 The rhyme is made up of quatrains , with a rhyming scheme of abcb ( with occasional internal rhymes ) , using falling rhymes ( where the rhyming sound is on a relatively unstressed syllable : de @-@ emphasising the rhyme ) and a trochaic rhythm ( with the stress falling on the first of a pair of syllables ) , known as a ballad form , which is common in nursery rhymes . The melody commonly associated with the rhyme was first recorded by the composer and nursery rhyme collector James William Elliott in his National Nursery Rhymes and Nursery Songs ( 1870 ) . The Roud Folk Song Index , which catalogues folk songs and their variations by number , classifies the song as 10266 . 
 The rhyme is made up of quatrains , with a rhyming scheme of abcb ( with occasional internal rhymes ) , using falling rhymes ( where the rhyming sound <a href='drop_aux' title='1'><mark>is</mark></a>on a relatively unstressed syllable : de @-@ emphasising the rhyme ) and a trochaic rhythm ( with the stress falling on the first of a pair of syllables ) , known as a ballad form , which <a href='drop_aux' title='2'><mark>is</mark></a>common in nursery rhymes . The melody commonly associated with the rhyme was first recorded by the composer and nursery rhyme collector James William Elliott in his National Nursery Rhymes and Nursery Songs ( 1870 ) . The Roud Folk Song Index , which <a href='uninflect' title='3'><mark>catalogues</mark></a> folk songs and their variations by number , <a href='uninflect' title='4'><mark>classifies</mark></a> the song as 10266 . 
Da rhyme is made up of quatrains , with a rhyming scheme of abcb ( w/ occasional internal rhymes ) , usin fallin rhymes ( where the rhyming sound on a relatively unstressed syllable : de @-@ emphasising the rhyme ) and a trochaic rhythm ( with the stress falling on the first of a pair of syllables ) , known as a ballad form , which common in nursery rhymes . The melody commonly associated with tdarhyme was first recorded by the composer and nursery rhyme collector James William Elliott in his National Nursery Rhymes and Nursery Songs ( 1870 ) . The Roud Folk Song Index , which catalogue folk songs and their variations by number , classify thdaong as 10266 .