Researching the three nursery rhymes as been very interesting and informative. All my life, I have heard many of these, but never thought about their origin. It was also interesting to get a glimpse of the hundreds of other rhymes that I knew nothing of. I better start reading more!
Mary Had a Little Lamb
This poem was published in Poems for Our Children in 1830 by Sarah J. Hale, who claims to be the author. There is a bit of controversy to the origin of this poem, as there are to many other nursery rhymes. One story claims that the poem is based on a real incident involving a girl named Mary Sawyer. One day, Mary Sawyer, provoked by her brother, brought her pet lamb to school. It caused quite a disturbance, as you can imagine. The next day, John Roulstone, a visiting Harvard teaching student, present Mary with the first few verses of the poem. According to this story, Mrs. Hale came across the poem, and incorporated it into her poem. Mrs. Hale says that this story is completely inaccurate and she wrote the poem completely saying, "an incident of an adopted lamb following a child to school has probably occurred many times."(Opie, 1951. p.300). A Mary Tyler, supposedly a married Mary Sawyer claims that the John Roulstone version of the origin is correct. In Sterling, Massachusetts, where the young Mary lived, there is a statue of her lamb where her home, which long since burned, once stood. Thomas Edison read the first voice of the poem to make the first recording of the human voice in 1877. Below is the original version of the poem. It has since been edited (repeating words and lines) and set to a melody for singing.
Mary Had a Little Lamb
Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow;
And everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go.
It followed her to school one day,
That was against the rule;
It made the children laugh and play
To see a lamb at school.
And so the teacher turned it out,
But still it lingered near,
And waited patiently about
Till Mary did appear.
And then it ran to her and laid
Its head upon her arm,
As if it said, 'I'm not afraid-
You'll keep me from all harm.
Why does the lamb love Mary so?
The eager children cry;
Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know,
The teacher did reply.
Oh Where, oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone?
This rhyme was written by Septimus Winner from Philadelphia. He was a music publisher, critic, arranger and composer of more than 2000 pieces. In 1864, he published Der Deitcher's Dog set to the German folk tune "Im Lauterbach hab'ich mein Strumpf verlorn." The original version is also written in a German dialect, which you can read here. Winner also published songs under the name Alice Hawthorne, which became very popular and known as Hawthorne's Ballads. Another song that Winner is famous for is "Ten Little Indians" also published in 1864.
Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone?
Oh where, oh where can he be?
With his ears cut short and his tail cut long,
Oh where, oh where is he?
Wee Willie Winkie
"Wee Willie Winkie" was written by William Miller. Miller was born in Glasgow, Scotland and considered to be the "Laureate of the Nursery." "Wee Willie Winkie" was first published in Whistle-Binkie; a Collection of Songs for the Social Circle in 1841. It was later published in Nursery Rhymes, Tales and Jingles in 1844 and The Cries of Banbury and London. It is interesting to note that Willie Winkie was the nickname for King William III, but it is probably not the case that the rhyme was written about him. William Miller originally wanted to be a surgeon, but couldn't because of his health. Instead, he began working as a woodcutter and a cabinet maker. He also wrote rhymes on the side. After writing and getting "Winkie" published, Miller did achieve some degree of fame, but not any real fortune. He still remained a cabinetmaker. In 1872, he died a very poor man. The original version of the poem is in Scottish dialect, which you can read here. The following is the English translation. The first verse is the one most are familiar with.
Wee Willie Winkie
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 little 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.
Hymns
I chose "How Great Thou Art." This is one of my favorite hymns and has been performed and recorded by a number of artists, Christian and secular.
"How Great Thou Art" comes from the poem, "O Store Gud"(O Great God), by the Swedish pastor Carl Gustaf Boberg. Boberg is said to have written the poem after being caught in a wonderful and terrible thunderstorm during a walk. He later published the poem in 1891 in Witness and Truth magazine, which he edited. The poem was later translated into German and Russian in 1927. A English missionary to the Ukraine, Stuart K. Hine came across the Russian translation and sang it with his wife during a evangelical meeting. He translated the first three verses into English, and wrote the fourth verse himself, and in 1949, published it in English and Russian in Grace and Peace, a Russian evangelical paper he edited.
There are several different stories about how it came to America, but a popular one is that Dr. J. Edwin Orr of Fuller Theological Seminary brought it over, after hearing it at a revival in India. Eventually, Manna Music obtained the copyright for the song and published it. "How Great Thou Art" became the best loved hymn of the Billy Graham Crusade, with George Beverly Shea, a singer with the crusade, as the most loved singer of the song. In 1959, it became the theme for Billy Graham's "Hour of Decision" weekly radio broadcast. Lawrence Welk once said that it was the most requested song on his television program. There are over 1700 documented recordings of "How Great Thou Art." One of my favorites is by Elvis Presley, who won a Grammy for his live version in 1974, on the album, Elvis Recorded Live on Stage in Memphis.
How Great Thou Art
O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
References:
Adams, Lucy. "How Great Thou Art-Old Time Favorite" retrieved from http://www.allaboutgod.com/how-great-thou-art.htm
Baring-Gould, William and Ceil The Annotated Mother Goose.Bramhall House.1962. 350 pages
Bewley, John "Philadelphia Composers and Music Publishers: Septimus Winner (1827-1902)" retrieved from http://www.library.upenn.edu/collections/rbm/keffer/winners.html
"How Great Thou Art" retrieved from http://www.mannamusic.com/hgta.htm
Opie, Iona and Peter. The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. Oxford University Press.1951. 467 pages.
Tarrant, Margaret. Nursery Rhymes. Ward Lock Unlimited.1978. 96 pages.
"William Miller" retrieved from http://www.undiscovered scotland.co.uk/usbiography/m/williammiller/html
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