Willie Winkie

October 6th, 2009

Willie Winkie

History of English Nursery Rhymes

The history and origins of most nursery rhymes reflect events in history and where available we have included both the meanings, history and origins of everyone's favourite nursery rhymes.

Two examples of these types of nursery rhymes history and origins are 'Ring a Ring of Roses' which refers to the Bubonic plague and 'Remember, Remember the Fifth of November' nursery rhyme which alludes to Guy Fawkes' foiled attempt to blow up the English Houses of Parliament! Many of the words and nursery rhymes lyrics were used to parody the British royal and political events of the day, direct dissent would often be punishable by death! Strange how these events in history are still portrayed through children's nursery rhymes, when for most of us the historical events relationship to the nursery rhymes themselves are long forgotten!

Please click here to visit the web page where the lyrics of Nursery Rhymes are on display.

Various Nursery Rhymes

John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
London Bridge is Falling down
The Sandman
Aiken Drum
The Big Ship Sails on the Ally-Ally-oh
A Wise Old Owl Nursery Rhyme
An Apple a Day lyrics
As I was Going to St. Ives lyrics
Baa Baa Black Sheep rhyme
Christmas is Coming
Cry Baby Buntin lyrics
Diddle Diddle Dumpling
Ding Dong Bell ryme
Doctor Foster lyrics
For Want of a Nail rhyme
Georgie Porgie Nursery rhyme
Goosey Goosey Gander lyrics
Grand Old Duke of York
Hark hark the Dogs do Bark
Here is the Church rhyme
Hey Diddle Diddle lyrics
Hickory Dickory Dock lyrics
Horsey Horsey Rhyme
Hot Cross Buns rhyme
Humpty Dumpty story
Hush-a-bye Baby
Itsy Bitsy Spider lyrics
Jack and Jill went up the Hill lyrics
Jack be Nimble rhyme
Jack Sprat
Ladybug Ladybug rhyme
Little Bo-Peep rhyme
Little Boy Blue rhyme
Little Hen Nursery Rhyme
Little Jack Horner lyrics
Little Miss Muffet rhyme
Little Robin Red breast
Little Tommy Tucker rhyme
Mary had a Little Lamb lyrics
Mary Mary Quite Contrary
Mondays Child rhyme
Old King Cole lyrics
Old Mother Hubbard
London Bells Nursery Rhyme

London Bridge is Broken down
Lucy Lockett
One Two Buckle my Shoe
One Two Three Four Five
Oranges and Lemons Nursery Rhyme
Pease Pudding Hot Rhyme
Pat a Cake Pat a Cake
Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater
Polly put the Kettle on Rhyme
Pop goes the Weasel
Pussycat, Pussycat rhyme
Rain Rain go Away
Red Sky at Night lyrics
Remember Remember
Ride a Cock Horse to Banbury Cross
Ring around the Rosy lyrics
Rock a Bye Baby rhyme
See Saw Marjory Daw rhyme
Simple Simon lyrics
Sing a Song of Sixpence rhyme
Star Light Star Bright lyrics
Three Blind Mice Rhyme
Three Little Kitten lyrics
The Cat, the Rat & Lovell the dog
The Elephant Rhyme
The Lion and the Unicorn rhyme
The North Wind doth Blow
The Owl and the Pussycat
The Queen of Hearts
There was a Crooked Man
There was an Old Lady lyrics
There was an Old Woman
Thirty Days hath September rhyme
This is the House that Jack built
This Little Piggy lyrics
Tom Tom the Pipers son
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star rhyme
Two Little Dicky Birds rhyme
Wee Willie Winkie rhyme
What are Little Boys made of lyrics
Who Killed Cock Robin lyrics
When Adam delved, and Eve span

About the Author

Please visit my Funny Animal Art Prints Collection @ http://www.fabprints.com

My other website is called Directory of British Icons: http://fabprints.webs.com

The Chinese call England "The Island of Hero's" which I think sums up what we English are all about.

Is it just my impression, or is Wee Willie Winkie a peeping tom?

Wee Willie Winkie, running through the town
Upstairs, downstairs, in his NIGHTGOWN.
PEEPING through the windows, crying through the locks,
Are the children in their beds? It's past 8 o'clock.

Listening to this nursery rhyme with my kids, I thought about the words.

Is it just my impression, or is Wee Willie Winkie a peeping tom?

This poem dates back to the Commonwealth in England. Wee Willie was a public figure who made a lot of unnecessary rules for everyone to follow (like putting kids to bed by a certain hour). It was Puritan England and government butted into private lives a lot.

Now if you want a juicy one......

Rub a dub dub,
Three men in a tub,
And who do you think they be?
The butcher, the baker,
The candlestick maker.
Turn them out, knaves all three!

These three worthy gentlemen were all seen at a peepshow together. One of them was the mayor, but I don't remember which.

Oh, and there's

Hey, diddle diddle
The cat and the fiddle
The cow jumped over the moon
The little dog laughed to see such sport
And the Dish ran away with the Spoon.

The important event in that one was the elopement of the Dish (the lord who took care of the royal dishes) with the Spoon (the royal taster) of Queen Elizabeth I. The rest refers to how Queen Elizabeth played with her court (she was the cat), the lavish entertainments (the cow jumped over the moon) and the little dog was a lord she referred to as her lap dog.

By the way, the Spoon's marriage was treasonous because she was third in line for the throne. She HAD to have Elizabeth's permission to marry. Lady Mary Grey was caught out when she got pregnant and spent the next seven years in the Tower with her husband and babies. Her two sons were NEVER considered in the succession even when the Stewart line died out.

Mother Goose - Wee Willie Winkie