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Baa Baa Black Sheep is a nursery rhyme, set to a variant of the tune for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the Alphabet song.

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.

An occasionally used second verse is:

Thank you said the master,

Thank you said the dame,

Thank you said the little boy

Who lives down the lane.

Another rarely used verse is:

One to mend the jerseys,

One to mend the socks,

And one to meand the holes

In the little girl's frocks.

Origins

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This song was written to help children associate wool with the animal that produces it, and also the sound that a sheep would make. Baa Baa Black Sheep was first published in 1744. It probably dates back to the Middle Ages, possibly to the 13th Century, and relates to a tax imposed by the king on wool. One-third went to the local lord (the 'master'), one-third to the church (referred to as the 'dame') and about a third was for the farmer (the 'little boy who lives down the lane').

Parodies

In 2005, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America released two public service announcements, each depicting a young child singing a parody of a nursery rhyme. One, a parody of "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep", referred to MDMA dealers with lyrics like this:

Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any E?

Yes sir, yes sir, first hit's free.

This and the "A, B, C, D, PCP" commercial are targeted at parents, explaining that children may know more about drugs than their parents think they know. Critics fear that these commercials might cause the children to learn the parodies before they learn the more traditional versions.

Use in linguistics

'Baa Baa Black Sheep dialect' has also been used informally in linguistics to describe English dialects (such as British English) that allow the syntax "Have you any wool?" compared to others (such as American English) that prefer "Do you have any wool?" with the auxiliary verb 'do'.

Modern Alterations

In recent years, several kindergartens and nurseries have been teaching children different versions of the rhyme, for example replacing "black sheep" with "rainbow sheep.". Previous attempts to alter the lyrics of the rhyme have substituted "black" with either "green" or "happy." These changes have met with considerable criticism, many citing it as "political correctness gone mad", despite the fact that the rhyme was changed for educational and not for racial reasons.

References

1. "Anti-drug ads have bad side-effects", Echo Online. URL last accessed on March 2, 2007.
2. "not to blame", Echo Online. URL last accessed on March 2, 2007.
3. 'Nursery Opts For "Rainbow" Sheep' BBC News, Tuesday 7 March 2006 accessed 7 November 2006
4. 'Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep' Daily Mail, Wednesday 8 March 2006 accessed 7 November 2006

See also

• Black sheep (term)
• Baa Baa Black Sheep (TV series)

External links

• Rhyme and music
• The origin of the nursery rhyme Baa Baa Black Sheep
• The Origins of Nursery Rhymes
• Baa Baa Black Sheep at KidsBuilder.com
• Possible Intent of Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes
• History and Origin of Mother Goose's Ba Ba Black Sheep rhyme

• Articles lacking sources from December 2006
• Nursery rhymes
• Fictional sheep