List of nursery rhymes explained

The terms "nursery rhyme" and "children's song" emerged in the 1820s, although this type of children's literature previously existed with different names such as Tommy Thumb Songs and Mother Goose Songs.^[1] The first known book containing a collection of these texts was Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book, which was published by Mary Cooper in 1744.^[2] The works of several scholars and collectors helped document and preserve these oral traditions as well as their histories. These include Iona and Peter Opie, Joseph Ritson, James Orchard Halliwell, and Sir Walter Scott.^[3] While there are "nursery rhymes" which are called "children's songs", not every children's song is referred to as a nursery rhyme (example: Puff, the Magic Dragon, and Baby Shark). This list is limited to songs which are known as nursery rhymes through reliable sources.

Known date

Title	Other titles	width=10%	Place of origin	Date first recorded	Source
Ah! vous dirai-je, maman	'Oh! Shall I tell you, Mama'	France	[4] [5]	The earliest known printed publication was in volume two of Recueil de Romances by M.D.L. (Charles de Lusse).
		United Kingdom	[6]	The rhyme was first printed in 1820 by James Hogg in Jacobite Reliques.
		United Kingdom	[7]	Edward Lear made fun of the original rhyme in his nonsense parody "A was once an apple pie".
Akka bakka bonka rakka		Norway	[8]	Nora Kobberstad's Norsk Lekebok (Book of Norwegian Games).
All The Pretty Little Horses	'All the Pretty Horses' or 'Hush-a-bye'	United States	[9]	Early version by Maud McKnight Lindsay (1874–1941), a teacher from Alabama and daughter of Robert B. Lindsay.
		United Kingdom	[10]	Evidence of a letter by William Wordsworth.
	'There was an owl lived in an oak, wisky, wasky, weedle.'	United Kingdom	[11]	First published in Punch on April 10, 1875.
		United States	[12]	Originally noted in 1879 as a children's rhyming game.
A-Hunting We Will Go		Great Britain	[13]	Composed in 1777 by English composer Thomas Arne.
Akai Kutsu		Japan		Poem by Ujō Noguchi, a basis on factual events is disputed.
Alphabet Song	Several other titles...	United States	[14]	The melody in this format was first copyrighted in 1835 by Boston music publisher Charles Bradlee.
Alouette		Canada	[15]	Mentiond in "A Pocket Song Book for the Use of Students and Graduates of McGill Colle".
Baa, Baa, Black Sheep		Great Britain	[16]	First mentioned in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book.
Baloo Baleerie	'The Bressay Lullaby'	United Kingdom	[17] [18]	Alliterative nonsense based around the Scots word for lullaby, "baloo".
Billy Boy		United States	[19]	Variant of the traditional English folk song "My Boy Billy", collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
	Several other titles...	Great Britain	[20] [21]	Attributed the song to William Swords, an actor at the Haymarket Theatre of London. The identity of "Bingo" in the song is formally ambiguous.
	'Bobby Shafto'	United Kingdom	[22]	18th century British politician Bobby Shafto is a likely subject for this song.
		Great Britain	[23]	A version of this rhyme was first published in 1731 in England.
Christmas Is Coming		United States	[24]	Origin unknown, the lyrics begin appearing in print in 1885.
Did You Ever See a Lassie?		United Kingdom United States	[25]	First published in 1909, in Games for the Playground, Home, School and Gymnasium by Jessie Hubbell Bancroft.
	'Ding Dong Dell'	England	[26]	The earliest recorded reference to the rhyme is from John Lant, the organist of Winchester Cathedral in 1580.
Do Your Ears Hang Low?	'Do your balls hang low'	United Kingdom	[27]	"Do Your Ears Hang Low?" is a sanitized version of the original song.
Doctor Foster		United Kingdom	[28]	The rhyme was first published in its modern form in 1844.
Down By The Station	'Down at the Station'	United States	[29]	Written by Paul Mills and Slim Gaillard and first recorded by The Slim Gaillard Trio in 1947.[30]
Finger Family		Unknown	[31]	Origin unknown, this song first appeared on YouTube in 2007.
For He's a Jolly Good Fellow	'The Bear Went Over The Mountain'	France Great Britain	[32]	Allegedly composed the night after the Battle of Malplaquet in 1709.[33]
Frog Went A-Courting	'Frog Wen A-Courtin''	Scotland England	[34]	First mentioned in The Complaynt of Scotland, it later appeared in 1611 as an English song by Thomas Ravenscroft.
	'Georgy Peorgy'	United Kingdom	[35]	Origin unknown, first appeared in The Kentish Coronal where the rhyme was described as an "old ballad".
Girls and Boys Come Out to Play	'Boys and Girls Come Out to Play'	Great Britain	[36]	The first two lines appeared in dance books in 1708.
		Great Britain	[37]	The earliest recorded version of this rhyme is in Gammer Gurton's Garland or The Nursery Parnassus published in London in 1784.
Green Gravel		United Kingdom	[38]	Version collected in Manchester in 1835.
Hark, Hark! The Dogs Do Bark	'Hark, Hark'	Great Britain	[39]	This rhyme was first published in 1788.
Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes		United States	[40]	Origin unknown, lyrics from this song are mentioned as early as 1912.
	'Hickety Dickety Dock'	Great Britain	[41]	First mentioned in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book.
The Hokey Cokey	'The Hokey Pokey'	United Kingdom	[42]	Included in Robert Chambers' Popular Rhymes of Scotland from 1842.
		Great Britain	[43]	This originated as an English street cry that was later perpetuated as a nursery rhyme. The words closest to the rhyme that has survived were printed in 1767.
		Great Britain	[44]	The earliest known version was published in Samuel Arnold's Juvenile Amusements in 1797
	'Hush Little baby, don't say a word'	United States	[45]	English folklorist Cecil Sharp collected and notated a version from Endicott, Franklin County, Virginia in 1918.
I Can Sing a Rainbow	Several other titles...	United States		This was featured in the 1955 film Pete Kelly's Blues, where it was sung by Peggy Lee.
Ichinensei Ni Nattara		Japan		This song was composed by and written by the poet Michio Mado.
	'If wishes were horses'	England	[46]	First recorded about 1628 in a collection of Scottish proverbs.
		England	[47]	Allegedly translated by satirical English poet Tom Brown in 1680.
		Great Britain	[48]	The first recorded instance of the rhyme is in Newest Christmas Box, printed in London in 1797.
		United States	[49]	Originally written by George Harry Sanders and Clarence Z. Kelley and published in 1939.
I've Been Working On The Railroad	'Working on the Railroad' or 'I Have Been Working on the Railroad'	United States	[50]	The first published version appeared as "Levee Song" in Carmina Princetonia, a book of Princeton University songs published in 1894.
	'I Love Little Kitty'	United Kingdom	[51]	The poem is first recorded in The Child's Song Book published in 1830.
		United States	[52]	The first two lines of this rhyme can be found in "The Little Mother Goose", published in the United States in 1912.
		England	[53]	First appearance in John Clarke's collection of sayings.
Kookaburra	'Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree'	Australia		Attributed to Marion Sinclair, who was a music teacher at Toorak College.
	'Ladybug Ladybug'	Britain	[54]	First mentioned in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book.
		England	[55]	First mentioned in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book.
	'Little Jack Horner sat in a corner'	Great Britain	[56]	The earliest surviving English edition is from 1791.
	'Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet'	United Kingdom	[57]	The rhyme first appeared in print in Songs for the Nursery.
		Great Britain	[58]	First mentioned in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book.
		Great Britain	[59]	First mentioned in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book.
	'My Fair Lady' or 'London Bridge'	Great Britain	[60]	First mentioned in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book.
	'Lucy Locket lost her pocket'	United Kingdom	[61]	The rhyme was first recorded by James Orchard Halliwell.
	'Mary had a Little Lamb, Little Lamb, Little Lamb'	United States	[62]	First published by the Boston publishing firm Marsh, Capen & Lyon, as a poem by Sarah Josepha Hale on May 24, 1830.
		Great Britain	[63]	First mentioned in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book.
	"Black Paternoster"	England	[64]	Thomas Ady's witchcraft treatise A Candle in the Dark, or, a treatise concerning the nature of witches and witchcraft.
Miss Polly had a Dolly	Several other titles...	United Kingdom	[65]	This song was published as early as 1986 by Maureen Sinclair in Glasgow Scotland.
		United Kingdom	[66]	This rhyme was first recorded in A. E. Bray's Traditions of Devonshire (Volume II, pp. 287–288).
		United Kingdom	[67]	First recorded in the proverbs section of James Orchard Halliwell's The Nursery Rhymes of England.
		Great Britain	[68]	The song is first attested in William King's Useful Transactions in Philosophy for January and February 1709.
		United Kingdom	[69] [70]	The Comic Adventures of Old Mother Hubbard and her Dog is attributed to Sarah Catherine Martin (1768–1826).
On Top of Spaghetti	'The Meatball Song'	United States	1963[71]	Children's parody by Tom Glazer of the song "On Top of Old Smoky".
	'1, 2, Buckle My Shoe'	United States United Kingdom	[72]	While the first recorded version is of English origin, this song may go back to 1780 in Wrentham, Massachusetts.
		Great Britain	[73]	First mentioned in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book.
	"Pat-a-cake", "patty-cake" or "pattycake"	England	[74]	This rhyme first appears in Thomas D'Urfey's play The Campaigners from 1698.
		Great Britain	[75]	First published in Infant Institutes, part the first: or a Nurserical Essay on the Poetry, Lyric and Allegorical, of the Earliest Ages, &c., in London.
		United Kingdom	[76]	Published in John Harris' Peter Piper's Practical Principles of Plain and Perfect Pronunciation in 1813.
		United Kingdom	[77]	"Molly Put the Kettle On or Jenny's Baubie" was published by Joseph Dale in London.
Polly Wolly Doodle	'Polly Wolly Doodle All Day'	United States	[78]	Sung by Dan Emmett's Virginia Minstrels, who premiered at New York's Bowery Amphitheatre.
		United Kingdom	[79]	By December 1852, "Pop Goes The Weasel" was a popular social dance in England.
		United Kingdom	[80]	The earliest record of the rhyme is publication in Songs for the Nursery.
	'Rain, Rain Go Away, come again another day'	England	[81]	James Howell in his 1659 collection of proverbs noted "Raine, raine, goe to Spain: faire weather come againe".
	'Ride a Cock Horse', 'Ride a White Horse to Banbury Cross'	Great Britain	[82]	The earliest surviving version of the modern rhyme can be found in Gammer Gurton's Garland or The Nursery Parnassus.
	'Ring Around the Rosie'	United Kingdom	[83]	Origin unknown, there is no evidence linking it to the Great Plague or earlier outbreaks of bubonic plague in England.
		Great Britain	[84]	A rhyme similar to the modern standard version can be found in Gammer Gurton's Garland.
		United States	[85]	The earliest printing of the song has published lyrics similar to those used today, but with a different tune.
		Great Britain	[86]	One early recorded version is in Christmas Box, published in London in 1798.
Shabondama	'シャボン玉' or 'Soap Bubbles'	Japan		Composed by Shinpei Nakayama with lyrics written by Ujō Noguchi.
She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain	'When She Comes', 'When the Chariot Comes'	United States	[87]	The earliest known recording of this song was by Henry Whitter on Okeh Records (OKeh 40063) in 1924.
		Great Britain	[88]	The verses used today are the first of a longer chapbook history first published in 1764.
		Great Britain	[89]	First mentioned in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book.
Skidamarink	'Skinnamarink', 'Ski-dy-mer-rink-adink-aboomp', 'Skiddy-Mer-Rink-A-Doo'	United States	[90]	The initial version of the song was written by Felix F. Feist (lyrics) and Al Piantadosi (music) for the 1910 Charles Dillingham Broadway production The Echo.
		United Kingdom	[91]	First collected by James Orchard Halliwell and published in 1842.
Soft Kitty		Poland	[92]	Władysław Syrokomla and Wiktor Każyński published a version of this song in 1857, in Pieśniach ludu polskiego ("Songs of the Polish people").
		United States	[93]	Songwriter Septimus Winner created an elaborated version called "Ten Little Injuns" for a minstrel show.
	'The Farmer's in his Den'	Germany	[94]	This rhyme was first recorded in Germany in 1826, as "Es fuhr ein Bau'r ins Holz".
	'The Noble Duke of York'	England	[95]	First mentioned under the title 'Old Tarlton's song', attributed to the stage clown Richard Tarlton (1530–1588).
		Great Britain	[96]	In 1708, William King (1663–1712) recorded a verse very similar to the first stanza of the modern rhyme.
The Old Woman and Her Pig	'The Old Woman who found a Silver Penny'	United Kingdom	[97]	"The True History of a Little Old Woman Who Found a Silver Penny" published by Tabart & Co. at No. 157 New Bond Street, London, for their Juvenile Library.
		Great Britain	[98]	Originally published in the British publication The European Magazine, vol. 1, no. 4, in April 1782 with lesser known stories.
The Three Jovial Huntsmen		United Kingdom	[99]	This is the title of a picture book illustrated by Randolph Caldecott, engraved and printed by Edmund Evans and published by George Routledge & Sons in London.
The Three Sisters	'Jennifer Gentle'	United Kingdom	1823[100]	Given by Davis Gilbert in his supplement to "Some Ancient Christmas Carols in the West of England" in 1823.
		United Kingdom	[101]	First recorded in print by James Orchard Halliwell in 1842.
There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe		Great Britain	[102]	The earliest printed version is in Joseph Ritson's Gammer Gurton's Garland.
		Great Britain	[103]	First appeared as part of a catch in The Academy of Complements.
This Is the House That Jack Built	'The House That Jack Built'	Great Britain	[104]	Included in Nurse Truelove's New-Year's-Gift, or the Book of Books for Children, printed in London in 1755.
	Several other titles...	United Kingdom	[105]	The origins of this song are obscure and possibly very old. The "first recorded" date refers to an early published version.
		England	[106]	Published in Deuteromelia or The Seconde part of Musicks melodie (1609).
		United Kingdom United States	[107]	Published by Eliza Lee Cabot Follen in New Nursery Songs for All Good Children.
		England	[108]	The first record of the opening four professions being grouped together is in William Congreve's Love for Love (1695).
		England	[109]	Based upon the traditional rural activity of going to a market or fair.
		Great Britain	[110]	First published in a chapbook called Tom the Piper's Son.
		United Kingdom	[111]	The familiar form of the rhyme was first printed in Original Ditties for the Nursery.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star		United Kingdom	[112]	Written by Jane Taylor as "The Star" and first published in 1806 in Rhymes for the Nursery.
		United Kingdom	[113] [114]	First published in a collection of poems called Whistle-Binkie: Stories for the Social Circle.
	'Der Deitcher's Dog'	United States		Joseph Eastburn Winner first published this song as "Der Deitcher's Dog".
	'The Cock Robin Song'	Great Britain	[115]	First mentioned in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book.
	'Dutch Lullaby'	United States		Written by American writer and poet Eugene Field and published on March 9, 1889.

Approximate date

Title	Other titles	width=8%	Place of origin	Date first recorded	Origin
Animal Fair		United States	1898 c. 1898[116]	Origin unknown, sung by minstrels and sailors as early as 1898.
	'As I was going to Charing Cross'	United Kingdom	1845 c. 1845[117]	Origin unknown, the rhyme is thought to refer to the equestrian statue of Charles I.
As I was going to St Ives		Great Britain	1730 c. 1730[118]	Exact origin unknown.
Cock-a-Doodle Doo		Great Britain	1765 c. 1765[119]	First full version recorded in Mother Goose's Melody, published in London around 1765
Diddle, Diddle, Dumpling, My Son John		Great Britain	1797 c. 1797[120]	The rhyme is first recorded in The Newest Christmas Box published in London around 1797.
	'Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Mo'	Unknown	1819 < 1820[121]	Unknown
	'Brother John', 'Are You Sleeping', 'Are you sleeping, Brother John?'	France	1780 c. 1780	The earliest version of the song's melody is on a French manuscript.
	'Mulberry Bush', 'This Is the Way', 'This is the way (we)'	England	1750 c. 1750[122]	While the tune is from The Beggar's Opera, this was adapted into a children's game in the mid-nineteenth century.[123]
	'Hi Diddle Diddle', 'The Cat and the Fiddle', 'The Cow Jumped Over the Moon'	Great Britain	1765 c. 1765[124]	The rhyme itself may date back to at least the sixteenth century. Early medieval illuminated manuscripts depicting a cat playing a fiddle were also popular images.[125]
		United Kingdom	1801 c. 1801[126]	Origin unknown, but studies have suggested the rhyme may be older than attested.
	'Jack and Gill'	Great Britain	1765 c. 1765[127]
		Great Britain	1760 c. 1760[128]
		United Kingdom	1815 c. 1815[129]
	'Lavender Blue'	England	1675 c. 1675[130]
	'Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep'	United Kingdom	1805 c. 1805[131]
Oh Dear! What Can the Matter Be?	'Johnny's So Long at the Fair'	Great Britain	1775 c. 1775[132]
		Great Britain	1780 c. 1780[133]
	'1, 2, 3, 4, 5', '1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Once I Caught A Fish Alive', 'One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Once I Caught A Fish Alive'	Great Britain	1765 c. 1765[134]
	'Peas Porridge Hot' or 'Pease Pudding Hot'	Great Britain	1760 c. 1760[135]
		United States	1940 c. 1940[136]
	'Hush a bye Baby', 'Rock a Bye Baby on the treetop'	Great Britain	1765 c. 1765[137]
		United Kingdom	1945 c. 1945[138]
		Great Britain	1765 c. 1765[139]
		Great Britain	1780 c. 1780[140]
	'This Little Pig'	Great Britain	1760 c. 1760[141]
		Great Britain	1765 c. 1765[142]
	'Do you know the muffin man?'	United Kingdom	1820 c. 1820[143]
The Twelve Days of Christmas		Great Britain	1800 c. 1800[144]
	'Two Little Black Birds'	Great Britain	1765 c. 1765[145]
		United Kingdom	1895 c. 1895[146]
		Thirteen Colonies	1755 c. 1755[147]	Written at Fort Crailo around 1755 by British Army surgeon Richard Shuckburgh while campaigning in Rensselaer, New York.

Unknown date

Title	Other titles	width=8%	Place of origin	Origin
	'Oopples and Boo-noo-noos'	North America
		United States	The melody dates to 1863 as 'When Johnny Comes Marching Home'.
Backe, backe Kuchen	'Bake a Cake, Bake a Cake'	Germany	The original form of the text with the rhymed list of ingredients can be found as early as 1450 in Maister Hannsen's von Wirtenberg Koch Cookbook.
Bahay Kubo	'Field House'	Philippines	Tagalog-language folk song from the lowlands of Luzon, Philippines.
Chizhik-Pyzhik	'Чи́жик-Пы́жик'	Russia
Come Follow Me (To the Redwood Tree)	'Come Follow Me'	United States
Coulter's Candy	'Ally Bally', 'Ally Bally Bee'[148]	United Kingdom	Advertising jingle for a aniseed-flavoured confectionery manufactured in Melrose.[149]
Dandini Dandini Dastana	'Dan-dini Dan-dini Dastana', 'Dandini', 'Dan-dini'	Turkey
Dong, Dong, Dongdaemun	'동, 동, 동대문'	Korea	Possibly borrowed from the German carol Lasst uns froh und munter sein.
Down By the Bay		England
Down Down Baby	'Roller Coaster'[150] [151]	United States	Origin unknown, this has been used in various songs and media productions since the mid 20th century.[152]
	'Heeper Peeper'	England
	'May Limang Pato Akong Nakita'	Unknown
	'5 Little Monkeys', 'Five Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed', '5 Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed'	United States	Origin unknown, this song uses a similar tune to Hush, Little Baby and Shortnin' Bread.
	'5 Green & Speckled Frogs'	United States
Foxy's Hole		England	Origin unknown, possibly from the 16th century.
Here Comes an Old Soldier from Botany Bay	'Here Comes an Old Soldier' or 'Old Soldier	Unknown	This nursery rhyme is known in Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom and dates to at least the late nineteenth century.[153]
		Unknown
		United Kingdom
Here We Go Looby Loo	'Looby Loo', 'Loopty Loo', 'Loop de Loo', 'Here We Go Loopty Loo'	United States
		Philippines
	'If You Are Happy and You're Know it'	United States
	'Eensy Weensy Spider', 'Insey Winsey Spider', 'Incy Wincy Spider', 'The Itsy Bitsy Spider'	England
John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt		Unknown	Origin unknown, some evidence places its roots with vaudeville and theatre acts of the late 19th century and early 20th century popular in immigrant communities.
		Unknown
	'Old McDonald Had a Farm', 'Old MacDonald', 'Old McDonald', 'Ol' McDonald', 'Ol' McDonald Had a Farm', 'Ol' MacDonald', 'Ol' MacDonald'	England
One Potato, Two Potato	'One Potato, Two Potatoes'	Unknown
	'Poor Jenny' or 'Poor Sally'	England
		United States
Ten in the Bed	'There were ten in the Bed', '10 in the Bed', 'There were 10 in the bed'	Unknown	Origin unknown, there is a picture book dating to 1988 which uses similar lyrics.
	'Ten Green Bottles hanging on the wall', '10 Green Bottles hanging on the Wall', '10 Green Bottles'	Unknown
The Cat Sat Asleep by the Side of the Fire		England
		United States
There Was a Man in Our Town	'The Wondrous Wise Man' or 'There Wan a Man in Thessaly'	United Kingdom
Two Tigers	'Two Little Tigers' or 'Liang Zhi Lao Hu'	China
Weddings and Funerals		England
	'What Are Little Girls Made Of?'	United Kingdom
When I was a Bachelor		England
Where is Thumbkin		United States

Notes and References

1. Book: Holden, Robert. Twinkle, Twinkle, Southern Cross: The Forgotten Folklore of Australian Nursery Rhymes. National Library Australia. 1992. 064210560X. Canberra. 1.
2. Book: Bathroom Readers' Institute. Uncle John's Endlessly Engrossing Bathroom Reader. Simon and Schuster. 2011. 9781607104599. New York.
3. Book: Styles, Morag. From the Garden to the Street: Three Hundred Years of Poetry for Children. Cassell. 1997. 0304332240. London. 84.
4. Book: Charles de Lusse. [{{Google books|4YBWAAAAcAAJ|page=75|plainurl=yes}} Recueil de romances historiques, tendres et burlesques, tant anciennes que modernes, avec les airs notés]. 14 February 2019. 2. 1774. 75.
5. The chronology is based on an account by Bob Kosovsky, librarian at the Music Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 2001.
6. National Library of Scotland digital archive Web site: Second series - Jacobite relics of Scotland. September 2024.
7. Peter & Iona Opie (1997): The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford and New York, 2nd edition), pp. 53-4.
8. Book: Hagemann . Sonja . Barnelitteratur i Norge 1850–1914 . 1970 . Aschehoug . Oslo . 269–270.
9. Lindsay . Maud . A White Dove . Kindergarten Review . October 1903 . 14 . 2 . Springfield, Mass. . 106 . en.
10. Book: Wu, Duncan . Duncan Wu . 1995 . Wordsworth's Reading 1800–1815 . Cambridge . Cambridge University Press . 248 . 9780521496742 . 26 November 2022 .
11. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), p. 403.
12. W. E. Studwell and M. Baldin, The big band reader: songs favored by swing era orchestras and other popular ensembles (Haworth Press, 2000), p. 35
13. Book: Kelly, Ian. 2012. Mr Foote's Other Leg: Comedy, Tragedy and Murder in Georgian London. 15. Pan Macmillan.
14. Web site: Uitti . Jacob . June 15, 2023 . The Meaning Behind the ABCs of "The Alphabet Song" . June 24, 2023 . American Songwriter.
15. Encyclopedia: Plouffe. Hélène. "Alouette!". 13 January 2017. The Canadian Encyclopedia.
16. Book: Iona. Opie. Iona and Peter Opie. amp. Peter. Opie. The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. registration. Internet Archive. Oxford University Press . 1951 . 2nd . 1997. 101. 0-19-860088-7.
17. [ttp://www.theballadeers.com/scots/hm_d21_scotch_irish.htm Scotch and Irish]. Robin Hall & Jimmie Macgregor. 1964. Sleeve Notes. Jimmie. MacGregor. Jimmie Macgregor. Decca. DECCA LK 4601 LP. 2011-04-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20110719235825/http://www.theballadeers.com/scots/hm_d21_scotch_irish.htm. 2011-07-19. dead.
18. Web site: The Bressay Lullaby. BBC Disc Accession #13199, recorded in Lerwick, Shetland Islands, January 22, 1949. Association for Cultural Equity. 30 April 2011. . 16 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131016214119/http://research.culturalequity.org/get-audio-detailed-recording.do?recordingId=10231. dead.
19. Book: Verses Old and New. Thomas McCavour. FriesenPress. 2020. It is a variant of the traditional English folk song My Boy Billy, collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams and published by him in 1912 in Novello's School Songs..
20. Gilchrist A. G., Lucy E. Broadwood, Frank Kidson. (1915.) "Songs Connected with Customs". Journal of the Folk-Song Society 5(19):204–220, p. 216–220.
21. Highfill, Philip H., Kalman A. Burnim, Edward A. Langhans, "Swords, William", in A Biographical Dictionary of Actors (1991), vol. 14, p. 355.
22. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 90–1.
23. Weekly Essays. 150. The Gentleman's Magazine. IV. London, England. April 1731.
24. School Rhymes . Bye-Gones, Relating to Wales and the Border Counties . July 1885 . 264 . 30 September 2023 . en.
25. Web site: Did You Ever See A Lassie. 2012. TwinkleTrax Children's Songs. 17 May 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001608/http://www.kidssongsmp3.twinkletrax.com/kids-song.php?c=V03T09&kids-song=Did%20You%20Ever%20See%20A%20Lassie. 4 March 2016. dead.
26. [I. Opie and P. Opie]
27. Book: Cray, Ed . Ed Cray . The Erotic Muse: American Bawdy Songs . University of Illinois Press . Urbana . 1992 . 2nd . 336–38 . 9780252017810 .
28. [Iona Opie|I. Opie]
29. Web site: secondhandsongs.com. secondhandsongs.com. December 13, 2020.
30. Web site: secondhandsongs.com. secondhandsongs.com. December 13, 2020.
31. Web site: 'I did not choose The Finger Family Adventures, it chose me'. the Sudbury Star. November 24, 2021. November 23, 2024.
32. Book: Catalogue of rare books of and relating to music. 1728. Ellis . London . 32 .
33. Book: Catalogue of rare books of and relating to music. 1728. Ellis . London . 32 .
34. Book: Folk Songs of the Catskills. 524–533. Norman Cazden. January 1982. SUNY Press . 9780873955805.
35. The Kentish coronal, original prose and poetry by persons connected with the county of Kent, ed. by H.G. Adams, p.44
36. [William S. Baring-Gould]
37. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 191–2.
38. Book: . Opie, P. . 1985. The Singing Game . Oxford University Press . 239–242.
39. Web site: Hark Hark . vwml.org . . 10 December 2017. Note that the rhyme does not appear in an 1814 reprint done in Scotland. See Book: Tommy Thumb's Song Book: For All Little Masters and Misses . Lovechild . Nurse . Ross's juvenile library . J. Lumsden . Glasgow . 1814 .
40. Web site: The Children's Friend, September 1912, No. 9, p. 484.
41. Book: Iona and Peter Opie. The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes . 1997 . Oxford University Press . 2nd . 185–186.
42. Book: Andrews, Edward . 1960 . The Gift to be Simple: Songs, Dances and Rituals of the American Shakers . Courier Corporation . 978-0-486-20022-4 . First published 1940 . registration .
43. Book: Encyclopedia of Easter Celebrations Worldwide . 2021 . McFarland . 130.
44. Web site: The Origin of Humpty Dumpty . en . What I Learned Today . Emily Upton . 24 April 2013 . 19 September 2015.
45. Web site: The Mocking Bird (Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) CJS2/10/4501). 2020-11-22. The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. en-gb.
46. G. L. Apperson and M. Manser, Wordsworth Dictionary of Proverbs (Wordsworth, 2003), p. 637.
47. Book: Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham. The Wordsworth Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Wordsworth Editions. 2001. Wordsworth Reference Series. 346. 978-1-84022-310-1.
48. [Iona and Peter Opie|I. Opie and P. Opie]
49. Book: Sanders, Ronald . Reflections on a Teapot, the Personal History of a Time . Harper & Row, New York . January 1972 . 978-0-06-013754-0.
50. James J. Fuld, The Book of World-Famous Music, 4th ed. (Dover, 1996), p. 309; cited at Mudcat Café's site Mudcat Cafe .
51. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), 1st edn. pp. 356-7, 2nd edn. p.423.
52. Anon, The Little Mother Goose (1912, Dodd, Mead & Company, 3rd edn., 1918), p. 169.
53. Book: Opie . I. . Opie . P. . The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes . Oxford University Press . 1951 . 2nd . 1997 . 238 . Iona Opie . Peter Opie .
54. [I. Opie and P. Opie]
55. Web site: 2018-11-27 . A Short Analysis of the 'Little Boy Blue' Nursery Rhyme . 2023-11-09 . Interesting Literature . en-US.
56. Web site: Indiana University . 28 September 2018 . 6 December 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151206103017/http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/metsnav3/general/index.html#mets=http%3A%2F%2Fpurl.dlib.indiana.edu%2Fiudl%2Fgeneral%2Fmets%2FVAB8620&page=21 . live .
57. Book: Opie, I. . Opie, P. . The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. Oxford. Oxford University Press. 1951. 2nd . 1997. 323–4.
58. [I. Opie and P. Opie]
59. [I. Opie and P. Opie]
60. Book: Iona . Opie . Iona Opie . Peter . Opie . Peter Opie . 1997 . 1951 . The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes . Oxford, UK . Oxford University Press . 2nd . 270–276 . 0198600887.
61. [I. Opie and P. Opie]
62. Full text of Poems for our children: including Mary had a little lamb : designed for families, Sabbath schools, and infant schools : written to inculcate moral truths and virtuous sentiments
63. Book: Opie, Peter . Opie, Iona Archibald . Peter and Iona Opie . The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes . . . 1997 . 1952 . 0-19-860088-7 . 229161681 . 301.
64. [I. Opie and P. Opie]
65. Web site: Miss Polly Had a Dolly. Roud Folk Song Index. November 24, 2024.
66. Book: Traditions, Legends, Superstitions, and Sketches of Devonshire: On the Borders of the Tamar and the Tavy, Illustrative of Its Manners, Customs, History, Antiquities, Scenery, and Natural History, in a Series of Letters to Robert Southey, Esq . 1836. 2. J. Murray.
67. J. O. Halliwell-Phillipps, The Nursery Rhymes of England: Obtained Principally from Oral Tradition (London, 1842), p.100, item 164
68. William. King. William King (poet). The Art of Writing Unintelligibly. Useful Transactions in Philosophy. London. Bernard Lintott. January–February 1709. 52–53.
69. Web site: Devon collection of children's books: catalogue. 7. Nursery rhymes No.129 . Devon.gov.uk . 2006-12-15 . 2013-11-28 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131203001805/http://www.devon.gov.uk/localstudies/111455/1.html . 3 December 2013 .
70. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 317–22.
71. Book: The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Colin Larkin. Guinness Publishing. 1992. First. 0-85112-939-0. 982.
72. [I. Opie and P. Opie]
73. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 337–8.
74. [I. Opie and P. Opie]
75. [I. Opie and P. Opie]
76. Web site: Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Pepper nursery rhyme music and lyrics.
77. D. M. Kassler, W. Hawes, D. W. Krummel and A. Tyson, eds, Music entries at Stationers' Hall, 1710–1818: from lists prepared for William Hawes (Aldershot: Ashgate 2004), p. 514.
78. Lee Davis, Scandals and Follies: The Rise and Fall of the Great Broadway Revue (New York: Limelight Editions, 2000), p. 31., according to http://civilwartalk.com/threads/polly-wolly-doodle.15345/
79. The Times London, Greater London, Dec 28, 1852, Page 10, Advertisement
80. [I. Opie and P. Opie]
81. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951c, 2nd ed., 1997), p. 360.
82. Book: I. Opie and P. Opie. The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. Oxford. Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997. 65–7.
83. Book: Greenaway, Kate . Mother Goose, or the Old Nursery Rhymes . London . Frederick Warne and Co. . n.d. . 1881 . 52 .
84. News: Gammer G's Garland . 2 January 2022 . British Library.
85. Book: Studwell, S. M. . The Americana Song Reader . New York . Haworth Press . 1997 . 82 . 0-7890-0150-0 .
86. [I. Opie and P. Opie]
87. Web site: She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain. Waltz. Robert B.. Engle. David G.. California State University, Fresno. 2012. September 9, 2019.
88. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 333-4.
89. [Iona and Peter Opie]
90. https://www.loc.gov/resource/ihas.100008464#seq-1
91. Book: I. Opie and P. Opie. The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. Oxford University Press. 1951. 2nd edn., 1997). 467-9.
92. Web site: Biblioteka Polskiej Piosenki. Wlazł kotek na płotek. May 1, 2023.
93. Winner . Septimus . Septimus Winner . 1868 . Ten Little Injuns . Sheet music . Boston . Oliver Ditson Company.
94. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Singing Game (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985), pp. 183–189.
95. J. Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps and Henry Chettle, eds, Tarlton's Jests: And News Out of Purgatory (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1844), p. xxix.
96. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 442-3.
97. Web site: A true history of a little old woman, who found a silver penny . 2022-06-28 . Digital Archive . Toronto Public Library.
98. Reichertz (2000), p. 93. But Reichertz got the issue number wrong. See The European Magazine, and London Review, vol. 1, no. 4, Apr. 1782, p. 252, on HathiTrust.
99. Web site: The Randolph Caldecott Medal. admin. 1999-11-30. Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). en. 2020-03-02.
100. Book: A Garland of Country Song: English Folk Songs with Their Traditional Melodies. Sabine Baring-Gould. Methuen & Company. 1895. 43.
101. Book: Halliwell, James Orchard . The Nursery Rhymes of England . C. Richards . London . 1842 . 30 .
102. J. Ritson, Gammer Gurton's garland, or, The nursery Parnassus: a choice collection of pretty songs and verses for the amusement of all little good children who can neither read nor run (1784, rpt., Glasgow, 1866), p. 27.
103. J. O. Halliwell-Phillipps, Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales: A Sequel to the Nursery Rhymes of England (London, 1842), p. 14.
104. William S. Baring-Gould and Ceil Baring-Gould, The Annotated Mother Goose (New York, 1962), p. 25.
105. S. B. Gould and C. J. Sharp English Folk-Songs for Schools (London: J. Curwen & Sons, 1906) pp. 94–5.
106. Thomas Ravenscroft., Deuteromelia or The Seconde part of Musicks melodie, or melodius Musicke. Of Pleasant Roundalaies; Printed for Thomas Adams (1609). "Rounds or Catches of 3 Voices, #13" (Online version)
107. P. Hunt, ed., Children's Literature: An Anthology 1801-1902 (Oxford: Blackwell, 2001), p. 74.
108. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 404–5.
109. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes New Edition (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), p. 352-353.
110. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 408-11.
111. M. Gardner, ed., The Annotated Alice (New York: Meridian, 1963).
112. [I. Opie and P. Opie]
113. Book: Cunningham, Valentine . The Victorians . 14 April 2000 . 9780631199168 . 3 May 2013 . Google Books.
114. Web site: William Miller . 3 May 2013 . Scottish-places.info.
115. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 130–3.
116. Web site: The Chicago record's war stories. 1898. 1 January 2016.
117. J. O. Halliwell-Phillipps, The Nursery Rhymes of England (London: John Russell Smith, 1846), p. 7.
118. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 376–7.
119. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), p. 128.
120. Book: I. Opie and P. Opie . Iona and Peter Opie . The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes . Oxford . Oxford University Press. 1951 . 1st. 245–6. (2nd ed. 1997)
121. I. & P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery rhymes (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 1952), p. 12.
122. Book: A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800 . 1975 . Southern Illinois University Press . 239.
123. J. Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps, Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales: A Sequel to The Nursery Rhymes of England (London: John Russell Smith, 1849), p. 127.
124. Book: I. Opie and P. Opie. Iona and Peter Opie. The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. Oxford University Press. 1977. 202. 978-0-19-869111-2 .
125. Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts (Penguin Random House, 2016, 1st ed), Christopher de Hamel, p. 323
126. I. Opie and P. Opie (1997), The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford, Second Edition, pp. 73-75.
127. B. Cullinan and D. G. Person, The Continuum Encyclopedia of Children's Literature (London: Continuum, 2003),, p. 561.
128. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd ed., 1997), p. 233.
129. [I. Opie and P. Opie]
130. Web site: Lavender Blue . Robert B. Waltz . David G. Engle . amp . Traditional Ballad Index . California State University, Fresno . March 7, 2017.
131. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 93-4.
132. Book: Iona . Opie . Peter . Opie . Iona and Peter Opie . Iona and Peter Opie . The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes . Oxford . Clarendon Press . 1951 . 249 .
133. Book: Johnson . Samuel . Steevens . George . Supplement to the Edition of Shakespeare's Plays Published in 1778 Vol. II. . 1780 . London . 706 . 7 June 2023.
134. Book: Iona and Peter Opie. The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. Oxford University Press. 1951. 2nd. 1997. 334–335.
135. [I. Opie and P. Opie]
136. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Singing Game (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985), pp. 450-2.
137. Book: The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes . Opie . Iona . Opie . Peter . Iona and Peter Opie . . Oxford . 1997. 2nd . 70 . 978-0-19-860088-6.
138. Book: Opie, Iona . Iona_and_Peter_Opie

     . Opie . Peter. The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. Iona_and_Peter_Opie. 1997. 2nd . Oxford University Press. 233.

139. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 297-8.
140. [I. Opie and P. Opie]
141. Book: Opie. I.. Opie. P.. The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. 1997. 1951. Oxford University Press. 349–50.
142. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), p. 193.
143. [I. Opie and P. Opie]
144. Book: Anonymous . Mirth without Mischief. Printed by J. Davenport, George's Court, for C. Sheppard, no. 8, Aylesbury Street, Clerkenwell . London . 1800. 5–16.
145. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), p. 147.
146. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Singing Game (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985), pp. 379-82.
147. Encyclopedia: Yankee Doodle . Online Etymology Dictionary . October 5, 2018 .
148. Web site: 15 famous songs every Scot will know. Scotsman.com. 30 April 2019.
149. Web site: Legend of sweetie salesman unwrapped. 2013-10-18. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20131019070839/http://www.bordertelegraph.com/articles/1/23740. 2013-10-19.
150. Web site: Roller Coaster. . Fun Clapping . August 26, 2020 .
151. Web site: 15 Awesome Hand Clapping Games with Video . . March 10, 2020. Icebreaker Ideas . August 26, 2020 .
152. Web site: Down Down Baby . The British Library . 2022-09-26 . September 26, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220926154021/https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/down-down-baby . dead .
153. George Laurence Gomme, A Dictionary of British Folklore, (London: David Nutt, 1898), 24.