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Baa, Baa, Black Sheep (nursery rhyme)
Encyclopedia
Baa, Baa, Black Sheep is an English nursery rhyme
, sung to a variant of the 1761 French melody Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman. The original form of the tune is used for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
and the Alphabet song
. The words have changed little in two and a half centuries. It has a Roud Folk Song Index
number of 18267.
More recent versions tend to take the following form:
This rhyme was first printed in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book
, published in 1744 with the following lyrics:
.
.
' has also been used informally in linguistics to describe varieties of English that allow the syntax
"Have you any wool?" compared to the alternative "Do you have any wool?" with the auxiliary verb
'do'. In the question 'Have you any wool?' the verb 'have' appears as a transitive verb with the sense of possession, however it also appears to behave like an auxiliary in the sense that it undergoes syntactic inversion
.
Nursery rhyme
The term nursery rhyme is used for "traditional" poems for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the 19th century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.-Lullabies:...
, sung to a variant of the 1761 French melody Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman. The original form of the tune is used for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" is a popular English nursery rhyme. The lyrics are from an early nineteenth-century English poem, "The Star" by Jane Taylor. The poem, which is in couplet form, was first published in 1806 in Rhymes for the Nursery, a collection of poems by Taylor and her sister Ann...
and the Alphabet song
Alphabet song
An alphabet song is any of various songs used to teach children an alphabet, used in kindergartens, pre-schools and homes around the world. Alphabet songs typically follow the alphabetic principle...
. The words have changed little in two and a half centuries. It has a Roud Folk Song Index
Roud Folk Song Index
The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of 300,000 references to over 21,600 songs that have been collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world...
number of 18267.
Modern version
- Baa, baa, black sheep,
- Have you any wool?
- Yes sir, yes sir,
- Three bags full.
- One for the master,
- One for the dame,
- And one for the little boy
- Who lives down the lane. (or Who cries down the lane.)
Original version
Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book
Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book is the earliest extant printed collection of English language nursery rhymes, published in London in 1744. It was a sequel to the lost Tommy Thumb's Song Book and contains the oldest version of many well-known and popular rhymes, as well as several that have been...
, published in 1744 with the following lyrics:
- Bah, Bah a black Sheep,
- Have you any Wool?
- Yes merry have I,
- Three Bags full,
- One for my master,
- One for my Dame,
- One for the little Boy
- That lives down the lane.
Origins and meaning
As with many nursery rhymes, attempts have been made to find origins and meanings for the rhyme. These include:- A description of the medieval 'Great' or 'Old Custom' wool tax of 1275, which survived until the fifteenth century. Contrary to some commentaries, this tax did not involve the collection of one-third to the king, and one-third to the church, but a less punitive sum of 6s 8d to the Crown per sack, about 5 per cent of the value. This theory also depends on the rhyme surviving unrecorded and even unmentioned in extant texts for hundreds of years.
- A connection to the slave trade. This explanation was advanced during debates over political correctnessPolitical correctnessPolitical correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
and the use and reform of nursery rhymes in the 1980s, but scholars agree that it has no basis in fact.
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". 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 correctnessPolitical correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
.
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 NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
.
Linguistics
The term 'Baa Baa Black Sheep dialectDialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
' has also been used informally in linguistics to describe varieties of English that allow the syntax
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
"Have you any wool?" compared to the alternative "Do you have any wool?" with the auxiliary verb
Auxiliary verb
In linguistics, an auxiliary verb is a verb that gives further semantic or syntactic information about a main or full verb. In English, the extra meaning provided by an auxiliary verb alters the basic meaning of the main verb to make it have one or more of the following functions: passive voice,...
'do'. In the question 'Have you any wool?' the verb 'have' appears as a transitive verb with the sense of possession, however it also appears to behave like an auxiliary in the sense that it undergoes syntactic inversion
Inversion (linguistics)
In linguistics, grammatical inversion is any of a number of different distinct grammatical constructions in the languages of the world. There are three main uses in the literature which, unfortunately, have little if any overlap either formally or typologically: syntactic inversion, thematic...
.
Popular culture
- Together with "In the MoodIn the Mood"In the Mood" is a big band era #1 hit recorded by American bandleader Glenn Miller. Joe Garland and Andy Razaf arranged "In the Mood" in 1937-1939 using a previously existing main theme composed by Glenn Miller before the start of the 1930s...
", "Baa Baa Black Sheep" was, in 1951, the first song ever to be digitally saved and played on a computer.
- The name Black Sheep SquadronVMA-214Marine Attack Squadron 214 is a United States Marine Corps fighter squadron consisting of AV-8B Harrier jets. The squadron is based at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona and is under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 13 and the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing .The squadron is best known as the...
was used for the Marine Attack Squadron 214 of the United States Marine CorpsUnited States Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
from 1942 and the title Baa Baa Black Sheep was used for a book by its leader Colonel Gregory "Pappy" Boyington and was used for a TV series (later syndicated as Black Sheep SquadronBaa Baa Black Sheep (TV series)Baa Baa Black Sheep is a television series that aired on NBC from 1976 until 1978. Its premise was based on the experiences of United States Marine Corps aviator Pappy Boyington and his World War II "Black Sheep Squadron". The series was created and produced by Stephen J. Cannell...
that aired on NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
from 1976 until 1978.
- A popular rap group from 1991 was named Black Sheep had a song "Baa Baa Black Sheep (Have U.N.E. Pull?)"
- There is a recording, made by Clarence NashClarence NashClarence Charles "Ducky" Nash was an American voice actor, best known for providing the voice of Donald Duck for the Walt Disney Studios...
and called 'Donald's Singing Lesson', in which Donald DuckDonald DuckDonald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
wants to try as a singer, but with no success. His test is based just on 'Baa baa, black sheep'.