Cock Sparrow

Rhyme of the week:

A LITTLE COCK SPARROW

A little cock sparrow sat on a green tree,
And he chirruped, he chirruped, so merry was he.

A naughty boy came with his wee bow and arrow,
Says he, I will shoot this little cock sparrow.

His body will make me a nice little stew,
And his giblets will make me a little pie too.

Oh, no, said the sparrow, I wont make a stew,
So he clapped his wings and away he flew.

This weeks nursery rhyme is thought to have once been a popular song. In The Manchester Iris, published in 1823, a man reported that a London dandy had sung this new song, though he could not recall the tune. London Cockneys used the term 'cock-robin' to mean friend, which could also have been shortened to 'cocker', and was possibly the origin of the word cockney.

Credit goes to rhymes.org.uk, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes

To learn more about sparrows, go here or here, or go here or here (dictionary) to learn more about Cockney Slang.

Old favourite of the week:

DANCE TO YOUR DADDY

Dance to your daddy,
My little babby,
Dance to your daddy, my little lamb.

You shall have a fishy,
In a little dishy,
You shall have a fishy when the boat comes in.

A dandling song, designed for bouncing a slightly older baby to, generally to amuse them with as little effort as possible. Dance To Your Daddy is Scottish in origin and still very well known throughout the world, despite being published as far back as 1803. There are also several other verses which can be found via a quick search of the original words.

Credit to allaboutinfo.com, The Oxford Dictionary Of Nursery Rhymes,

Evelyn

Father

The new rhyme for this week is:

MY FATHER DIED A MONTH AGO

My father died a month ago,
And left me all his riches,
A feather bed, a wooden leg,
And a pair of leather breeches.

A bit of land at my command,
A horse both lame and blind,
You'd swear he'd in a trap been catch'd,
He was cropt so close behind.

He left me a teapot without a spout,
A cup without a handle,
A tobacco pipe without a lid,
And half a farthing candle.

This is a rhyme not often heard, yet easy to remember. When referring to a horse who was "cropt" the writers referred to their tail being cut to the dock, much like many fighting dogs were until recently. This is believed to refer to the American War of Independence, as that was the approximate time wherein the making of leather breeches halted. It was first published in 1825 as part of the song, "The Bumkins Wife", but was also possibly related to "Willie Winkie's Testament", published in 1733, which had similar wording.

Credit goes to The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes yet again.

To learn more about the War of Independence try here or here.

This week's old favourite is:

WEE WILLIE WINKIE

Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town,
Upstairs and downstairs in his night-gown,
Rapping at the window, crying through the lock,
Are the children all in bed, for now it's eight o'clock.

Before the days of television, internet or even radio, town criers were employed to walk through town shouting the most recent news. Children, who needed to associate everyday tasks with their own lives, had their own crier, known as a Wee Willie Winkie, who did the same as a town crier, only tailored for children. Today, Willie Winkie is also known as the sandman, who encourages children to sleep. There is another theory that this refers to William III, though the valitity of that theory is unknown. This poem was written by William Miller in 1841 and first published in Whistle-binkie: Stories for the Fireside.

Credit famousquotes.me.uk, same book as above.

Find out more about the Sandman here or William Miller here.

Again, any help needed rhyme wise, just ask.

Evelyn

Bonaparte

New rhyme of the week:

BONAPARTE

Baby, baby, naughty baby,
Hush you squalling thing, I say,
Peace this moment, peace, or maybe,
Bonaparte will pass this way.

Baby, baby, he's a giant,
Tall and black as Rouen steeple,
And he breakfasts, dines, rely on't,
Every day on naughty people.

Baby, baby, if he hears you,
As he gallops past the house,
Limb from limb at once he'll tear you,
Just as pussy tears a mouse.

And he'll beat you, beat you, beat you,
And he'll beat you all to pap,
And he'll eat you, eat you, eat you,
Every morsel snap, snap, snap.

Which is a type of nursery rhyme which hopes to obtain peace by intimidation. Here Bonaparte, as in Napoleon Bonaparte, was used but any character could be used instead. Napoleon was probably used as he would stir feelings of patriotism were stirred in small children, as well as fear, for, when Napoleon blockaded Great Britain, children could no longer have sweets, a source for great sadness for children even then. Other historical figures used included Menshikov, a Russian commander in the Crimean War and Wellington. This rhyme dates from 1836 or earlier.

Credit where due goes to this site and The Oxford Dictionary Of Nursery Rhymes (edition 2), edited by Iona and Peter Opie.

To learn more about Napoleon, we recommend going here, for a overview, or here, for more detail.

This week's old favourite is:

MARY MARY QUITE CONTRARY

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells,
And pretty maids all in a row.

This rhyme is rumored to have a religious background, with the bells being sanctus bells, the cockleshells the pilgrims badges and the pretty maids the nuns. Alternatively, popular tradition says that the original Mary was Mary, Queen of Scots, with the pretty maids being he ladies in waiting, the silver bells referring to jewelry and cockle shells as dress decorations, or that all three were instruments of torture. However, there is no proof that this rhyme was known before the 18th century. Regardless of the possible meanings, Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, remains one of the most loved nursery rhymes of today.

Credit goes to rhymes.org.uk for the most macabre theory, and once again to The Oxford Dictionary Of Nursery Rhymes, for everything else.

To learn more about Mary, Queen of Scots, try going here, for overview, or here, for more depth.

If anyone wants to know more about a rhyme, feel free to leave a comment and I'll do my best to help,

Evelyn