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In the UK the rhyme was first recorded in Songs for the Nursery, published in London in 1805. This version differed beyond the number twelve, with the lyrics: Thirteen, fourteen, draw the curtain, Fifteen sixteen, the maid's in the kitchen, Seventeen, eighteen, she's in waiting, Nineteen, twenty, my stomach's empty. [1]
It has been argued that the rhyme is derived from an Aramaic (Jewish) hymn Chad Gadya (lit., "One Young Goat") in Sepher Haggadah, first printed in 1590; but although this is an early cumulative tale that may have inspired the form, the lyrics bear little relationship. [3]
This has obscured some of the possible original meanings: some have argued that—as "Jim" was a generic name for slaves in minstrel songs—the song's "Jim" was the same person as its blackface narrator: Speaking about himself in the 3rd person or repeating his new masters' commands in apostrophe, he has no concern with his demotion to a field ...
It has been suggested that “it’s raining. It’s pouring” is a metaphor for alcohol liberally flowing. The old man gets drunk causing him to bump his head. It has further been suggested that the verse is a "classic description" of a head injury ("bumped his head"), followed by a lucid interval and an inability to resume normal activity ("couldn't get up in the morning"). [7]
The Opies (folklorists) have argued for an identification of the original Bobby Shafto with a resident of Hollybrook, County Wicklow, Ireland, who died in 1737. [1] However, the tune derives from the earlier "Brave Willie Forster", found in the Henry Atkinson manuscript from the 1690s, [3] and the William Dixon manuscript, from the 1730s, both from north-east England; besides these early ...
It has many variant titles, lyrics, and melodies, [1] but generally features the line "The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out," and thus is also known as "The Worms Crawl In." [2] Generally, the song recounts the viewing of a hearse, prompting the thought of death. The listener's body is buried in a casket and assaulted by worms, then ...
The song has been parodied several times, the best known of which is the American bawdy song "Seven Old Ladies", sung to the same tune but with different lyrics. Here are the chorus and the first two verses, of seven, as published in Ed Cray's The Erotic Muse : [ 1 ] [ 12 ]
The song was featured on YouTube in 2007, where it was used in an Indian commercial for the 5 Star chocolate brand. [4] It was also featured on YouTube as a nursery rhyme in 2009 by the channel Shemrock Nursery Rhymes. [5] The nursery rhyme has been recreated by many other edutainment YouTube channels targeting young children. [6]