The episode is named for an English nursery rhyme, first recorded in the US in 1879 as a children’s game, to be sung while children danced in a circle. One child would run around the circle and drop a handkerchief; the nearest child to them would then pick it up and chase them. If caught, the child who dropped the handkerchief would either be kissed, join the circle, or had to confess the name of their sweetheart.
The rhyme was turned into a highly popular 1938 song by Ella Fitzgerald, in conjunction with Al Feldner (later known as Van Alexander). It has since become a jazz standard, often used in film and television soundtracks.
The lyrics to the rhyme are usually given as:
A-tisket, a-tasket
A green and yellow basket
I wrote a letter to my love
And on the way I dropped it,
I dropped it, I dropped it,
And on the way I dropped it.
A little boy he picked it up
And put it in his pocket.
It’s suitable for an episode all about baskets, romance, and miscommunication. The episode will also include something being dropped that a “little boy” picks up.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 
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