Nursery Rhyme Trivia

partyweb

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It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time!!!
Do the alphabet song and twinkle twinkle little star song have the same tune?


Just tried singing it to my boys and noticed they sound the same. Anyone know it it's true? And were they composed by the same person?

Was baa baa black sheep written by the same person?

Anyone know any great anecdotes about any other nursery rhymes?
 
partyweb said:


Anyone know any great anecdotes about any other nursery rhymes?



"Ring-a-ring-a-roses" is about the Bubonic Plague

"Humpty Dumpty" was a Royalist gun perched on a church tower in Colchester, during the siege of Colchester in the English Civil War.

I though "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" was written by two sisters who lived in Colchester - there's a plaque on a house there to that effect.
 
GW43 said:
"Ring-a-ring-a-roses" is about the Bubonic Plague

"Humpty Dumpty" was a Royalist gun perched on a church tower in Colchester, during the siege of Colchester in the English Civil War.

I though "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" was written by two sisters who lived in Colchester - there's a plaque on a house there to that effect.

I never knew that about colchester and I went to school there !! Did humpty dumpty have a big fall or not, and when did he become an egg ? :eek:
 
Mrs AutomanUK said:
I never knew that about colchester and I went to school there !! Did humpty dumpty have a big fall or not, and when did he become an egg ? :eek:



Apparently the Parliamentarians who were camped outside Colchester during the siege managed to hit the tower on which was perched "Humpty Dumpty", and it did indeed fall.

When/where were you in Colchester? - I lived there between '82 and '94.
 
Wasn't 'The Grand Old Duke of York' based on a Civil War battle too?
 
"Here we go round the mulberry bush" was as a song or chant by inmates of Wakefield Prison when they were exercised around a mulberry bush within the prison grounds. The mulberry bush (actually a tree) still thrives at the prison today.
 
GW43 said:
Apparently the Parliamentarians who were camped outside Colchester during the siege managed to hit the tower on which was perched "Humpty Dumpty", and it did indeed fall.
What I've never understood is why all the King's horses and all the King's men were called upon to attempt the subsequent repair process. Firstly, you would think that direct employees of the Monarch would have more important demands on their time. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, it seems pretty obvious to me that animal hooves are hardly well suited to the intricate operation of reassembling fragile egg shell. I think it would have been more appropriate to request assistance from a team of local watchmakers or something.
 
Pat_C said:
What I've never understood is why all the King's horses and all the King's men were called upon to attempt the subsequent repair process. Firstly, you would think that direct employees of the Monarch would have more important demands on their time. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, it seems pretty obvious to me that animal hooves are hardly well suited to the intricate operation of reassembling fragile egg shell. I think it would have been more appropriate to request assistance from a team of local watchmakers or something.


:lesson:

Nice try at passing off Ricky Gervais' material as your own Pat - Ricky does this exact sketch (almost word for word) in one of his stand-up shows. I can't remember which one but it's in either "Animals" or "Politics".
 
woodywizz said:
:lesson:

Nice try at passing off Ricky Gervais' material as your own Pat - Ricky does this exact sketch (almost word for word) in one of his stand-up shows. I can't remember which one but it's in either "Animals" or "Politics".
Actually I've never seen either of those.
 
Yeah, ok :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

You must have imagined the sketch, word for word.:lease:
 
woodywizz said:
You must have imagined the sketch, word for word.:lease:
I suggest that if you check you'll find it is nothing of the sort. I repeat, I have never seen either of the shows you quoted.
 
binbag said:
Wasn't 'The Grand Old Duke of York' based on a Civil War battle too?
The hill he walked up is in Bath because his men were a bunch of lazy scrotes and he wanted to get them a bit fitter. Or at least that's what the tourguide told me. :)
 
Pat_C said:
I suggest that if you check you'll find it is nothing of the sort. I repeat, I have never seen either of the shows you quoted.


If you have not seen either show - it's in "Politics" by the way - then how do you know that your stance is not word for word. The only way that you would know that it is not word for word is if you have seen the sketch - to which you vehemenently deny.

Let's be honest Pat, you've seen or heard sketch, and you were caught out. At least be honest and adult enough to admit it, without resorting to this "I've never seen the sketch" stance :lease: Yes, you put it in to your own words, but that does not hide the fact that you have seen/heard the sketch - the idea behind it is still blatantly there.

Ricky Gervais quotes :

"You would not send a horse to perform a delicate medical operation"; and

"If you were to construct a perfect egg-crushing device it would be horses' hooves";

So, you put the whole sketch in your own words, well done. :clap: But please do not try to pass the idea off as your own, that is really lame.
 
Maybe Pat_C lives with Ricky_G and has never seen the show but has sat down one evening with him and a couple of beers and had a debate about the nursery rhyme, to which Ricky then went and composed a sketch based on it.

Pat, you don't work in an office in Slough do you? :D
 
woodywizz said:
So, you put the whole sketch in your own words, well done. :clap: But please do not try to pass the idea off as your own, that is really lame.

I like what you've done there, Woodywizz. Horses, lame :rotfl:

When I read Pat C's post I immediately thought of the Ricky Gervais stand up on the same subject - maybe it is just coincidence.

I think you shouldn't saddle someone with those comments, lets leave everything in a stable condition and trot on to something else. :D
 
partyweb said:
Maybe Pat_C lives with Ricky_G and has never seen the show but has sat down one evening with him and a couple of beers and had a debate about the nursery rhyme, to which Ricky then went and composed a sketch based on it.

Pat, you don't work in an office in Slough do you? :D

There may be some truth in your last sentiment their Partyweb, and I quote:

Pat_C said:
I remember when someone put up a very official looking sign as you drive into Slough saying "Twinned with Chernobyl" :)
 
Perhaps someone could enlighten me with regards to the real meaning behind "Tarzan in the jungle, had a bellyache. Wanna go to toilet, whoops too late"?

Doesn't it have it's basis in the reformation?
 
GW43 said:
Apparently the Parliamentarians who were camped outside Colchester during the siege managed to hit the tower on which was perched "Humpty Dumpty", and it did indeed fall.

When/where were you in Colchester? - I lived there between '82 and '94.


You never did say how this humpty became an egg...

Colchester.. I went to the girls grammar school from 1982-3ish... to 1986 and the Colchester inst from 86-87 and then left for London. I still have mates in Colchester and my parents still live on the coast not that far away.

Sorry.. back to the thread.....

Anyone have any info about little bo peep, that careless shepherdess ?!!
 
According to Wikipaedia:

The exact origin is uncertain. Some attribute it to [[Great Depression|depression era]], while others claim it predates that time, possibly to the [[Victorian era]]. At least one bookmark from Victorian era is illustrated with Little Bo Peep, so the origin may be even earlier than the Victorian era.

In Sussex, people claim it is a smuggling tale from the town of St. Leonards (Part of the [[Hastings]] conurbation). One of the [[Martello Tower]]s, known informally as Bo Peep was used to house the customs men and sometimes to imprison the smugglers themselves. The Bo Peep public house (which still stands) is said to have been used by smugglers. The extra verses of the rhyme make more sense in this context than if it is really about a shepherdess. Little Bo Peep herself refers to the customs men, the sheep are the smugglers and the tails are the contraband (probably barrels of rum and/or brandy). It was known for smugglers to abandon their contraband if they heard the customs men were onto them. The second verse probably refers to the fact that, in local communities, smugglers were more liked by the locals than the customs men and false trails were often set.
 

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