# Doctor Foster
1844 
England
# Lyrics
Doctor Foster went to Gloucester,
In a shower of rain;
He stepped in a puddle,
Right up to his middle,
And never went there again.
# History and Meaning
The nursery rhyme "Doctor Foster" has a disputed history. One theory suggests that it may be based on Edward I of England traveling to Gloucester, falling off his horse into a puddle, and refusing to return to the city. Another theory, suggested by Boyd Smith in 1920, is that it refers to an emissary of William Laud who visited Gloucester with instructions to change the placement of communion tables. A third theory links the rhyme to the play "Doctor Faustus" by Christopher Marlowe, where a character is referred to as Doctor Fauster after causing someone to get wet crossing a river.