A key--this is a very good example of a word that has changed its meaning over the centuries. And this rhyme's quite interesting.

There's a number of theories about this rhyme. There were two prongs to Henry's attack. One was he took the land; the other was a propaganda offensive, and this rhyme becomes part of that.

And so there you have the rhyme linking the Catholic Church to immoral acts. So, yeah. Yes, sir. Yes, sir, three bags full. One for the master and one for the dame and one for the little boy who lives down the lane. Just click on the confirmation email that has been sent to your inbox. There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again. These sophisticated recipes were supposed to amuse the King. The happy end version though only appeared in the 19th century.

Please contribute a traditional song or rhyme from your country. At Mama Lisa's World we believe sharing our cultures and traditions can help bring us togehter. Your purchase at our bookstore will help keep us online. Thanks so much! Visit Our Book Store. Original Version Unavailable. In their The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes , Iona and Peter Opie write that the rhyme has been tied to a variety of historical events or folklorish symbols such as the queen symbolizing the moon, the king the sun, and the blackbirds the number of hours in a day; or, as the authors indicate, the blackbirds have been seen as an allusion to monks during the period of the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII , with Catherine of Aragon representing the queen, and Anne Boleyn the maid.

The rye and the birds have been seen to represent a tribute sent to Henry VII, and on another level, the term "pocketful of rye" may in fact refer to an older term of measurement. The number 24 has been tied to the Reformation and the printing of the English Bible with 24 letters.

From a folklorish tradition, the blackbird taking the maid's nose has been seen as a demon stealing her soul. No corroborative evidence has been found to support these theories and given that the earliest version has only one stanza and mentions "naughty boys" and not blackbirds, they can only be applicable if it is assumed that more recently printed versions accurately preserve an older tradition.

His taxes were unpopular enough for the Cornish to rise in arms against him. Mind you, that is not at all unusual, people never like to pay tax. Elizabeth of York took no part in governing the country; her role was purely a domestic one, concerned with the children and charitable works; so again, the positioning of her in the rhyme eating bread and honey in the parlour is in keeping.

In my forthcoming novel A Song of Sixpence Elizabeth is not depicted scoffing bread and honey in the parlour; instead she is battling to come to terms with the loss of the primary male members of her family and preserving her surviving kin from a similar fate.

Her marriage to the former enemy Henry VII is difficult and not helped by the appearance of a man claiming to be her brother, Richard of York, thought to have perished in the Tower in A man that Henry dubs Perkin Warbeck. She has become as two dimensional as the image on the playing card. But she was a real woman, with real emotions, who lived in very turbulent times. I wanted to put some flesh on her bones, some thoughts in her head and give her some of the credit she is due.