This is an ancient ditty first found in print during the late 17th century. It has no particular ‘hidden’ meaning. While the song is very old even for traditional nursery rhyme standards, it became increasingly popular quite recently. An R&B version of Lavender’s Blue released by Sammy Turner in 1959 reached no 3 on Billboard …
Jack Sprat (or Prat, or Spratt) was the 16th and 17th-century name for a dwarf. This rhyme was presumably written about a dwarf and his normal-sized wife. However, there is a suggestion that there was a particular Jack Sprat – one Archdeacon Pratt and his wife Joan who lived in the 17th century – that …
Jack Be Nimble is a nursery rhyme that was first recorded in 1815. There has been a tradition of candle leaping in England for a very long time. It was both a sport and a way of telling fortunes. The person who could leap over a lit candle without the flame blowing out was considered …
Jack and Jill is an old nursery rhyme from England. There are several possible origins for this popular nursery rhyme. One is that it is very ancient and has roots in the mythology of Scandinavia. In his 1947 book ‘Myth & Ritual,’ Lewis Spence suggests that there may be an ancient ritual associated with the …
The first time this poem appeared was in 1830, so it is a relative newcomer as far as traditional English rhymes go! However its popularity was such that it has appeared in nursery rhyme collections ever since. I Love Little Pussy is simply a way of telling a child to treat the pet gently. I …
Humpty Dumpty is a very old rhyme and is known throughout Europe in very much the same form. Most people associate Humpty Dumpty with an egg but it’s possible however that it refers to a powerful cannon used during the English Civil War (1642-49). It was mounted on top of the St.Marys at the Wall …
Hot Cross Buns was first a cry that later evolved into a nursery rhyme as it was passed down between generations of kids and adults. This cry was heard on Good Fridays when these sacred, spicy buns were sold and eaten. It was first mentioned in 1733, in Poor Robin’s Almanac when it was slightly …
Like many poems and nursery rhymes, Hickory Dickory Dock tries to imitate a particular sound, in this case the ticking of a clock. It was used in the 18th and 19th century extensively by children to decide who would start a game. It was first published in 1744 under the name of “Hickere, Dickere Dock”, …
This old nonsense rhyme is probably just that – nonsense, however, some people have suggested that the cat is Elizabeth Ist and the dog is Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester who she once referred to as her ‘lap dog.’ Hey, Diddle Diddle was a new dance accompanied by a fiddle according to a play written …
Georgie Porgie is a traditional English nursery rhyme. Georgie Porgie was first mentioned in written form in The Kentish Coronal in 1841 where it was described as an “old ballad”. Georgie Porgie’s origin is unclear and difficult to verify. Georgie Porgie or Rowley Powley is believed by some to be a historical figure, but there …
