Molly, my Sister, and I fell out Nursery Rhyme lyrics, origins and history Molly, my sister, And I fell out, And what do you think It was all about?
She loved coffee And I loved tea, And that was the reason We couldn't agree! Our grateful thanks go to Tara LaBella for offering the following suggestion regarding the origins of the rhyme: "I have a vague recollection that this rhyme is referring to the English Protestant Reformation -- that the Molly is, of course, Queen Mary I (Henry VIII's daughter) and that the unnamed speaker is her sister, Queen Elizabeth I, Roman and Anglican Catholics, respectively. "Tea" may be a reference to the "old world" (i.e. the "Old" religion of Roman Catholicism) while "coffee" is a reference to the "new world" of Anglicanism. Another suggestion is that the rhyme refers to two other sisters who did not get along - Mary II (William of Orange's wife) and her sister Queen Anne. Queen Anne was known to have taken an interest in the new fashion of tea-drinking, although it is not known whether her sister or brother-in-law had an interest in coffee -- either in drinking or production!" Molly, my Sister, and I fell out Nursery Rhyme lyrics, origins and history |