Curly Locks

DESCRIPTION: "Curly locks, curly locks, wilt thou be mine? Thou shalt not wash dishes nor yet feed the swine, But sit on a cushion and sew a fine seam, And feed upon strawberries, sugar, and cream."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1810 (Gammer Gurton's Garland)
KEYWORDS: hair food nonballad clothes
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Opie/Opie-OxfordDictionaryOfNurseryRhymes 122, "Curly Locks, Curly Locks" (1 text )
Dolby-OrangesAndLemons, p. 63, "Curly Locks" (1 text)
Roud #19787
NOTES [89 words]: The Opies mention a claim that this is about Charles II, while pointing out that there is no evidence for it. As with most attempts to link nursery rhymes to history, the idea appears to have originated with the excessively original Katherine Elwes Thomas, The Real Personages of Mother Goose, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co., 1930, p. 227. To give the hypothesis its due, Charles II did wear his hair long and curly, and he was invited back to England in 1660, so the link is possible -- but many other explanations fit just as well. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.2
File: OO2122

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