| "I Love Little Pussy" | |
|---|---|
| Nursery rhyme | |
| Published | 1830 |
| Songwriter(s) | Traditional |
"I Love Little Pussy", alternatively called "I Love Little Kitty", [1] is an English language nursery rhyme about a person who is kind to a pet cat. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 12824.
The most common modern version is:
I love little pussy,
Her coat is so warm,
And if I don't hurt her,
She'll do me no harm.
So I'll not pull her tail,
Nor drive her away,
But pussy and I,
Very gently will play. [2]
Additional lines include:
She shall sit by my side
And I'll give her some food;
And pussy will love me
Because I am good.
I'll pat pretty pussy,
And then she will purr;
And thus show her thanks
For my kindness to her.
I'll not pinch her ears,
Nor tread on her paw,
Lest I should provoke her
To use her sharp claw.
I never will vex her
Nor make her displeased:
For pussy can't bear
To be worried and teased. [2]
The melody commonly associated with the rhyme was first recorded by the composer and nursery rhyme collector James William Elliott in his National Nursery Rhymes and Nursery Songs (1870). [3]
The poem is first recorded in The Child's Song Book published in 1830. It has been attributed to Jane Taylor (1783–1824), as it conforms to her style. However, there is no corroborative evidence to support this case. [2]
Usage of the word "pussy" as a vulgar slang term for the vagina [4] is documented since the late 17th century. [5] The rhyme's title and lyrics have been changed by some publications to replace the word "pussy" with the word "kitty", [1] among other substitute terms. A heavily innuendo-laden variant of the rhyme appears in Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years (1993) by Sue Townsend. [6]
A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes.
"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" is a popular English lullaby. The lyrics are from an early-19th-century English poem written by Jane Taylor, "The Star". The poem, which is in couplet form, was first published in 1806 in Rhymes for the Nursery, a collection of poems by Taylor and her sister Ann. It is sung to the tune of the French melody "Ah! vous dirai-je, maman", which was published in 1761 and later arranged by several composers, including Mozart with Twelve Variations on "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman". The English lyrics have five stanzas, although only the first is widely known. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 7666.
"Little Bo-Peep" or "Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 6487.
"Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat" or "Pussycat, Pussycat" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 15094.
"Little Boy Blue" is an English-language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 11318.
"Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater" is an English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 13497.
"Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" is an English nursery rhyme, the earliest printed version of which dates from around 1744. The words have not changed very much in two and a half centuries. It is sung to a variant of the 1761 French melody Ah! vous dirai-je, maman.
"Roses Are Red" is the name of a love poem and children's rhyme with Roud Folk Song Index number 19798. It has become a cliché for Valentine's Day, and has spawned multiple humorous and parodic variants.
"Lucy Locket" is an English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19536.
A children's song may be a nursery rhyme set to music, a song that children invent and share among themselves or a modern creation intended for entertainment, use in the home or education. Although children's songs have been recorded and studied in some cultures more than others, they appear to be universal in human society.
"Pease Porridge Hot" or "Pease Pudding Hot" is a children's singing game and nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19631.
"Who Killed Cock Robin" is an English nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 494.
"Ding Dong Bell" or "Ding Dong Dell" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 12853.
"See Saw Margery Daw" is an English language nursery rhyme, folk song and playground singing game. The rhyme first appeared in its modern form in Mother Goose's Melody, published in London in around 1765. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 13028.
"There was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe" is a popular English language nursery rhyme, with a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19132. Debates over its meaning and origin have largely centered on attempts to match the old woman with historical female figures who have had large families, although King George II (1683–1760) has also been proposed as the rhyme's subject.
"Eeper Weeper" or "Heeper Peeper" is a popular English nursery rhyme and skipping song that tells the story of a chimney sweep who kills his second wife and hides her body up a chimney. The rhyme has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 13497.
"Oh, Dear! What Can the Matter Be?", also known as "Johnny's So Long at the Fair" is a traditional nursery rhyme that can be traced back as far as the 1770s in England. There are several variations on its lyrics. It has Roud Number 1279.
'I Had a Little Nut Tree' is an English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3749.
‘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.
"Bobby Shafto's Gone to Sea" or "Bobby Shafto" is an English language folk song and nursery rhyme.
