Old MacDonald Had a Farm

Last updated

"Old MacDonald Had a Farm"
Nursery rhyme
Written1706 or earlier
Published1706
Recorded1925
Songwriter(s) Thomas d'Urfey (probably)
Lyricist(s) Frederick Thomas Nettlingham

"Old MacDonald Had a Farm" (sometimes shortened to Old MacDonald) is a traditional children's song and nursery rhyme about a farmer and the various animals he keeps. Each verse of the song changes the name of the animal and its respective noise. For example, if the verse uses a cow as the animal, then "moo" would be used as the animal's sound. In many versions, the song is cumulative, with the animal sounds from all the earlier verses added to each subsequent verse. [1]

Contents

The song was probably written by Thomas d'Urfey for an opera in 1706, before existing as a folk song in Britain, Ireland and North America for hundreds of years in various forms then finally being standardised in the twentieth century. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 745.

The lyrics to the standard version begin as follows, with the animal sound changing with each verse:

Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O!
And on his farm he had a cow, E-I-E-I-O!
With a moo-moo here and a moo-moo there,
Here a moo, there a moo,
Everywhere a moo-moo,
Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O!

History

Thomas d'Urfey (1653-1723) Google Books Thomas D'Urfey.jpg
Thomas d'Urfey (1653-1723)

Thomas d'Urfey

The earliest variant of the song is "In the Fields in Frost and Snow" from a 1706 opera called The Kingdom of the Birds or Wonders of the Sun written by the English writer and composer Thomas d'Urfey. This version begins:

In the Fields in Frost and Snows,

Watching late and early;
There I keep my Father's Cows,
There I Milk 'em Yearly:
Booing here, Booing there,
Here a Boo, there a Boo, every where a Boo,
We defy all Care and Strife,

In a Charming Country-Life.

It is unknown whether this was the origin of the song, or if his version of the song was based on a traditional song already in existence. Like modern versions, the animals change from verse to verse and the rhythm is very similar, but it uses a different minor key melody.

D'Urfey's opera was largely unsuccessful, but the song was recycled, being expanded and printed in d'Urfey's own Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy, vol. 2 (1719) and appearing in several operas throughout the eighteenth century such as John Gay and Johann Christoph Pepusch's Polly (1729). It also appeared on song sheets for decades, so it was presumably popular among ordinary English people in the eighteenth century whether it originated from the opera or not. [2]

Traditional English versions

Several versions were collected in England in around the turn of the twentieth century by folklorists, such as one called "The Farmyard Song" taken from a John Lloyd of Manchester in the 1880s by Anne Gilchrist, and another called "Father's Wood I O" collected in 1906 in Scotter, Lincolnshire by Percy Grainger; both of the original transcriptions of these versions are available via the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website. [3] [4]

St. Marylebone Workhouse, 1867 St Marylebone workhouse (1).jpg
St. Marylebone Workhouse, 1867

The famous folk song collector Cecil Sharp collected a version called "The Farmyard" in 1908 from a 74-year-old named Mrs. Goodey at Marylebone Workhouse, London; [5] and the lyrics began with the following verse:

Up was I on my father's farm

On a May day morning early;
Feeding of my father's cows
On a May day morning early,
With a moo moo here and a moo moo there,
Here a moo, there a moo, Here a pretty moo.
Six pretty maids come and gang a-long o' me
To the merry green fields of the farm-yard.

Frederick Thomas Nettleingham's 1917 book Tommy's Tunes, a collection of World War I era songs, [6] includes a variant of the song called "Ohio" which lists nine species: horses (neigh-neigh), dogs (bow-wow/woof woof/ruff ruff), chickens(hen=cluck cluck/chicks=chick chick), ducks (quack quack), goose (Honk Honk), cows (moo moo), pigs (grunt grunt), cats (meow meow), sheep/goat (baa baa) and a donkey/mule (hee-haw). [7] The farmer is called "Old Macdougal", unlike in most other traditional versions where the farmer is unnamed.

Old Macdougal had a farm, E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm he had some dogs, E-I-E-I-O
With a bow-wow here, and a bow-wow there,
Here a bow, there a bow, everywhere a bow-wow.

Traditional Ozark versions

The song seems to have been particularly popular in the Ozark region of the United States before being standardised. A version was published in Vance Randolph's Ozark Folksongs (1980) called "Old Missouri", sung by a Mr. H. F. Walker of Missouri in 1922. This version names different parts of the mule rather than different animals:

Old Missouri had a mule, he-hi-he-hi-ho,

And on this mule there were two ears, he-hi-he-hi-ho.
With a flip-flop here and a flip-flop there,
And here a flop and there a flop and everywhere a flip-flop

Old Missouri had a mule, he-hi-he-hi-ho.

Several traditional Ozark versions which differ significantly from the standard version were recorded in the 1950s and 60s by different collectors; these recordings are available on the University of Arkansas online digital collection. [8] [9] [10] [11]

The Skillet Lickers, c.1926 TheSkilletLickers.jpg
The Skillet Lickers, c.1926

Early recordings and origin of the famous version

The oldest version listed in The Traditional Ballad Index, is the Sam Patterson Trio's "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," released on the Edison label in 1925, [12] followed by a version recorded by Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers in 1927. These recordings may be the first known versions to use the now standard tune, and the first to name the farmer "Old MacDonald". It is unknown what the traditional source of these iconic elements was, but the American versions seem most similar, with their E-I-E-I-O refrains and "old" farmers mentioned in the first line.

Translations

The lyrics have been translated from English into other languages and modified slightly to fit rhythmic and cultural requirements. In most languages below, it is still sung as a children's song to the same tune.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumulative song</span> Simple song form with repetitive and linked verses

A cumulative song is a song with a simple verse structure modified by progressive addition so that each verse is longer than the verse before. Cumulative songs are popular for group singing, in part because they require relatively little memorization of lyrics, and because remembering the previous verse to concatenate it to form the current verse can become a kind of game.

Kidsongs is an American children's media franchise that includes Kidsongs Music Video Stories on DVD and video, the Kidsongs TV series, CDs of children's songs, songbooks, sheet music, toys, and a merchandise website. It was created by producer Carol Rosenstein and director Bruce Gowers of Together Again Video Productions (TAVP). The duo had produced and directed over 100 music videos for Warner Bros. Records (WBR) and took their idea of music videos for children to the record label. Warner Brothers funded the first video, "A Day at Old MacDonald's Farm". Shortly thereafter, a three-way partnership formed between TAVP, WBR, and View-Master Video, with TAVP responsible for production and WBR and View-Master responsible for distribution to video and music stores, and toy stores respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Lionel</span> Figure in Arthurian legend

Lionel is a character in Arthurian legend. He is the younger son of King Bors of Gaunnes and Evaine and brother of Bors the Younger. First recorded in the Lancelot-Grail cycle, he is a double cousin of Lancelot and cousin of Lancelot's younger half-brother Hector de Maris. He is also the subject of a traditional ballad.

"The Farmer in the Dell" is a singing game, nursery rhyme, folksong, and children's song. It probably originated in Germany and was brought to America by immigrants. From there, it spread to many other nations and is popular in a number of languages. It is Roud Folk Song Index number 6306.

New MacDonald's Farm is an Australian live action children's television program broadcast on the Nine Network from 12 April 2004 to 1 June 2007. This show and Australian hit Hi-5 used to swap the timeslot in order to film new seasons. The series also aired on Playhouse Disney in Australia.

"The Girl I Left Behind", also known as "The Girl I Left Behind Me", is an English folk song dating back to the Elizabethan era. It is said to have been played when soldiers left for war or a naval vessel set sail. According to other sources the song originated in 1758 when English Admirals Hawke and Rodney were observing the French fleet. The first printed text of the song appeared in Dublin in 1791. A popular tune with several variations, "The Girl I Left Behind Me", may have been imported into America around 1650 as "Brighton Camp", of which a copy dating from around 1796 resides in the Bodleian Library, Oxford.

<i>Barnyard</i> (film) 2006 film by Steve Oedekerk

Barnyard is a 2006 animated comedy film produced by Nickelodeon Movies and O Entertainment and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film is produced, written, and directed by Steve Oedekerk, the co-creator of Paramount, Nickelodeon Movies, and O Entertainment's Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001) and its television series continuation The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius. The film stars the voices of Kevin James, Courteney Cox, Sam Elliott, Danny Glover, Wanda Sykes, Andie MacDowell, Tino Insana, John DiMaggio and David Koechner. It tells the story of Otis, a carefree cow who learns the value of responsibility when he becomes the leader of his farm home's community after his adoptive father's death from a coyote attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son</span> Nursery rhyme and traditional song

"Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19621.

<i>Old MacDonald Duck</i> 1941 Donald Duck cartoon

Old MacDonald Duck is an animated cartoon by Walt Disney Productions from 1941, featuring Donald Duck.

Old MacDonald Had a Farm is an animated musical-comedy short, produced by Famous Studios and released by Paramount Pictures on June 7, 1946.

The Bonnie House of Airlie is a traditional Scottish folk song of the seventeenth century, telling the tale of the raid by Archibald Campbell, Earl of Argyll, on Airlie Castle, the home of James Ogilvy, Earl of Airlie, in the summer of 1640. A broadsheet version first appeared in 1790 and it received formal publication as number 199 in Francis Child's collection The English and Scottish Popular Ballads of 1882.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Man Gave Names to All the Animals</span> 1979 single by Bob Dylan

"Man Gave Names to All the Animals" is a song written by Bob Dylan that appeared on his 1979 album Slow Train Coming and was also released as a single in some European countries, becoming a chart hit in France and Belgium. It was also released as a promo single in the US. However, some have labelled it the worst song Dylan ever wrote. A 2013 reader's poll conducted by Rolling Stone magazine, ranked "Man Gave Names to All the Animals" as being the fourth worst Bob Dylan song, behind "Gotta Serve Somebody" in second place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apocalypse Cow</span> 17th episode of the 19th season of The Simpsons

"Apocalypse Cow" is the seventeenth episode of the nineteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on April 27, 2008. After joining 4-H, Bart saves a cow named Lou and gives it to a girl named Mary, a farm girl. Her father, Cletus, mistakenly believes it as a token for Mary's hand in marriage, and attempts to get the two married.

"The Bramble Briar", "The Merchant's Daughter" or "In Bruton Town" is a traditional English folk murder ballad that tells the story of how two brothers murder a servant who is courting their sister. There are many versions of the song going by a number of different titles.

Big Barn Farm is a British live-action and animated children's comedy television series following the lives of four young animals on a farm which uses a combination of live-action and animation. It was produced by The Foundation and commissioned by Michael Carrington for the BBC children's channel CBeebies. It was narrated by Ben Fairman in the first series and Dave Lamb in the second series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Little Red Hen</span> American fable, first published in 1874

The Little Red Hen is an American fable first collected by Mary Mapes Dodge in St. Nicholas Magazine in 1874. The story is meant to teach children the importance of hard work and personal initiative.

The "Farmyard Song" is a cumulative song about farm animals, originating in the British Isles and also known in North America.

The Golden Glove is an English folk song also popular in Scotland, Ireland and North America. It tells the tale of a young woman who falls in love with a farmer and devises a somewhat far-fetched ruse to win his love. This song is also known as Dog and Gun and The Squire of Tamworth

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mooo!</span> 2018 single by Doja Cat

"Mooo!" is a song by American rapper and singer Doja Cat. Originally self-published exclusively as a music video on August 10, 2018, it became a viral internet meme and amassed over 578 million views. It was subsequently released as the lead single from the deluxe edition of her debut studio album Amala. The viral success of "Mooo!" is considered a major factor in Doja Cat's internet fame, ultimately "setting the tone for her career", despite being considered by Doja Cat herself as a "throwaway" and a "joke".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Reino Infantil</span> Argentine YouTube channel

El Reino Infantil is an Argentine YouTube channel featuring music for children owned by Leader Music. It was founded by Roberto Pumar in 2011.

References

  1. "Old MacDonald Had a Farm". www.csufresno.edu. Archived from the original on 2016-05-12. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
  2. "In the Fields in Frost and Snow". The Traditional Tune Archive . 2019-05-06. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  3. "The Farmyard Song (Harry Albino Manuscript Collection HHA/21/1)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  4. "Father's Wood I O (Percy Grainger Manuscript Collection PG/5/155)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  5. "The Farmyard (Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) CJS2/10/1984)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  6. Nettleingham, Frederick Thomas (1917). "Tommy's tunes: a comprehensive collection of soldiers' songs, marching melodies, rude rhymes, and popular parodies". Catalog.hathitrust.org. London: E. Macdonald. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  7. "Ohio," Tommy's Tunes, collected and arranged by F. T. Nettleingham (London, W.C. 1: Erskine Macdonald, Ltd., October 1917), pp. 84–85.
  8. "CONTENTdm". digitalcollections.uark.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  9. "CONTENTdm". digitalcollections.uark.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  10. "CONTENTdm". digitalcollections.uark.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  11. "CONTENTdm". digitalcollections.uark.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  12. "Old macdonald had a farm". YouTube . Archived from the original on 2021-12-21.
  13. Ou Oom Klasie on YouTube
  14. "Jens Hansen havde en bondegård" [Jens Hansen had a farm]. Danske børnesange (in Danish). Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  15. "Finnish Children Songs - Piippolan vaarilla oli talo (English translation)". Lyrics Translate. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  16. Adams, Pam; Lazure, Jacques (1990), Sur la ferme à Mathurin, Child's Play (International), ISBN   978-0-85953-461-1
  17. "Onkel Jörg hat einen Bauernhof" [Uncle Jörg has a farm]. www.kinder-lieder.com (in German). Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  18. "Hebrew Children Songs – Ledod Moshe Hayta Chava (לדוד משה היתה חווה) (English translation)". Lyrics Translate. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  19. "Songs & Rhymes From Italy". Mama Lisa's World of Children and International Culture. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  20. "Дед МакДональд напевал Old MacDonald had a farm (Леонид Зуборев Зубарев) / Стихи.ру" (in Russian).
  21. "Canción infantil de animales: En la granja de pepito" [Children's song about animals: On Pepito's farm]. Conmishijos (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 April 2018.