The history of Pussycat Pussycat goes back to the Queen of England, and it has its origins in people simply talking about the cats that lived in their homes. There is no mysterious history behind the rhyme, but it does have a woman depicted who could be more than one person. This article explains how the nursery rhyme came to be even though it does not have an epic origin story.
Cats Act This Way
Anyone who has had a cat knows that their cats will chase mice when they find them, but they often find their cats cowering because the mouse also scared them. London homeowners often needed cats to get rid of the mice in their homes, and they would keep them around because it was important to keep their homes clean.
Who Is The Woman In The Rhyme?
The Queen of England is likely the woman in the nursery rhyme, and she could possibly be Caroline of Brunswick. There are many historians who are split on this issue, but they know for sure that there is a stately woman who was a subject of a party that was explained in the nursery rhyme. London was a place where lavish parties were held, and it is quite likely that the Queen of England could have been there.
The History Of The Cat And Mouse
We have many ideas of the cat and mouse game that is played by these animals, which often end in a stale mate just as it does in the rhyme. Someone who knows their rhymes will realize that London would have been one of the first places where people were buying cats to hunt mice. That makes the rhyme seem a bit more likely to have natural origins, and the people of the city may have shared these rhymes simply because they wanted to share stories. There are many stories that are offered up like this, but many of them do not survive in this way. We all know this rhyme one way or another, and it was also the inspiration behind a Tom Jones song.
The contemporary rhyme that you have taught to your kids will help them have a lovely time singing when they get a cat for the family. You will feel much better that you have taught this to your kids, or you may dig much deeper to learn who the queen in the story is. You may want to know who Caroline of Brunswick was, and you may learn something about your heritage that you did not know before you looked into the song.