Little Jack Horner
Little Jack Horner is a traditional English nursery rhyme that has been around for hundreds of years. The exact origins of the rhyme are unknown, but it is thought to be based on a real …
Letter L Songs and Rhymes
Little Tommy Tucker
Little Tommy Tucker is a rhyme that first appeared in 1744 in “Tom Thumb’s Pretty Song Book” but only the initial four lines were included. The full version was later printed in 1765 in Mother …
La Cucaracha
La Cucaracha is a traditional folk song from Spain with unclear origins. Some sources suggest that it dates back to the Middle Ages, but the song is a “corrido” which means that the lyrics were …
Lucy Locket
This was a well-known and popular rhyme on both sides of the Atlantic by the middle of the 19th Century and was sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle or Jack and Jill. Kitty Fisher, …
London Bridge is Falling Down
London Bridge is Falling Down is one of the most popular nursery rhymes. It’s possible that this rhyme and the game associated with it, dates back as far as the fourteenth century, and versions of …
Little Polly Flinders
This rhyme was first published in 1805 with the first line of, ‘Little Jenny Flinders.’ Over time this has become the ‘Polly’ we’re familiar with today. Corporal punishment was a normal part of early 19th …
Little Miss Muffet
There is a theory that Miss Muffet was Patience, the daughter of Dr. Thomas Muffet, a 16th-century entomologist. He had written a work in verse entitled ‘The Silkworms and Their Flies’ and was known as …
Little Boy Blue
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 …
Little Bo Peep
Little Bo Peep is one of the best-known of all nursery rhymes. There are two conflicting stories about the origins of Little Bo Peep. One says that Bo Peep may refer to the popular game …
Lavender’s Blue
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 …