A Book of Nursery Songs and Rhymes/Notes

by Sabine Baring-Gould

I. THE TASK

This is known under various forms thoughout England. In Northumberland it is called 'Whittingham Fair,' and begins:—

Are you going to Whittingham Fair,

Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme?

Remember me to one who loves thee,

For once she was a true lover of mine.

'Northumbrian Minstrelsy,' p. 79; Broadway and Maitland, 'Country Songs,' as 'Scarborough Fair,' a Yorkshire version; Halliwell's 'Nursery Rhymes,' pp. 109, 241. I give a Cornish version as the most complete of all. In Cornwall formerly it formed a portion of a sort of play, and was sung by a young man and a young woman. The story was that she was engaged to him, he died, and his ghost came to claim her. She escapes through setting the ghost tasks, after he has set her others, which are impossible of accomplishment.

II. A LYING TALE

This odd song was taken down from a Cornishman. Lying tales are favourite nursery entertainments for children, and there exists a great variety of them.

III. THREE JOVIAL WELSHMEN

In a collection of 'Forty Early Ballad Books' in the British Museum, No. 21 is 'The Woods' Chorister,' and this contains the 'Three Jovial Welshmen.' The last verse is:— Old Reynard, being wet and weary, He scarce could go or stand, Come boldly to the Huntsmen, To be at their command. With a hoop! Hoop! etc. I have added verses seven and eight, to give some finish to the song—as singers add as suits their fancy and their powers of rhyme, ad lib. See also Halliwell's 'Nursery Rhymes,' p. 161.

IV.

This was thought by Mr. Halliwell to refer to the visit of Joanna of Castile to England in 1506.

V. THE FOX

This is traditional throughout England. It appears in 'The Opera; or, Cabinet of Song,' published by Sheafe at Edinburgh in 1832, edited by James Ballantyne. Also, Logan, 'The Pedlar's Pack,' p. 291; 'Notes and Queries,' 1854, where it is given as a Cornish song; Halliwell's 'Nursery Rhymes,' p. 84. It occurs on Broadsides by Harkness of Preston, etc.

VI. THE HERRING'S HEAD

This 'lying tale' is known and sung throughout Devon and Cornwall.

VII. MOTHER'S SONG

A West of England lullaby. The fish in the well is a purely Celtic conception. It is the mystic fish that never dies.

VIII. THE FOOLISH BOY

This song is known in every nursery through England. There are various alterations in the burden. One is:—

'Whimma whimmee wobble, O!

Jigga-jiggee-joggle, O!

Little boys a wobble, O! lived under the gloam.'

This from Somersetshire; another from Yorkshire is:—

'Withamy, widy, waddle, O!

Jack has sold his saddle, O!

Bubble ho! pretty boy, over the brow.'

See Halliwell, 'Nursery Rhymes, p. 92, 'The Baby's Opera.'

IX. TOMMY-A-LYNN

This curious song is known throughout England, and delights children. Sometimes Bryan-a-Lynn is sung in place of Tommy-a-Lynn, sometimes he is 'a Scotchman,' sometimes 'a gentleman,' in Cornwall he is 'Harry Trewin.' It is printed in 'The Distracted Sailor's Garland'; also in Ritson's 'North Country Chorister,' 1809; also Halliwell's 'Popular Rhymes,' 1849, and his 'Nursery Rhymes.' A similar song, 'Jean de Nivelle' is sung in Gascony, where it is a dance song (Blade, 'Poesies Populaires de la Gascoyne,' 1887); also in Canada among the French Canadians (Gagnosi, 'Chansons Populaires du Canada,' Quebec, 1865). It is known and sung also in Languedoc as 'Jean de Reulo' or 'Jean de Nibelo.' The song was sung by Mr. Purcell's 'Irish Vocalists,' and is given at length in 'The Dublin Comic Songster' (Dublin, 1841). There are often sung several other verses besides those given above, which were taken down in Devonshire. What 'a bone of my Stover' signifies, I do not know.

XI. GREEN AND AIRY AROUND

This is an old nursery and schoolboy song. It occurs in a collection of Garlands in the British Museum (11, 621, 6, 18).

XII. LAST NIGHT THE DOGS DID BARK

An old English song. It occurs with music in 'The Thrush Crosby,' London, 1827. There is a popular nursery version:—

'Hark! hark! the dogs do bark,

The beggars are coming to town,

Some in Rags, and some in Jags,

And others in Velvet Gowns,'

which is supposed to be a Jacobite jingle in derision of the House of Hanover.

'Hark! hark! the dogs do bark,

My wife is coming in,'

went anciently to 'The Devil's Dream,' which is given in the 'Dancing Master,' 6th ed., 1675.

XIII. NICE YOUNG MAIDENS

This was sung to an old lady by her grandmother some sixty years ago. It appears in 'The Universal Songster,' 1826. It was very popular in London in 1820, when J.P. Hodgson wrote words like these: 'Smart Young Bachelors.' J. Blewett composed the music, but Mrs. Humby sang the other words to the probably traditional air, and this entirely put out Blewett's tune. The song reached Scotland, where Buchan picked it up, and tacked on to it the words of his own:—

'But we'll apply to James the Third,

Puir auld maidens,

And our petition mawn be heard,

And for ilk dame a man secured

To puir auld maidens';

and he asserted, 'This curious ditty was written down during te sovereignty of James the Third of Scotland, and is, consequently, nearly 400 years old' (P. Buchan, 'Ancient SOngs of Scotland,' 1878). Christie, in his 'Traditional Ballad Airs,' 1876, gives the air as now attached to 'Puir Auld Maidens' in Scotland. Although I have said that Mrs. Humbly sang 'Here's a Pretty Set of Us' to the traditional air (probably), it is quite possible, though not probable, that she composed it. The song and the tunes cannot be traced earlier than the beginning of this century.

XIV. AMONG THE GREEN HAY

This is an old nursery song that I have had from an old lady in Devon, who heard it from her grandmother. She forgot two of the verses, but Miss L.E. Broadwood has kindly supplied me with them from a Hampshire singer.

XV. ONE MICHAELMAS MORN

A Devonshire nursery song.

XVI. THE OLD COUPLE

Pretty universally known in England. Halliwell, 'Nursery Tales and Rhymes,' p. 270, with 'Fa-la-fa-lala- la' in place of 'Tweedle, tweedle, dee.' We have given it with music in 'The Garland' (Methuen, 1894).

XVII. THE FROG WHO WOULD A-WOOING GO

This song was composed and sung by Liston at Covent Garden Theatre, and took the place of the far earlier song on the same lines of 'The Frog and Mouse,' concerning which, see Chappell's 'English Popular Music of the Olden Time,' and my 'Garland of Country Songs.'

XVIII. MY JOHNNY WAS A SHOEMAKER

From 'The Besom-Maker, and other Country Songs,' collected by Mr. Heywood Sumner.

XIX. THE JACKET AND PETTICOAT

This is taken from Miss M.H. Mason's 'Nursery Rhymes and Country Songs,' p. 29. Also in Laurie and Marby's 'Rhymes and Jingles.'

XX. THE WHALE

Taken down from a Devonshire nurse.

XXI. WINE AND WATER

Taken down from the same nurse as the preceding song.

XXII. THE TREE IN THE WOOD

This favourite song is given in 'Songs of the West,' together with music, and an account of its diffusion.

XXIII. THE QUAKER SONG

From a Devonshire nurse.

XXIV. GOOD KIND ARTHUR

Sometimes this is sung of King Stephen.

XXV. MY BOY BILLY

This wide-spread rhyme is only one portion of a long story. The youth who is dissuaded from going a-courting by his mother persists, and is poisoned by the lady with a fish. Then follows the rest of the song, which consists of a dialogue with the mother, and he says:—

'Make my bed soon,

For I am sick to the heart, mother,

Fain would lie down.'

This, with its proper air, I have given in 'A Garland of Country Songs.' The complete story in both parts is found in Scotland. Both songs are very well known in Devonshire. They were sung about 1835 by a west-country nurse. There are Swedish and other versions, for which see Professor Child's 'English Ballads,' ii. 244. See for a further account of it 'The Garland of Country Songs' (Methuen, 1894).

XXVI. THE CARRION CROW

A very old folk and nursery song. It is given in Halliwell; also in Crane's 'Baby Bouquet'; also in 'The Garland of Country Songs.'

XXVII. THE BABES IN THE WOOD

A rewriting and condensation of the old ballad, made about the beginning of this century. It is given with the air in Miss Mason's 'Nursery Rhymes,' and in Laurie and Marby's 'Rhymes, Jingles, and Songs.'

XXVIII. I LOVE SIXPENCE

And old song I remember as a child. I took it down again from a white-haired tanner who died three years ago. It is given by Miss Mason in her 'Nursery Rhymes,' p.28; also in 'The Baby's Bouquet.'

XXIX. THE LITTLE DANDY

This little song appeared in 'The Convival Companion,' by G. Woodward, n.d., but about 1763, as there is in it a song describing the Coronation of George IV. It was printed and published at Norwich. In this there are four verses: the tune is 'Darby, O.'

XXX. WIG, HAT, AND CANE

A song that appears in the garlands and song-books of the end of the last century and the beginning of this.

XXI. CHIT, CHAT

Also from the garlands and song-books of the same period as the last.

XXXII. SONG OF SPRING

Three verses out of an old song composed to the air, 'To all you Ladies now on Land." Scraps are still to be heard sung by country singers. It is found complete in 'The Convival Songster,' n.d., but about 1760, and in other collections of last century.

XXXIII. WINTER SONG

Two verses of an old English song, and a very pleasant one, not absolutely dead even now, though it is some 200 years old.

XXXIV. THREE CHILDREN SLIDING

A very old song. In the original it consists of twenty-one verses. It occurs in 'Merry Drollery Complete,' 1670. It was sung to 'Chevy CHase,' and to 'Lady's Fall.' In the form in which it last comes to us there is reference to the fire on London Bridge in 1683, and the great frost on the Thames in 1684.

XXXV. IF ALL THE WORLD WERE PAPER

Four out of the six verses of this old nursery song, which was published in 1640; the tune was printed in Playford's 'Dancing Master,' in 1651. It has been republished in 'The Baby's Bouquet.'

XXXVI. IF I HAD TWO SHIPS

Taken down from a tramp-woman, singing it to her babe.

XXVII. HUNTING THE HARE

This old song is given, along with the music to which it is traditionally sung, in 'Songs of the West' (Methuen, 1892).

XXXVIII. THE LITTLE MAN

Ritson gives two verses only in his 'Gammer Gurton Garland,' which appeared in 1783.

XXXIX. SING A SONG OF SIXPENCE

A very old nursery song. It is quoted in Beaumont and Fletcher's 'Bonduca,' Act v. Sc. 2, published in 1647.

XL. LUCY LOCKET

Lucy Locket and Kitty Fisher were well-known personages in the time and about the Court of Charles II. The tune is that appropriated by the Americans for 'Yanky Doodle.' It will be found in 'The Baby's Bouquet.'

XLI. LITTLE BINGO

The air to this little nursery rhyme was printed in the first number of the 'Early English Musical Magazine,' January 1891.

XLII. I SAW A SHIP A-SAILING

This favourite nursery song, along with its air, will be found in 'The Baby's Bouquet.'

XLIII. THE SCARECROW

This is given, with the air, in Laurie and Marby's 'Rhymes, Jingles, and Songs,' and also in 'The Baby's Bouquet.'

XLIV. ON CHRISTMAS DAY IN THE MORNING

This, with the air to which it is traditionally sung, is given in 'The Baby's Opera.'

XLV. LITTLE ROBIN COOK

In Ritson's 'Gammer Gurton's Garland.'

XLVI. LITTLE BO-PEEP

Ritson gives this with a fifth verse in his 'Gammer Gurton's Garland.' The 'lambs' tails' are, of course, the catkins on the hazel-trees. The air is given in 'The Baby's Opera.'

XLVII. THE MAGPIE

Known, with its familiar air, in every nursery.

XLVIII. ROBIN REDBREAST AND JENNY WREN

The air will be found in 'The Baby's Opera.'

XLIX. NEW YEAR'S DAY

The air is given by Mr. Crane in 'The Baby's Opera.'

L. THE DILLY SONG

For this curious song, with its air and its history, see 'Songs of the West,' and Miss Broadwood's 'Country Songs.'

LI. GREEN ROOM

For this and its air and history see 'Songs of the West.'

LII. TOM, THE PIPER'S SON

'Tom, the Piper's Son' is the equivalent in England of the Fiddler in Germany with the marvellous fiddle that makes all dance, and, indeed, the 'Pied Piper of Hamelin.' The air of 'Over the Hills and Far Away' is given by Chappell in his 'Popular Music of the Olden Time,' also in 'The Baby's Opera.'

LIII. WHERE ARE YOU GOING, MY PRETTY MAID?

A widely-known song. In the original form it was much longer and objectionable. Accordingly, at the beginning of this century, fresh words were written and a new tune composed, so that, like the Irishman's knife, it was made all new. It existed in the old Cornish language. The old air is in 'Songs of Four Nations,' by Bolton and Somervill.

LIV. LULLABY

Words and charming melody in 'Songs of the West.'

LV. THE ROBIN

Taken down from a Devonshire nurse.

LVI. CLICK, CLACK

Although taken down from an English nurse, this is probably an American nursery rhyme; it has none of the freshness of a genuine English folk nursery song.

LVII. THE SNAIL

Taken down from a Devonshire nurse.

LVIII. SCHOOL OVER

A modern composition, unquestionably.

LIX. TWINKLE, TWINKLE

Known everywhere.

LX. GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD MORNING

By the late Lord Houghton.

LXI. THE PIGS

From 'Original Poems for Infant Minds,' published about 1830.

LXII. THE LITTLE FISHERMAN

From the same.

LXIII. THE LITTLE OLD WOMAN

Found in old song-books of the beginning of the nineteenth century, not older; with tune in 'The Baby's Bouquet,' by Walter Crane.

LXIV. THE RIDDLE

A very ancient Riddle Song. Two versions in Miss Mason's 'Nursery Rhymes,' one in Mr. Crane's 'Baby's Bouquet.' A portion of it has got attached—why, I cannot say—to 'Don't you go a-rushing, Maids, in May.'

'I'll give you a chicken that has no bone,

I'll give you a cherry without any stone,

I'll give you a ring without any rim,

And I'll give you an oak that has no limb.'

The ring has no rim when the gold is being melted, and the oak has no limb when in the acorn.

I got another version in Devon, where a verse runs:—

'I'll give you a home wherein you may be,

Where you may be kept fast without any key.'

The answer is:—

'O my heart is the house wherein you may abide,

And not a key is wanted to keep you inside.'

LXV. GIRLS AND BOYS

Very generally known. Halliwell's 'Nursery Rhymes'; Crane's 'Baby's Opera,' etc.

LXVI. MRS. BOND

This appears with music in 'The Nightingale,' 1831, p. 285. It is given in Mr. Crane's 'Baby's Opera.'

LXVII. THE LITTLE COCK-SPARROW

The air in 'The Baby's Bouquet,' etc.

LXVIII. THE GOOSE AND GANDER

Miss Mason's 'Nursery Rhymes,' with air. This rhyme is quite new to me, and is probably north-country.

LXIX. AIKEN DRUM

A north-country nursery song. The air in 'The Baby's Bouquet.'

LXX. PUSSY-CAT

The air also in 'The Baby's Bouquet.'

LXXI. THE BONNIE PIT LADDIE

A north-country colliers' wives' song, given by Mr. J. Stagg in the 'Early English Musical Magazine' for March 1891. This promising periodical unhappily expired for lack of sufficient support. Mr. Stagg says that this song is quoted in a play, 'The Love-Sick King,' which was printed in 1655. This play was by Anthony Brewer, and was on the story of Cartismandua.

LXXII. THE GOLDEN BALL

Taken down in Yorkshire. See Henderson's 'Folklore of the Northern Counties of England,' first edition, 1866. It has since been appropriated by Mr. Jacobs for his 'more English Fairy Tales,' together with the folk-story I obtained along with it in Yorkshire. Since then I have gathered the same in Cornwall.

GAME RHYMES

For variants of these rhymes, and for their airs, I must refer to Mrs. Gomme's 'Traditional Games' (London, nutt, 1884). The first volume has, so far, alone appeared.

IV. PRETTY LITTLE GIRL

Played by the children at Black Torrington, North Devon. Having chosen one for the centre, they join hands, singing as they slowly walk round. At the words 'On the carpet,' the child in the centre kneels; at 'Stand upright,' she rises and chooses a little companion, and they continue singing and walking around. At the words 'Rock the cradle,' all clap hands four times, once at each word. The first child then joins the ring, leaving one in the centre, and the game continues as before. The tune is a variant of the Sicilian Mariners.

NURSERY JINGLES

XXIX. This is a rhyme to explain the spots in the moon. Jack and Jill are Hjoki and Bil of Norse mythology. In the 'Elder Edda' we are told that Mani, the Moon, once took up two children of these names to him, as they were on their way returning from a well with a bucket of water between them.

XXXIX. Little Jack Horner is a hero of a chap-book tale consisting of many adventures, some not over choice.

XLVII. This is a riddle rhyme. Humpty-dumpty is an egg.

LI. This has been thought to be a Jacobite rhyme, in ridicule of the advent of the House of Hanover.

LIV. A rhyme for winning a pair of gloves from the first saluted on Easter morning.