"Jacky, come give me your fiddle,
If ever you mean to thrive."
"Nay, I'll not give my fiddle
To any man alive.
"If I should give my fiddle
They'll think that I'm gone mad,
For many a joyful day
My fiddle and I have had."
Notes
Here's a slightly different version of this rhyme from The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang and illustrated by L. Leslie Brooke (1897):
"JACKY, come give me thy fiddle,
If ever thou mean to thrive:"
"Nay; I'll not give my fiddle
To any man alive.
"If I should give my fiddle,
They'll think that I'm gone mad,
For many a joyful day
My fiddle and I have had."
The Little Mother Goose (1912), illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith, has this version:
"John, come sell thy fiddle,
And buy thy wife a gown."
"No, I'll not sell my fiddle,
For ne'er a wife in town."
Photos & Illustrations
Thanks and Acknowledgements
The 1st illustration is from Mother Goose, The Original Volland Edition (1915), edited and arranged by Eulalie Osgood Grover and illustrated by Frederick Richardson (with some graphical editing by Mama Lisa). The 2nd illustration is from The Real Mother Goose (1916), illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright. This rhyme can also be found in Traditional Nursery Songs of England with Pictures by Eminent Modern Artists edited by Felix Summerly (1843).
