Sing a Song of Sixpence

History & Origin

"Sing a Song of Sixpence" was first printed around 1744 and has been one of the most popular nursery rhymes in the English language ever since. It has attracted more attempts at historical interpretation than almost any other rhyme in the canon. The most historically substantial theory connects it to Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries: the blackbirds (monks dressed in black) cry out when the pie (the monasteries, seized by the Crown) is opened; the king is literally in his counting house counting the proceeds; and the queen — Catherine of Aragon — could "eat bread and honey" in comfort because, without the Pope's consent, Henry could not yet marry Anne Boleyn. The theory is circumstantial but consistent with several other nursery rhymes from the same period that deal with the same events.

The practice of baking live birds in a pie was real: elaborate "animated pies" were occasionally served at medieval and Renaissance banquets, designed to surprise guests when cut open. A 1549 Italian cookbook describes the technique, confirming that the image was not merely fantastic.

The rhyme's three parallel scenes — the counting house, the parlour, the garden — give it the structure of a miniature drama in which the king, queen, and maid each occupy their proper sphere. The blackbird that escapes and pecks off the maid's nose is a darkly comic intrusion into this orderly picture of domestic life.

The rye in the pocket full is almost certainly a reference to the grain used to attract and capture birds, though precisely which birds were worth a sixpenny song is left, with characteristic nursery rhyme tact, unstated.

For a deep analysis of the historical facts, read Andrés Ehmann's essay on the dark origins of nursery rhymes.