Not many, if any, people can say that they have never heard or remember nursery rhymes as part of their childhood. In Cradle and All, Nancy Rollin states that "nursery rhymes are part of a large fund of cultural elements making up [cultural] heritage. They become part of an individual's cultural heredity when parents pass them along to their children. Those parents tend to pass along some of the same ones their parents shared with them, but add to or subtract from this kind of lore as their experiences cause its significance to change" (140).
Who of us hasn't played "Telephone" where one player whispers a phrase to the next person in a long line of players? It continues on down the line until the last person receives the message. Usually, the message becomes garbled and an off the wall phrase is the end result. Iona and Peter Opie, called folklorists by their peers, write "The infrequency with which the rhymes were recorded before the nineteen century establishes that the written word can have had little to do with their survival" (8).
Given that nursery rhymes began as oral tradition, it is easy to see how they could have changed through time. However, after they became written down, what caused the changes? How extensive were the changes? It has been interesting to see how nursery rhymes I recall as a child are different from throughout the history of the printed word.
For example, the way I recall London Bridge as a youth is very different from another version I found:
Who of us hasn't played "Telephone" where one player whispers a phrase to the next person in a long line of players? It continues on down the line until the last person receives the message. Usually, the message becomes garbled and an off the wall phrase is the end result. Iona and Peter Opie, called folklorists by their peers, write "The infrequency with which the rhymes were recorded before the nineteen century establishes that the written word can have had little to do with their survival" (8).
Given that nursery rhymes began as oral tradition, it is easy to see how they could have changed through time. However, after they became written down, what caused the changes? How extensive were the changes? It has been interesting to see how nursery rhymes I recall as a child are different from throughout the history of the printed word.
For example, the way I recall London Bridge as a youth is very different from another version I found:
The version I remember reciting as a child:
London Bridge is falling down, Falling down, falling down, London Bridge is falling down, My fair lady. Take the key and lock her up, Locker her up, lock her up, Take the key and lock her up, My fair lady. Open the door and let her out, Let her out, let her out, Open the door and let her out, My fair lady. What is interesting about the one I learned is that it doesn't make any sense to me as an adult now. The rhyme goes from a bridge falling down to locking up a lady. What happened in between?
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As found in The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes by Iona and Peter Opie (270-1):
London Bridge is broken down Broken Down, broken down London Bridge is broken down, My fair lady. Build it up with wood and clay, Wood and clay, wood and clay Build it up with wood and clay, My fair lady. Wood and clay will wash away, Wash away, wash away Wood and clay will wash away, My fair lady. Build it up with bricks and mortar, Bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar, Build it up with bricks and mortar, My fair lady. Bricks and mortar will not stay, Will not stay, will not stay,, Bricks and mortar will not stay, My fair lady. Build it up with iron and steel, Iron and steel, iron and steel, Build it up with iron and steel, My fair lady. Iron and steel will bend and bow, Bend and bow, bend and bow, Iron and stell will bend and bow, My fair lady. Build it up with silver and gold, Silver and gold, silver and gold, Build it up with silver and gold, My fair lady. Silver and gold will be stolen away, Stolen away, stolen away, Silver and gold will be stolen away, My fair lady. Set a man to watch all night, Watch all night, watch all night, Set a man to watch all night, My fair lady. Suppose the man should fall asleep, Fall asleep, fall asleep, Suppose the man should fall asleep, My fair lady. Give him a pipe to smoke all night, Smoke all night, smoke all night, Give him a pipe to smoke all night, My fair lady. |