I found many versions of the nursery rhyme about the old woman living in the shoe with all those kids. The oldest was from 1794….
There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.
She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do.
She gave them some broth without any bread;
She whipp’d all their bums, and sent them to bed.
Sometime in the 1800s a few of the words in the last line changed to:
Then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.
The 1900s brought a much kinder version..
There was an old woman who lived in a shoe,
she had so may children she didn’t know what to do;
She gave them some broth with plenty of bread,
She kissed them all fondly and and sent them to bed.
And in 1974 God was introduced into the rhyme…
There was an old woman
Who lived in a shoe,
She had so many children,
And loved them all, too.
She said, “Thank you Lord Jesus,
For sending them bread.”
Then kissed them all gladly
and sent them to bed.
There are lots of different ideas about the true meaning of the nursery rhyme too. In Ireland the shoe might be a fairy house, in England it can be about King George II or the shoe might be a symbol of fertility.
So the nursery rhyme means different things to different people and just as the rhyme itself has evolved over time and place, so has the meaning.
For me, a woman who chose not have children (and has a cat), the meaning is obvious.
The poor woman is overrun with children that she doesn’t have the means to provide for. I found it interesting that the version from the 1970s came out a year after Roe v Wade. The children are no longer a burden, but a blessing.
It makes me think of some politicians today who still believe that all women belong in the home taking care of children.
I didn’t know the history of The Old Woman Who Lived In The Shoe, when I decided to make this Not Going Back Potholder from the hand embroidered linen that Barbara sent me.
But the idea of living in a shoe with all those kids makes me glad that I live in a time and place where I got to decide where I live and with whom. But I feel of the children too, they deserve better.
That’s why I stitched the words “WE are not going back.” Those kids are better off not going back too.
My Old Woman In The Shoe, Not Going Back Potholder is $30 + $5 shipping. You can buy it in my Etsy Shop. Just click here.
