Sing a Song Of Sixpence

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"Sing a Song of Sixpence" is a well-known English nursery rhyme, perhaps originating in the 18th century. It is also listed in the Roud folk song index as number 13191. Contents [hide] 1 Lyrics 2 Origins 3 Meaning and interpretations 4 References in popular culture 5 See also 6 Notes 7 External links [edit] Lyrics A common modern version is: Sing a song of sixpence, A pocket full of rye. Four and twenty blackbirds, Baked in a pie. When the pie was opened, The birds began to sing; Wasn't that a dainty dish, To set before the king? The king was in his counting house, Counting out his money; The queen was in the parlour, Eating bread and honey. The maid was in the garden, Hanging out the clothes; When down came a blackbird And pecked off her nose.[1] The final line of the fourth verse is sometimes slightly varied, with nose pecked or nipped off. One of the following additional verses is often added to moderate the ending: They sent for the king's doctor, who sewed it on again; He sewed it on so neatly, the seam was never seen.[1] or: There was such a commotion, that little Jenny wren; Flew down into the garden, and put it back again.[1] [edit] Origins The Queen Was in the Parlour, Eating Bread and Honey, by Valentine Cameron Prinsep. The rhyme's ultimate origins are uncertain. References have been inferred in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (c. 1602), (Act II, Scene iii), where Sir Toby Belch tells a clown: "Come on; there is sixpence for you: let's have a song" and in Beaumont and Fletcher's Bonduca (1614), which contains the line "Whoa, here's a stir now! Sing a song o' sixpence!"[1] In the past it has often been attributed to George Steevens (1736–1800), who used it in a pun at
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