Bah, bah, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes, many have I,
Three bags full;
One for my master,
One for my dame,
But none for the little boy
Who cries in the lane.
Notes
There are many versions of this poem.
Baa Baa black sheep
Have you any wool?
Yes Sir! Yes Sir!
Three bags full.
One for the master,
And one for the dame,
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.
Then there is the additional final verse that has been added by another anonymous writer. Trying to teach good manners obviously.
Thank you said the master,
Thank you said the dame
And thank you said the little boy
Who lived down the lane......
The lyrical form of this poem is abcbdefe.
1. Cf. The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, ed. Iona and
Peter Opie (1951\; Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966), no. 55, p. 88,
whose version, based on Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book
(1744), ends "And one for the little boy / Who lives down the lane."
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Comments
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Politicly Correctness Be Damned
From guest Donna (contact)
I work in the Child care industry in Australia and it has been going around that we shouldn't sing this song to children because of it's "Racial connotations" if they start stopping us from singing songs like this, we will have nothing to sing to children of the next generation. -
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Here! Here!
As Donna implies, there is nothing politically incorrect about this lovely old nursery rhyme in it's original meaning (as I have said below).
Like most such rhymes they pass on a truth known by our forebears.
Any implied racial slur is in the mind of the finder.
Honi soit qui mal'y'pense!!
People will be saying next that the "Red sky at night" rhyme is about communism
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Blessings
From guest Greg (contact)
1st I am black and I don't think that this is a racist poem. I agree with Jim, the Black wool was rare and probably considered as a unique luxury. This rare piece of clothing was given to the Master, His Lady, and probbably (in the revised poem) the little boy. The boy in the lane was blessed with a luxury coat. This could be a great message in its own. For the Master who gave his best to the poor, and to the needy who cries out to his Master for help. ( God ) -
Some rhymes are just rhymes
Why should the dame be family/friends or the little boy the needy? The master and the dame would be the married couple who own the sheep, and the little boy would be the child the rhyme was being sung to. I suspect the sheep was black because it alliterates with 'baa'! As for blacks having masters - when this was written society was hierarchical and almost everyone had a 'master' who was above them. -
Christian
From guest Dina (contact)
The Bible refers to Christians as sheep, a black sheep would be one that is in darkness or coming out of darkness. The master refers to Jesus (the sheppard), the dame refers to family/friends, the boy down the lane refers to the needy. And the order follows the Christian principals of how we are suppose to conduct ourselves, God first, Family second, the needy third. -
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Intriguing though your analysis is I believe you are mistaken.
As my earlier comment indicates it is most likely that black sheep was used since black wool was, at the time, much harder to use effectively.
Jim
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oh brother
From guest Gia (contact)
Blacks having masters is a part of history. One can't erase what white people did to the black people. -
... why does everything have to conclude in racism
From guest shell (contact)
It is REALLY annoying when people say that old nursery rhymes are racist.. that isn't the nature of the poem so why make them that way and get into childrens head's that nursery rhymes are racist. -
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Guest shell
Some things are racist and some things are not. In it's origins this is about sheep. It was harder to find a use for wool from a black sheep in the days before strong chemical dyes and it was shunned by some merchants. Most preferred white or grey wool but not all.
People read into things what is in their own minds and not necessarily what is in the mind of the speaker or writer. I remember many times being told off for calling a board painted black a black-board when I was a teacher. Why? They never complained about me calling a board that is white a white-board!
As the old saying goes "Honi soit qui mal y pense" evil be to them who eveil think.
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bah bah
From guest gladys (contact)
i heard that they were teaching it as RAINBOW sheep :/ dont know if its true, at least today my daughter has been singing it as black sheep, so maybe her nursery didnt get the pc memo. -
Racist
From guest ererd (contact)
I find this poem maybe a little bit racist?
Kind of like. A black man picking cotton for his Master?
(That's one interpretation but given when the poem was composed, it's unlikely that there was any racism implied - MOD) -
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MANY or MARRY
From guest Nils Solberg (contact)
Bah, bah, black sheep, Have you any wool? Yes, MANY have I.... Looking for the original version from the 18th century, I found one where it says "Yes, MARRY, have I" and this link where it says "Yes, MANY, have I". Is this link the correct one for sure? -
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The MANY is unlikely to be correct as there is a reference to 3 soon after and that is not many. Marry (old usage) is a much more likely derivation and is probably closer to the original.
Marry or Merry is a mild (and antiquated) oath probably a corruption of "by the blessed virgin Mary" and so in this context means certainly or honestly.
However in an unattributable piece like this the process of oral history makes as many changes as Chinese Whispers so who knows. In fact who knows if the 1744 version was in fact the earliest!!
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From guest Shaz (contact)
Thank you said the master, Thank you said the dame and thank you said the little boy who lived down the lane...... does anyone remember that bit at the end? -
Sweet Rhyme
i learned another version of the poem when i was a Kid...i have again checked the famous nursay rhyme books but the poem is as...
Baa Baa black sheep
Have you any wool?
Yes Sir! Yes Sir!
Three bags full.
One for the master,
And one for the dame,
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.
Maybe the version on this site is the original one. -
Bah Bah
From guest Bob Builder (contact)
I was taught a different version of this poem. The sheeps were tragially killed by a flesh eating bacteria! I loved the poem as a child, but now looking back on it, my Mum and Pop were morbid! -
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From guest Ian (contact)
Dont we now have to change the sheeps colour, was talking to someone who friends child came home from school singing baa baa blue sheep to be PC. Still hunting for this lesser spotted blue sheep. Perhaps the british goverment to tell me where I can locate one lol -
From guest Alex (contact)
where im from (australia) we say it like this Bah Bah Black sheep have you any wool? Yes sir, yes sir, 3 bags full 1 for the master and one the dame and one for the little boy who lives down the lane. -
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From guest TheChosenOne (contact)
Where does the third bag go? Does the black sheep keep it for himself? I think it is supposed to go to the little boy. -
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When I was a youngster (long, long ago) I learned this rhyme as
Baa Baa black sheep
Have you any wool?
Yes Sir! Yes Sir!
Three bags full.
One for the master,
And one for the dame,
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.
I can only assume that the given version was used for less well behaved children.
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A timeless piece written who-knows-when which has brought immeasurable pleasure to children. I remember it as the 1744 version, but no matter it's still a classic children rhyme.
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lol i like this version!!! hehe
~mira~ -
I'm more used to New Massacre's version, interesting to know there was more than one version. Although, I was taught both 'none' and 'one'. But I definately remember 'yes sir yes sir' not 'yes marry have I' I liked this song as a child, it's a very good children's song and one I grew up with. I dislike the new version that was in the papers the other day 'rainbow sheep' because from what I know it was written because black wool was taxed lower than white wool and baa baa black sheep's a sheep anyway, the service is given because it's rather than because she/he's black so it's kind of pc gone mad.
A good song, I recomend it to any parents of young children to read to their kids if they're not used to it- preferably our version as it makes sense nowadays wheras 'marry' doesn't make sense to a modern child in this context (I feel) -
This is something that reminds me of the golden past like the old john of W.Blake...such such were joys...when we were girls and boys...the echoing green...these are bags full of pleasure and gladness...very cute.....
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I like this version, though the one I recall is sort of like what Eternally Lovelorn mentioned. LOL.
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you see the version i know goes
baa baa black sheep have you any wool
Yes sir, yes sir 3 bags full
one for the master
one for the dame
and one for the little boy
who lives down the lane.
Though when we were little we sang the little boy who lives down the drain cos you know, it was funny, or something.
Jadey xXxXx
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