{"id":25861,"date":"2023-03-28T14:46:26","date_gmt":"2023-03-28T12:46:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/?p=182345"},"modified":"2023-03-28T16:33:46","modified_gmt":"2023-03-28T14:33:46","slug":"10-of-the-most-popular-nursery-rhymes","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/10-of-the-most-popular-nursery-rhymes\/","title":{"rendered":"10 of the most popular nursery rhymes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our guide to the most popular nursery rhymes <\/p>

By Hannah Nepilova\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 28 March 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

We all grow up singing nursery rhymes.\u00a0 They help to introduce us to language, they support reading skills, in many cases they give children their first taste of music. But which are our favourites? And what is their backstory? Here is our guide to 10 of the most popular nursery rhymes of all time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

10 most popular nursery rhymes ever<\/h2>\n
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
Despite its enduring popularity, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star<\/a><\/strong> was written relatively recently \u2013 at least by the standards of most nursery rhymes.<\/p>\n
The lyrics are from an early 19th century poem by Jane Saylor called \u2018The Star\u2019. Meanwhile the tune was taken from the French song \u2018Ah! vous dirai-je, maman,\u2019 which first appeared in 1761 and, some twenty years later, caught the attention of a certain Wolfgang Amadeus Mozar<\/a><\/strong>t, who wrote a set of twelve variations on it when he was around 12 years old.<\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\""p1"\"><span class=\""s1"\"><b>Baa Baa Black Sheep<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\""p1"\">This song, whose earliest printed version dates from around 1744, is thought to be about the medieval wool trade in 13th-century England. Specifically, it is believed to reference the public\u2019s sense of resentment towards the medieval English \u2018Great\u2019 wool tax of 1275, which was used by King Edward I to fund the Crusades.<\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\">Under this tax rule, any profit made on a sack of wool was divided into three, a third going to the king, another to the Church, and the final third to the farmer.<\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\">In the lyrics we all know, there is a happy ending to the story, with \u2018the little boy who lives down the lane\u2019 (thought to represent a shepherd boy) getting a third of the profits. However, until the late 16th century, the lyrics read: \u2018And none for the little boy who cries down the lane\u2019. In other words, the little shepherd boy received nothing for his work because the profits had all been funnelled elsewhere.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Baa\" baa=\"\" black=\"\" sheep.=\"\" nursery=\"\" rhyme=\"\" for=\"\" babies=\"\" and=\"\" toddlers=\"\" from=\"\" sing=\"\" learn=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YDkMtu9whpk?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3 class=\""p1"\"><span class=\""s1"\"><b>Little Miss Muffet<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\""p1"\">Nobody is quite sure where the nursery rhyme <a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/what-are-the-lyrics-to-little-miss-muffet\/"\"><span class=\""s1"\"><b>Little Miss Muffet <\/b><\/span><\/a>comes from. Its earliest recorded version dates from 1805, but many believe it to be much older, given its similarity to rhymes such as \u2018<strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/little-jack-horner-lyrics\/"\">Little Jack Horner<\/a><\/strong>\u2019, which dates at least as far back as 1720.<\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\">And who exactly is the song\u2019s arachnophobic young heroine? Some say it\u2019s the daughter of Dr Thomas Muffet, an English physician and entomologist who published the first academic list of British insects between 1553 and 1604. Others think she represents Mary Queen of Scots, while the spider is John Knox \u2013 the Scottish priest who openly preached against her and forcefully argued that she was a danger to the Protestant cause.<\/p>\n<section class=\""highlight\"> <div class=\""highlightcontent\" editor-content=\"\"> <p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/darkest-nursery-rhymes\/"\"><b>10 darkest nursery rhymes<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/what-is-a-nursery-rhyme\/"\"><b>What is a nursery rhyme?<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/how-can-i-get-my-child-into-classical-music\/"\"><b>How can I get my child into classical music?<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <h3 class=\""p1"\"><span class=\""s1"\"><b><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/old-macdonald-had-a-farm-lyrics\/"\">Old MacDonald Had a Farm<\/a><span class=\""Apple-converted-space"\">\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\""p1"\">The earliest known version of this song is \u2018In the Fields in Frost and Snow\u2019, which appeared in Thomas d\u2019Urey\u2019s 1706 opera, \u2018The Kingdom of the Birds or Wonders of the Sung.\u2019 In rhythm and content, it is much like the version we all know, profiling a different animal from verse to verse. Unlike its cheery modern day counterpart, however, it is in a minor key.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\""p1"\"><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/the-grand-old-duke-of-york-lyrics\/"\"><span class=\""s1"\"><b>The Grand old Duke of York<\/b><\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n<p class=\""p1"\">This song, dating at least as far back as the 1600s, is thought to reference Richard, Duke of York (1411-1460) and his designs on the English throne. While attempting to wrest power from the Lancastrian Henry VI, his army was outnumbered by Lancastrian forces. Undeterred, Richard fought on but was killed in the ensuing battle, along with much of his army.<span class=\""Apple-converted-space"\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<iframe title=\""The\" grand=\"\" old=\"\" duke=\"\" of=\"\" york=\"\" nursery=\"\" rhyme=\"\" for=\"\" babies=\"\" and=\"\" toddlers=\"\" from=\"\" sing=\"\" learn.=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6yMohiOLA6M?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3 class=\""p1"\"><span class=\""s1"\"><b>Pop Goes the Weasel<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\""p1"\">As early as 1856 a correspondent to the Morning Post wrote of \u2018<strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/pop-goes-the-weasel-lyrics\/"\">Pop Goes the Weasel\u2019<\/a><\/strong>: \u2018Sir, For many months, everybody has been bored to death with the eternal grinding of this ditty on the street.\u2019 They might have been dismayed to learn that, nearly 200 years later, the song remains a classic.<\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\">Yet, nobody is quite sure what it is about. Some say the \u2018weasel\u2019 is a tailor\u2019s spinning wheel, others have interpreted the title as slang for pawning one\u2019s possessions, (\u2018pop\u2019 meaning pawning, and \u2018weasel\u2019 being slang for anything of value that was pawnable.) There have been suggestions that the phrase was intended to be erotic or ribald. Or it might be referring to an actual weasel.<\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\">Luckily the tune \u2013 taken from a Scottish country dance called \u2018The Haymakers\u2019 \u2013 is a little more straightforward. Fact: The \u2018Eagle\u2019 of the second verse is a real place: namely the famous Eagle pub on City Road. You won\u2019t find tuppenny rice on the menu, but they\u2019ll do you a sharer plate of Nachos for \u00a311.50.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Pop\" goes=\"\" the=\"\" weasel=\"\" nursery=\"\" rhyme=\"\" for=\"\" babies=\"\" and=\"\" toddlers=\"\" from=\"\" sing=\"\" learn=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Aj7YC2xdgRw?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<section class=\""highlight\"> <div class=\""highlightcontent\" editor-content=\"\"> <p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/music-gifts-for-kids\/"\"><b>Music gifts for kids<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/music-toys\/"\"><b>Musical toys for children: 10 of the best music toys for all ages<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/books\/childrens-books-about-music\/"\">Children\u2019s books about music: 10 of the best<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-classical-music-for-children\/"\"><b>10 pieces of classical music for children<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3 class=\""p1"\"><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/itsy-bitsy-spider-lyrics\/"\"><b>Incy Wincey Spider<\/b><\/a><\/h3>\n<p class=\""p1"\">The origin of this song (sometimes known as \u2018Itsy Bitsy Spider\u2019) are unclear, and there are a few theories about its meaning, with some arguing that the spider symbolises the struggles of the working classes. But what is clear is its popularity: in the preschoolers\u2019 hall of fame, it\u2019s a smash hit, which is why it has been covered by everyone from <i>The Simpsons <\/i>to Nicole Kidman to the Danish-Norwegian pop band Aqua.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Incy\" wincy=\"\" spider=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""150"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NZn4t0Tp7Rk?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/sing-a-song-of-sixpence-lyrics\/"\"><strong>Sing a Song of Sixpence<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>As with a few songs on this list, we don\u2019t have the foggiest idea where this one came from. There is an implied reference in Shakespeare\u2019s <em>Twelfth Night <\/em>\u00a0(c. 1602), where\u00a0Sir Toby Belch tells a clown: \u2018Come on; there is sixpence for you: let\u2019s have a song\u2019 and \u2013 more obviously \u2013 in Beaumont and Fletcher\u2019s 1614 play\u00a0<i>Bonduca<\/i>, which contains the line \u2018Whoa, here\u2019s a stir now! Sing a song o\u2019 sixpence!\u2019 One thing we do know is that an alternate, 1744, version of the song\u2019s second line read: \u2018four and twenty naughty boys baked in a pie.\u2019<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Sing\" a=\"\" song=\"\" of=\"\" sixpence=\"\" early=\"\" years=\"\" nursery=\"\" rhymes=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Mtr4hOCq0Sg?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<h3><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/pat-a-cake-lyrics\/"\"><strong>Pat a Cake<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>First recorded in Thomas d\u2019Urfey\u2019s 1698 play\u00a0<em>The Campaigners,\u00a0<\/em>this is one of the oldest surviving English nursery rhymes. Although it\u2019s not certain, the reference to cake-marking may refer to a time when households without an oven could take their item to a local baker and pay to have their items finished for a small fee. The pastries would have been marked to ensure that they were returned to the right owner.<\/p>\n<h3><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/old-mother-hubbard-lyrics\/"\"><strong>Old Mother Hubbard<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>Who exactly was Old Mother Hubbard? Some argue that she represents Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, while the bone represents his unsuccessful attempt to get an annulment for King Henry VIII\u2019s marriage to Catherine of Aragon.\u00a0 Others say she was Miss Sarah Catherine Martin, the retired housekeeper who wrote and illustrated the first published version of the rhyme in 1804.<\/p>\n<p>Whether or not the rhyme is autobiographical is unclear. Either way, Old Mother Hubbard was an instant hit, inspiring a whole series of books and memorabilia, as well as a Christmas pantomime. A comic sketch published in 1818 has a character exclaim: \u2018Is it not ridiculous for us grown people to be going to see Mother Goose, Tom Thumb, Old Mother Hubbard, and suchlike infantile fooleries; or to misspend our time at pantomimes and at rope dancings?\u2019 Old Mother Hubbard remains an institution.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Old\" mother=\"\" hubbard=\"\" early=\"\" years=\"\" nursery=\"\" rhymes=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VZraEjNLyI4?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> Our guide to the most popular nursery rhymes <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":25862,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"6"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/03\/10-of-the-most-popular-nursery-rhymes.jpg",640,574,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/03\/10-of-the-most-popular-nursery-rhymes-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/03\/10-of-the-most-popular-nursery-rhymes-300x269.jpg",300,269,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/03\/10-of-the-most-popular-nursery-rhymes.jpg",640,574,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/03\/10-of-the-most-popular-nursery-rhymes.jpg",640,574,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/03\/10-of-the-most-popular-nursery-rhymes.jpg",640,574,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/03\/10-of-the-most-popular-nursery-rhymes.jpg",640,574,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Our guide to the most popular nursery rhymes","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/25861"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}