Simple Simon (nursery rhyme) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids "Simple Simon" |
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William Wallace Denslow's illustrations for Simple Simon, from a 1901 edition of Mother Goose
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| Nursery rhyme | |
| Published | 1764 |
"Simple Simon" is a very popular English language nursery rhyme. It tells the story of a boy named Simon who has some funny and sometimes clumsy adventures. This rhyme is quite old and has been enjoyed by children for hundreds of years. It even has a special number, 1977, in the Roud Folk Song Index. This index helps keep track of traditional songs from around the world.
What Are the Words to Simple Simon?
Here are the words to the popular nursery rhyme:
- Simple Simon met a pieman,
- Going to the fair;
- Says Simple Simon to the pieman,
- Let me taste your ware.
- Says the pieman to Simple Simon,
- Show me first your penny;
- Says Simple Simon to the pieman,
- Indeed I have not any.
- Simple Simon went a-fishing,
- For to catch a whale;
- All the water he had got,
- Was in his mother's pail.
- Simple Simon went to look
- If plums grew on a thistle;
- He pricked his fingers very much,
- Which made poor Simon whistle.
- He went for water in a sieve
- But soon it all fell through
- And now poor Simple Simon
- Bids you all adieu!
Where Did Simple Simon Come From?
The words we sing today are just the first part of a longer story. This story was first printed in a small book called a chapbook in 1764. A chapbook was like a mini-book sold cheaply a long time ago.
The character of Simple Simon might have been around even earlier. He may have appeared in an older chapbook from the time of Elizabeth I. There was also a type of song called a ballad about him. This ballad, called Simple Simon's Misfortunes and his Wife Margery's Cruelty, came out around 1685. Another idea is that the character was inspired by a real person. This person was Simon Edy, a beggar who lived in London in the 1700s.
