Discover the history behind the seemingly simple question and answer nursery rhyme.

The Common Version of Baa, Baa Black Sheep

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.

Alternate Last Line

And none for the little boy / Who cries in the lane.

Alternate Version

Bah, Bah, a black Sheep, / Have you any Wool? / Yes merry have I, / Three Bags full, / One for my Master, / One for my Dame, / One for my little Boy / That lives in the lane.

The Meaning of the Rhyme

Traditionally, the nursery rhyme, Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, is seen as a complaint of the oppressed common people, the “little boy who lives in the lane,” against the King, “my Master,” who took their wool and against the oppressively wealthy nobility, “my Dame.”

The most obvious historical incidence of unrest among those oppressed by the Master and the Dame who collect all the wool dates back to 1275 when Edward I imposed an export tax that allowed him to collect a tax on any wool exported from any port in the country.

Additional History for the Rhyme

The nursery rhyme, Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, is over two-hundred years old. With the earliest known publication dated in 1744.

In 1888, the famous author, Rudyard Kipling, used the nursery rhyme as the basis for a short story aptly titled “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep.”

When the rhyme was included in Mother Goose’s Melody; the editor added the following moral which said “Bad habits are easier conquered today than tomorrow.” One wonders what bad habits have to do with the sheep and the recipients of his wool. Perhaps, the moral would have had more impact if it read “Baaaahd habits.”

Why is the Sheep Black?

Research did not turn up any information regarding why the poor sheep is black. However, it seems doubtful that black wool would be as desirable as white wool, which can be dyed to any color.

Perhaps, it simply indicates the subservient position of the serf (the black sheep) of whom the question was asked.

It also recalls the proverbial black sheep that every family has which would seem to indicate that the black sheep would not be the most trustworthy person to question.

Sources

Baring Gould, William S and Ceil. The Annotated Mother Goose. Bramhall House, 1962.Christensen, James C.

Rhyme and Reasons an Annotated Collection of Mother Goose Rhymes. The Greenwhich Workshop Press, 1997.

Learn more about another question and answer nursery rhyme read: Pussycat, Pussycat: A Picture