Mythology & Folklore

Sing a song of sixpence

by Anonymous (English nursery rhymes) traditional; recorded 17th–19th century

From The Nursery Rhymes of England, collected by J. O. Halliwell (London: Warne; first ed. 1842; this printing 1886)

Mythology & Folklore

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.

✦ ✦ ✦

Halliwell's class: Songs.

MLA

Anonymous (English nursery rhymes). “Sing a song of sixpence.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-english-nursery-rhymes/136/.

Chicago

Anonymous (English nursery rhymes). “Sing a song of sixpence.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/anonymous-english-nursery-rhymes/136/.

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