Three Blind Mice
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"Three Blind Mice" is an English-language nursery rhyme and musical
round Round or rounds may refer to: Mathematics and science * The contour of a closed curve or surface with no sharp corners, such as an ellipse, circle, rounded rectangle, cant, or sphere * Rounding, the shortening of a number to reduce the number ...
.I. Opie and P. Opie, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), p. 306. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3753.


Lyrics

The modern words are:


Origins and meaning

A version of this rhyme, together with music (in a minor key), was published in ''Deuteromelia or The Seconde part of Musicks melodie'' (1609). The editor of the book, and possible author of the rhyme, was
Thomas Ravenscroft Thomas Ravenscroft ( – 1635) was an English musician, theorist and editor, notable as a composer of rounds and catches, and especially for compiling collections of British folk music. Little is known of Ravenscroft's early life. He pro ...
. The original lyrics are: Attempts to read historical significance into the words have led to the speculation that this musical round was written earlier and refers to Queen Mary I of England blinding and executing three Protestant bishops. However, the Oxford Martyrs, Ridley, Latimer and Cranmer, were burned at the stake, not blinded; although if the rhyme was made by crypto-Catholics, the mice's "blindness" could refer to their Protestantism. However, as can be seen above, the earliest lyrics don't talk about harming the three blind mice, and the first known date of publication is 1609, well after Queen Mary died. The rhyme only entered children's literature in 1842 when it was published in a collection by James Orchard Halliwell.


Variations

Amateur music composer
Thomas Oliphant Thomas Oliphant is an American journalist who was the Washington correspondent and a columnist for ''The Boston Globe''. Life and career Oliphant was born in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from La Jolla High School in California and in 196 ...
(1799–1873) noted in 1843 that: Robert Schumann's Kreisleriana #7, which is arguably about a cat (Murr), appears to be based upon "Three Blind Mice", but in a predominantly minor key. "Three Blind Mice" is to be found in the fugue which is the centerpiece of #7. Joseph Holbrooke (1878–1958) composed his Symphonic Variations, opus 37, based on ''Three Blind Mice''. Also, Joseph Haydn used its theme in the Finale (4th Mvt) of his Symphony 83 (''La Poule'') (1785–86); one of the 6 '' Paris Symphonies'', and the music also appears in the final movement of English composer Eric Coates' suite ''The Three Men''. "Three Blind Mice" was also used as a theme song for
The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...
and a
Curtis Fuller Curtis DuBois Fuller (December 15, 1932May 8, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist. He was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and contributed to many classic jazz recordings. Early life Fuller was born in Detroit on December 15, 1932. ...
arrangement of the rhyme is featured on the
Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...
live album of the same name. The song is also the basis for
Leroy Anderson Leroy Anderson ( ) (June 29, 1908 – May 18, 1975) was an American composer of short, light concert pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler. John Williams described him as ...
's 1947 orchestral "
Fiddle Faddle Fiddle Faddle is candy-coated popcorn produced by ConAgra Foods. Introduced in 1967, the snack is commonly found in US discount and drug stores. Fiddle Faddle consists of popped popcorn covered with either caramel or butter toffee and mixed w ...
". The theme can also be heard in Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 IV. Allegro con fuoco. The British composer
Havergal Brian Havergal Brian (born William Brian; 29 January 187628 November 1972) was an English composer. He is best known for having composed 32 symphonies (an unusually high total for a 20th-century composer), most of them late in his life. His best-known ...
(1876–1972) used the tune as the basis of his orchestral work "Fantastic Variations on an Old Rhyme" (1907–08). The work was originally intended as the first movement of a satirical "Fantastic Symphony" (Symphony No.1), a programmatic work, based on the nursery rhyme. The second movement was intended as a scherzo for pizzicato strings, depicting the souls of the departed mice going to heaven and the third movement was a Lament for the dead mice. Both these movements are lost. "Festal Dance" (1908) formed the finale, depicting the wild dance of triumph of the farmer's wife in which passing references to the tune can be heard. Having been performed separately, the first and last movements became independent works around 1914. The theme of the second movement of
Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...
's Piano Concerto No. 4 (1926, revised 1928 and 1941) was criticized as resembling ''Three Blind Mice''. A calypso version of the tune with new lyrics by
Monty Norman Monty Norman (''né'' Noserovitch; 4 April 1928 – 11 July 2022) was a British composer, musician and singer. A contributor to West End musicals in the 1950s and 1960s, he is best known for composing the "James Bond Theme", first heard in th ...
was recorded by
Byron Lee and the Dragonaires Byron Lee and the Dragonaires (known as Byron Lee's Dragonaires after Lee's death and now The Dragonaires) are a Jamaican ska, calypso and soca band. The band played a crucial pioneering role in bringing Caribbean music to the world. Byron ...
for the film '' Dr. No'', and is featured in its soundtrack as part of the track "Kingston Calypso". The reworked rhyme alludes to the three black assassins whose deadly march through the streets of
Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...
opens the film. Other Jamaican versions include dancehall artists, like Josey Wales and
Brigadier Jerry Robert Russell (born 28 September 1957), better known by the stage name Brigadier Jerry is a Jamaican dancehall reggae deejay known for his "cultural" lyrics. Biography Brigadier Jerry, often nicknamed "Briggy" and "The General", was born in ...
. In a 78 RPM CD of '' The Whale who Wanted to Sing at the Met'',
Nelson Eddy Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclub ...
, sang a round of the song before the actual short performance. The line "See how they run" appears in
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
' "
Lady Madonna "Lady Madonna" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. In March 1968, it was released as a mono single, backed with "The Inner Light". The song was recorded on 3 a ...
" (1968) and Redeye's "Games" (1970–1971). In 1969, a version of the rhyme, with slightly changed lyrics and in D minor rather than in a major key, was recorded by
Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...
as part of the duo
The Sallyangie The Sallyangie were a 1960s folk duo consisting of siblings Mike and Sally Oldfield. In 1968 they released their first and only album ''Children of the Sun''. The duo split in late 1969 after limited success and a national tour. Both members h ...
, with his older sister
Sally Sally may refer to: People *Sally (name), a list of notable people with the name Military * Sally (military), an attack by the defenders of a town or fortress under siege against a besieging force; see sally port *Sally, the Allied reporting na ...
, within the song "Chameleon" on the duo's only album, '' Children of the Sun''. In the song, Oldfield sings the rhyme (among other lyrics) as a lower
counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...
vocal to his sister, who sings completely different lyrics on a different, slower melody, in a high voice. Also in the same year,
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...
adapted the song to "B is for Bubble".


"Complete version"

Published in 1904 by Frederick Warne & Co., an illustrated children's book by John W. Ivimey entitled ''The Complete Version of Ye Three Blind Mice'', fleshes the mice out into mischievous characters who seek adventure, eventually being taken in by a farmer whose wife chases them from the house and into a bramble bush, which blinds them. Soon after, their tails are removed by "the butcher's wife" when the complete version incorporates the original verse—although the earliest version from 1609 does not mention tails being cut off. The story ends with them using a tonic to grow new tails and recover their eyesight, learning a trade (making wood chips, according to the accompanying illustration), buying a house and living happily ever after. The book is now in the
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
.


See also

*
List of nursery rhymes The term "nursery rhyme" emerged in the third decade of the nineteenth century although this type of children's literature previously existed with different names such as ''Tommy Thumb Songs'' and ''Mother Goose Songs''. The first known book contai ...


References


External links


Complete Version of ye Three Blind Mice – Scholarly analysis
*https://archive.org/details/completeversiony00libg/page/n1/mode/2up
Mother Goose for Grownups
{{Authority control English children's songs English folk songs English nursery rhymes Fictional blind characters Fictional trios Fictional mice and rats Rounds (music) Songs about diseases and disorders Songs about mice and rats Songwriter unknown Traditional children's songs Year of song unknown