It has been suggested that Little Boy Blue was supposed to represent Thomas, Cardinal Wolsey, who eventually was executed for treason, it does in fact very closely mimic the lines from Shakespeare’s King Lear, Act III, Scene VI:
“Sleepest or wakest thou, jolly shepherd? Thy sheep’s in the corn; And for one blast of the minikin mouth Thy sheep shall take no harm.”
Little Boy Blue Lyrics
Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn,
The cow’s in the meadow, the sheep’s in the corn.
Where is the boy who looks after the sheep?
He’s under a haycock, fast asleep.
Will you wake him? No, not I,
For if I do, he’s sure to cry.
Little Boy Blue Music Sheet
