Nursery Rhymes History

"Rock a Bye Baby" is a soothing piece of melody, sung by caretakers or parents to the toddlers to lull them to sleep. It is one of the popular lullabies, with variations in the lyrics.

Origin of Rock a Bye Baby
Various theories are associated with the origin of this popular lullaby. One of the theories suggests that the lullaby narrated a mother gently rocking her baby to sleep as if the baby were riding the treetops during a breeze; then, when the mother lowers the baby to her crib, the song says "down will come baby."

“The Grand Old Duke of York” also known as “The Noble Duke of York” is a popular kids' song and English nursery rhyme. The “Duke” of the title is not clear as folklorist as it is referred to a number of holders of that office, most probably Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. The rhyme is also sung to the tune of “A-Hunting We Will Go”.

“Old King Cole” is one of the popular British nursery rhymes and children's song, which appeared in 1708. The identity of King Cole has been debated for centuries and the character has been related to several historical figures.

Like many other nursery rhymes, the songwriter is not known. “Old King Cole” nursery rhyme is about a merry king who called for his pipe, bowl and fiddlers. The 'bowl' refers to a drinking vessel and 'pipe' is either considered as a musical instrument or a pipe used for smoking tobacco.

“Ten Little Indians” is one of the popular American children's nursery rhymes. The word “Indian” in the lyrics refer to Native Americans. The poet of the rhyme is not known. The melody used for the rhyme is similar to the Irish folk song, “Michael Finnegan”.