‘Little Robin Redbreast’ is an

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

nursery rhyme, chiefly notable as evidence of the way traditional rhymes are changed and edited. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 20612.

Lyrics

This rhyme is one of the most varied English nursery rhymes, probably because of its crude early version. Common modern versions include: :Little Robin Redbreast :Came to visit me; :This is what he whistled, :Thank you for my tea. I. Opie and P. Opie, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes'' (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 371-2. and: :Little Robin Redbreast :Sat upon a tree, :Up went the Pussy-Cat, :And down went he; :Down came Pussy-Cat, :Away Robin ran, :Says little Robin Redbreast— :Catch me if you can. :Little Robin Redbreast jumped upon a wall, :Pussy-Cat jumped after him, and almost got a fall. :Little Robin chirped and sung, and what did pussy say? :Pussy-Cat said Mew, mew mew,—and Robin jumped away.

Origins

The earliest versions of this rhyme reveal a more basic humour. The earliest recorded is from '' Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book'' (c. 1744), which has the lyric: :Little Robin Red breast, :Sitting on a pole, :Nidde, Noddle, Went his head. :And poop went his Hole. By the late eighteenth century the last line was being rendered 'And wag went his tail,' and other variations were used in nineteenth-century children's books, in one of the clearest cases of bowdlerisation in nursery rhymes.

Fingerplay

The rhyme has been used as a

fingerplay Fingerplay, commonly seen in early childhood, is hand action or movement combined with singing or spoken-words to engage the child's interest. According to Erikson, many children develop autonomy and "want to learn and imitate the activities and ...

. A version from 1920 included instructions with the lyrics: :Little Robin Redbreast :Sat upon a rail, :(Right hand extended in shape of a bird is poised on extended forefinger of left hand.) :Niddle noddle went his head, :And waggle went his tail. :(Little finger of right hand waggles from side to side.)W. B. Forbush, H. T. Wade, W. J. Baltzell, R. Johnson, and D. E. Wheeler, ed.
''Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building, Volume I''
(New York, NY: University Society, 1920), p. 10.

Notes

{{authority control English folk songs English children's songs Traditional children's songs Songs about birds Songs about cats 1744 songs Finger plays English nursery rhymes Fictional birds Songwriter unknown