Little Robin Redbreast
| "Little Robin Redbreast" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| Language | English |
| Written | England |
| Published | c. 1744 |
| Songwriter(s) | Traditional |
‘Little Robin Redbreast’ is an English language nursery rhyme, chiefly notable as evidence of the way traditional rhymes are changed and edited. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 20612.
Lyrics
This rhyme is one of the most varied English nursery rhymes, probably because of its crude early version. Common modern versions include:
- Little Robin Redbreast
- Came to visit me;
- This is what he whistled,
- Thank you for my tea.[1]
and:
- Little Robin Redbreast
- Sat upon a rail;
- Niddle noble went his head,
- Widdle waggle went his tail.[1]
Origins
The earliest versions of this rhyme reveal a more basic humour. The earliest recorded is from Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book (c. 1744), which has the lyric:
- Little Robin Red breast,
- Sitting on a pole,
- Nidde, Noddle, Went his head.
- And poop went his Hole.[1]
By the late eighteenth century the last line was being rendered 'And wag went his tail,' and other variations were used in nineteenth-century children's books, in one of the clearest cases of bowdlerisation in nursery rhymes.[1]