Unveiling the True Meaning of the Nursery Rhyme

“Pop! Goes the Weasel” is undeniably one of the most enduring children’s songs ever written, frequently appearing from jack-in-the-box toys to scenes in shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation. Surprisingly, the tune might not have started as a nursery rhyme, and the lyrics may not even involve a weasel popping out of a hole.

People have had “Pop! Goes the Weasel” stuck in their heads since the early 1850s. While the exact origin of the song is unclear, it became a sensation in England by the end of 1852. An advertisement in The Birmingham Journal promoted dance lessons for the “highly fashionable” song, noting its popularity at Queen Victoria’s and the nobility’s private soirees. Essentially, “Pop! Goes the Weasel” was the Victorian version of Los del Río’s “Macarena,” with the song and accompanying dance partly gaining traction due to their association with Queen Victoria.

It didn’t take long for the catchy tune to cross the Atlantic and captivate American audiences. In 1853, the song’s sheet music was published in the U.S., and dance teacher Eugene Coulon described it as “an old and very animated English Dance that has lately been revived among the higher classes of society.” Coulon mentioned that the dance involved “Ladies and Gentlemen being placed in lines opposite to each other,” and the lyrics at that point consisted solely of “pop goes the weasel,” sung as dancers passed under each other’s arms.

By October 1854, a song about the song emerged, highlighting its widespread popularity with lyrics like “Go where you will, you’ll hear it still, all dance Pop goes the Weasel.” Although the original tune featured only one line of lyrics, people soon began creating their own versions. In November 1855, there were reports that “almost every species of ribaldry and low wit has been rendered into rhyme to suit it,” though the details of these rhymes are unknown. Some early surviving lyrics come from Charley Twiggs in America, who wrote verses in 1856:

“Queen Victoria’s very sick,
Napoleon’s got the measles,
Sebastopol is won at last,
‘Pop goes the Weasel.’”

“All around the Cobblers house,
The Monkey chased the people,
The Minister kiss’d the Deacons wife,
Pop goes the Weasel.”

The second verse bears similarities to the modern version commonly sung in the U.S. However, it wasn’t until 1917 that “mulberry bush” substituted “cobblers house,” and the monkey chased a weasel instead of people. The earliest version sung in 1850s England had almost entirely different lyrics, aside from the final line:

“Up and down the City-road,
In and out the Eagle,
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop goes the weasel.”

This verse is now commonly sung in the UK, with the current first verse appearing in print by 1905:

“Half a pound of tuppenny rice,
Half a pound of treacle.
Mix it up and make it nice,
Pop goes the weasel.”

The lyrics of “Pop! Goes the Weasel” have garnered much speculation. Popular theories include connections to mustelid movements, a yarn measuring tool, and Cockney rhyming slang.

In 1856, when the tune was immensely popular, an unnamed writer in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine suggested the line originated from Methodist preacher James Craven, who once said, “Take a kernel of that wheat between your thumb and finger, hold it up, squeeze it, and—pop goes the weevil.”

Another theory posits that the lyrics literally describe a weasel popping out of a hole. This idea ties back to the dance that accompanied the song, as J. Holden MacMichael wrote in a 1905 edition of Notes and Queries that the dancers mimicked a weasel’s sinuous movement as they passed under each other’s arms, prompting the chorus “Pop goes the weasel.”

Alternatively, “weasel” might refer to a spinner’s weasel, a tool for measuring yarn that made a popping sound when the desired length was reached. This could explain the textile-based version of the verse:

“A penny for a ball of thread,
A farthing for a needle,
That’s the way the money goes,
‘Pop goes the weasel.’”

The UK version’s lyrics partly relate to London, with “the Eagle” referring to an old pub still in operation. The final line likely stems from 19th-century slang: “pop shop” meant pawnbrokers, so popping something was to pawn it. However, the meaning of “weasel” remains uncertain. Theories range from it being a coat, stemming from Cockney rhyming slang “weasel and stoat,” to suggestions it could be a purse, silverware, or a tailor’s iron.

The true meaning of the lyrics may remain elusive. Regardless of the version you sing or your understanding of the words, the catchy tune is bound to get stuck in your head.

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