 It is a single quatrain with external rhymes that follow the pattern of <unk> and with a <unk> metre , which is common in nursery rhymes . The melody commonly associated with the rhyme was first recorded by composer and nursery rhyme collector James William Elliott in his National Nursery Rhymes and Nursery Songs ( London , 1870 ) . The Roud Folk Song Index catalogues folk songs and their variations by number , and classifies this song as <unk> . 
