OLD KING COLE
Written by [unknown]
Old King Cole was a merry old soul, and a merry old soul was he;
He called for his pipe in the middle of the night
And he called for his fiddlers three.
Every fiddler had a fine fiddle, and a very fine fiddle had he;
Oh there's none so rare as can compare
With King Cole and his fiddlers three.
Background: Nursery rhyme lyrics based in history origins dating back
to 3rd century.
Old King Cole ruled part of Britain in the third century. He is reputed to
have built the English town of Colchester. In Colchester there is the site of
a Roman gravel pit which is still known today as 'King Cole's Kitchen.'
Cole or "Godebog" was a Dark Age British King, and, a descendant of
Britain's pre-Saxon & pre-Roman royal house. The Tudor Kings, starting
with Henry VII, claimed to descend from this royal lineage in
attempt to further legitimise the Tudor claim to the English throne.
Sources