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Nursery Rhymes Lyrics and Origins

I had a Little Nut Tree

Nursery Rhyme Lyrics, Origins and History

 

The characters in the nursery rhyme 'I had a little nut tree' are believed to refer to the visit of the Royal House of Spain to King Henry VII's English court in 1506. The 'King of Spain's daughter' refers to the daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. There were two daughters, Princess Juana and her sister Katherine of Aragon. The princess in the nursery rhyme is probably Katherine of Aragon who was betrothed to Prince Arthur, the heir to the throne of England. Arthur died and Katherine eventually married King Henry VIII. It was sad that "So fair a princess" had such a difficult life with Henry as she was the first of Henry's six wives and discarded by the King to make way for Anne Boleyn. Queen Katherine was much loved by the British people who hated her replacement, who they called 'The Great Whore'. The young, beautiful princess relates to the young Katherine, as a princess and is immortalised in this old nursery rhyme.

 
 
 
Katherine of Aragon
 
 
 

A picture of Katherine of Aragon

   
 

I had a Little Nut Tree
Nursery Rhyme lyrics, origins and history

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 nut tree
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.

I had a Little Nut Tree
Nursery Rhyme lyrics, origins and history

 

Note: A Rhymes lyrics and the perceived origins of some Nursery Rhymes vary according to location

 

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Written By Linda Alchin