Hickety pickety
Early to bed
Early to bed and early to rise
Makes a man, healthy, wealthy and wise.
This is a very old rhyme, dating back as far as the 15th century.
It was very popular in the 19th century when there was another verse preceding this one which went:
“The cock crows in the morn
To tell us to rise,
And he that lies late
Will never be wise.”
James Thurber, the American writer and cartoonist, wrote a funny parody of it as follows:
“Early to rise and early to bed,
makes a male healthy, wealthy and dead!”
Hark, hark the dogs do bark
Hark, hark, the dogs do bark,
The beggars are coming to town
Some in rags, and some in jags,
And some in velvet gowns.
During the Tudor period in England, over 10,000 people were without jobs. Although by today’s standards that doesn’t seem a great number, the population as a whole was only around 5 million people. With no other method of getting money, they were forced to beg in the city streets. The velvet gowns no doubt refer to stolen property.
There is another version of this rhyme in which the fourth line says, ‘And one in a velvet gown.’ This has brought forward a theory that the beggars were in fact the Dutch, who came to England in 1688 and their King, William III is thought to be the one in the velvet gown.
Goosey, goosey gander
Goosey, goosey, gander,
Whither shall I wander?
Upstairs, and downstairs,
And in my lady’s chamber.
There I met an old man
Who wouldn’t say his prayers!
I took him by the left leg
And threw him down the stairs.
Liane Collins from the UK has told me of this possible origin.
“Goosey goosey gander relates to closet Catholics in the 16th century, hence ‘left foot’. The upstairs and downstairs refers to the hunt for priest holes and priests (old man) and their refusal to conform to the new protestant or common prayer book (say his prayers). Once found they were arrested, (usually along with the family) and sentenced to death.”
Georgie Porgie
Georgie Porgie, pudding and pie,
Kissed the girls and made them cry;
When the boys came out to play,
Georgie Porgie ran away.
Contrary to popular belief there are actually three possible suspects for being Georgie Porgie. The first and most likely is George I, secondly George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham and finally, Charles II.
Eena Meena Miny Mo
Eena, meena, mina, mo,
Catch a nigger by the toe;
If he squeals let him go,
Eeena, meena, mina, mo.
Whilst there are versions of the first line of this rhyme in both German and Cornish, the two middle lines, it is agreed, undoubtedly originated from America.
The rhyme is used to choose who is ‘it’ in children’s games.
NOTE: To those of you who are offended by this rhyme, please remember that this site is dedicated to the history of rhymes. I certainly don’t suggest that it is used today in this format, I’m merely showing the original. All children in British schools use a variety of other (what are deemed less offensive) terms nowadays.
Doctor Foster
Doctor Foster went to Gloucester
In a shower of rain;
He stepped in a puddle, right up to his middle,
And never went there again.
There is a popular theory in the West Country that Doctor Foster was in fact Edward I. He was rumoured to have visited Gloucester on horseback, but the city streets were so deep with mud that his horse floundered and planks had to be laid down to help the horse to regain it’s footing. Edward swore he would never visit the city again after this distressing incident.
Ding dong bell
Ding, dong bell,
Pussy’s in the well.
Who put her in?
Little Johnny Green.
Who pulled her out?
Little Tommy Stout.
What a naughty boy was that
To try to drown poor pussy cat,
Who never did him any harm
And killed the mice in his father’s barn.
Versions of this very old nursery rhyme date back to the late 16th century.
Shakespeare used ‘Ding, dong, bell’ in The Merchant of Venice, Act III, Scene II:
“Let us all ring fancy’s bell;
I’ll begin it – Ding, dong, bell.”
And in The Tempest, Act I, Scene II:
“Sea nymphs hourly ring his knell:
Hark! Now I hear them – Ding, dong, bell.”
Diddle, diddle dumpling
Diddle, diddle, dumpling, my son John,
Went to bed with his trousers on;
One shoe off, one shoe on,
Diddle, diddle dumpling my son John.
Hot dumpling sellers in old London town used to cry out “Diddle Diddle Dumpling” when selling their wares. The John in this rhyme sounds as though he may have been a bit diddled the night before, and probably not from eating dumplings!
Curly Locks
Curly Locks, Curly Locks,
Will you be mine?
You shall not wash dishes,
Nor feed the swine,
But sit on a cushion
And sew a fine seam,
And sup upon strawberries, sugar, and cream.
An unsubstantiated theory is that Curly Locks could be Charles II. One version of the rhyme was used as a courtship rhyme in Cumberland in the early 19th century.