I Had a Little Nut Tree

'I Had a Little Nut Tree' is an English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3749.The song mentions a visit by the daughter of the King of Spain to request nutmeg and a pear. James Orchard Halliwell suggested that the song commemorates the 1506 visit of the Queen regnant Joanna of Castile to the English court of her brother-in-law, Henry VIII. However, the oldest known version of the song dates to 1797.

Lyrics

Alternative verse:

Origins and meaning

The first recorded instance of the rhyme is in Newest Christmas Box, printed in London in 1797. James Orchard Halliwell suggested that it was much older and commemorated Juana of Castile who visited the court of Henry VII in 1506, but did not provide any additional evidence to support the theory.

In popular culture

Roald Dahl parodied the poem in his 1989 book Rhyme Stew.

Notes