Nursery rhyme - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The term nursery rhyme is used for "traditional" poems for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the 19th century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.

Lullabies

The oldest children's songs of which we have records are lullabies

Lullaby

A lullaby is a soothing song, usually sung to young children before they go to sleep, with the intention of speeding that process. As a result they are often simple and repetitive. Lullabies can be found in every culture and since the ancient period....

, intended to help a child sleep. Lullabies can be found in every human culture. The English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

term lullaby is thought to come from "lu, lu" or "la la" sound made by mothers or nurses to calm children, and "by by" or "bye bye", either another lulling sound, or a term for good night. Until the modern era lullabies were usually only recorded incidentally in written sources. The Roman nurses' lullaby, "Lalla, Lalla, Lalla, aut dormi, aut lacte", is recorded in a scholium

Scholium

Scholia , are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments, either original or extracted from pre-existing commentaries, which are inserted on the margin of the manuscript of an ancient author, as glosses. One who writes scholia is a scholiast...

on Persius and may be the oldest to survive.

Many medieval English verses associated with the birth of Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

take the form of a lullaby, including "Lullay, my liking, my dere son, my sweting" and may be versions of contemporary lullabies. However, most of those used today date from the 17th century. For example, a well known lullaby such as "Rock-a-bye, baby on a tree top

Rock-a-bye Baby

Rock-a-bye Baby is a nursery rhyme and lullaby. The melody is a variant of the English satirical ballad Lilliburlero. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 2768.-Lyrics:...

", cannot be found in records until the late-18th century when it was printed by John Newbery

John Newbery

John Newbery was an English publisher of books who first made children's literature a sustainable and profitable part of the literary market. He also supported and published the works of Christopher Smart, Oliver Goldsmith and Samuel Johnson...

(c. 1765).

Early nursery rhymes

From the later Middle Ages we have records of short children's rhyming songs, often as marginalia

Marginalia

Marginalia are scribbles, comments, and illuminations in the margins of a book.- Biblical manuscripts :Biblical manuscripts have liturgical notes at the margin, for liturgical use. Numbers of texts' divisions are given at the margin...

. From the mid-16th century they begin to be recorded in English plays. Most nursery rhymes were not written down until the 18th century, when the publishing of children's books began to move from polemic and education towards entertainment, but there is evidence for many rhymes existing before this, including "To market, to market" and "Cock a doodle doo

Cock a doodle doo

"Cock a doodle doo" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3464.-Lyrics:The most common modern version is:Cock a doodle do!My dame has lost her shoe,My master's lost his fiddlestick,...

", which date from at least the late 16th century.

The first English collections, Tommy Thumb's Song Book
Tommy Thumb's Song Book
Tommy Thumb's Song Book is the earliest known collection of British nursery rhymes. Though it was printed in 1744, no original copy has survived, but its content has been recovered from later reprints...

and a sequel, Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book
Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book
Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book is the earliest extant printed collection of English language nursery rhymes, published in London in 1744. It was a sequel to the lost Tommy Thumb's Song Book and contains the oldest version of many well-known and popular rhymes, as well as several that have been...

, are both thought to have been published before 1744, with such songs becoming known as 'Tommy Thumb's songs'. The publication of John Newbery

John Newbery

's compilation of English rhymes, Mother Goose
Mother Goose
The familiar figure of Mother Goose is an imaginary author of a collection of fairy tales and nursery rhymes which are often published as Mother Goose Rhymes. As a character, she appears in one "nursery rhyme". A Christmas pantomime called Mother Goose is often performed in the United Kingdom...

's Melody, or, Sonnets for the Cradle (London, c.1765), is the first record we have of many classic rhymes, still in use today. These rhymes seem to have come from a variety of sources, including traditional riddles, proverb

Proverb

A proverb is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated, which expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim...

s, ballads, lines of Mummers' plays, drinking songs, historical events, and, it has been suggested, ancient pagan rituals. About half of the currently recognised "traditional" English rhymes were known by the mid-18th century.

19th century

In the early 19th century printed collections of rhymes began to spread to other countries, including Robert Chambers's Popular Rhymes of Scotland (1826) and in the United States, Mother Goose's Melodies (1833). From this period we sometimes know the origins and authors of rhymes—for instance, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" is a popular English nursery rhyme. The lyrics are from an early nineteenth-century English poem, "The Star" by Jane Taylor. The poem, which is in couplet form, was first published in 1806 in Rhymes for the Nursery, a collection of poems by Taylor and her sister Ann...

", which combined the 18th-century French tune "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman" with a poem by English writer Jane Taylor

Jane Taylor (poet)

Jane Taylor , was an English poet and novelist. She wrote the words for the song Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star in 1806 at age 23, while living in Shilling Street, Lavenham, Suffolk....

and 'Mary Had a Little Lamb', written by Sarah Josepha Hale of Boston in 1830.

Early folk song collectors also often collected (what were now known as) nursery rhymes, including in Scotland Sir Walter Scott and in Germany Clemens Brentano

Clemens Brentano

Clemens Brentano, or Klemens Brentano was a German poet and novelist.-Overview:He was born in Ehrenbreitstein, near Koblenz, Germany. His sister was Bettina von Arnim, Goethe's correspondent. His father's family was of Italian descent. He studied in Halle and Jena, afterwards residing at...

and Achim von Arnim in Des Knaben Wunderhorn
Des Knaben Wunderhorn
Des Knaben Wunderhorn is a collection of German folk poems edited by Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano, and published in Heidelberg, in the Grand Duchy of Baden, between 1805 and 1808...

(1806–1808). The first, and possibly the most important academic collection to focus in this area was James Orchard Halliwell's, The Nursery Rhymes of England (1842) and Popular Rhymes and Tales in 1849, in which he divided rhymes into antiquities (historical), fireside stories, game-rhymes, alphabet-rhymes, riddles, nature-rhymes, places and families, proverbs, superstitions, customs, and nursery songs (lullabies). By the time of Sabine Baring-Gould

Sabine Baring-Gould

The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould was an English hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1240 publications, though this list continues to grow. His family home, Lew Trenchard Manor near Okehampton, Devon, has been preserved as he had it...

's A Book of Nursery Songs (1895), folklore was an academic study, full of comments and foot-notes. A professional anthropologist, Andrew Lang

Andrew Lang

Andrew Lang was a Scots poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University of St Andrews are named after him.- Biography :Lang was born in Selkirk...

(1844–1912) produced The Nursery Rhyme Book in 1897. The early years of the 20th century are notable for the illustrations to children's books including Caldecott's Hey Diddle Diddle Picture Book (1909) and Arthur Rackham

Arthur Rackham

Arthur Rackham was an English book illustrator.-Biography:Rackham was born in London as one of 12 children. At the age of 18, he worked as a clerk at the Westminster Fire Office and began studying part-time at the Lambeth School of Art.In 1892 he left his job and started working for The...

's Mother Goose (1913). The definitive study of English rhymes remains the work of Iona and Peter Opie.

Meanings of nursery rhymes

The hidden meanings and origins of nursery rhymes has been argued by some, most notably in the writings of John Bellenden Ker (?1765–1842), who argued in four volumes that English nursery rhymes were actually written in 'Low Saxon' a hypothetical early form of Dutch. He then 'translated' them back into English, revealing particularly a strong tendency to anti-clericalism

Anti-clericalism

Anti-clericalism is a historical movement that opposes religious institutional power and influence, real or alleged, in all aspects of public and political life, and the involvement of religion in the everyday life of the citizen...

. Many of the ideas about the links between rhymes and historical persons, or events, can be traced back to Katherine Elwes, The Real Personages of Mother Goose (1930), which found identities for (then famous) characters in nursery rhymes on little or no evidence in any historical source, assuming that children's songs are a peculiar form of coded historical narrative, propaganda or covert protest, and rarely considering that they could be just entertainments.

Title	Supposed origin	Earliest date known	Meaning supported by evidence
Baa, Baa, Black Sheep	The slave trade; medieval wool tax	c. 1744 (Britain)	Medieval taxes were much lower than two thirds. There is no evidence of a connection with slavery.
Doctor Foster Doctor Foster "Doctor Foster" is an English language nursery rhyme that has appeared in many anthologies since the nineteenth century. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19288.-The rhyme:...	Edward I of England Edward I of England Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...	1844 (Britain)	Given the recent recording the medieval meaning is unlikely.
Goosey Goosey Gander Goosey Goosey Gander "Goosey Goosey Gander" is an English language Nursery Rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 6488.-Lyrics:The most common modern version of the lyrics is:Goosey goosey gander,Whither shall I wander?Upstairs and downstairs...	Henry VIII of England Henry VIII of England Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...	1784 (Britain)	No evidence that it is linked to the propaganda campaign against the Catholic Church during the reign of King Henry VIII.
The Grand Old Duke of York The Grand Old Duke of York ‘The Grand Old Duke of York’ is an English children's nursery rhyme, often performed as an action song. The Duke of the title has been argued to be a number of the holders of that office, particularly Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany and its lyrics have become proverbial for futile action...	Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York Richard Plantagenêt, 3rd Duke of York, 6th Earl of March, 4th Earl of Cambridge, and 7th Earl of Ulster, conventionally called Richard of York was a leading English magnate, great-grandson of King Edward III... in the Wars of the Roses Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York... ; James II of England James II of England James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland... , or Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany The Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany was a member of the Hanoverian and British Royal Family, the second eldest child, and second son, of King George III... Flanders campaign of 1794–5.	1913 (Britain)	The more recent campaign is more likely, but first record is very late. The song may be based on a song about the king of France.
Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty is a character in an English language nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle and one of the best known in the English-speaking world. He is typically portrayed as an egg and has appeared or been referred to in a large number of works of literature and popular culture...	Richard III of England Richard III of England Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty... ; Cardinal Wolsey and a cannon from the English Civil War English Civil War The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...	1797 (Britain)	No evidence that it refers to any historical character and is originally a riddle found in many European cultures. The story about the cannon is based on a spoof verse written in 1956.
Jack and Jill Jack and Jill (song) "Jack and Jill" is a classic nursery rhyme in the English speaking world. The origin of the rhyme is obscure and there are several theories that attempt to interpret the lyrics. The rhyme is known to date back to at least the 18th century. The song is sometimes titled "Jack and Gill", particularly...	Norse mythology Norse mythology Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving... ; Louis XVI of France Louis XVI of France Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793.... and Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....	1765 (Britain)	No evidence that it stretches back to early medieval era and poem predates the French Revolution French Revolution The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years... .
Little Boy Blue Little Boy Blue "Little Boy Blue" is a popular English language nursery rhyme, often used in popular culture. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 11318.-Lyrics:The most common version of the rhyme is:...	Thomas Wolsey	c. 1760 (Britain)	Unknown, the identification is speculative.
Little Jack Horner Little Jack Horner "Little Jack Horner" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has the Roud Folk Song Index number of 13027.-Lyrics:The most common modern lyrics are:Little Jack HornerSat in the corner,Eating a Christmas pie;He put in his thumb,...	Dissolution of the Monasteries Dissolution of the Monasteries The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...	1725 (Britain), but story known from c. 1520	The rhyme may have been adapted to satirise Thomas Horner who benefited from the Dissolution, but the connection is speculative.
London Bridge Is Falling Down London Bridge is Falling Down "London Bridge Is Falling Down" is a well-known traditional nursery rhyme and singing game, which is found in different versions all over the world. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 502.-Lyrics:...	Burial of children in foundations; burning of wooden bridge by Vikings	1659 (Britain)	Unknown, but verse exists in many cultures and may have been adapted to London when it reached England.
Mary Had a Little Lamb	An original poem by Sarah Josepha Hale inspired by an actual incident.	1830 (USA)	As a girl, Mary Sawyer (later Mrs. Mary Tyler) kept a pet lamb, which she took to school one day at the suggestion of her brother.
Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" is a popular English nursery rhyme. The rhyme has been seen as having religious and historical significance, but its origins and meaning are disputed...	Mary, Queen of Scots, or Mary I of England Mary I of England Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...	c. 1744 (Britain)	Unknown, all identifications are speculative.
Old King Cole Old King Cole "Old King Cole" is an English nursery rhyme. The historical identity of King Cole has been much debated and several candidates have been advanced as possibilities...	Various early medieval kings and Richard Cole-brook a Reading clothier	1708-9 (Britain)	Richard Cole-brook was widely known as King Cole in the seventeenth century.
Ring a Ring o' Roses	Black Death Black Death The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have... (1348) or The Great Plague (1665)	1790 (USA)	No evidence that the poem has any relation to the plague. The 'plague' references are not present in the earliest versions.
Rock-a-bye Baby Rock-a-bye Baby Rock-a-bye Baby is a nursery rhyme and lullaby. The melody is a variant of the English satirical ballad Lilliburlero. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 2768.-Lyrics:...	The Egyptian god Horus Horus Horus is one of the oldest and most significant deities in the Ancient Egyptian religion, who was worshipped from at least the late Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists... ; Native American childcare; anti-Jacobite Jacobitism Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland... satire	c. 1765 (Britain)	Unknown, all identifications are speculative.
There was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe There was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe "There Was an Old Woman Who Lived In a Shoe" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19132.-Lyrics:The most common version of the rhyme is:There was an old woman who lived in a shoe....	Queen Caroline of Ansbach Caroline of Ansbach Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach was the queen consort of King George II of Great Britain.Her father, John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, was the ruler of a small German state... ; Elizabeth Vergoose of Boston.	1784 (Britain)	Unknown, all identifications are speculative.
Three Blind Mice Three Blind Mice Three Blind Mice is an English nursery rhyme and musical round. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3753.-Lyrics:The modern words are:-Variations and uses:Amateur music composer Thomas Oliphant noted in 1843 that:...	Mary I of England Mary I of England Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...	c. 1609 (Britain)	Unknown, the identification is speculative.
Who Killed Cock Robin? Cock Robin "Who Killed Cock Robin" is an English nursery rhyme, which has been much used as a murder archetype in world culture. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 494.-Lyrics:...	Norse mythology Norse mythology Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving... ; Robin Hood Robin Hood Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes.... ; William Rufus; Robert Walpole Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, KG, KB, PC , known before 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British statesman who is generally regarded as having been the first Prime Minister of Great Britain.... ; Ritual bird sacrifice Animal sacrifice Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing of an animal as part of a religion. It is practised by many religions as a means of appeasing a god or gods or changing the course of nature...	c. 1744 (Britain)	The story, and perhaps rhyme, dates from at least the later medieval era, but all identifications are speculative.

Nursery rhyme revisionism

There have been several attempts, across the world, to revise nursery rhymes (along with fairy tales and popular songs). Even in the late 18th century we can sometimes see how rhymes like "Little Robin Redbreast

Little Robin Redbreast

‘Little Robin Redbreast’ is an English language nursery rhyme, chiefly notable as evidence of the way traditional rhymes are changed and edited. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 20612.- Lyrics :...

" were cleaned up for a young audience. In the late 19th century the major concern seems to have been violence and crime, which led leading children's publishers in America like Jacob Abbot and Samuel Goodrich to 'improve' mother goose rhymes.

In the early and mid-20th centuries this was a form of bowdlerisation, concerned with some of the more violent elements of nursery rhymes and led to the formation of organisations like the British 'Society for Nursery Rhyme Reform'. Psychoanalysts

Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...

such as Bruno Bettelheim

Bruno Bettelheim

Bruno Bettelheim was an Austrian-born American child psychologist and writer. He gained an international reputation for his work on Freud, psychoanalysis, and emotionally disturbed children.-Background:...

strongly criticized this revisionism, on the grounds that it weakened their usefulness to both children and adults as ways of symbolically resolving issues and it has been argued that revised versions may not perform the functions of catharsis

Catharsis

Catharsis or katharsis is a Greek word meaning "cleansing" or "purging". It is derived from the verb καθαίρειν, kathairein, "to purify, purge," and it is related to the adjective καθαρός, katharos, "pure or clean."-Dramatic uses:...

for children, or allow them to imaginatively deal with violence and danger.

In the late 20th century revisionism of nursery rhymes became associated with the idea of political correctness

Political correctness

Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...

. Most attempts to reform nursery rhymes on this basis appear to be either very small scale, light-hearted updating, like Felix Dennis' When Jack Sued Jill – Nursery Rhymes for Modern Times (2006), or satires written as if from the point of view of political correctness in order to condemn reform. The controversy over changing the language of "Baa Baa Black Sheep

Baa Baa Black Sheep

Baa Baa Black Sheep may refer to:* Baa, Baa, Black Sheep , the origin of the phrase* Baa Baa, Black Sheep , an 1888 short story by Rudyard Kipling...

" in Britain from 1986, because, it was alleged in the popular press, it was seen as racially dubious, was apparently based only on a rewriting of the rhyme in one private nursery, as an exercise for the children.

Nursery rhymes and education