Nursery Rhyme. CXXXVIII. Songs.

        [The first line of this nursery rhyme is quoted in Beaumont and Fletcher's Bonduca, Act v, sc. 2. It is probable also that Sir Toby alludes to this song in Twelfth Night, Act ii, sc. 2, when he says, "Come on; there is sixpence for you; let's have a song." In Epulario, or the Italian banquet, 1589, is a receipt "to make pies so that the birds may be alive in them and flie out when it is cut up," a mere device, live birds being introduced after the pie is made. This may be the original subject of the following song.]

    Sing a song of sixpence,
        A bag full of rye;
    Four and twenty blackbirds
        Baked in a pie;

    When the pie was open'd,
        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 snapt off her nose.

    Jenny was so mad,
        She didn't know what to do;
    She put her finger in her ear,
        And crackt it right in two.

Unknown

The identity of this poet is not known. Their works, which are often of significant historical or cultural value, have been attributed to 'Unknown'. This designation is commonly used when the creator of works, ranging from ancient texts to more modern writings, remains anonymous or uncredited. Despite the lack of personal details, the impact and importance of these works endure, offering insight into the eras and cultures from which they originated.

Unknown

Nursery Rhyme. CCXCII. Games.

Unknown , Simple Poetry

Nursery Rhyme. CCCXCIX. Lullabies.

Unknown , Simple Poetry

Nursery Rhyme. CCXXVIII. Riddles.

Unknown , Simple Poetry

Nursery Rhyme. CCXXXV. Riddles.

Unknown , Simple Poetry

English

Suggested Poems

Explore a curated selection of verses that share themes, styles, and emotional resonance with the poem you've just read.

Sing A Song Of Sixpence

Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye,

Four and twenty black-birds,
Baked in a pie

When the pie was open'd
The birds began to sing

Was'nt 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 nipp'd off her nose.

Walter Crane

Ye Song Of Sixpence

1.
Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket fall of rye;
Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie;
When the pie was open the birds began to sing,
Wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king?

2.
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 her clothes,
When up came a blackbird and pecked off her nose.

Walter Crane

Nursery Rhyme. CXLVI. Songs.

        [From 'Histrio-mastix, or, the Player Whipt,' 4to, Lond. 1610. Mr. Rimbault tells me this is common in Yorkshire.]

            Some up, and some down,
            There's players in the town,
    You wot well who they be;
            The sun doth arise,
            To three companies,
    One, two, three, four, make wee!

            Besides we that travel,
            With pumps full of gravel,
    Made all of such running leather:
            That once in a week,
            New masters we seek,
    And never can hold together.

Unknown

Nursery Rhyme. CCXCIX. Games.

    Ride a cock-horse to Banbury-cross,
        To see what Tommy can buy;
    A penny white loaf, a penny white cake,
        And a twopenny apple-pie.

Unknown

Nursery Rhyme. CCLXXXVI. Games.

        [This game begins thus: Take this - What's this? - A gaping, wide-mouthed, waddling frog, & c.]

    Twelve huntsmen with horns and hounds,
    Hunting over other men's grounds!
    Eleven ships sailing o'er the main,
    Some bound for France and some for Spain:
    I wish them all safe home again:
    Ten comets in the sky,
    Some low and some high;
    Nine peacocks in the air,
    I wonder how they all came there,
    I do not know and I do not care;
    Eight joiners in joiner's hall,
    Working with the tools and all;
    Seven lobsters in a dish,
    As fresh as any heart could wish;
    Six beetles against the wall,
    Close by an old woman's apple stall;
    Five puppies of our dog Ball,
    Who daily for their breakfast...

Unknown

Nursery Rhyme. CXLV. Songs.

    Trip upon trenchers, and dance upon dishes,
    My mother sent me for some barm, some barm;
    She bid me tread lightly, and come again quickly,
    For fear the young men should do me some harm.
        Yet didn't you see, yet didn't you see,
        What naughty tricks they put upon me:

        They broke my pitcher,
            And spilt the water,
        And huff'd my mother,
            And chid her daughter,
    And kiss'd my sister instead of me.

Unknown