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Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
"Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" is an
English nursery rhyme, the earliest surviving version of which dates from 1731.
The words have not changed very much in two-and-a-half centuries. It is sung to
a variant of the 1761 French melody Ah! vous
dirai-je, maman. Uncorroborated theories have advanced to explain the
meaning of the rhyme, such as that it is a complaint against taxes levied on
the Medieval English wool trade. In the twentieth century it was a subject of controversies
in debates about political correctness. It has been used in literature and popular culture as a
metaphor and allusion. The Roud Folk Song Index classifies the lyrics and their variations as number
4439.
English nursery rhyme, the earliest surviving version of which dates from 1731.
The words have not changed very much in two-and-a-half centuries. It is sung to
a variant of the 1761 French melody Ah! vous
dirai-je, maman. Uncorroborated theories have advanced to explain the
meaning of the rhyme, such as that it is a complaint against taxes levied on
the Medieval English wool trade. In the twentieth century it was a subject of controversies
in debates about political correctness. It has been used in literature and popular culture as a
metaphor and allusion. The Roud Folk Song Index classifies the lyrics and their variations as number
4439.
Modern version
Recent
versions tend to take the following form:
versions tend to take the following form:
Baa,
baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes, sir, yes, sir,
Three bags full;
One for the master,
And one for the dame,
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.
baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes, sir, yes, sir,
Three bags full;
One for the master,
And one for the dame,
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.
The rhyme is a single
stanza in trochaic metre, which is common in nursery rhymes and relatively
easy for younger children to master. The Roud Folk Song Index, which catalogues folk songs and their variations by number,
classifies the song as 4439 and variations have been collected across Great
Britain and North America.
stanza in trochaic metre, which is common in nursery rhymes and relatively
easy for younger children to master. The Roud Folk Song Index, which catalogues folk songs and their variations by number,
classifies the song as 4439 and variations have been collected across Great
Britain and North America.
Melody
The rhyme is usually
sung to a variant of the 1761 French melody Ah! vous
dirai-je, maman, which is also used for "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and the "Alphabet song". Mozart wrote variations to the theme in 1782. The words and
melody were first published together by A. H. Rosewig in (Illustrated National) Nursery
Songs and Games, published in Philadelphia in 1879.
sung to a variant of the 1761 French melody Ah! vous
dirai-je, maman, which is also used for "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and the "Alphabet song". Mozart wrote variations to the theme in 1782. The words and
melody were first published together by A. H. Rosewig in (Illustrated National) Nursery
Songs and Games, published in Philadelphia in 1879.
Origins and meaning
As with many nursery rhymes, attempts have been made
to find origins and meanings for the rhyme, most which have no corroborating
evidence. Katherine Elwes Thomas in The Real Personages of Mother
Goose (1930) suggested the rhyme referred to resentment at the heavy
taxation on wool. This has particularly been taken to refer to the
medieval English "Great" or "Old Custom" wool tax of 1275,
which survived until the fifteenth century. More recently the rhyme has
been connected to the slave trade, particularly in the southern United States. This
explanation was advanced during debates over political correctness and the use and reform of nursery rhymes in the
1980s, but has no supporting historical evidence. Rather than being
negative, the wool of black sheep may have been prized as it could be made into
dark cloth without dyeing.
to find origins and meanings for the rhyme, most which have no corroborating
evidence. Katherine Elwes Thomas in The Real Personages of Mother
Goose (1930) suggested the rhyme referred to resentment at the heavy
taxation on wool. This has particularly been taken to refer to the
medieval English "Great" or "Old Custom" wool tax of 1275,
which survived until the fifteenth century. More recently the rhyme has
been connected to the slave trade, particularly in the southern United States. This
explanation was advanced during debates over political correctness and the use and reform of nursery rhymes in the
1980s, but has no supporting historical evidence. Rather than being
negative, the wool of black sheep may have been prized as it could be made into
dark cloth without dyeing.
The rhyme was first printed in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book, the oldest surviving collection of English language
nursery rhymes, published c. 1744 with the lyrics very similar to those still
used today:
nursery rhymes, published c. 1744 with the lyrics very similar to those still
used today:
Bah,
Bah, a black Sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes merry have I,
Three bags full,
Two for my master,
One for my dame,
None for the little boy
That cries in the lane.
Bah, a black Sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes merry have I,
Three bags full,
Two for my master,
One for my dame,
None for the little boy
That cries in the lane.
In the next surviving
printing, in Mother Goose's Melody (c. 1765), the rhyme remained the same, except the last
lines, which were given as, "But none for the little boy who cries in the
lane".
printing, in Mother Goose's Melody (c. 1765), the rhyme remained the same, except the last
lines, which were given as, "But none for the little boy who cries in the
lane".
Modern controversies
A
controversy emerged over changing the language of "Baa Baa Black
Sheep" in Britain from 1986, because, it was alleged in the popular press,
it was seen as racially dubious. This was based only on a rewriting of the
rhyme in one private nursery as an exercise for the children there and not on
any local government policy. A similar controversy emerged in 1999 when
reservations about the rhyme were submitted to Birmingham City Council by a
working group on racism in children's resources, which were never approved or
implemented. Two private nurseries in Oxfordshire in 2006 altered the
song to "Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep", with black being replaced with a
variety of other adjectives, like "happy, sad, hopping" and
"pink". In 2012, a private nursery in Kingston upon Thames replaced
"black" with "little" for their Easter show. Commentators
have asserted that these controversies have been exaggerated or distorted by
some elements of the press as part of a more general campaign against political correctness.
controversy emerged over changing the language of "Baa Baa Black
Sheep" in Britain from 1986, because, it was alleged in the popular press,
it was seen as racially dubious. This was based only on a rewriting of the
rhyme in one private nursery as an exercise for the children there and not on
any local government policy. A similar controversy emerged in 1999 when
reservations about the rhyme were submitted to Birmingham City Council by a
working group on racism in children's resources, which were never approved or
implemented. Two private nurseries in Oxfordshire in 2006 altered the
song to "Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep", with black being replaced with a
variety of other adjectives, like "happy, sad, hopping" and
"pink". In 2012, a private nursery in Kingston upon Thames replaced
"black" with "little" for their Easter show. Commentators
have asserted that these controversies have been exaggerated or distorted by
some elements of the press as part of a more general campaign against political correctness.
In 2014, there was reportedly a similar
controversy in the Australian state of Victoria.
controversy in the Australian state of Victoria.
Allusions
The
phrase "yes sir, yes sir, three bags full sir" has been used to
describe any obsequious or craven subordinate. It is attested from 1910, and
originally was common in the British Royal Navy.
phrase "yes sir, yes sir, three bags full sir" has been used to
describe any obsequious or craven subordinate. It is attested from 1910, and
originally was common in the British Royal Navy.
The rhyme has often been raised in
literature and popular culture. Rudyard Kipling used the rhyme as the title of a semi-autobiographical short story he wrote in 1888. The name Black Sheep Squadron was used for the Marine Attack Squadron 214 of the United States Marine Corps from 1942 and the title Baa Baa Black
Sheep was used for a book by its leader Colonel Gregory "Pappy" Boyington and for a TV series (later syndicated as Black Sheep Squadron) that aired on NBC from 1976 until 1978. In 1951, together
with "In the Mood",
"Baa Baa Black Sheep" was the first song ever to be digitally saved
and played on a computer.
literature and popular culture. Rudyard Kipling used the rhyme as the title of a semi-autobiographical short story he wrote in 1888. The name Black Sheep Squadron was used for the Marine Attack Squadron 214 of the United States Marine Corps from 1942 and the title Baa Baa Black
Sheep was used for a book by its leader Colonel Gregory "Pappy" Boyington and for a TV series (later syndicated as Black Sheep Squadron) that aired on NBC from 1976 until 1978. In 1951, together
with "In the Mood",
"Baa Baa Black Sheep" was the first song ever to be digitally saved
and played on a computer.
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