Hickory Dickory Dock
"Hickory Dickory Dock" | |
---|---|
Nursery rhyme | |
Published | c. 1744 |
Songwriter(s) | Unknown |
"Hickory Dickory Dock" or "Hickety Dickety Dock" is a popular English-language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 6489.
Lyrics and music[]
The most common modern version is:
Hickory, dickory, dock.
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down,
Hickory, dickory, dock.
Hickory, dickory, dock.
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck two,
The mouse ran down,
Hickory, dickory, dock.
Hickory, dickory, dock.
The mouse ran up clock.
The clock struck three,
The mouse ran down,
Hickory, dickory, dock.
Hickory, dickory, dock.
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck four,
The mouse ran down,
Hickory, dickory, dock.[1]
Other variants include "down the mouse ran"[2] or "down the mouse run"[3] or "and down he ran" or "and down he run" in place of "the mouse ran down".
Score[]
Origins and meaning[]
The earliest recorded version of the rhyme is in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book, published in London in about 1744, which uses the opening line: 'Hickere, Dickere Dock'.[1] The next recorded version in Mother Goose's Melody (c. 1765), uses 'Dickery, Dickery Dock'.[1]
The rhyme is thought by some commentators to have originated as a counting-out rhyme.[1] Westmorland shepherds in the nineteenth century used the numbers Hevera (8), Devera (9) and Dick (10) which are from the language Cumbric.[1]
The rhyme is thought to have been based on the astronomical clock at Exeter Cathedral. The clock has a small hole in the door below the face for the resident cat to hunt mice.[4]
External Links[]
- PDF http://www.kizclub.com/rhymes/hickory/hickorymini.pdf[5]
- Educational and crafts https://www.dltk-teach.com/RHYMES/hickory/index.htm[6]
- Audible books http://www.loyalbooks.com/book/mother-goose-in-prose-by-l-frank-baum[7]
See also[]
- Yan Tan Tethera
- Chiastic structure
- List of nursery rhymes
- Hickory, Dickory, and Doc
Notes[]
Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
- ^ a b c d e Iona and Peter Opie (1997). The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 185–186.
- ^ The American Mercury, Volume 77, p. 105
- ^ "Mother Goose's chimes, rhymes & melodies". H.B. Ashmead. c. 1861. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
- ^ Cathedral Cats. Richard Surman. HarperCollins. 2004
- ^ http://www.kizclub.com/rhymes/hickory/hickorymini.pdf
- ^ https://www.dltk-teach.com/RHYMES/hickory/index.htm
- ^ http://www.loyalbooks.com/book/mother-goose-in-prose-by-l-frank-baum
- 1744 songs
- English books
- English children's songs
- English folk songs
- Songs about clocks
- Songs about mice and rats
- Fictional mice and rats
- English nursery rhymes
- Songwriter unknown
- Traditional children's songs