Jack Be Nimble
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"Jack Be Nimble" | |
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![]() William Wallace Denslow's illustrations for Jack Be Nimble, from a 1901 edition of Mother Goose | |
Nursery rhyme by | |
Published | c. 1815 |
"Jack Be Nimble" is an English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 13902.1882
Lyrics[]
The most common version of the rhyme is:
- Jack be nimble,
- Jack be quick,
- Jack jump over
- The candlestick[1]
Origins and meaning[]
The rhyme is first recorded in a manuscript of around 1815 and was collected by James Orchard Halliwell in the mid-nineteenth century.[1] Jumping candlesticks was a form of fortune telling and a sport. Good luck was said to be signalled by clearing a candle without extinguishing the flame.[1]
Notes[]
Categories:
- Jack tales
- English nursery rhymes
- English poems
- English folk songs
- English children's songs
- Traditional children's songs
- Songs about fictional male characters