What does one have a pocketful of in the nursery rhyme “Sing a Song of Sixpence”?
Sing a Song of Sixpence of historical events or folklorish symbols such as the queen symbolizing the moon, the king the sun, and the blackbirds the number of hours in a day; or, as the authors indicate, the blackbirds have been seen as an allusion to monks during the period of the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII, with Catherine of Aragon representing the queen, and Anne Boleyn the maid. The rye and the birds have been seen to represent a tribute sent to Henry VII, and on another level, the term "pocketful of rye" may in fact refer to an older term of
Sing a Song of Sixpence Sing a Song of Sixpence "Sing a Song of Sixpence" is a well-known English nursery rhyme, perhaps originating in the 18th century. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as number 13191. The rhyme's origins are uncertain. References have been inferred in Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" (c. 1602), (Act II, Scene iii), where Sir Toby Belch tells a clown: "Come on; there is sixpence for you: let's have a song" and in Beaumont and Fletcher's "Bonduca" (1614), which contains the line "Whoa, here's a stir now! Sing a song o' sixpence!" In the past it has often been attributed