<P> Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall . All the king's horses and all the king's men Couldn't put Humpty together again . </P> <P> It is a single quatrain with external rhymes that follow the pattern of AABB and with a trochaic metre, which is common in nursery rhymes . The melody commonly associated with the rhyme was first recorded by composer and nursery rhyme collector James William Elliott in his National Nursery Rhymes and Nursery Songs (London, 1870). </P> <P> The earliest known version was published in Samuel Arnold's Juvenile Amusements in 1797 with the lyrics: </P> <P> Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall . Four - score Men and Four - score more, Could not make Humpty Dumpty where he was before . </P>

Where did the nursery rhyme humpty dumpty come from