Pop Goes the Weasel: The Secret Meanings of Nursery Rhymes

by Albert Jack

From the international bestselling author of Red Herrings and White Elephants —a curious guide to the hidden histories of classic nursery rhymes.

Who was Mary Quite Contrary, or Georgie Porgie? How could Hey Diddle Diddle offer an essential astronomy lesson? Do Jack and Jill actually represent the execution of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette? And if Ring Around the Rosie isn’t about the plague, then what is it really about?

This book is a quirky, curious, and sometimes sordid look at the truth behind popular nursery rhymes that uncovers the strange tales that inspired them—from Viking raids to political insurrection to smuggling slaves to freedom.

Read Albert Jack's posts on the Penguin Blog.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Poetry, Reference, Language, Linguistics, Historical

272 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 2008

About the author

Albert Jack, pen name for Graham Willmott, is an international best-selling author and historian. He is an expert in explaining the unexplained and has appeared on live television shows and has made thousands of radio appearances worldwide.

Reviews

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a concept! A book that deconstructs classic nursery rhymes!

Some examples to illustrate:

"Baa, baa black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir,
Three bags full.
One for the master,
One for the dame,
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane."

Edward Longshanks--Edward I. He taxed wool to fund his campaigns and other foreign adventures. 1/3 of the price of each sack went to the king (master), 1/3 to the church (the dame), and none to the actual shepherd (the little boy).

I used to think that "Ring-a-Ring O' Roses" (or, as I learned it, "Ring around the rosey") was about the Black Plague. However, the book notes pretty persuasively that that was unlikely.

"Three Blind Mice"? A number of hypotheses. One of those is a reference to "Bloody" Mary, Queen of England. The three blind mice represented former leaders whom Mary imprisoned and then executed.

Anyhow, a lot of fun exploring the origins of the meaning of many of our favorite nursery tales. . .

[Meltha · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, really, mainly because the book is oddly uneven. I freely admit I've never heard of a good portion of these nursery rhymes, which appear to be predominantly from England. The meanings behind them were in some cases very interesting (Humpty Dumpty in particular), but in many cases the author maddeningly presents a plausible explanation, then rips the rug out from under it without warning by stating that, no, actually there is a more plausible one, before throwing in a third one that he then attests is the actual real one. Honestly, in a lot of cases it came across as guessing, which is fair, but still kind of aggravating. The illustrations, though, were the really odd bit. Why the heck is Jack-Be-Nimble crotch on fire? Why is a cat climbing out of QEI's clevage in Pussycat Pussycat? Why the heck is Mary of little lamb fame dressed up like hooker wearing a leash being led around by a sheep? Actually, seriously, do not answer that last one. Some of the poems actually do have hidden bawdy content, but those didn't, so it just felt weird rather than funny.

[Erikka · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really interesting and full of info I didn't know (honestly, that happens pretty rarely with trivia books). I love origin stories for phrases and rhymes and this covered most of the more popular nursery rhymes (and several I've never seen before but whose origins were still interesting). I also liked his writing style and how open-minded he was about the nebulous truth behind some of the rhymes--he never outrightly claimed an origin if it's merely rumored. This is a massive change of pace from other books I've read on this subject. He also dispels many myths, which pleases me (Ring Around The Rosey is not about the Black Death and Lady Godiva never rode naked). However, the America bashing got a bit harsh at times (not that I don't agree with him in some cases, but it still sucks to hear), especially in the song section at the end.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Organised alphabetically by name of nursery rhyme it makes it easy to read this book from beginning to end or just read the ones which interest you. Not a definitve guide but lots of speculation and possibilities as to the meanings of the nursery rhymes. Some were more tenuous than others based on particular phrases. If I ever come across a nursery rhyme section in a pub quiz I'll be set.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book is best utilized as a reference book rather than a "cover to cover" read. I found myself glossing over rhymes I didn't know or ones that I didn't care about. I did not find the author's style particularly engaging and many of the theories are vague. I think lovers of English history and folklore are the likely targets for this book. It is a neat premise- just maybe approached in a less-than-effective way.

[J.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to learn what we assume are innocent nursery rhymes are all about. A lot of them I was unfamiliar with, though, probably because the author is British and many of the rhymes never made it across the pond.

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The nursery rhymes included almost all refer to one king or queen or another, the dissolution of monasteries, or shepherds. These were the prominent features of British social life. As well as theories about the origins of the rhymes, we learn some historical background. The author throws in various alternate explanations, some of which seem spurious.

One interesting one is Rock a bye baby which seems to have been written by an English man who went to New England and saw babies being put in hanging cradles made of bark. However, more rhymes were coded ways of communicating news or concepts - the monarch liked cutting people's heads off, the stewards were not above sneaking plum land grants from a stash.

I notice that in the end section on songs, the author only gives two verses of the British National Anthem; this means he leaves out the verse about killing the rebellious Scots. Why? When half the nursery rhymes featured this topic?

And Pop goes the weasel, is probably a reference to pawnbrokers giving temporary money for a weasel and stoat, or coat in Cockney terms. But we knew that.
This is an unbiased review.

[Overbooked ✎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reference book, handy to anyone interested in the origins of traditional nursery rhymes. The book traces their roots in historical events and famous figures from English past. The rhymes have often more than one interpretation, the author thoroughly explaining the hidden meanings behind seemingly innocent verses; these alternative versions are interesting and some have sinister overtones. Being a reference book, it is best read in multiple sittings, leaving it and pick it up again in a few days. It’s a bit repetitive due to the origins of most rhymes being found in either in the period of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, or Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots times. 2.5 stars

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm currently stuck in the world of nursery rhymes with a young person in my life - so these are things I don't just read once a night, but every car trip and supermarket journey features singing or clapping along to these rhymes (on demand from my little one.) I try to find some of the more obscure ones to keep things interesting, and I'm pretty keen on history, so I thought this would be some good light reading to get me out of a reading slump.

It's always going to be fascinating to explore the history of some of the most ingrained nursery rhymes, and exploring them meant a journey through a lot of British royal history especially. I do like that Jack admits when there's more than one possible origin to a song (although sometimes I feel the straws are being clutched.) I guess knowing that at one point in history at least one king had someone inform them, "They're still singing that song, sire" makes it feel a little less boring (and even a little daring) to be singing them today.

[Choi Tang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting! If I had known the meanings/origins of my childhood chants during my childhood I probably would never have had any faith in humanity.

[Bryan Mcquirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy and fun read that gives some interesting insights into the roots of some of the most well known nursery rhymes.

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Today's younger adults make me grin; they seem to think the world began to turn the day they were born. If they've never seen/heard/read/eaten a thing, it's new. This is apparently the premise behind Albert Jack's book, of which he appears inordinately proud. "Oh, hey! I'm going to research the history of nursery rhymes!" As if it had never been thought of or done before, even though back in about 1979 in my university's library there were several books on the subject, published as lately as the 1960s and going back to about 1900.

For some reason Jack feels constrained to reword some of the best-known nursery rhymes, which I learned as a child in the early 1960s. This is not due to the US/UK divide, but for reasons best known to himself and to suit himself. Some of his rewordings make very little sense; he was so busy conjecturing and theorising about the possible hidden meaning of the rhymes that sometimes he appears to ignore the actual text. In one case, a supposed old rendition of "Three Blind Mice," Jack explains "Lick thou the knife" to mean "She licked the knife" even though Thou means You and always has. He also sets up several "theories" only to knock down his tower of conjectural blocks with "But that's a little far fetched." Well, if that's so, leave it out. Many of the "explanations" are obviously incomplete, chopped off almost in mid-sentence. When explicating "Oranges and Lemons", he mentions the well known historical fact that St Martin's Lane was full of pawnshops and moneylenders ("You owe me three farthings, say the bells of St Martin's.") Why then drag in a hypothetical condemned man? Bad debt is explanation enough to be going on with. Some of his deductions were pretty wild, considering the corpus of scholarship that already exists on the subject, but he seems to think "That could be so but I'm not sure" is escape hatch enough.

Not content with that, there's no chronological progression to speak of in the book; he skips back and forth in time from the Middle Ages to Edward Lear to Negro Spirituals and back to Henry VIII, and feels the need to pad his book with hymns, songs and quotes from Alice in Wonderland.

It felt like I was reading a particularly unsuccessful term paper. Don't expect anything approaching scholarship, and you won't be disappointed, I guess.

[Teresa Bower · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have dipped in and out of this book over quite a long period of time as it is just a collection of very short stories. The title says it all really. As many other reviewers have commented, the explanations behind most of the nursery rhymes sound like guesswork. He gives one meaning, then says or it could be this, or even this. This is probably unfair as the author must have had to do a huge amount of research and it has to be acknowledged that there could well be more than one meaning behind nursery rhymes. I found it fairly interesting from a historical point of view but ultimately disappointing.

[Tyas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was writing the draft for my second novel and I was looking around for some information, when I found this book in Kinokuniya Grand Indonesia. I picked it up, not only because I thought it might be useful, but also because it looked so interesting.

Turned out that I didn't find much to use in my novel, but I got to know a lot of exciting stories behind seemingly innocent nursery rhymes and anthems, from London Bridge Is Falling to The Star-Spangled Banner. Jack wittily provided the best, most-convincing explanation for each nursery rhyme, although in the case of a rhyme with dubious past, he gave more than one explanation, for readers to decide which they like the most.

But the illustration quality is, I'm sorry to say, poor, as if an amateur-artist-friend has volunteered to do the illustrations, although the cover is nice.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was extremely interesting. It tracks down, as best as they can, the historical origins of nursery rhymes. Sometimes more than one origin is included because they aren't sure which is the real one. Many rhymes are included (most of the ones that I know plus many more besides), as well as several songs, like the Hokey Pokey and Good King Wenceslas. Very interesting and fun to read. I've talked about several of the origins with my children, because we've learned about many of the people they are based on in history. Many, but not all, of the stories are based on the royal families of England, some also on the traditional ways of life 'back then'. Some are quite humorous (Yankee Doodle) and others are more sobering (Goosey Goosey Gander). Almost all of them are very interesting.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting little book. It's a collection of histories of common nursery rhymes. The author organized it in alphabetical order by the nursery rhyme and then describes the history of the rhyme. Many of them go back to Tudor England. The author is English so he uses the English versions of the rhymes, which are a little different than the versions Americans know. It's a very light read, in spite of the educational aspect. I did find myself running to wikipedia a few times to look up the historical figures I'm not familiar with.

[Raquel · Rating 1 out of 5]

It felt like he lost the interest and enthusiasm for the subject and just wrote down something just to publish a book!

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of the histories were either obvious or seemed to be trying to hard to explain things. The best bit was the extended versions of some of the rhymes.

[Thomas Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pop Goes the Weasel: The Secret Meanings of Nursery Rhymes, Albert Jack, 2008, 252 pages, Dewey 398.80941, ISBN 9780399535550

A collection of meanings, or possible meanings, of nursery rhymes and songs of bygone centuries.

The meanings are heavy on the mixed-up and painful history of British monarchs. (For a terrific short summary of which, see Royal Panoply: Brief Lives of the English Monarchs, Carolly Erickson, 2003: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... )

Favorites:

As I Was Going to Saint Ives
As I was going to saint Ives,
I met a man with seven wives,
And every wife had seven sacks,
And every sack had seven cats,
And every cat had seven kits;
Kits, cats, sacks, wives,
How many were going to Saint Ives?

Put differently, not counting the man, what is 11110 base 7?
2800. https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=...
(or this way: https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=... )
Or: we're not told whether any of them are or are not going to Saint Ives.
(The author gets the count, and the logic, wrong.)
Published in 1730, but cribbed from the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, circa 1650 BCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhind_M...
Saint Ives is on the north coast of Cornwall, north and east of Penzance:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/St+...
pp. 4-5.

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
Baa, Baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir,
Three bags full:
One for the master,
Two for the dame,
And none for the little boy
Who cries in the lane.

King Edward I "Longshanks" put a tax on wool exports of about 1/3 of its value, in 1275. (One for the master.)
The Catholic Church owned much of the land, and many of the sheep flocks. (Two for the dame.)
The shepherd gets nothing. pp. 5-8.

The Blind Men and the Elephant, John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887), 1873.
It was six men of Indostan,
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant,
Though all of them were blind,
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"Bless me, it seems the Elephant
Is very like a wall."

The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, "Ho! What have we here,
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an elephant
Is very like a spear."

The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a snake."

The Fourth reached out an eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," quoth he;
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!"

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said, "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
is very like a fan."

The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope;
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a rope."

And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right
And all were in the wrong.

Moral:
So oft in theologic wars
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other means
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen.
pp. 12-16.


I could have done without his explanation of the meaning of "Rub-a-dub-dub, three men in a tub," and his words to "Seesaw, Margery Draw."

Doesn't cite specific sources for each interpretation. His sources are other books similar to his own, most of them surprisingly recent:Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 2001
Dickens, Peter Ackroyd, 1990
London, Peter Ackroyd, 2000
Curious Myths of the Middle Ages, Sabine Baring-Gould, 1868 and 1870
The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales, Bruno Bettelheim, 1976
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, 1865, and Through the Looking-Glass, 1871, Lewis Carroll
A Book of Nonsense and More Nonsense, Edward Lear, 1862
Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, James MacKillop, 1998
The Origins of English Nonsense, Noel Malcolm, 1997
The English Year, Steve Roud, 2005
The Lore of the Land, Jennifer Westwood and Jacqueline Simpson, 2004
Nursery Rhymes and Tales, Their Origin and History, Henry Bett, 1924
The Oxford Dictionary of Nu the Plague and the Fire, James Leasor, 1961
Nursery Rhymes, Iona and Peter Opie, 1951
The Oxford Nursery Rhyme Book, Iona and Peter Opie, 1963
Heavy Words, Lightly Thrown, Chris Roberts, 2003

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating & entertaining survey of the often murky origins of our favourite nursery rhymes; not quite the innocent stories they first appear to be, involving real historical figures, mocked, satirised & pilloried to ridicule & shame! Albert Jack's humorous asides on such familiar facets of our culture highlight our healthy scepticism about powerful people. Long may it continue!
Now...a nursery rhyme about Tony & Cherie Blair...with Tony's stick-on grin & the wicked witch's pointy hat, toad & broomstick?!

Tony had a wicked grin/ he used it like a knife/
And everywhere that Tony went/ he took his wicked wife!/
she turned all Tories into rats/ and liberals into slugs/
and Tony picked up all the dosh/ from all us stupid mugs!

Howzat?!

[Chris Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

You'll never hear a nursery rhyme the same way after reading this book. Albert Jack does a wonderful job of revealing, in his conversational style, the suspected origins of many of the best known. They're surprisingly shocking, with prostitutes, misbehaving royals and hapless military leaders just some of the subjects of these verses, suggesting that many had a satirical purpose long before their meanings were forgotten and they were collated into collections for children. Where there is some doubt, Jack suggests multiple readings, while additional verses make for some nice (and occasionally explicit) extended versions. As such, these oral memes provide some fun insights into British humour, domestic and political life in times gone by.

[Emmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

We've all grown up listening to nursery rhymes, but I'm sure that none of us ever suspected that we were learning coded messages about kings and queens and treason and tyranny. Some of these felt like a bit of a stretch, but generally, I really found them to be interesting.

The only issue I had dealt with my own copy (well, the library's copy). The book was missing about 30 pages in the middle of it (a publishing error), while the last 30 pages were duplicated after the index. So, I never got to find out the exciting conclusion to "Three Blind Mice", or the first half of what "Jerusalem" was about. Still, all in all, it was an excellent book, and certainly a printer error was not the author's fault.

[Susan Liston · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5. There is a lot of information here, it's very well researched, some of it is fascinating. But reading it is a bit of a chore at times. So many of these rhymes are allegories of historical events and it will explain them in somewhat dryly written detail. Then when you've digested all that, he will say, OR it COULD be THIS, and here we go again with another possible interpretation. The first one listed is usually the one that makes the most sense, although sometimes he'll give you a third or fourth alternative as well. When you are finished you still aren't sure what it means. So it's a good reference book, but not as fun to just sit and read as I thought it would be.

[Bernie4444 · Rating 5 out of 5]

"As I was going by Charing cross"

This is a fun reference as are the other books by Albert Goes. I know about some of the Nursery Rimes but never realized how many there were.

Originally bought the book "Oranges and Lemons" part of which is in the book "1984" by George Orwell. However, all the other rimes are worth it.

In the rime "As I was going by Charing Cross" he missed an opportunity to tell the history of How Charing Cross got its name.

Overall it will make you think twice before mindlessly repeating the rimes in public.

[Amy Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to know what's Really going on in those childlike rhymes,this is the perfect book.
This book answered all my questions and included all the nursery rhymes I've ever heard,many I hadn't and lots of songs and lullabies.

Nursery rhymes are chock full of history,scandal,mockery, darkness and are quite exciting to read the truth about! A great book, you'll be bursting with tidbits to tell your friends and family. I think everyone would enjoy this.

[Deborah-Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love this book. In fact, I am contemplating making it my new favourite - and I don't give that designation lightly. This book is so hilarious and informative - it's not just a fun "pub trivia" type of read, but also is a living history lesson. I found it fascinating how the songs and rhymes we teach our kids are steeped in such historical events. Love love love!

[Warbotter · Rating 1 out of 5]

Strays to far from basic info to make points that don't really add anything to the narrative being presented. A Wikipedia article is more to the point sadly. But if you wish to have a collection of facta mixed in with a lot of extra fluff, take a gander. I just didn't like the tone and structure of this book. Maybe you will.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting discussion of largely British nursery rhymes (a third or more were unfamiliar to me) and how they convey information on British history. I will never see Baa Baa Black Sheep the same way again.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The copy I got from the library is missing >100 pages of content, so I might try to find another one...
Quick easy read. Sometimes unnecessary tangents & excessively casual language, but a fun refresher for the topic.

[Red Dog · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting facts here, but a little too light for my own personal tastes (funny at times though) . Don't read it cover to cover either, but rather dip in, because the constant use of a "at first glance it's X, but in fact it's Y" gets a bit tiring.