All Info About Nursery Rhymes
Sing a song of sixpence
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;
Was not 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 pecked off her nose.
A pocket full of rye;
Four and twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened
The birds began to sing;
Was not 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 pecked off her nose.
Origin
It seems most likely that it simply refers to the then practice at banquets of cooking live birds in a pie crust, which when cut, would allow the birds to fly out spectacularly and surprisingly!!
It's possible that the pocket full of rye may have been a measurement of the day, and the counting house, (which is also referred to in The Merry Wives of Windsor), was the office where the money part of a business was transacted.
Note: A search for this rhyme on the Internet brings up a large number of sites suggesting that this rhyme originated as a pirates' recruiting song. This is a perfect example of website owners/editors not checking their facts before copying an already published idea. Click here for more information on this alternative explanation
It's possible that the pocket full of rye may have been a measurement of the day, and the counting house, (which is also referred to in The Merry Wives of Windsor), was the office where the money part of a business was transacted.
Note: A search for this rhyme on the Internet brings up a large number of sites suggesting that this rhyme originated as a pirates' recruiting song. This is a perfect example of website owners/editors not checking their facts before copying an already published idea. Click here for more information on this alternative explanation