What Are Little Boys Made Of?
| "What Are Little Boys Made Of?" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| Language | English |
| Written | England |
| Published | c. 1820 |
| Songwriter(s) | Traditional |
"What Are Little Boys Made Of?" is a popular nursery rhyme dating from the early nineteenth century. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 821.
Lyrics
Here is a representative modern version of the lyrics:
- What are little boys made of?
- What are little boys made of?
- Frogs and snails
- And puppy-dogs' tails,
- That's what little boys are made of.
- What are little girls made of?
- What are little girls made of?
- Sugar and spice
- And everything nice,
- That's what little girls are made of.[1]
As would be expected given its status in popular tradition, the rhyme appears in many variant forms. For example, other versions may describe boys as being made of "slugs",[2][3] "snakes",[4][5] or "snips",[6] rather than "frogs" as above.
Origins
In the earliest known versions, the first ingredient for boys is either "snips" or "snigs",[7] the latter being a Cumbrian dialect word for a small eel.
The rhyme sometimes appears as part of a larger work called "What Folks Are Made Of" or "What All the World Is Made Of". Other stanzas describe what babies, young men, young women, sailors, soldiers, nurses, fathers, mothers, old men, old women, and all folks are made of. According to Iona and Peter Opie, this first appears in a manuscript by the English poet Robert Southey (1774–1843), who added the stanzas other than the two below.[1] Though it is not mentioned elsewhere in his works or papers, it is generally agreed to be by him.[8]
The relevant section in the version attributed to Southey was:
- What are little boys made of made of
- What are little boys made of
- Snips & snails & puppy dogs tails
- And such are little boys made of.
- What are young women made of, &c
- Sugar & spice & all things nice[1]
References in pop culture
 |
- "Sugar and Spice" is a 1963 song by Merseybeat band The Searchers
- The title of one Star Trek episode, "What Are Little Girls Made Of?", refers to the rhyme.
- In Roman Polanski's 1968 film, Rosemary's Baby, Rosemary asks Minnie Castavet what is in the drink she is giving to her, to which Minnie replies "snips, snails, and puppy dogs tails."
- Commander Riker in "The Outcast", an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation uses a portion of the rhyme when asked the differences between males and females.
- David Bowie uses a modified line from this in the song "Magic Dance" from the Labyrinth soundtrack.
- Tori Amos references a line in her song "Oscar's Theme".
- Green Day reference it in their 1997 song "King for a Day", a song about cross-dressing.
- The animated TV series The Powerpuff Girls is based on this poem. Its three main characters are made from sugar, spice and everything nice, and the Rowdyruff Boys (who appear later in the series) are likewise made from snips, snails and a puppy dog's tail.
- Kaori Yuki uses this poem in one of her manga, God Child.
- A Slitheen uses this poem in the The Sarah Jane Adventures story Revenge of the Slitheen.
- Sugar and Spies is A short film starring Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner. It's title is a pun on the first part of the "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" poem.
- Yana Toboso uses this poem in one of her manga, Black Butler.
- In friendship is magic Snips and his partner in crime Snails have their names based of this poem.
Notes
- ^ a b c I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 100–1.
- ^ anonymous (July 29, 1871). "Frankenstein's Chemistry". Punch. 61: 41. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
- ^ Daubeny, Giles A. (November 1901). "A Snail Hunter; Cockchafers". Nature Notes: The Selborne Society's Magazine. 12: 215. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
- ^ Teacher's Magazine. XXXII (4): 115–116. December, 1909 http://books.google.com/books?id=6fAKAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA115#v=onepage&q=&f=false. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
{{cite journal}}:|first=missing|last=(help); Check date values in:|date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help); Unknown parameter|;ast=ignored (help) - ^ Wintemberg, W. J. and Katherine H. (January–March 1918). "Folk-Lore from Grey County, Ontario". Journal of American Folk-Lore. 31: 83–124. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Griffin, Gerald (1827). Suil Dhuv, the Coiner. Saunders and Otley. P. 449 of the 1842 edition.
- ^ Dance, Charles (1837). The Bengal Tiger: A Farce.
- ^ Delamar, Gloria T. (2000). Mother Goose: From Nursery to Literature. IUniverse. pp. 175–177. ISBN 0-595-18577-0.