Sing a Song of Sixpence Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye; Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie. When the pie was opened, the birds began to sing; Oh, wasnt that a dainty dish to set before the king? The king was in his counting house counting out his money, The queen was in the parlour eating bread and honey. The maid was in the garden hanging out the clothes When down came a blackbird and pecked off her nose. There are a number of stories about this rhyme, but my favourite centres on a pirate called Blackbeard (c.1680-1718), king of the pirates, who operated around the Caribbean. Before long, several nations had put a price on his head. As a result, he kept a low profile when recruiting new crews. Thus Sing A Song Of Sixpence was a coded message relating to the decent wage on offer. He also offered seamen a pocket full of rye whisky - a leather pouch holding about a litre of grog - which would have been a big incentive. Blackbeard lured target vessels close by pretending his own was in distress. Little did the sailors realise that 24 of his finest pirates would be lying in wait (four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie) when they came to help. When they drew alongside, Blackbeards men would spring into action, usually with fearsome screams and shouts (when the pie was opened the birds began to sing). The king was in his counting house, counting out his money obviously refers to the pirate king himself. A slang word for desirable ships, laden with treasure, was maid, while the waters around the Caribbean were referred to as the garden - hence the maid was in the garden. When down came a blackbird and pecked off her nose probably refers to Blackbeards men - his birds - who were always ready to launch a surprise attack on a ship to peck off her nose (to grab all the treasure) before the crew realised what was happening.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 11:50:03 +0000
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