The original poem which was written by poet Sarah Joseph Hale was published in 1830. The original poem which was entitled Mary's Lamb and went as so...
Mary had a little lamb,
whose fleece was white as snow.
whose fleece was white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went,
the lamb was sure to go.
the lamb was sure to go.
It followed her to school one day
which was against the rules.
which was against the rules.
It made the children laugh and play,
to see a lamb at school.
to see a lamb at school.
And so the teacher turned it out,
but still it lingered near,
but still it lingered near,
And waited patiently about,
till Mary did appear.
till Mary did appear.
“Why does the lamb love Mary so?”
the eager children cry.
the eager children cry.
“Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know.”
the teacher did reply
The ever famous nursery rhyme was based on an incident in the life of young Mary Sawyer of Sterling Massachusetts. The lamb which she had so keenly adopted from her families farm was attached to her and one day at school Mary had tried to smuggle the lamb into class with her, putting it in a basket under her chair. However, she was quickly found out when the lamb made noise, and then as recited in the poem, the teacher put the lamb outside. While the poem was written by Hale, it is said that the original version was written by a classmate of Mary's, John Roulstone. And it was 14 years afterwards that Hale altered the poem, adding three more stanzas.the teacher did reply
Oddly enough this exact nursery rhyme was the first thing ever recorded by a phonograph. In 1877 Thomas Edison recited the lyrics to the nursery rhyme and the poem became one of the first ever recordings.
https://allnurseryrhymes.com/mary-had-a-little-lamb/
https://www.historyextra.com/period/stuart/13-weird-historical-facts/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mary-had-little-lamb-based-true-story-180963330/
I had no idea that the nursery rhyme stemmed from a real story in America. The Itsy Bitsy Spider is another nursery rhyme made in America in the 1920s. It was originally published for adults, not children, and the words "itsy bitsy" were actually "blooming, bloody". https://allnurseryrhymes.com/itsy-bitsy-spider/
ReplyDeleteIt's so interesting how American literature has such unique origins. Another nursery rhyme that has an interesting tie to American history is "Rock-a-bye Baby." Supposedly, it may have been written by an English immigrant taking note of Native Americans and how they hushed their babies while in nature. However, others believe it was written to support the idea that the son of King James II was not truly his. Someone else's child was used so that the Catholic monarchy could continue.
ReplyDeletehttp://listverse.com/2009/08/19/10-nursery-rhymes-and-their-origins/
This is adorable! Actually super cute, and it makes it better that the love for the lamb was so strong she had to have it with her. Very relatable situation in life that you wouldn't usually get out of a children's nursery rhymes. I looked up and there's a bunch like this such as Humpty Dumpy. I feel like we don't notice because as we grow we try and distance our selves as much as possible from the basics and don't stop to analyze it. Anyways here is my source! http://listverse.com/2009/08/19/10-nursery-rhymes-and-their-origins/
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