Wee Willie Winkie
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| "Wee Willie Winkie" Roud #3711 |
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| Lyrics by | William Miller |
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| Published | 1841 |
| Written | Scotland |
| Language | Scots |
| Form | Nursery Rhyme |
"Wee Willie Winkie" is a Scottish nursery rhyme, whose titular figure has become popular the world over as a personification of sleep. The poem, written by William Miller and titled Willie Winkie, was first published in Whistle-binkie: Stories for the Fireside in 1841.[1][2][3] It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 13711.
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[edit] Lyrics
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The original text of 1841 was written in Scots and is below:
- Wee Willie Winkie rins through the town,
- Up stairs and doon stairs in his nicht-gown,
- Tirling at the window, cryin' at the lock,
- Are the weans in their bed, for it's now ten o'clock?
- Hey, Willie Winkie, are ye coming ben?
- The cat's singing grey thrums to the sleeping hen,
- The dog's spelder'd on the floor, and disna gi'e a cheep,
- But here's a waukrife laddie! that winna fa' asleep!"
- Onything but sleep, you rogue! glow'ring like the mune,
- Rattling in an airn jug wi' an airn spoone,
- Rumbling, tumbling round about, crawing like a cock,
- Skirlin' like a kenna-what, wauk'ning sleeping fock.
- "Hey, Willie Winkie - the wean's in a creel!
- Wambling aff a bodie's knee like a very eel,
- Ruggin' at the cat's lug, and raveling a' her thrums-
- Hey, Willie Winkie - see, there he comes!"
- Wearied is the mither that has a stoorie wean,
- A wee stumple stoussie, that canna rin his lane,
- That has a battle aye wi' sleep before he'll close an ee-
- But a kiss frae aff his rosy lips gi'es strength anew to me.[4]
Versions paraphrased for English readers began to appear in print from 1844 in the form:[4]
- Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town,
- Up stairs and down stairs in his night-gown,
- Tapping at the window, crying at the lock,
- Are the children in their bed, for it's past ten o'clock?
- Hey, Willie Winkie, are you coming in?
- The cat is singing purring sounds to the sleeping hen,
- The dog's spread out on the floor, and doesn't give a cheep,
- But here's a wakeful little boy who will not fall asleep!
- Anything but sleep, you rogue! glowering like the moon,'
- Rattling in an iron jug with an iron spoon,
- Rumbling, tumbling round about, crowing like a cock,
- Shrieking like I don't know what, waking sleeping folk.
- Hey, Willie Winkie - the child's in a creel!
- Wriggling from everyone's knee like an eel,
- Tugging at the cat's ear, and confusing all her thrums
- Hey, Willie Winkie - see, there he comes!"
- Weary is the mother who has a dusty child,
- A small short little child, who can't run on his own,
- Who always has a battle with sleep before he'll close an eye
- But a kiss from his rosy lips gives strength anew to me.
[edit] Origins and meaning
The poem was written by William Miller (1810-72), first printed in Whistle-binkie: Stories for the Fireside in 1841 and later re-printed in Whistle-Binkie; a Collection of Songs for the Social Circle published in 1873.[4][1][2][3] In Jacobite songs Willie Winkie referred to King William III of England, but it seems likely that Miller was simply using the name rather than writing a Jacobite satire.[4]
Such was the popularity of Wee Willie Winkie that the character has become one of several bedtime entities such as the Sandman, Ole Lukøje of Scandinavia, and Dormette of France.[5]
[edit] References
- Melville, F. The Book of Faeries 2002 Quarto Press
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b The Victorians By Valentine Cunningham
- ^ a b William Miller
- ^ a b Dennistoun online
- ^ a b c d I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 424-5.
- ^ C. Rose, Spirits, Fairies, Gnomes, and Goblins: an Encyclopedia of the Little People (ABC-CLIO, 1996), p. 231.
[edit] External links
- Scottish Nursery Songs and other Poems by William Miller at Dennistoun online, includes Wee Willie Winkie
- Whistle-Binkie; a Collection of Songs for the Social Circle edited by John Donald Carrick, Alexander Rodger, David Robertson, contains Willie Winkie and the autograph of Miller (1873)
