I Had a Little Nut Tree

= I Had a Little Nut Tree =

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' I Had a Little Nut Tree' is an English languagenursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Indexnumber of 3749.

'''Lyrics '''

The most common modern version is:'''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. However it could refer to Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon and Henry's problems in producing suitable offspring.'''Additional verse Occasionally an extra verse is added:Parody It was parodied by Roald Dahl in his poetry book Rhyme Stew (1989).Notes '''
 * 1) I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 330-1.