Scotland's Burning
Song and nursery rhyme popular with children
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Scotland's Burning", also known in England as "London's Burning", is a variant of a song and nursery rhyme popular with children.
Words
The song can be sung as a round when each part starts two bars after the previous one. It may be an example of a nursery rhyme with tragic or violent themes. The London lyrics are said to be about the Great Fire of London, a five-day fire in the city of London in 1666.[1] The first notation of a round in this theme dates from 1580.[2] The Scotland lyrics are said to be about the Burning of Edinburgh in 1544, ordered by Henry VIII of England.[3]
The lyrics are alluded to in William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, Act 4, scene 1, when Grumio asks Curtis to prepare a warm fire for guests.[4]
In the Netherlands the song is known as "Brand in Mokum" ("Fire in Amsterdam")[5][circular reference], which is said to refer to the Amsterdam revolt against Napoleon in 1813.[3]
