I Had a Little Nut Tree

'I Had a Little Nut Tree' is an English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3749.

Lyrics

The most common modern version is:

I had a little nut tree,
Nothing would it bear,
But a silver nutmeg
And a golden pear;

The King of Spain's daughter
Came to visit me,
And all for the sake
Of my little nut tree.

Her dress was made of crimson,
Jet black was her hair,
She asked me for my nutmeg
And my golden pear.

I said, "So fair a princess
Never did I see,
I'll give you all the fruit
From my little nut tree."^[1]

1. ^ I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 330-1.

Origins and meaning

The first recorded instance of the rhyme is in Newest Christmas Box, printed in London in 1797. James Orchard Halliwell suggested that it was much older and commemorated Juana of Castile who visited the court of Henry VII in 1506, but did not provide any additional evidence to support the theory.^[1] In the absence of earlier attestations of or references to the song, or any internal evidence by which it could be dated, it is likely to remain a matter for speculation.

Additional verse

Occasionally an extra verse is added:

"I danced o'er the water,
I danced o'er the sea,
And all the birds in the air,
Couldn't catch me"

Parody

It was parodied by Roald Dahl in his poetry book Rhyme Stew (1989).

Notes