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 …
Old Nursery Rhymes
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 …
Jack Sprat
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 …
Jack Be Nimble
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 …
Jack and Jill
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. …
Humpty Dumpty
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 …
Hot Cross Buns
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, …
Hickory Dickory Dock
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 …
Hey Diddle Diddle
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 …