Sing a Song 'o Six Pence: a pocket full of rye. Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie

Written by L. Frank Baum

Narrated by Phil Chenevert

Sing a song o' sixpence, a handful 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?

So, what does this strange old nursery song mean? Or is it just nonsense? If you have never heard the legend of Gilligren and the King's pie you will scarcely understand the above verse; so let Frank Baum, the man who wrote the Wizard of OZ, tell you the whole story, and then you will be able to better appreciate the rhyme.

Gilligren was an orphan, and lived with an uncle and aunt who were very unkind to him. They cuffed him and scolded him upon the slightest provocation, and made his life very miserable indeed. Gilligren never rebelled against this treatment, but bore their cruelty silently and with patience, although often he longed to leave them and seek a home amongst kinder people.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Philip Chenevert
• Release date: Oct 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9798868712623

L. Frank Baum

L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) was an American author of children’s literature and pioneer of fantasy fiction. He demonstrated an active imagination and a skill for writing from a young age, encouraged by his father who bought him the printing press with which he began to publish several journals. Although he had a lifelong passion for theater, Baum found success with his novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), a self-described “modernized fairy tale” that led to thirteen sequels, inspired several stage and radio adaptations, and eventually, in 1939, was immortalized in the classic film starring Judy Garland.