"Old MacDonald Had a Farm" (sometimes shortened to Old MacDonald) is a traditional
children's song
A children's song may be a nursery rhyme set to music, a song that children invent and share among themselves or a modern creation intended for entertainment, use in the home or education. Although children's songs have been recorded and studied ...
and
nursery rhyme about a
farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer m ...
and the various
animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
s 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.
The song was probably written by
Thomas d'Urfey
Thomas d'Urfey (a.k.a. Tom Durfey; 165326 February 1723) was an English writer and wit. He wrote plays, songs, jokes, and poems. He was an important innovator and contributor in the evolution of the ballad opera.
Life
D'Urfey was born in Devonsh ...
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
__NOTOC__
Year 745 ( DCCXLV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 745 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...
.
The lyrics to the standard version begin as follows, with the animal sound changing with each verse:
History
Thomas d'Urfey
The earliest variant of the song is "In the Fields in Frost and Snow" from a 1706
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
called ''The Kingdom of the Birds'' or ''Wonders of the Sun'' written by the English writer and composer
Thomas d'Urfey
Thomas d'Urfey (a.k.a. Tom Durfey; 165326 February 1723) was an English writer and wit. He wrote plays, songs, jokes, and poems. He was an important innovator and contributor in the evolution of the ballad opera.
Life
D'Urfey was born in Devonsh ...
. 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
Johann Christoph Pepusch (1667 – 1752), also known as John Christopher Pepusch and Dr Pepusch, was a German-born composer who spent most of his working life in England. He was born in Berlin, son of a vicar, and was married to Margherita de ...
's
Polly
Polly is a given name, most often feminine, which originated as a variant of Molly (name), Molly (a diminutive of Mary (name), Mary). Polly may also be a short form of names such as Polina (given name), Polina, Polona (given name), Polona, Paula (g ...
(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.
Traditional English versions
Several versions were collected in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in around the turn of the twentieth century by folklorists, such as one called "The Farmyard Song" taken from a John Lloyd of
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
in the 1880s by
Anne Gilchrist, and another called "Father's Wood I O" collected in 1906 in
Scotter
__NOTOC__
Scotter is a large village and civil parish in West Lindsey, Lincolnshire, England, situated between Scunthorpe and Gainsborough.OS Explorer Map 280: Isle of Axholme, Scunthorpe and Gainsborough: (1:25 000) :
The population of the ...
,
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...
by
Percy Grainger
Percy Aldridge Grainger (born George Percy Grainger; 8 July 188220 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who lived in the United States from 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918. In the course of a long an ...
; both of the original transcriptions of these versions are available via the
Vaughan Williams Memorial Library
The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library (VWML) is the library and archive of the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS), located in the society's London headquarters, Cecil Sharp House. It is a multi-media library comprising books, periodic ...
website.
![St Marylebone workhouse (1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/St_Marylebone_workhouse_%281%29.jpg)
The famous folk song collector
Cecil Sharp
Cecil James Sharp (22 November 1859 – 23 June 1924) was an English-born collector of folk songs, folk dances and instrumental music, as well as a lecturer, teacher, composer and musician. He was the pre-eminent activist in the development of t ...
collected a version called "The Farmyard" in 1908 from a 74-year-old named Mrs. Goodey at
Marylebone
Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary.
An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it me ...
Workhouse,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
; 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
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
era songs, 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
A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and '' Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the ...
(Honk Honk),
cows
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...
(moo moo),
pigs
The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...
(oink oink),
cats (meow meow), sheep/
goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...
(baa baa) and a
donkey(MULE) (hee-haw). 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
The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant porti ...
region of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
before being standardised. A version was published in
Vance Randolph
Vance Randolph (February 23, 1892 – November 1, 1980) was a folklorist who studied the folklore of the Ozarks in particular. He wrote a number of books on the Ozarks, as well as ''Little Blue Books'' and juvenile fiction.
Early life
Randolph ...
's ''Ozark Folksongs'' (1980) called "Old Missouri", sung by a Mr. H. F. Walker of
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
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
The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant porti ...
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
The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...
online digital collection.
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, 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.
* In
Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
the song is called ''Ou Oom Klasie het 'n plaas'' (meaning "Old Uncle Claus has a farm").
* An
Egyptian Arabic
Egyptian Arabic, locally known as Colloquial Egyptian ( ar, العامية المصرية, ), or simply Masri (also Masry) (), is the most widely spoken vernacular Arabic dialect in Egypt. It is part of the Afro-Asiatic language family, and ...
version of the song exists, with ''Geddo Ali'' (in Egyptian Arabic: جدو على, meaning "Grandpa Ali") as the farmer character.
* In
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
, there is a translation under copyright by Karenn Presti published in 2017's ''My First Armenian Songbook.''
* In
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
, there are several versions of the song with same tune. The most popular is ''Wáng lǎo xiānshēng yǒu kuài dì'' (in Chinese: 王老先生有块地, meaning "Old Mr. Wang had some land").
* In
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
, it is ''Strýček Donald farmu měl'' (meaning "Uncle Donald had a farm").
* In
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
, it is ''Jens Hansen havde en bondegård'' (meaning "Jens Hansen had a farm").
* In
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
, it is ''Piippolan vaarilla oli talo'' (meaning "Grandpa Piippola had a house").
* In
French, it is ''Dans la ferme de Mathurin'' (meaning "In Mathurin's farm").
* In
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, it is ''Onkel Jörg hat einen Bauernhof'' (meaning "Uncle Jörg has a farm"). An alternative version is ''Old MacDonald hat 'ne Farm'' (short for ''eine Farm''), keeping the English name of the farmer, and translating the rest quite literally (meaning "Old MacDonald has a farm").
* In
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
, it is ''LaDod Moshe hayta chava'' (in Hebrew: לדוד משה הייתה חווה, meaning "Uncle Moses had a farm"). This version was translated by Avraham Broshi.
* In
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
, it is ''Nella vecchia fattoria'' (meaning "In the old farm"). The farmer is ''Zio Tobia'' (meaning "Uncle Tobias").
* In one
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
version, it is ''Yukai-na Makiba'' (in Japanese: ゆかいな牧場, meaning "Happy farm"). Ichiro, Jiro, and Saburo are the farmers who have animals.
** In another Japanese version, it is ''Makku no Ojisan'' (in Japanese: マックのおじさん, meaning "Old man Mac"), sounds playfully like the Western version.
** In
Kansai Japanese, there is a parody song called ''Osaka Umaimon no Uta'' (in Japanese: 大阪うまいもんの歌, meaning "Yummy foods in Osaka") made by an Osakan puppet play troupe in 1993.
* In
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
, it is ''Geulae geulaeseo'' (in Korean: '그래 그래서', meaning "Yes, so"). In this version, the farmer "Old Mr. Park" has a farm and animals.
* In
Malay, it is ''Pak Atan Ada Ladang'' (meaning "Uncle Atan had a farm").
* In
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
, it is ''پیرمرد مهربون'' (meaning "Kind old man").
* In
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
, it is ''Stary Donald farmę miał'' (meaning "Old Donald had a farm") or ''Pan McDonald farmę miał'' (meaning "Mr. McDonald had a farm").
* In
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
, the most common version is ''Na quinta do tio Manel'' (meaning "On the farm of Uncle Manel"), with alternate versions being ''Seu Lobato tinha um sítio'' (meaning "Mr. Lobato had a site") or even ''O velho McDonald tinha uma fazenda'' (meaning "Old MacDonald had a farm").
* In
Quebecois, the most common version is ''Le vieux Mac Donald a une ferme'' (meaning "Old Donald had a farm"), and is a literal translation from English.
* In
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
, unofficial variation:"Дед МакДональд напевал И-ай,и-ай,О!" Translated by Leonid Zuborev cyril.: Леонид Зуборев
* In
Serbian, it is, "Na salašu dede mog" (meaning "On my grandpa's farm").
** In another Serbian version, it is ''Čika Pera ima farmu'' (meaning "Uncle Pera has a farm").
* In
Slovene, it is ''Na kmetiji je lepo'' (meaning "On a farm it is beautiful"). It can be a children's song, but in some versions of the song, the lyrics have been made from childish into vulgar, like a drinking song.
* Some
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
versions include ''En la granja de Pepito'' (meaning "On Pepito's farm"), ''El Viejo MacDonald tenía una granja'' (meaning "Old MacDonald had a farm"), ''El granjero tenía un campo'' (meaning "The farmer had a field"), or ''En la vieja factoría'' (meaning "In the old factory").
. "En la granja del tío Juan" (meaning "Uncle Juan's farm").
* In
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
, it is ''Per Olsson hade en bonnagård'' (meaning "Per Olsson had a farm").
*
* In
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
, it is ''Дід Іван корівку має'' (meaning "Uncle Ivan has a cow").
* In
, it is ''عبد اللہ کا تھا ایک گاؤں'' (meaning "Abdullah had a village").
See also
*
List of animal sounds
Certain words in the English language represent animal sounds: the noises and vocalizations of particular animals, especially noises used by animals for communication. The words can be used as verbs or interjections in addition to nouns, and ma ...
*
Mary Had a Little Lamb
"Mary Had a Little Lamb" is an English language nursery rhyme of nineteenth-century American origin, first published by American writer Sarah Josepha Hale in 1830. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 7622.
Background
The nursery rhyme was ...
References
{{Authority control
Year of song unknown
American folk songs
Elvis Presley songs
Frank Sinatra songs
American children's songs
Traditional children's songs
Songs about animals
Songs about farmers
Songs about fictional male characters
Fictional farms
Fictional farmers
American nursery rhymes
Cumulative songs
Songwriter unknown
1917 songs