Little Robin Redbreast

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‘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 (1744), 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:

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