Ten Little Indians

"Ten Little Indians"
Roud #13512
Song
Written	US
Published	1868
Form	Nursery rhyme
Writer(s)	Traditional
Language	English

Ten Little Indians is an American children's rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 13512. The word Indian usually refers to Native Americans. The song is traditionally performed in the tune of the Irish folk song "Michael Finnegan".

The modern lyrics are:

One little, two little, three little Indians
Four little, five little, six little Indians
Seven little, eight little, nine little Indians
Ten little Indian boys.

Ten little, nine little, eight little Indians
Seven little, six little, five little Indians
Four little, three little, two little Indians
One little Indian boy.

The song sometimes begins with a repeated verse, "John Brown met a little Indian" before entering the well-known verses.

The likely original piece, then called "Ten Little Injuns", was written by songwriter Septimus Winner in 1868 for a minstrel show and was much more elaborate:

Ten little Injuns standin' in a line,
One toddled home and then there were nine;

Nine little Injuns swingin' on a gate,
One tumbled off and then there were eight.

Eight little Injuns gayest under heav'n.
One went to sleep and then there were seven;

Seven little Injuns cuttin' up their tricks,
One broke his neck and then there were six.

Six little Injuns all alive,
One kicked the bucket and then there were five;

Five little Injuns on a cellar door,
One tumbled in and then there were four.

Four little Injuns up on a spree,
One got fuddled and then there were three;

Three little Injuns out on a canoe,
One tumbled overboard and then there were two

Two little Injuns foolin' with a gun,
One shot t'other and then there was one;

One little Injun livin' all alone,
He got married and then there were none.

It is generally thought that this song was adapted, possibly by Frank J. Green in 1869, as "Ten Little Niggers", though it is possible that the influence was the other way round, with "Ten Little Niggers" being a close reflection of the text that became "Ten Little Indians". Either way, "Ten Little Niggers" became a standard of the blackface minstrel shows. It was sung by Christy's Minstrels and became widely known in Europe, where it was used by Agatha Christie in her novel of the same name. The novel was later retitled And Then There Were None (1939), and remains one of her most famous works, about ten killings on a remote island.

...
Wikipedia