Old King Cole

First recorded: 1708

Origin: England

Lyrics

Old King Cole was a merry old soul,And a merry old soul was he;He called for his pipe, and he called for his bowl,And he called for his fiddlers three.

Every fiddler he had a fiddle,And a very fine fiddle had he;Oh there's none so rare, as can compare,With King Cole and his fiddlers three.

Old King Cole calls for three things, his pipe, his bowl, and his fiddlers three, and that is about the extent of his ambitions. The rhyme has been in print since 1708, and folklorists have spent centuries arguing over which real "King Cole," if any, the merry old soul was based on.

Origins

The earliest documented printed version of the rhyme appeared in William King's Useful Transactions in Philosophy, published in London in 1708. While the print record begins in the early eighteenth century, the character of King Cole likely existed in English oral tradition and folklore much earlier.

Meaning & Interpretation

Folklore scholars have debated the identity of the historical figure behind the character of King Cole. One popular theory suggests he represents Coel Hen, a semi-legendary Celtic chieftain who ruled northern Britain around 350 to 420 AD, during the end of Roman rule. Another theory links him to Thomas Cole, a wealthy sixteenth-century cloth merchant from Reading who was known for his generosity and hospitality. A linguistic theory connects the name Cole to the Irish word "ceol," which means music, implying that "King Cole" is a personification of musical entertainment. Regardless of these historical theories, modern scholars generally agree that the rhyme is a work of nonsense folklore designed to celebrate joy and music.

Who was the real Old King Cole?

Historians have linked the character to Coel Hen, a Celtic chieftain from the fifth century, and Thomas Cole, a wealthy sixteenth-century merchant. However, there is no definitive historical proof identifying the rhyme's subject, and it is regarded as a legendary character.