Jacky, Come Give Me Thy Fiddle Lyrics
Someone asks Jacky to hand over his fiddle. Jacky refuses: people would think he had gone mad, and the fiddle has given him too many happy days.
Jacky, Come Give Me Thy Fiddle
Jacky, come give me thy fiddle,
If ever thou mean to thrive.
Nay, I'll not give my fiddle
To any man alive.
If I should give my fiddle
They'll think that I'm gone mad;
For many a joyful day
My fiddle and I have had.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/jacky-come-give-me-thy-fiddle/
- Type
- Mother Goose
- Tune
- Sung or spoken
- Best for ages
- 4 to 9 years
What Does Jacky, Come Give Me Thy Fiddle Mean?
A fiddle is a violin. The first speaker tells Jacky to give it up "if ever thou mean to thrive", meaning if he ever wants to get on in life. Jacky answers that he would not give it to any man alive. Giving it away would be madness, because he and his fiddle have shared so many joyful days.
History and Origin
Walter Jerrold printed this version in The Big Book of Nursery Rhymes (1903), and James Orchard Halliwell had collected it earlier. Fiddlers played at village dances, fairs and weddings, so a fiddle was both a treasure and a way of earning a living.
Learning Activities
- Treasures: ask your child which toy they would never give away, and why.
- Fiddle music: listen to a lively fiddle tune and dance along.
- Two voices: one person asks, the other answers as Jacky.