Down Came a Blackbird

Thursday, July 31, 2008, 3:33 a.m. – I woke to this song in my head:

Sing a Song of Sixpence / English Nursery Rhyme

Sing a song of sixpence,
a pocket full of rye.
Four and twenty blackbirds,
baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened,
the birds began to sing.
Wasn't that a dainty dish
to set before the king?
The king was in his counting house,
counting out his money.
The queen was in the parlour,
eating bread and honey.
The maid was in the garden,
hanging out the clothes,
When down came a blackbird
and pecked off her nose!

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Isaiah 19:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2019;&version=31;

My Understanding: The only understanding I have at this date (7/31/08) is that there is a direct correlation between the reference to “a blackbird” and “a fierce king,” i.e. the “blackbird” is intended to be a description of this “fierce king.”

A friend sent this to me - her comments are in []:

The nursery rhymes were usually political satire. I ran across a few possibilities, but here is one that Snopes checked out to be true: http://www.snopes.com/lost/sixpence.asp

The nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence" was a coded message that evolved over several years' times and was used by confederates of the notorious pirate Blackbeard to recruit crew members for his prize-hunting expeditions.

Sing a song of sixpence / A pocket full of rye

Blackbeard's standard payment of sixpence a day was considered good money in the 1700s, especially since most pirate vessels did not pay a salary: the crew only received a share of the spoils if they were successful in capturing prizes (and many a pirate ship had to return to port empty-handed after spending several fruitless months at sea). As well, his crew was promised a pocket (a leather bag somewhat like an early canteen which held about a liter) full of rye (whiskey) per day. Not bad, considering that alcohol was the average sailor's raison d'etre.

Four and twenty blackbirds / Baked in a pie

As Henry Betts points out in his book on the origins and history of nursery rhymes, "It was a favorite trick in the sixteenth century to conceal all sorts of surprises in a pie." Buccaneers, too, were fond of surprises, and one of Blackbeard's favorite ruses to lure a ship within boarding range was to make his own vessel (or crew) appear to be in distress, [banking industry, real estate, stock market] typically by pretending to have been dismasted in a storm or to have sprung a leak below the waterline.

Passing ships -- both honest sailors wanting to help and other pirates looking for an easy catch --- would sail in close to offer assistance, [We're still financing Venezuela, Russia, and other countries that could turn on us] whereupon a crew of two dozen heavily-armed seamen dressed in black would board the other vessel (via a boat in darkness or fog, or by simply jumping into the other ship when it came alongside if no other means of surprise attack was possible) to quickly kill or disable as many crew members as possible. Thus the four and twenty "blackbirds" (i.e., Blackbeard's crewmen) "baked in a pie" (i.e., concealed in anticipation of springing a trap).

When the pie was opened / The birds began to sing

This follows from the previous line. Once the victim's ship was lured in for the kill, the "blackbirds" came out of hiding and attacked with a fearsome din.

Was that not a tasty dish / To set before a king?

This line is commonly misinterpreted. The King is not a reference to any real king, but rather to Blackbeard himself, the king of pirates. And the tasty dish is the plundered ship that was so easily captured.

The King was in his counting house / Counting out his money

Again, the King is Blackbeard (no real king would take on such a mean task as counting money). This line of the message signals that Blackbeard had the cash on hand to pay a crew on salary rather than strictly on divided spoils [payoffs taken from within the system. This morning I saw the treasurer of Missouri Sarah Steelman (running for governor) speak out on corruption within the state government that she was able to stop -- it was really interesting, if you get a chance to read about her. One official had used tax dollars to pay off his sexual harassment charges.]

The Queen was in the parlor / Eating bread and honey

Blackbeard's main vessel was a French merchant ship named "Le Concorde de Nantes" that was jointly captured by Blackbeard and Captain Hornigold in the Grenadines in November of 1717. Upon his retirement from pirating, Hornigold presented the ship to Blackbeard, who renamed it "The Queen Anne's Revenge". Thus the "Queen" referred to here is Blackbeard's ship, and "eating bread and honey" meant that it was in port taking on supplies in preparation for a cruise.

The Maid was in the garden / Hanging out the clothes

The use of the word "maid" indicated that the location/route of one or more prize ships was known, and they were going to be specific targets of the upcoming cruise (this greatly enhancing the probability of the crew's collecting prize money).

The waters around the Carolinas [Ooh!] down to the Caribbean were referred to as the garden, as this was an area where pirates would often cruise for easy pickings. "Hanging out the clothes" meant the targeted ship was already at sea or just about to leave port (thus its sails -- or "clothes"--have been hung).

When down came a blackbird / And snapped off her nose

… The passage is to be taken as Blackbeard’s bragging about his plans to swoop in and have his way with the targeted ship…. END