nursery rhyme

[khalulu]

Does anyone still bounce small children on their knees with this nursery rhyme?

Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross
To see a fine lady upon a white horse,
Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes
And she shall have music wherever she goes.

ETA: sounds like it's still used - thanks, everyone!

Comments

[birdsofshore]

Yes, it's a little old-fashioned (my mother in her 80s sings it to my kids) but most people would know it and it still appears in books or cds of nursery rhymes.

[khalulu]

Thanks!

[philo7]

I did with my kids!

Except the last two lines I used were fractionally different:

With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes
She shall have music wherever she goes.

[khalulu]

Thanks!

[gillo]

I do with my baby granddaughter. It's not as well known as it used to be, but Banbury is less than an hour away, so it seems essential.

[khalulu]

Well of course, then! Thanks. Is there anything that you particularly like about Banbury?

[gillo]

It's a fairly ordinary little town, with a canal running through it. The original crosses (three) were destroyed by Puritans in about 1600, but there is a somewhat gaudy Victorian cross still there.

The nursery rhyme, a favourite with children throughout the English-speaking world, was first seen in print in the year 1784, although it was known in its current form in at least 1760. The "Fyne" lady is generally thought to be a member of the Fiennes family, ancestors of Lord Saye and Sele who owns nearby Broughton Castle. That would be the Fiennes family of Ralph and Joseph, actors, and Sir Ranulph, polar explorer.

Wikipedia has an entry, of course. And one on Banbury itself, with some decent pictures. It has quite a nice little museum.

[syntinen_laulu]

The nursery rhyme, a favourite with children throughout the English-speaking world, was first seen in print in the year 1784, although it was known in its current form in at least 1760. The "Fyne" lady is generally thought to be a member of the Fiennes family, ancestors of Lord Saye and Sele who owns nearby Broughton Castle. That would be the Fiennes family of Ralph and Joseph, actors, and Sir Ranulph, polar explorer.

It's not all that 'generally thought' at all. The phrase 'fine lady' isn't intrinsic to the verse; the 1784 version and a couple of early 19th-century ones mention an 'old woman', not a 'fine lady'. She has been popularly identified as Good Queen Bess and Lady Godiva, among others. As for the 'Fiennes lady' story: Peter and Iona Opie, the great folklorists of childhood, reported that the 19th Baron Saye and Sele suspected that it had been invented by his own father.

[lokifan]

Yeah, I'm 26 and I heard it as a kid.

[khalulu]

thanks!

[ambrosimus]

To see a fine lady upon a white horse