Who would kill Cock Robin ! - a photo on Flickriver

            Erithacus rubecula  - Robin
FVA_1496c-1
“Who Killed Cock Robin” is a  macabre English nursery rhyme / folk song that describes the murder and funeral of a robin. Some scholars believe that it  is derived from the early Norse myth about the death of Balder, the god of summer sunlight and the incarnation of the life principle, who was slain by Hoder at Loki’s instigation. Others believe it is related to Robin Hood and the many offers of help received after his death. However, there is no direct indication in the poem to support this claim apart from the similarity of the name. In some Robin Hood tales, Robin is killed by a nun (some say Maid Marian) who bled him to death whilst feigning to tend his wounds, whereas the death in the poem is by an arrow. The story may also be related to the mysterious murder of William Rufus, King of England who was an unpopular son of William the Conqueror, found dead in the New Forest with an arrow piercing his lung.
To give you a flavour of the rhyme here’s the first few verses:-
         “Who killed Cock Robin?” “I,” said the Sparrow*,
          “With my bow and arrow, I killed Cock Robin.”
          “Who saw him die?” “I,” said the Fly,
          “With my little eye, I saw him die.” 
 These are followed by the chorus in my experience, as follows:-
          " All the birds of the air fell a-sighing and a-sobbing,
           When they heard of the death of poor Cock Robin,
           When they heard of the death,
           Of poor Cock Robin."
The full version has many verses and the final chorus is slightly altered. As a child in England, a short version was taught to me as a Nursery Rhyme. 
                                   [With acknowledgements to "Bird Spot"]
* The commonly suspected assassin of Rufus was a man named Sparrow.
To this day in England, if someone has a consistent run of bad luck, it is said, "He must have shot a robin."
   

Taken on: February 16, 2021

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