Old King Cole

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.

Origin of Old King Cole

“Old King Cole” is a very old nursery rhyme which was first published circa 1708-1709 in the book “Useful Transactions in Philosophy” by the English poet William King.

The actual rhyme is much older still, with various theories as to the identity of “Old King Cole”. William King suggested that it might refer to the Welsh king Coel Hen, a prominent figure in ancient Welsh literature and who was already a legendary figure in the middle ages.