Little Robin Redbreast
‘Little Robin Redbreast’ is an English language nursery rhyme, chiefly notable as evidence of the way traditional rhymes are changed and edited. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 20612.Lyrics
This rhyme is one of the most varied English nursery rhymes, probably because of its crude early version. Common modern versions include:
and:Origins
The earliest versions of this rhyme reveal a more basic humour. The earliest recorded is from Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book, which has the lyric:
By the late eighteenth century the last line was being rendered 'And wag went his tail,' and other variations were used in nineteenth-century children's books, in one of the clearest cases of bowdlerisation in nursery rhymes.Fingerplay
The rhyme has been used as a fingerplay. A version from 1920 included instructions with the lyrics:
