Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary
| "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" | |
|---|---|
William Wallace Denslow | |
| Nursery rhyme | |
| Published | c. 1744 |
"Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" is an English nursery rhyme. The rhyme has been seen as having religious and historical significance, but its origins and meaning are disputed. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19626.
Lyrics
The most common modern version is:
The oldest known version was first published in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book (1744) with the lyrics that are shown here:
Mistress Mary, Quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With Silver Bells, And Cockle Shells,
And so my garden grows.[1]
There is also a version in The Secret Garden written by Frances Hodgson Burnett with these lyrics:
Mistress Mary, Quite Contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With Silver Bells and Cockles Shells
And Marigolds all in a row.
Several printed versions of the 18th century have the lyrics:
<poem>Mistress Mary, Quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With Silver Bells, And Cockle Shells,
Sing cuckolds (cuckoos) all in a row.[1]
The last line has the most variation including:
and
With lady bells all in a row.[1]
Meaning
No proof has been found that the rhyme was known before the 18th century, while Mary I of England (Mary Tudor) and Mary, Queen of Scots (Mary Stuart), were contemporaries in the 16th century.[1][2]
Like many
Mary has also been identified with Mary I of England ("Bloody Mary"; 1516–1558), with "How does your garden grow?" said to refer to her lack of heirs, or to the common idea that England had become a Catholic vassal or "branch" of Spain and the Habsburgs. It is also said to be a punning reference to her chief minister, Stephen Gardiner. "Quite contrary" is said to be a reference to her unsuccessful attempt to reverse ecclesiastical changes effected by her father Henry VIII and her brother Edward VI. The "pretty maids all in a row" is speculated to be a reference to miscarriages, her execution of Lady Jane Grey or alternately to her executions of the Protestants.[2]
