Hey Diddle Diddle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids "Hey Diddle Diddle" |
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Illustration by William Wallace Denslow
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| Nursery rhyme | |
| Published | c. 1765 |
| Songwriter(s) | Unknown |
| Composer(s) | Kinsley |
| Lyricist(s) | Evans |
"Hey Diddle Diddle" is a very famous and old English nursery rhyme. You might also know it as "The Cat and the Fiddle" or "The Cow Jumped Over the Moon". It's a fun rhyme that tells a silly story about animals and objects doing surprising things! This rhyme is so well-known that it has a special number in the Roud Folk Song Index, which helps keep track of folk songs and rhymes.
The Rhyme and Its Meaning
The most common way we hear "Hey Diddle Diddle" today goes like this:
Hey diddle, diddle!
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon;
The little dog laughed
To see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.
The word "sport" in the rhyme means "fun" or "entertainment." Sometimes, you might hear other words used instead, like "fun," "a sight," or "craft."
This rhyme is also the source of a popular English saying: "over the moon." When someone says they are "over the moon," it means they are extremely happy, thrilled, or delighted about something.
The Melody of the Rhyme
The tune we often sing with "Hey Diddle Diddle" was first written down in 1870. A composer and collector of nursery rhymes named James William Elliott included it in his book, National Nursery Rhymes and Nursery Songs.
When Did "Hey Diddle Diddle" Begin?
This rhyme might be very, very old, possibly even from the 1500s or earlier. Some historians think parts of the rhyme could be over a thousand years old! In old books from the Middle Ages, you can find pictures of cats playing fiddles.
There are some old writings that seem to mention parts of the rhyme:
- In 1569, a play by Thomas Preston called A lamentable tragedy mixed ful of pleasant mirth, conteyning the life of Cambises King of Percia included these lines:
They be at hand Sir with stick and fiddle;
They can play a new dance called hey-diddle-diddle.
- Another old writing from 1597, called The Cherry and the Slae by Alexander Montgomerie, has lines that sound a bit like the rhyme:
But since you think't an easy thing
To mount above the moon,
Of your own fiddle take a spring
And dance when you have done.
The name "Cat and the Fiddle" was also a common name for inns (like old hotels or pubs) in England. There was one known by this name in London as early as 1587.
The first time the rhyme was printed in a way that looks very similar to what we know today was around 1765. It appeared in a book called Mother Goose's Melody in London. That version had these words:
Hey diddle diddle,
The Cat and the Fiddle,
The Cow jump'd over the Moon,
The little dog laugh'd to see such Craft,
And the Fork ran away with the Spoon.
