Aiken Drum

= Aiken Drum =

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"Aiken Drum" is a popular Scottish folk song and nursery rhyme, which probably has its origins in a Jacobite song about the Battle of Sheriffmuir (1715). It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 2571.

'''Lyrics '''

Lyrics from 1899

Modern versions of the lyrics include:

Other versions of the song include the lyrics:'''Origins '''The rhyme was first printed by James Hogg in Jacobite Reliques in 1820, as a Jacobite song about the Battle of Sheriffmuir (1715):

Sir Walter Scott in his novel The Antiquary (1816) refers to Aiken Drum in a story told by an old beggar about the origins of what has been perceived by the protagonist as a Roman fort. The beggar tells him that it was actually built by him and others for "auld Aiken Drum's bridal" and that one of the masons cut the shape of a ladle into the stone as a joke on the bridegroom. The reference suggests that the rhyme, and particularly the chorus, was well enough known in the early nineteenth century for the joke to be understood.[2]'''The Brownie of Blednoch '''Aiken Drum is also the name given by the Scottish poet William Nicholsonto the brownie in his poem "The Brownie of Blednoch" (1825). Although this has led some folklorists to speculate that the song may derive from older fairy legends, there is no evidence of the name being used for a brownie prior to Nicholson.[3][4]'''Performances '''The Scottish storytelling group, Macastory, perform this song for children in an interactive way by allowing the children to decide the foods of which Aiken Drum is made. One such version recorded by The Singing Kettle is included on their CD Singalong Songs from Scotland, produced in 2003 for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.[5]

Popular Armenian-Canadian children's singer Raffi played a version of the song, called "Aikendrum," on his album Singable Songs for the Very Young(1976).[6] Raffi's version of the song replaces the various foods with one's that would be more familiar to an American audience: spaghetti for Aikendrum's hair, meatballs for his eyes, cheese for his nose, and pizza for his mouth.'''See also  References '''
 * 1) I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 52–4.
 * 2) Sir Walter Scott, The Antiquary (1816) Archived 2006-09-08 at the Wayback Machine., accessed 25/04/09.
 * 3) Briggs, Katharine (1976). An Encyclopedia of Fairies. Pantheon Books. p. 2. ISBN 0394409183.
 * 4) "Scottish Country Dance – The Brownie of Blednoch"
 * 5) Cd liner notes: The Singing Kettle — Singalong Songs from Scotland, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, 2003.
 * 6) R. Reid, Children's Jukebox: A Subject Guide to Musical Recordings and Programming Ideas for Songsters Ages One to Twelve, (ALA Editions, 1995), p. 98.