Little Robin Redbreast

DESCRIPTION: "Little Robin Redbreast Sat upon a rail, Niddle noddle went his head Wiggle waggle went his tail."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1744 (Tom Thumb's Pretty Songbook, according to
KEYWORDS: bird | robin redbreast rail tail
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Opie/Opie-OxfordDictionaryOfNurseryRhymes 452, "Little Robin Redbreast" (1 text)
Baring-Gould-AnnotatedMotherGoose #1, pp. 25-26, "(Little Robin red breast)"
Delamar-ChildrensCountingOutRhymes, pp. 40-41, "Robin Redbreast" (1 text)
Roud #20613
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Little Robin Redbreast Sat Upon a Tree" (theme of robin sitting)
NOTES [51 words]: The Opies note that the earliest versions of this are "a rude little jest," with the robin on a pole instead of a rail and with the rhyme ending "And poop went his hole." Surprisingly, this doesn't seem to have survived particularly well. The Baring-Goulds also have this version with several variations. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.4
File: DCCR040

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