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Nursery rhymes

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Nursery rhymes are traditional poems or songs for children in Britain and other European countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century.

Quotes

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  • Baa, baa, black sheep,
      Have you any wool?
    Yes, sir, yes, sir,
      Three bags full;
    One for the master,
      And one for the dame,
    And one for the little boy
      Who lives down the lane.
    • "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep"
    • Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book (1744):
      Bah, Bah, a black Sheep,
      Have you any Wool,
      Yes merry have I,
      Three Bags full,
      One for my Master,
      One for my Dame,
      None for my Little Boy
      That lives in the lane.
    • Mother Goose's Melody (1784):
      Bah, bah, black Sheep,
        Have you any Wool?
      Yes, marry have I,
        Three Bags full;
      One for my master,
        One for my Dame,
      But none for the little Boy
        Who cries in the Lane.


  • Who killed Cock Robin?
    I, said the Sparrow,
    With my bow and arrow,
    I killed Cock Robin.


  • Sing hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle,
      The cow jumped over the moon;
    The little dog laughed to see such craft,
      And the dish ran away with the spoon.


  • Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
    Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
    All the king's horses and all the king's men
    Couldn't put Humpty together again.


  • If all the world were paper,
      And all the sea were ink;
    If all the trees were bread and cheese,
      How should we do for drink?
    • "If all the World were Paper", st. 1
    • "Interrogativa Cantilena", in Wits Recreations (1640) — Edward F. Rimbault, "Could we with ink", Notes and Queries, no. 229 (18 March 1854), p. 256


  • Handy spandy, Jack-a-Dandy,
    Loves plum cake and sugar candy;
    He bought some at a grocer’s shop,
    And out he came, hop, hop, hop, hop.
    • "Jack-a-Dandy"
    • Variants: "Nauty Pauty" (l. 1)


  • Jack and Jill went up the hill
      To fetch a pail of water;
    Jack fell down and broke his crown,
      And Jill came tumbling after.
    Up Jack got, and home did trot,
      As fast as he could caper,
    To old Dame Dob, who patched his nob
      With vinegar and brown paper.
    Jill came in and she did grin
      To see his paper plaster;
    Mother, vex’d, did whip her next
      For causing Jack’s disaster.
    • "Jack and Jill"
    • Mother Goose's Melody (1784):
      Then up Jack got, and home did trot,
        As fast as he could caper,
      Dame Gill did the job to plaster his nob
        With vinegar and brown paper


  • Ladybird, ladybird,
    Fly away home,
    Your house is on fire
      And your children all gone;
    All except one
      And that’s little Ann
    And she has crept under
      The warming pan.
    • "Ladybird, Ladybird"
    • Variants: "Nan", "Anne", "Little Anne" (l. 6); "baking", "porridge", "frying" or "pudding" pan (l. 8)
    • Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book (1744):
      Lady Bird, Lady Bird,
      Fly away home,
      Your house is on fire,
      Your children will burn.
    • Cf. Wunderhorn, vol. 1 (1806), p. 156: Marienwürmchen


  • Little Jack Horner
    Sat in the corner,
    Eating a Christmas pie;
    He put in his thumb,
    And pulled out a plum,
    And said, What a good boy am I!
    • "Little Jack Horner"
    • Mother Goose's Melody (1784):
      Little Jack Horner
      Sat in a Corner,
        Eating of Christmas Pye;
      He put in his Thumb,
      And pull’d out a Plumb,
        And what a good Boy was I.
    • Gammer Gurton's Garland (1794):
        Little Jack Horner
        Sat in a corner,
      Eating of Christmas pye;
        He put in his thumb,
        And pull’d out a plum,
      And cry’d, What a good boy am I!



  • London Bridge is falling down,
      Falling down, falling down,
    London Bridge is falling down,
      My fair Lady.


  • Lucy Locket lost her pocket,
      Kitty Fisher found it,
    But the devil a penny was there in it
      Except the binding round it.
    • "Lucy Locket"
    • Walter Crane, Baby's Bouquet (1879):
      Lucy Locket lost her pocket,
      Kitty Fisher found it;
      Not a penny was there in it,
      Only ribbon round it.


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


  •   Old Mother Hubbard
      Went to the cupboard,
    To fetch her poor dog a bone;
      But when she came there
      The cupboard was bare,
    And so the poor dog had none.


  • Old King Cole was a merry old soul,
    And a merry old soul was he;
    He called for his pipe, and he called for his bowl,
    And he called for his fiddlers three.
    Every fiddler he had a fiddle,
    And a very fine fiddle had he;
    Oh, there's none so rare, as can compare,
    With King Cole and his fiddlers three.


  • Oranges and lemons,
    Say the bells of St. Clement's.
    You owe me five farthings,
    Say the bells of St. Martin's.
    When will you pay me?
    Say the bells at Old Bailey.
    When I grow rich,
    Say the bells at Shoreditch.
    When will that be?
    Say the bells of Stepney.
    I do not know,
    Says the great bell at Bow.
    Here comes a candle to light you to bed,
    And here comes a chopper to chop off your head!
    Chip chop chip chop the last man is dead.


  • Sing a song of sixpence,
      A pocket full of rye;
    Four and twenty blackbirds,
      Baked in a pie.
    When the pie was opened,
      The birds began to sing;
    Wasn’t that a dainty dish,
      To set before the king?
    The king was in his counting-house,
      Counting out his money;
    The queen was in the parlour,
      Eating bread and honey.
    The maid was in the garden,
      Hanging out the clothes.
    There came a little blackbird,
      And snapped off her nose.
    • "Sing a Song of Sixpence"
    • Some variants: "song o' sixpence", "bagful" (st. 1); "And when", "And was not this a dainty dish / To set before a king?" (st. 2); "The king was in the parlour / Counting o’er his money; / The queen was in the kitchen, ..." (st. 3); "Laying out the clothes", "Up came a magpie", "pecked", "nipped" or "bit" (st. 4)
    • Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book (1744):
      Sing a Song of Sixpence,
        A bag full of Rye,
      Four and twenty Naughty Boys,
        Baked in a Pye.


  • There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.
    She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do.
    She gave them some broth without any bread;
    Then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.
    • "The Old Woman who lived in a Shoe"
    • Gammer Gurton's Garland (1794):
      There was an old woman, she liv’d in a shoe,
      She had so many children she didn’t know what to do;
      She gave them some broth, without any bread,
      She whipp’d all their bums, and sent them to bed.
    • Infant Institutes (1797):
      There was an old woman, and she liv’d in a shoe,
      She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do.
      She crumm’d ’em some porridge without any bread;
      And she borrow’d a beetle, and she knocked ’em all o’ the head.
      Then out went th’ old woman to bespeak ’em a coffin,
      And when she came back, she found ’em all a-loffeing.


  • This little piggy went to market,
    This little piggy stayed home,
    This little piggy had roast beef,
    This little piggy had none,
    And this little piggy cried, Wee-wee-wee,
    All the way home.


  • Three blind mice, see how they run!
    They all ran after the farmer’s wife,
    Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,
    Did you ever see such a thing in your life,
    As three blind mice?
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Wikipedia
Wikipedia
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  • Ralph N. James, "Nursery Rhymes", Notes and Queries, 5th s., no. 3 (5 June 1875), p. 441
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