Wee Willie Winkie / Jack Be Nimble
Two classics in one — Wee Willie Winkie on his night rounds and Jack over the candlestick
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Arrangement: Ian J. Watts / Mike Wilbury · Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks
Lyrics
Wee Willie Winkie
Runs through the town,
Upstairs and downstairs
In his night-gown,
Tapping at the window,
Crying at the lock,
"Are the children in their beds?
It's past ten o'clock!"
Willie Winkie,
Are you coming in?
The cat is singing
Purring sounds to the sleeping hen,
The dog's spread out on the floor
And doesn't give a cheep,
But here's a wakeful little boy
Who will not fall asleep!
Jack, be nimble,
Jack, be quick,
Jack jumps over the candlestick.
Jack, be nimble,
Jack, be quick,
Jack jumps over the candlestick!
Hey, Willie Winkie,
The child's in a creel!
Wriggling from everyone's
Knee like an eel,
Tugging at the cat's ear,
And confusing all her thrums —
Hey, Willie Winkie,
See, here there he comes!
Wee Willie Winkie
Runs through the town,
Upstairs and downstairs
In his night-gown,
Tapping at the window,
Crying at the lock,
"Are the children in their beds?
It's past ten o'clock!"
Traditional lyrics — public domain. Arrangement © Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks.
History & Background
History & Origin
This recording pairs two nursery rhymes that share a theme of night-time and children who should be in bed.
"Wee Willie Winkie" was written by the Scottish poet William Miller and published in 1841. The original was written in Scots dialect ("Wee Willie Winkie rins through the toun"), and the character of Willie Winkie — a small figure in a nightgown who runs through the town checking that all children are in their beds — has become one of the most enduring images in nursery rhyme tradition. The additional verses here draw on later Scottish versions of the rhyme, including the creel (a wicker basket) verse and the description of the wakeful child who will not sleep.
"Jack Be Nimble" is an older rhyme, appearing in print in 1798. The tradition of jumping over a candle was associated with fortune-telling: if the flame stayed alight, good luck was assured. The rhyme was also connected to the notorious pirate Black Jack, though that attribution remains uncertain.
Together, the two rhymes make a lively pair — one earnest in his night-time duties, the other leaping cheerfully over whatever is in his way.
