| Tom the Piper's Son | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Real Name |
Tom |
|
First Appearance |
Unknown |
|
Original Publisher |
English Nursery Rhyme |
|
Created by |
Unknown |
Origin[]
"Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son" is a popular English language nursery rhyme.
Modern versions of the rhyme include:
- Tom, Tom, the piper's son,
- Stole a pig, and away did run;
- The pig was eat
- And Tom was beat,
- And Tom went crying [or "roaring", or "howling", in some versions]
- Down the street.
The 'pig' mentioned in the song is almost certainly not a live animal but rather a kind of pastry, often made with an apple filling, smaller than a pie.
Another version of the rhyme is:
- Tom, Tom, the piper's son,
- Stole a pig, and away he run.
- Tom run here, Tom run there,
- Tom run through the village square.
This rhyme is often conflated with a separate and longer rhyme:
- Tom, he was a piper's son,
- He learnt to play when he was young,
- And all the tune that he could play
- Was 'over the hills and far away';
- Over the hills and a great way off,
- The wind shall blow my top-knot off.
- Tom with his pipe made such a noise,
- That he pleased both the girls and boys,
- They all stopped to hear him play,
- 'Over the hills and far away'.
- Tom with his pipe did play with such skill
- That those who heard him could never keep still;
- As soon as he played they began for to dance,
- Even the pigs on their hind legs would after him prance.
- As Dolly was milking her cow one day,
- Tom took his pipe and began to play;
- So Dolly and the cow danced 'The Cheshire Round',
- Till the pail was broken and the milk ran on the ground.
- He met old Dame Trot with a basket of eggs,
- He used his pipe and she used her legs;
- She danced about till the eggs were all broke,
- She began for to fret, but he laughed at the joke.
- Tom saw a cross fellow was beating an ass,
- Heavy laden with pots, pans, dishes, and glass;
- He took out his pipe and he played them a tune,
- And the poor donkey's load was lightened full soon.
Gallery[]
“Tom, Tom, the Piper’s Son,” illustration from The National Nursery Book, ca. 1870.
“Tom, the Piper’s Son,” illustration by A. B. Houghton from National Nursery Rhymes and Nursery Songs, 1872.