Hickory Dickory Dock

This article is about the nursery rhyme. For the Agatha Christie novel, see Hickory Dickory Dock (novel).

"Hickory Dickory Dock" Roud #6489
Hickety Dickety Dock, illustrated by William Wallace Denslow, from a 1901 Mother Goose collection
Written by	Traditional
Published	c. 1765
Written	England
Language	English
Form	Nursery rhyme

Hickety Dickety Dock, illustrated by Denslow

"Hickory Dickory Dock" or "Hickety Dickety Dock" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 6489.

Lyrics

The most common modern version is:

Hickory, dickory, dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down,
Hickory, dickory, dock.^[1]

Other variants include "down the mouse ran"^[2] or "down the mouse run"^[3] or "and down he run" in place of "the mouse ran down".

Origins and meaning

The earliest recorded version of the rhyme is in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book, published in London about 1744, which uses the opening line: 'Hickere, Dickere Dock'.^[1] The next recorded version in Mother Goose's Melody (c. 1765), uses 'Dickery, Dickery Dock'.^[1]

The rhyme is thought by some commentators to have originated as a counting-out rhyme.^[1] Westmoreland shepherds in the nineteenth century used the numbers 'Hevera' (8), 'Devera' (9) and 'Dick' (10).^[1] (See Yan Tan Tethera)

Some reports claim that the rhyme was written by Oliver Goldsmith, in Dublin for a volume of nursery rhymes he was collecting.^[4]

Tune

As with many other nursery rhymes, there are two substantially different melodies, one associated with Great Britain and the other with North America.^{[citation needed]}

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 185-6.
2. ^ The American Mercury, Volume 77, p.105
3. ^ "Mother Goose's chimes, rhymes & melodies". H.B. Ashmead. 1861?. http://www.archive.org/stream/mothergooseschim00philiala#page/26/mode/2up. Retrieved 2009-11-14. 
4. ^ "Irish People and Ireland". Irishabroad.com. http://www.irishabroad.com/Travel/Features/dublins-literary-greats.asp. Retrieved 2009-09-03.