Jack and Jill (nursery rhyme)

For the film, see Jack and Jill (film).

"Jack and Jill" Roud #10266
Jack & Jill in the act of tumbling down, according to William Wallace Denslow
Written by	Traditional
Published	c. 1765
Written	England
Language	English
Form	Nursery rhyme

"Jack and Jill" is a classic nursery rhyme in the English speaking world. The origin of the rhyme is obscure and there are several theories that attempt to interpret the lyrics. The rhyme is known to date back to at least the 18th century. The song is sometimes titled "Jack and Gill", particularly in early versions. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 10266.

Lyrics

Common modern version of the rhyme include:

Jack and Jill went up the hill

To fetch a pail of water.

Jack fell down and broke his crown,

And Jill came tumbling after.

Up Jack got, and home did trot,

As fast as he could caper,

To old Dame Dob, who patched his nob

With vinegar and brown paper.

Origin and interpretation

William Wallace Denslow's illustrations for Jack and Jill, from a 1901 edition of Mother Goose

While the true origins of the rhyme are unknown, there are several theories. The earliest publication of the lyrics was in the 1760s in John Newbery's Mother Goose's Melody. As a result, Jack and Jill are considered part of the canon of "Mother Goose" characters. As is common with nursery rhyme exegesis, complicated metaphors are often said to exist within the lyrics of Jack and Jill. Although these theories of meaning appear to make perfect sense, it does not follow that they are in fact the original meaning of the song. This is corroborated by the fact that the Newbery publication predates some of the common origin stories. These include:

• According to the 13th-century Prose Edda book Gylfaginning written by Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson, in Norse mythology, Hjúki and Bil, brother and sister (respectively), were taken up from the earth by the moon (personified as the god Máni) as they were fetching water from the well called Byrgir, bearing on their shoulders the cask called Saegr and the pole called Simul. Many tales and figures from the Prose Edda date much earlier, recorded from Skaldic poetry that was transmitted orally, much of which related to stories rooted in the Germanic paganism of the Germanic peoples.
• The village of Kilmersdon in Somerset has a long tradition of association with the nursery rhyme and the hill featured in the rhyme is said to be one near this village. It has been suggested that the surname Gilson originated in this area and could have been derived from 'son of Jill'.
• Jack is Cardinal Wolsey (c.1471–1530); and Gill is Bishop Tarbes who attempted to arrange the marriage of Mary Tudor to the French king. Their failure to negotiate this peace with France led to tax raises and thus the Jack and Jill protest song.
• In the 17th century, King Charles I tried to reform the taxes on liquid measures. He was blocked by Parliament, so subsequently ordered that the volume of a Jack (1/2 pint) be reduced, but the tax remained the same. This meant that he still received more tax, despite Parliament's veto. Hence "Jack fell down and broke his crown" (many pint glasses in the UK still have a line marking the 1/2 pint level with a crown above it) "and Jill came tumbling after". The reference to "Jill", (actually a "gill", or 1/4 pint) is an indication that the gill dropped in volume as a consequence. A variant of this is that liquids (specifically alcoholic beverages) were watered down, hence, "fetch a pail of water."
• Jack and Jill signify the 18th century Louis XVI of France, who was deposed and beheaded (lost his crown), and his Queen, Marie Antoinette (who came tumbling after). The words and lyrics were made more palatable for the nursery by giving it a happy ending.
• Jack and Jill were forms of currency referring to dollars and cents, respectively. The rising value of Jacks and Jill caused them to "go up a hill" until a plague caused a lack of water, causing a drop in the values of this currency (falling down and breaking his crown).

The vinegar and brown paper poultice used by Dame Dob for Jack's injuries is a traditional remedy for bruises and inflammations.

A Jack and Jill reference appears in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream at the end of act three: Jack shall have Jill; Nought shall go ill. There is no evidence of any specific connection between this and the nursery rhyme and it is probable that the Jack and Jill here are used in a general representative sense for man and woman. A similar reference occurs in Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost near the end of the play: "Our wooing doth not end like an old play; Jack hath not Jill".

A. E. Housman created a parody of the poem in his "Fragment of a didactic poem on the Latin grammar" : "So, up the steep side of the rugged hill, //Companions in adventure, Jack and Jill //With footing nice and anxious effort hale //To the moist pump the necessary pail".

In popular culture

• Louisa May Alcott's Jack and Jill.
• In 1978, the pop group Raydio had a hit song entitled "Jack and Jill" in which Jack sneaked down from the hill to get "love he couldn't get from Jill". Another Raydio song, "A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do)" (1981) provided an apparent continuation of the earlier song by saying that when Jack returned up the hill, "somebody else had been loving Jill".
• Two music groups have adopted names from this nursery rhyme: Jack N' Chill and Jack Off Jill
• The Caravan song "Jack and Jill", from the 1976 album Blind Dog at St. Dunstans, suggests an interpretation of the original rhyme, presenting it as a romantic encounter, told from Jack's point of view.
• The Benny Hill Show has Hill parodying Kojak, with an inquisition about Jack and Jill running up the hill.
• The Kim Richey song "Jack and Jill" references the classic rhyme.
• Jack is one of Renee J.F. Piazza's characters in his spoof on nursery rhymes; "Who Kidnapped Mother Goose?"
• YouthPLAYS.com published After The Hill, an adaptation/sequel of the Jack and Jill story by American playwright Meron Langsner in 2010.
• Jack and Jill are also gender-specific names for kangaroos and related macropods.
• In The King's Speech, during one training session King George VI's speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), makes him recite the nursery rhyme during physical exercise.
• Jack and Jill are the two main antagonists in Puss in Boots. In the film, they try to reach the goose that lays golden eggs. Jill does mention that Jack broke his crown.
• In an episode of 'Allo 'Allo, René greets two men at the door of his café and addresses them "Jacques" and "Gilles". An obvious nod to the nursery rhyme.

• Jack and Jill is the title of a 2011 Adam Sandler movie with him playing a man and the man's twin sister

External links

• A sing-along version of Jack and Jill and its illustrated lyrics