'One, Two, Buckle My Shoe …' traces psychosexual development. The numerals refer to age and the words indicate in sequence oral, anal, phallic, and genital interests and activities. Nursery rhymes are devices passed from adults to children by which the latter attempt magically to bring about their fondest wishes. The majority of nursery rhymes are 'precipitates' of ballads, folksongs,

barrack-room refrains, ancient custom and ritual, and the like. There is evidence, both historical and in the manifest content, that this rhyme is a derivative of a druidic ceremony in which human sacrifices were burned.