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Mother Hubbard nursery rhyme

Posted by Henry on February 16, 2004

In Reply to: Mother Hubbard nursery rhyme posted by Henry on February 16, 2004

: : "Does anybody know the full "text" of this rhyme?"
: : I would appreciate any informaton on this topic, especially the derivation of this particular rhyme.
: : Thank You
: : Tony Sanford

: Lots of background information at this site [Dead link removed - ed]
: It apparently had 14 verses originally. Still looking for them!

Only the last verse is given on the above site.
"THE dog he cut capers, and turned out his toes,
'Twill soon cure the vapours, he such attitude shows.
The dame made a curtsey, the dog made a bow,
The dame said, Your servant, the dog said Bow wow"
More verses can be found here, [Dead link removed - ed] but it is not clear whether they are the original ones.


Old mother Hubbard went to the cupboard,
to fetch her poor dog a bone,
but when she got there the cupboard was bare
and so the poor dog had none.

She went to the baker's to buy him some bread,
but when she came back the poor dog was dead.

She went to the undertaker's to buy him a coffin,
but when she came back the poor dog was laughing.

She took a clean dish to get him some tripe,
but when she came back he was smoking a pipe.

She went to the alehouse to get him some beer,
but when she came back the dog sat in a chair.

She went to the tavern for white wine and red,
but when she came back the dog stood on his head.

She went to the fruiterer's to buy him some fruit,
but when she came back he was playing the flute.

She went to the tailor's to buy him a coat,
but when she came back he was riding a goat.

She went to the hatter's to buy him a hat,
but when she came back he was feeding the cat.

She went to the barber's to buy him a wig,
but when she came back he was dancing a jig.

She went to the cobbler's to buy him some shoes,
but when she came back he was reading the news.

She went to the seamstress to buy him some linen,
but when she came back the dog was a-spinning.

She went to the hosier's to buy him some hose,
but when she came back he was dressed in his clothes.

The dame made a curtsy, the dog made a bow,
the dame said "your servant", the dog said "bow wow".

Although it may have been written as a nonsense verse, some sites attribute a political meaning to it.

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