Baa Baa Black Sheep
The earliest version of Baa Baa Black Sheep goes back to 1731. This song helps with counting or how to distribute three bags full of wool. The version most people are familiar with is the more modern one from the 19th century. The original version unequally distributed the three bags of wool, leaving the little boy who lived down the lane without any wool. The meaning behind Baa Baa Black Sheep may have referred to the resentment people had to England’s taxation of the wool in 1275. Some believe the wool could have been black, making easier it to make dark clothes without using dye.
Hickory Dickory Dock
Tom Thumb’s Pretty Songbook featured Hickory Dickory Dock in 1744 when the book was published. The song is a counting out rhyme. Every time the clock struck each hour something happened with a different animal,
Frog Went-A Courting
The background behind Frog Went-A Courting was inspired by the courtship between Francois Duke of Anjou who courted Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1579.
Jack and Jill
The musical arrangement was written by Charles Burney in 1777. While people are familiar with the first verse of Jack and Jill, in the 19th century four not so famous verses have been added. In one version, Jack was patched up with vinegar and brown paper. In another version, Jill got a whipping for finding Jack’s accident funny. There are many interpretations including the possibility that the story was inspired when Louis XVI of France was beheaded, and Queen Marie Antoinette who was also beheaded. Other interpretations include whether Jack and Jill were both male or religious figures.
Bingo
Bingo is a favorite song that dates back to 1780. The song is about a farmer with a dog named Bingo that includes hand clapping. As the song progresses kids clap where the letters, little by little, are omitted until they are clapping and spelling no letters of the name. The first publication of Bingo was in Humming Bird, a book of songs for children that was published 1785.
Humpty Dumpty
Samuel Arnold published the earliest available copy of Humpty Dumpty in Juvenile Amusements in 1797. The version decade familiar with about all the kings horses, and men not being able to out Humpty Dumpty back together came out in 1954. One of the many theories states that it was about the great defeat of England’s King Richard III.