Three Blind Mice
Encyclopedia
Three Blind Mice is an English
nursery rhyme
and musical round
. It has a Roud Folk Song Index
number of 3753.
, who in 1609 was still a teenager. 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
, but problematically the Oxford Martyrs
, Ridley, Latimer and Cranmer, were burned at the stake, not blinded. The earliest lyrics do not talk about directly killing the three blind mice and are dated long after Queen Mary died, and "she scrapte her tripe licke thou the knife" implies they were prepared and consumed.
There is a narrative ambiguity at the heart of the rhyme, which is the question over whether the mice are chasing the farmer's wife after she cut their tails off, or whether she cut their tails off after they began chasing her.
The rhyme only entered children's literature in 1842 when it was published in a collection by James Orchard Halliwell.
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 and a Curtis Fuller
arrangement of the rhyme is featured on the Art Blakey
live album of the same name. The song is also the basis for Leroy Anderson
's orchestral Fiddle Faddle
.
The theme of the second movement of Sergei Rachmaninoff
's Piano Concerto No. 4
(1926, revised 1928 and 1941) is partially based on Three Blind Mice.
The Three Blind Mice are guests of Old King Cole
in the 1933 Disney cartoon
of the same name.
A jazzy Three Blind Mice tune is used in the introduction of The Three Stooges short subjects, produced by Columbia Pictures from 1939 through 1959.
The 1962 James Bond
film Dr. No
features a calypso version of "Three Blind Mice" with new lyrics, in reference to three villainous characters in the film.
In several sports (basketball and hockey, for example, which have three referees), "Three Blind Mice" is used as a derogatory phrase for poor referees. Bands also play the song to mock referees in similar cases. Such references, however, are frowned upon officially by both sports as unsportsmanlike. Before Major League Baseball
required four umpires at every game, there were regularly three. The Brooklyn Dodgers
had a fan band called the "Sym-Phoney Band," led by Shorty Laurice, which started playing "Three Blind Mice" when the umpires came out onto the field until the league office ordered the team to stop. In 1985, Wilbur Snapp
, the organist for the baseball Clearwater Phillies, was thrown out of the game for playing "Three Blind Mice" after what he considered a bad call.
The VIC-20 and Commodore 64
computer game Radar Rat Race
from 1981 used a fast-paced, out of tune version of the song as background theme, which cycles endlessly.
Reggae artist Max Romeo
has covered the rhyme. Canadian rock trio Rush
often played "Three Blind Mice" as an intro to their own songs in concert, notably during their "Hold Your Fire" tour of 1987-1988.
The nursery rhyme plays significantly into the plot of Agatha Christie's
short story of the same name
as well as The Mousetrap
, the stage play based upon it.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
nursery rhyme
Nursery rhyme
The term nursery rhyme is used for "traditional" poems for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the 19th century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.-Lullabies:...
and musical round
Round (music)
A round is a musical composition in which two or more voices sing exactly the same melody , but with each voice beginning at different times so that different parts of the melody coincide in the different voices, but nevertheless fit harmoniously together...
. It has a Roud Folk Song Index
Roud Folk Song Index
The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of 300,000 references to over 21,600 songs that have been collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world...
number of 3753.
Lyrics
The modern words are:
- Three blind mice. Three blind mice.
- See how they run. See how they run.
- They all ran after the farmer's wife,
- Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,
- Did you ever see such a sight in your life,
- As three blind mice?
Origins and meaning
A version of this rhyme 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 RavenscroftThomas Ravenscroft
Thomas Ravenscroft was an English musician, theorist and editor, notable as a composer of rounds and catches, and especially for compiling collections of British folk music.He probably sang in the choir of St...
, who in 1609 was still a teenager. The original lyrics are:
- Three Blinde Mice,
- Three Blinde Mice,
- Dame Iulian,
- Dame Iulian,
- the Miller and his merry olde Wife,
- she scrapte her tripe licke thou the knife.
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
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
blinding and executing three Protestant bishops
Oxford Martyrs
The Oxford Martyrs were tried for heresy in 1555 and subsequently burnt at the stake in Oxford, England, for their religious beliefs and teachings....
, but problematically the Oxford Martyrs
Oxford Martyrs
The Oxford Martyrs were tried for heresy in 1555 and subsequently burnt at the stake in Oxford, England, for their religious beliefs and teachings....
, Ridley, Latimer and Cranmer, were burned at the stake, not blinded. The earliest lyrics do not talk about directly killing the three blind mice and are dated long after Queen Mary died, and "she scrapte her tripe licke thou the knife" implies they were prepared and consumed.
There is a narrative ambiguity at the heart of the rhyme, which is the question over whether the mice are chasing the farmer's wife after she cut their tails off, or whether she cut their tails off after they began chasing her.
The rhyme only entered children's literature in 1842 when it was published in a collection by James Orchard Halliwell.
Variations and uses
Amateur music composer Thomas Oliphant (1799–1873) noted in 1843 that:- "This absurd old round is frequently brought to mind in the present day, from the circumstance of there being an instrumental Quartet by Weiss, through which runs a musical phrase accidentally the same as the notes applied to the word Three Blind Mice. They form a third descending, C, B, A".
Joseph Holbrooke
Joseph Holbrooke
Joseph Charles Holbrooke was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was sometimes referred to as "the cockney Wagner".-Family:...
(1878–1958) composed his Symphonic Variations, opus 37, based on Three Blind Mice. Also, Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
used its theme in the Finale (4th Mvt) of his Symphony 83 (La Poule)
Symphony No. 83 (Haydn)
The Symphony No. 83 in G minor, Hoboken I/83, is the second of the six so-called Paris Symphonies written by Joseph Haydn in 1785 and it was published by Artaria in Vienna in December 1787....
(1785–86); one of the 6 Paris Symphonies
Paris symphonies
The Paris Symphonies are a group of six symphonies written by Joseph Haydn and performed at the Concert Spirituel, the Concert de la Loge Olympique and the Concert de Amateurs in Paris.-The Symphonies:...
, and the music also appears in the final movement of English composer Eric Coates
Eric Coates
Eric Coates was an English composer of light music and a viola player.-Life:Eric was born in Hucknall in Nottinghamshire to William Harrison Coates , a surgeon, and his wife, Mary Jane Gwynne, hailing from Usk in Monmouthshire...
' suite The Three Men. "Three Blind Mice" was also used as a theme song for The Three Stooges and a Curtis Fuller
Curtis Fuller
Curtis DuBois Fuller is an American jazz trombonist, known as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and contributor to many classic jazz recordings.-Biography:...
arrangement of the rhyme is featured on the Art Blakey
Art Blakey
Arthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
live album of the same name. The song is also the basis for Leroy Anderson
Leroy Anderson
Leroy Anderson 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...
's orchestral Fiddle Faddle
Fiddle faddle
Fiddle Faddle is candy-coated popcorn produced by ConAgra Foods. Introduced in 1967, the snack is commonly found in discount and drug stores. Fiddle Faddle consists of popped popcorn covered with either caramel or butter toffee and mixed with peanuts....
.
The theme of the second movement of Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
's Piano Concerto No. 4
Piano Concerto No. 4 (Rachmaninoff)
Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40 is a music piece by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, completed in 1926. The work currently exists in three versions. Following its unsuccessful premiere he made cuts and other amendments before publishing it in 1928. With continued lack of success, he...
(1926, revised 1928 and 1941) is partially based on Three Blind Mice.
The Three Blind Mice are guests of Old King Cole
Old King Cole
"Old King Cole" is an English nursery rhyme. The historical identity of King Cole has been much debated and several candidates have been advanced as possibilities...
in the 1933 Disney cartoon
Old King Cole (Disney cartoon)
Old King Cole is a 1933 Disney cartoon in the Silly Symphonies series, based on several nursery rhymes and fairy tales, including Old King Cole...
of the same name.
A jazzy Three Blind Mice tune is used in the introduction of The Three Stooges short subjects, produced by Columbia Pictures from 1939 through 1959.
The 1962 James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film Dr. No
Dr. No (film)
Dr. No is a 1962 spy film, starring Sean Connery; it is the first James Bond film. Based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather and was directed by Terence Young. The film was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R...
features a calypso version of "Three Blind Mice" with new lyrics, in reference to three villainous characters in the film.
In several sports (basketball and hockey, for example, which have three referees), "Three Blind Mice" is used as a derogatory phrase for poor referees. Bands also play the song to mock referees in similar cases. Such references, however, are frowned upon officially by both sports as unsportsmanlike. Before Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
required four umpires at every game, there were regularly three. The Brooklyn Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
had a fan band called the "Sym-Phoney Band," led by Shorty Laurice, which started playing "Three Blind Mice" when the umpires came out onto the field until the league office ordered the team to stop. In 1985, Wilbur Snapp
Wilbur Snapp
Wilbur Snapp was a self-taught American musician who played the organ for the Clearwater Phillies, a minor-league baseball team, and for the Philadelphia Phillies in spring training, over a period of 20 years. He served in the Army Air Forces in World War II. He married his wife Janice in 1942...
, the organist for the baseball Clearwater Phillies, was thrown out of the game for playing "Three Blind Mice" after what he considered a bad call.
The VIC-20 and Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
computer game Radar Rat Race
Radar Rat Race
Radar Rat Race was a 1981 game for the Commodore VIC-20, later converted to the Commodore 64. It was among thirty game titles marketed by Commodore on cartridges. It was a clone of the Namco arcade game Rally-X.-Overview:...
from 1981 used a fast-paced, out of tune version of the song as background theme, which cycles endlessly.
Reggae artist Max Romeo
Max Romeo
Max Romeo is a reggae and roots reggae recording artist who has achieved chart success in his home country, and in the UK. Romeo was responsible for launching an entirely new sub-genre of reggae, whose overtly suggestive lyrics caused an outcry but took a massive hold of the music scene regardless...
has covered the rhyme. Canadian rock trio Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
often played "Three Blind Mice" as an intro to their own songs in concert, notably during their "Hold Your Fire" tour of 1987-1988.
The nursery rhyme plays significantly into the plot of Agatha Christie's
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
short story of the same name
Three Blind Mice (radio play and short story)
Three Blind Mice is the name of a half-hour radio play written by Agatha Christie and broadcast on the BBC Light Programme at 8.00pm on Friday May 30, 1947....
as well as The Mousetrap
The Mousetrap
The Mousetrap is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. The Mousetrap opened in the West End of London in 1952, and has been running continuously since then. It has the longest initial run of any play in history, with over 24,500 performances so far. It is the longest running show of the modern...
, the stage play based upon it.