\nWhen she wanted to wander
\nWould fly through the air
\nOn a very fine gander.<\/p>\n

Mother Goose had a house;
\nIt stood in the wood
\nWhere an owl at the door
\nAs sentinel stood.<\/p>\n

\u201cRock-a-bye Baby\u201d is a classic children\u2019s lullaby, also sometimes recited as a nursery rhyme.\u00a0 It originated in America and a version of it was first published in the 18th century.\u00a0 It appears to have come from the practice of a few American Indians who would put their children in cradles made of tree bark and suspend them from tree branches to let the wind rock their babies to sleep.<\/p>\n

Rock-a-bye Baby, on the tree top,
\nWhen the wind blows the cradle will rock;
\nWhen the bough breaks, the cradle will fall,
\nAnd down will come baby, cradle and all.<\/p>\n

The poem Jack and Jill originates from the time of the French Revolution and possibly refers to the beheading of King Louis XVI and his wife who \u201ctumbled after.\u201d\u00a0 The ending is cleaned up for kids with Jack caring for his hurt head in a manner common at that time.<\/p>\n

Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water
\nJack fell down and broke his crown
\nAnd Jill came tumbling after.<\/p>\n

Up Jack got, and home did trot
\nAs fast as he could caper
\nHe went to bed and bound his head
\nWith vinegar and brown paper.<\/p>\n

The French rhyme \u201cFrere Jacques,\u201d meant to be sung in a round, translates to \u201cBrother John\u201d and is believed to be about a monk being told to ring the bells for morning prayers.\u00a0 The French version is first and then the translation.<\/p>\n

Frere Jacques, Frere Jacques
\nDormez-vous, dormez-vous?
\nSonnez les matines, sonnez les matines!
\nDin, din, don, din, din, don.<\/p>\n

Brother John, Brother John,
\nAre you sleeping, are you sleeping?
\nRing the morning bells, ring the morning bells!
\nDing, dang dong, ding, dang dong.<\/p>\n

Helping kids to eat healthy foods was the purpose of \u201cAn Apple a Day.\u201d\u00a0 Its authorship is unknown.\u00a0 It was first mentioned in print in 1866.<\/p>\n

An apple a day keeps the doctor away
\nApple in the morning \u2013 Doctor\u2019s warning
\nRoast apple at night \u2013 Starves the doctor outright
\nEat an apple going to bed \u2013 Knock the doctor on the head
\nThree each day, seven days a week \u2013 Ruddy apple, ruddy cheek.<\/p>\n

Our final rhyme, \u201cChristmas is Coming,\u201d reminds\u00a0kids about the importance of generous giving during the Christmas season.\u00a0 It also is a fun lesson about the penny.\u00a0 Initially, the penny had a Christian cross on the back.\u00a0 This allowed the coin to be cut appropriately, in half for a halfpenny and in quarters for a farthing.<\/p>\n

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat
\nPlease do put a penny in the old man\u2019s hat;
\nIf you haven\u2019t got a penny, a ha\u2019penny will do,
\nIf you haven\u2019t got a ha\u2019penny then God bless you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Parents have always used song and rhyme to entertain and soothe their children.\u00a0 Our modern nursery rhymes have their origins in the last couple hundred years from Western Europe.\u00a0 I had fun discovering the sources of some of the ones … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[39],"tags":[45,41,44,46,40,42,43],"class_list":["post-66","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kids","tag-children","tag-humpty-dumpty","tag-kids-2","tag-lullabyes","tag-nursery-rhymes","tag-poems","tag-songs"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p29EPY-14","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.katecooch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.katecooch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.katecooch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.katecooch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.katecooch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/www.katecooch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88,"href":"http:\/\/www.katecooch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66\/revisions\/88"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.katecooch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.katecooch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.katecooch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}