The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - The Cat and the Fiddle

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The Cat and the Fiddle

A question regarding the origin of the popular nursery rhyme:

Quote:

Hey diddle diddle
the cat and the fiddle
the cow jumps over the moon

Was it really written BY Tolkien himself? Or was it simply an expansion of an actual original rhyme?

Recall that the more lengthy version appears in The Fellowship of the Ring:At the Sign of the Prancing Pony when Frodo sings one of Bilbo's songs:

Quote:

Here it is in full. Only a few words of it are now, as a rule, remembered.

There is an inn, a merry old inn
beneath an old grey hill,
And there they brew a beer so brown
That the Man in the Moon himself came down
one night to drink his fill.

The ostler has a tipsy cat
that plays a five-stringed fiddle;
And up and down he runs his bow,
Now squeaking high,now purring low,
now sawing in the middle.

The landlord keeps a little dog
that is mighty fond of jokes;
When there's a good cheer among the guests,
He cocks an ear at all the jests
and laughs until he chokes.

They also keep a horned cow
as proud as any queen;
But music turns her head like ale,
And makes her wave her tufted tail
and dance upon the green.

And O! the rows of silver dishes
and the store of silver spoons!
For Sunday there's a special pair,
And these they polish up with care
on Saturday afternoons.

The Man in the Moon was drinking deep,
and the cat began to wail;
A dish and a spoon on the table danced,
The cow in the garden madly pranced,
and the little dog chased his tail.

The Man in the Moon took another mug,
and then rolled beneath his chair;
And there he dozed and dreamed of ale,
Till in the sky the stars were pale,
and dawn was in the air.

Then the ostler said to his tipsy cat:
'The white horses of the Moon,
They neigh and champ their silver bits;
But their master's been and drowned his wits,
and the Sun'll be rising soon!'

So the cat on his fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle,
a jig that would wake the dead:
He squeked and sawed and quickened the tune,
While the landlord shook the Man in the Moon:
'I'ts after three!'he said.

They rolled the Man slowly up the hill
and bundled him into the Moon,
While his horses galloped up in rear,
And the cow came capering like a deer,
and a dish ran up with the spoon.

Now quicker the fiddle went deedle-dum-diddle;
the dog began to roar,
The cow and the horses stood on their heads;
The guests all bounded from their beds
and danced upon the floor.

With a ping and a pong the fiddle-strings broke!
the cow jumped over the Moon,
And the little dog laughed to see such fun,
And the Saturday dish went off at a run
with the silver Sunday spoon.

The round Moon rolled behind the hill
as the Sun raised up her head.
She hardly believed her fiery eyes;
For though it was day, to her surprise
they all went back to bed!

According to Encarta (ahh the accessability of an Encyclopedia on a CD-ROM!) Randolph Caldecott(1846-1886) is the mentioned author of the children's picture book Hey Diddle Diddle and Baby Bunting (1882)...Which leads me to re-phrase my question:

Since I have never seen the actual book (I assume some of you have) I deduce that the aforementioned rhyme IS an extension. Furthermore I doubt that old children's books such as these would have old men from the moon who want to get drunk (hah!) in a merry old inn beneath an old grey hill -- and tipsy cats! Correct me if I'm wrong...

So now I wonder if Tolkien ever had an account regarding this song -- why he chose it etc.

In the HoME, Christopher Tolkien tells a bit of the background of this poem. It was originally published in 1923, and the undertitle is "A Nursery Rhyme Undone and its Scandalous Secret Unlocked". Apparently JRRT felt that such a strange nursery rhyme needed a background explanation and came up with the poem which expands on it. Later he changed it somewhat and put it in the LotR as Frodo's song in the 'Prancing Pony'.

Good gracious me!
Well that is a question I have meant to ask myself, but never got around to it.
I think he did this to emphasise how Middle earth and all its history was written as a mythology FOR England and so had to have at least some connections with this world and time, so that people would realise this.
On another note, do you think Tolkien was putting in some tiny mention or hint of Tom Bombadill in this song?

Quote:

The cat on his fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle,
A jig that would wake the dead:

A slight mention of how Tom has power over the Barrow wights?
Or is it just coincidence?
Any thoughts?

Cat and the Fiddle

Incidentally, the Cat and the Fiddle near me is a marvellous if tiny pub - smaller than my bedroom and filled inside and outside with bikers. It's on the Cat and Fiddle Pass - the most dangerous road in Britain.

But still a marvellous pub ;)

Hookbill - that's an interesting link, I hadn't thought of that. But I think in this case, that may actually just be coincidence - it's like the saying along variations of 'making a racket fit to raise the dead'. But that could lead to a chicken-or-egg question of whether that saying came first or whether it was picked up from the poem... :rolleyes:

Yar (In a pirate voice), it was a bit farfetched anyway. :rolleyes:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amanaduial the archer

Fascinating -- I am thousands of miles away from Britain -- I guess catchy names are global eh?

Even more fascinating is the connection Hookbill presented -- it is farfetched but a coincidence that is nonetheless Hookbilly cool ;) Nothing is too farfetched in the Downs as I have observed so don't be discouraged.

They're both singable to the same tune, with a minor alteration. (a bit of the tune has to be repeated in each verse as Tolkien's version has one more line)

I live in Los Angeles. We also have a Cat and the Fiddle Pub in Hollywood. It is a very popular and busy "British" Pub with quite a good kitchen. I am a member of a local group "Tolkien Forever" which is an official smial of the Tolkien Society. We will be offering a toast to the professor on his birthday at this most appropriate venue. Anyone in the area, please feel free to join us.

Kent