"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" is an English
lullaby
A lullaby (), or a cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies, they are used to pass down cultural knowl ...
. The lyrics are from an early-19th-century English poem written by
Jane Taylor, "The Star". The poem, which is in
couplet
In poetry, a couplet ( ) or distich ( ) is a pair of successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (closed) couplet, each of the two lines is end-stopped, implying that there ...
form, was first published in 1806 in ''
Rhymes for the Nursery'', a collection of poems by Taylor and her sister
Ann. It is now sung to the tune of the French melody "
Ah! vous dirai-je, maman
"" (, English: Oh! Shall I tell you, Mama) is a popular children's song in France. Since its composition in the 18th century, the melody has been applied to numerous lyrics in multiple languages – the English-language song "Twinkle, Twinkle, Lit ...
", which was first published in 1761 and later arranged by several composers, including
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
with
Twelve Variations on "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman". The English lyrics have five
stanza
In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'', ; ) is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have either. ...
s, although only the first is widely known.
Where Jane Taylor was when she wrote the lyric is contested, with the localities of
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''.
Colchester occupies the ...
and
Chipping Ongar
Chipping Ongar () is a market town and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ongar, in the Epping Forest District of the county of Essex, England. It is located east of Epping, southeast of Harlow and northwest of Brentwood. In 2020 ...
each asserting a claim. However, Ann Taylor writes (in ''The Autobiography and Other Memorials of Mrs. Gilbert'') that the first time Jane ever saw the village of Ongar was in 1810, and the poem had been published in 1806. "In the summer of 1810, Jane, when visiting London, had enjoyed a pic-nic excursion in Epping Forest, and observed on a sign post at one of the turnings, 'To Ongar.' It was the first time she had seen the name."
Lyrics
The English lyrics were written as a poem by
Jane Taylor (1783–1824)
[M. Cryer, ''Love Me Tender: The Stories Behind the World's Best-loved Songs'' (Frances Lincoln, 2009), pp. 83–5.] and published with the title "The Star" in ''Rhymes for the Nursery'' by Jane and her sister
Ann Taylor (1782–1866) in London in 1806:
[ I. Opie and P. Opie, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes'' (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 397–8]
First publication of 'Twinkle, twinkle, little star'
The lyrics were first published with the tune "Ah! vous dirai-je, maman" in ''The Singing Master: First Class Tune Book'' in 1838.
When sung, the first two lines of the entire poem are repeated as a
refrain
A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeated in poetry or in music">poetry.html" ;"title="Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeat ...
after each
stanza
In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'', ; ) is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have either. ...
.
Melody
"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" is sung to the French melody "
Ah! vous dirai-je, maman
"" (, English: Oh! Shall I tell you, Mama) is a popular children's song in France. Since its composition in the 18th century, the melody has been applied to numerous lyrics in multiple languages – the English-language song "Twinkle, Twinkle, Lit ...
". The melody is used in other nursery rhymes, including
the ABC Song and "
Baa, Baa, Black Sheep".
\relative c'
\addlyrics
Other versions

Additional variations exist such as
1. From the 1840 novel
Poor Jack
''Poor Jack'' is a novel by the English author Frederick Marryat, published in 1840.
Plot
It tells the story of Thomas Saunders, a sailor's son and neglected street urchin struggling to survive in Greenwich, London in the early 19th century. ...
(chapter 4), by
Frederick Marryat.
2. From 1896 in ''Song Stories for the Kindergarten''
by
Mildred J. Hill.
A
parody
A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" titled "
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat" is recited by the
Mad Hatter in
chapter seven of
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...
's ''
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...
''.
A version using synonyms from ''
Roget's Thesaurus
''Roget's Thesaurus'' is a widely used English-language thesaurus, created in 1805 by Peter Mark Roget (1779–1869), British physician, natural theologian and lexicographer.
History
It was released to the public on 29 April 1852. Roget was ...
'' exists.
The opening lyrics are also used to begin the traditional murder ballad "
Duncan and Brady."
The song can also be played as a
singing game.
See also
*
List of nursery rhymes
*
Frère Jacques
*
Little Star
*
Twinkling
References
External links
*
*
*
Audio segmentfrom
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
''
Woman's Hour''
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Articles containing video clips
English children's songs
English folk songs
Traditional children's songs
Lullabies
English nursery rhymes
1806 poems
1838 songs
Songs based on poems
Fiction about stars