Simple Simon met a pieman

Where did we get the poem, Simple Simon met a pieman?

It's an English nursery rhyme. "Simple Simon" was a traditional name for a simpleton as early as the 17th century. (It has been suggested that the name may be a skit on the character of the Apostle Simon Peter, but this is just a guess; the name may simply have been chosen for the alliteration.) Several ballads featuring this character were printed cheaply and hawked around by itinerant ballad-sellers; this is the only one to survive in oral tradition. (VSD)