Quote:
Originally Posted by nonightowl
Yeah, I forgot to write that part! The girl "locked up" would get swayed side to side. It wasn't until I was much, much older when I found out it was about Queen Elizabeth I (I think!).
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I think it is more likely about Mary Queen of Scots who was held captive by Elizabeth I for 18 years before she was beheaded.
A surprising number of nursery rhymes have their origin in this period.
For example,
Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye
4 and 20 blackbirds baked in a pie
when the pie was opened the birds began to sing
now wasn't 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
when down came a blackbird and pecked off her nose [at this point my Granny would pinch my nose between her fingers and the show me my 'nose' (really her thumb)]
she made such a commotion ,that little Jenny wren
flew down into the garden and popped it on again. [My Granny would tap my nose retuning it to its proper place at this point]
This rhyme is based on the true event of 24 live blackbirds having really been put into a pie after having been smoked so that they would be unconscious. The pie was then presented to Henry VIII and when it was opened the birds were revived with the fresh air and( may or may not have) begun to sing!
Just a bit of Tudor history for you to go along with your rhymes!