"Wee Willie Winkie" is a Scottish nursery rhyme whose titular figure has become popular as a personification of sleep. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 13711.
Scots poet William Miller (1810-1872), appears to have popularised a pre-existing nursery rhyme, adding additional verses to make up a five stanza poem. Miller’s “Willie Winkie: A Nursery Rhyme’ was first published in a collection of poems called Whistle-Binkie: Stories for the Social Circle (1841)1.[1][2][3] with the footer that ‘Willie Winkie’ was “The Scottish Nursery Morpheus” indicating, that Miller was drawing upon an established folkloric figure of sleep.
A chapbook c.1820 called The Cries of Banbury and London contain the singular first verse ‘little willie winkie’, pre-dates the publication of Miller’s poem. Another nursery collection, published in London 3 years after Miller’s poem, also contains just the first stanza, suggesting that the lyrics were circulating independently in the 1840s (Iona and Peter Opie Oxford, p.512-513).
Lyrics
A tirling pin from the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, a primitive form of door bell, it was scraped up and down to make a rattling sound that would announce a visitor's presenceThe memorial to the author, William Miller, in Glasgow
Original text of 1841 in Scots, alongside a paraphrased English version (from 1844):
Wee Willie Winkie rins through the toon, Up stairs an' doon stairs in his nicht-gown, Tirlin' at the window, crying at the lock, "Are the weans in their bed, for it's now ten o'clock?"
"Hey, Willie Winkie, are ye comin' ben? The cat's singin grey thrums to the sleepin hen, The dog's speldert on the floor and disna gie a cheep, But here's a waukrife laddie, that wunna fa' asleep."
Onything but sleep, you rogue, glow'ring like the moon, Rattlin' in an airn jug wi' an airn spoon, Rumblin', tumblin' roon about, crawin' like a cock, Skirlin like a kenna-what, waukenin' sleepin' fock.
"Hey Willie Winkie, the wean's in a creel, Wamblin' aff a bodie's knee like a verra eel, Ruggin' at the cat's lug and raveling a' her thrums- Hey Willie Winkie – see there he comes."
Wearit is the mither that has a stoorie wean, A wee, stumpie, stousie, that canna rin his lane, That has a battle aye wi' sleep afore he'll close an e'e- But a kiss frae aff his rosy lips gies strength anew to me.[4]
Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town, Up stairs and down stairs in his night-gown, Tapping at the window, crying at the lock, Are the children in their bed, for it's past ten o'clock?
Hey, Willie Winkie, are you coming in? The cat is singing purring sounds to the sleeping hen, The dog's spread out on the floor, and doesn't give a cheep, But here's a wakeful little boy who will not fall asleep!
Anything but sleep, you rogue! glowering like the moon,' Rattling in an iron jug with an iron spoon, Rumbling, tumbling round about, crowing like a cock, Shrieking like I don't know what, waking sleeping folk.
Hey, Willie Winkie – the child's in a creel! Wriggling from everyone's knee like an eel, Tugging at the cat's ear, and confusing all her thrums Hey, Willie Winkie – see, there he comes!"
Weary is the mother who has a dusty child, A small short sturdy child, who can't run on his own, Who always has a battle with sleep before he'll close an eye But a kiss from his rosy lips gives strength anew to me.[5]
Origins and meaning
The poem was written by William Miller (1810–1872), first printed in Whistle-binkie: Stories for the Fireside in 1841 and re-printed in Whistle-Binkie; a Collection of Songs for the Social Circle published in 1873.[1][2][3][5] In Jacobite songs Willie Winkie referred to King William III of England, one example being "The Last Will and Testament of Willie winkie"[6] but it seems likely that Miller was simply using the name rather than writing a Jacobite satire.[5]
Such was the popularity of Wee Willie Winkie that the character has become one of several bedtime entities such as the Sandman, Ole Lukøje of Scandinavia, Klaas Vaak of the Netherlands, Dormette of France[7] and Billy Winker in Lancashire.[8]
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 an 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 now sung to the tune of the French melody "Ah! vous dirai-je, maman", which was first 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. The song is in the public domain.
Mother Goose is a character that originated in children's fiction, as the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales and later of English nursery rhymes. She also appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as a nursery rhyme. The character also appears in a pantomime tracing its roots to 1806.
"Ladybird, Ladybird" is the first line of an English-language nursery rhyme that also has German analogues. It is included in the Roud Folk Song Index as number of 16215.
"Ring a Ring o' Roses", "Ring a Ring o' Rosie", or "Ring Around the Rosie", is a nursery rhyme, folk song and playground singing game. Descriptions first emerge in the mid-19th century, but are reported as dating from decades before, and similar rhymes are known from across Europe, with various lyrics. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 7925.
"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.
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.
"There Was a Crooked Man" is an English nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 1826.
"Aiken Drum" is a popular Scottish folk song and nursery rhyme, which probably has its origins in a Jacobite song about the Battle of Sheriffmuir (1715). Thomas Aitken was the Falkirk Town Drummer c. 1810.
Childlore is the folklore or folk culture of children and young people. It includes, for example, rhymes and games played in the school playground. The best known researchers of the field were Iona and Peter Opie.
Wee Willie Winkie is a nursery rhyme. It may also refer to:
"How Many Miles to Babylon" is an English-language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 8148.
William Miller was a Scottish poet best known for the nursery rhyme Wee Willie Winkie.
"The Queen of Hearts" is an English poem and nursery rhyme based on the characters found on playing cards, by an anonymous author, originally published with three lesser-known stanzas, "The King of Spades", "The King of Clubs", and "The Diamond King", in the British publication The European Magazine, vol. 1, no. 4, in April 1782. However, Iona and Peter Opie have argued that there is evidence to suggest that these other stanzas were later additions to an older poem.
John Donald Carrick (1787–1837) was a Scottish journalist and songwriter.
Whistle-Binkie, or, The piper of the party: Being a collection of songs for the social circle was a Scottish poetry and song anthology first appearing in 1832. There were later volumes under the same title, at least four more anthologies, and collected editions appearing from 1853. The style of verse typically was in imitation of Robert Burns. The series was enduringly popular, and the final Whistle Binkie anthology appeared in 1890.
Poetry of Scotland includes all forms of verse written in Brythonic, Latin, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, French, English and Esperanto and any language in which poetry has been written within the boundaries of modern Scotland, or by Scottish people.
Scots-language literature is literature, including poetry, prose and drama, written in the Scots language in its many forms and derivatives. Middle Scots became the dominant language of Scotland in the late Middle Ages. The first surviving major text in Scots literature is John Barbour's Brus (1375). Some ballads may date back to the thirteenth century, but were not recorded until the eighteenth century. In the early fifteenth century Scots historical works included Andrew of Wyntoun's verse Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland and Blind Harry's The Wallace. Much Middle Scots literature was produced by makars, poets with links to the royal court, which included James I, who wrote the extended poem The Kingis Quair. Writers such as William Dunbar, Robert Henryson, Walter Kennedy and Gavin Douglas have been seen as creating a golden age in Scottish poetry. In the late fifteenth century, Scots prose also began to develop as a genre. The first complete surviving work is John Ireland's The Meroure of Wyssdome (1490). There were also prose translations of French books of chivalry that survive from the 1450s. The landmark work in the reign of James IV was Gavin Douglas's version of Virgil's Aeneid.
David Robertson (1795–1854) was a Scottish bookseller, now known for his publication of the early Whistle Binkie anthologies.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
