the title

The first mention the reader gets of this mysterious catcher in this mysterious rye is when Holden overhears a little kid singing, "If a body catch a body coming through the rye." Momentarily, it makes him feel not so depressed, in part because Holden is a fan of little children, and the only things better than little children are little children who are singing.
So that's all well and good until several chapters later when Holden's sister Phoebe corrects him; first of all, it's "if a body meet a body," and second of all, it's not a song; it's a poem byRobert Burns. Here's the poem itself:


"Coming thro' the Rye" (1796)

Coming thro' the rye, poor body, 
Coming thro' the rye, 
She draiglet a' her petticoatie
Coming thro' the rye.

O, Jenny's a' wat, poor body; 
Jenny's seldom dry; 
She draiglet a' her petticoatie
Coming thro' the rye.

Gin a body meet a body
Coming thro' the rye, 
Gin a body kiss a body -
Need a body cry?

Gin a body meet a body
Coming thro' the glen, 
Gin a body kiss a body -
Need the warld ken?


Robert Burns 
Holden says he wants to be the catcher in the rye – he wants to be "catching" all those little children. In his mind, this is protection, but clearly from the poem, the fun in the rye is more about sex than it is about preserving childhood innocence. This is rather sad, and possibly even tragic; Holden exists in a world that is steeped in sexuality. It's on the school walls, across from his window in the hotel, in kids' songs, and even in his seemingly innocent fantasies.