Kid's Songs, Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes For Your Little Stars

Discount Coupon:
Coupon must be applied after at least one item has been added to the basket

There was an old man lived in the moon,
Lived in the moon, lived in the moon
There was an old man lived in the moon,
And his name was Aiken Drum

And he played upon a ladle,
A ladle, a ladle
He played upon a ladle,
And his name was Aiken Drum

And his hat was made of good cream cheese,
Good cream cheese, good cream cheese,
His hat was made of good cream cheese
His name was Aiken Drum

And he played upon a ladle,
A ladle, a ladle
He played upon a ladle,
And his name was Aiken Drum

And his coat was made of good roast beef,
Good roast beef, good roast beef,
And his coat was made of good roast beef,
And his name was Aiken Drum

And he played upon a ladle,
A ladle, a ladle
He played upon a ladle,
And his name was Aiken Drum

And his buttons were made of penny loaves,
Penny loaves, penny loaves,
His buttons were made of penny loaves,
And his name was Aiken Drum

And he played upon a ladle,
A ladle, a ladle
He played upon a ladle,
And his name was Aiken Drum

And his waistcoat was made of crusts of pies
Crusts of pies, crusts of pies
And his waistcoat was made of crusts of pies
And his name was Aiken Drum

And he played upon a ladle,
A ladle, a ladle
He played upon a ladle,
And his name was Aiken Drum

There was an old man lived in the moon,
Lived in the moon, lived in the moon
There was an old man lived in the moon,
And his name was Aiken Drum

And he played upon a ladle,
A ladle, a ladle
He played upon a ladle,
And his name was Aiken Drum

And he played upon a ladle,
A ladle, a ladle
He played upon a ladle,
And his name was Aiken Drum

---

Origins of "Aiken Drum"

The origins of this Scottish song are unknown. In 1842, James Orchard Halliwell published an early version:

There was a man in our toone,
In our toone, in our toone,
There was a man in our toone,
And his name was Billy Pod;

And he played upon an old razor,
An old razor, an old razor,
And he played upon an old razor,
With my fiddle fiddle fe fum fo.

And his hat it was made of the good roast beef,
The good roast beef, the good roast beef
And his hat it was made of the good roast beef,
And his name was Billy Pod;

And he played upon an old razor,
An old razor, an old razor,
And he played upon an old razor,
With my fiddle fiddle fe fum fo.

And his coat it was made of the good fat tripe,
The good fat tripe, the good fat tripe,
And his coat it was made of the good fat tripe,
And his name was Billy Pod;

And he played upon an old razor,
An old razor, an old razor,
And he played upon an old razor,
With my fiddle fiddle fe fum fo.

And his breeks they were made of the bawbie baps,
The bawbie baps, the bawbie baps.
And his breeks they were made of the bawbie baps,
And his name was Billy Pod;

And he played upon an old razor,
An old razor, an old razor,
And he played upon an old razor,
With my fiddle fiddle fe fum fo.

And there was a man in t'ither toone,
In t'ither toone, in t'ither toone,
And there was a man in t'ither toone,
And his name was Edrin Drum;

And he played upon an old laadle,
An old laadle, an old laadle,
And he played upon an old laadle,
With my fiddle, fiddle fe fum fo.

And he eat up all the good roast beef,
The good roast beef, the good roast beef.
And he eat up all the good roast beef,
And his name was Edrin Drum;

And he played upon an old laadle,
An old laadle, an old laadle,
And he played upon an old laadle,
With my fiddle, fiddle fe fum fo.

And he eat up all the good fat tripe,
The good fat tripe, the good fat tripe,
And he eat up all the good fat tripe,
And his name was Edrin Drum;

And he played upon an old laadle,
An old laadle, an old laadle,
And he played upon an old laadle,
With my fiddle, fiddle fe fum fo.

And he eat up all the bawbie baps,
The bawbie baps, the bawbie baps,
And he eat up all the bawbie baps,
And his name was Edrin Drum.

And he played upon an old laadle,
An old laadle, an old laadle,
And he played upon an old laadle,
With my fiddle, fiddle fe fum fo.

The rhyme "Aikendrum" was first printed by James Hogg in "Jacobite Reliques" in 1820, as a Jacobite song about the Battle of Sheriffmuir (1715):

Ken ye how a Whig can fight, Aikendrum, Aikendrum
Ken ye how a Whig can fight, Aikendrum
He can fight the hero bright, with his heels and armour tight
And the wind of heavenly night, Aikendrum, Aikendrum
Is not Rowley in the right, Aikendrum!

Did ye hear of Sunderland, Aikendrum, Aikendrum
Did ye hear of Sunderland, Aikendrum
That man of high command, who has sworn to clear the land
He has vanished from our strand, Aikendrum, Aikendrum,
Or the eel has ta'en the sand, Aikendrum.

Donald's running 'round and 'round, Aikendrum, Aikendrum,
Donald's running 'round and 'round, Aikendrum
But the Chief cannot be found, and the Dutchmen they are drowned
And King Jaime he is crowned, Aikendrum, Aikendrum
But the dogs will get a stound, Aikendrum.

We have heard of Whigs galore, Aikendrum, Aikendrum
We have heard of Whigs galore, Aikendrum
But we've sought the country o'er, with cannon and claymore,
And still they are before, Aikendrum, Aikendrum
We may seek forevermore, Aikendrum!

Ken ye how to gain a Whig, Aikendrum, Aikendrum
Ken ye how to gain a Whig, Aikendrum
Look Jolly, blythe and big, take his ain blest side and prig,
And the poor, worm-eaten Whig, Aikendrum, Aikendrum
For opposition's sake you will win!

Hoggs "Jacobite Relics" also contains the following song about a man who came "from the moon". This song dates back to the English Civil War (1642-1651), when the "Man in the moon" referred to King Charles I.

There was a man came from the moon
And landed in our town, Sir
And he has sworn a solemn oath
That all but knaves must down, sir
He had an axe unto his hand
A rope around his crap, sir
And he has sworn a solemn oath
That all but rogues must strap, sir

And first he brought a dozen'd drone
And raised him up on high, sir
Who knew not what was right or wrong
And neither buff nor sty, sir
And then he took a maudlin wight
A horse-couper by name, sir
And after him, two shallow knights
To help to play the game, sir

A duke that daddled long in blood,
A dog without the nose, sir
And four braw Norland piper's sons
From traitor race that rose, sir
And when this dogs game will be done
There is no-one can tell, sir
Or whether this man came from the moon
Or if he came from hell, sir.

Aiken Drum is the name given by William Nicholson to the fairy in his poem, "The Brownie o' Blednoch", published in "The Dumfries Magazine" in October 1825. According to the poem, Aiken Drum would come to houses at night and complete any work that remained unfinished, in return for a dish of cream. However, much like J.K.Rowling's house elves, if he was offered clothes, he would reluctantly take them and never come back.

The Brownie o' Blednoch

There cam a strange wight to our town-en',
And the fient a body bid him ken;
He tirled na land, but he glided ben
Wi' a dreary, dreary hum.

His face did glare like the glow o' the west
When the drumlie clud has it half o'ercast;
Or the struggling moon when she's sair distrest-
O sirs! 'twas Aiken-drum.

I trow the bauldest stood aback,
Wi' a gape and a glower till their lugs did crack,
As the shapeless phantom mum'ling spak',
"Ha'e ye wark for Aiken-drum?"

O had ye seen the bairns' fright
As they stared at this wild and unyirthly wight
As he stauket in 'tween the dark and the light
And graned out, "Aiken-drum!"

"Sauf us!" quoth Jock, "d'ye see sic een;"
Cries Kate, "there's a hole where a nose should h'ae been,
And the mouth's like a gash which a horn had ri'en;
Wow! keep's frae Aiken-drum!"

The black dog growling cowered his tail,
The lassie swarfed, loot fa' the pail;
Rob's lingle brak as he men't the flail
At the sight o' Aiken-drum.

His matted head on his breast did rest,
A lang blue beard wan'ered down like a vest;
But the glare o' his e'e nae bard hath exprest,
Nor the skimes o' Aiken-drum

Roun' his hairy form there was naething seen
But a philabeg o' rashes green,
And his knotted knees played aye knoit between;
What a sight was Aiken-drum!

On his wauchie arms three claws did meet
As they trailed on the grun' by his taeless feet;
E'en the auld gudeman himsel' did sweat
To look at Aiken-drum.

But he drew a score, himsel did sain;
The auld wife tried, but her tongue was gane;
While the younger ane closer clasped her wean
And turned frae Aiken-drum.

But the canny auld wife cam' till her breath,
And she deemed the Bible might ward aff scaith,
Be it benshee, bogle, ghaist or wraith-
But it fear't na Aiken-drum.

"His presence protect us!" quoth the auld gudeman';
"What wad ye, where won ye-by see or by lan'?
I conjure ye-speak-by the Beuk in my han'!"
What a grane ga'e Aiken-drum!

"I lived in a lan' where we saw nae sky,
I dwalt in a spot where a burn rins na by;
But I'se dwall now wi' you if ye like to try-
Ha'e ye wark for Aiken-drum?

"I'll shiel a' your sheep i' the morning sune,
I'll bury your crap by the light o' the moon,
And baa the bairns wi' an unken'd tune
If ye'll keep puir Aiken-drum.

"I'll loup the linn when ye canna wade,
I'll kirn the kirn, and I'll turn the bread,
And the wildest fillie that ever ran rede I'se tame't,"
quoth Aiken-drum

"To wear the tod frae the flock on the fell-
To gather the dew frae the heather bell-
And to look at my face in your clear crystal well
Might gi'e pleasure to Aiken-drum."

"I'se seek nae guids, gear, bond nor mark;
I use nae beddin', shoon nor sark;
But a cogfu' o' brose 'tween the light and dark
Is the wage o' Aiken-drum."

Quoth the wylie auld wife, "The thing speaks weel;
Our workers are scant-we ha'e routh o' meal;
Gif he'll do as he says-be he man, be he de'il,
Wow! we'll try this Aiken-drum."

But the wenches skirled, "He's no be here!
His eldritch look gars us swarf wi' fear,
And the fient a ane will the house come near
If they think but o' Aiken-drum."

"For a foul and a stalwart ghaist is he,
Despair sits brooding aboon his e'e bree,
And unchancie to light o' a maiden's e'e
Is the grim glower o' Aiken-drum."

"Puir slipmalabors! ye ha'e little wit;
Is't na hallowmas now, and the crap out yet?"
Sae she silenced them a wi' a stamp o' her fit;
"Sit yer wa's down, Aiken-drum."

Roun' a' that side what wark was dune
By the streamer's gleam or the glance o' the moon;
A word or a wish-and the brownie cam' sune,
Sae helpfu' was Aiken-drum.

But he slade aye awa' ere the sun was up;
He ne'er could look straught on Macmillan's cup;
They watched - but nane saw him his brose ever sup
Nor a spune sought Aiken-drum

On Blednoch banks and on crystal Cree
For mony a day a toiled wight was he;
While the bairns played harmless roun' his knee,
Sae social was Aiken-drum.

But a new-made wife, fu' o' rippish freaks,
Fond o' a' things feat for the first five weeks
Laid a mouldy pair o' her ain man's breeks
By the brose o' Aiken-drum.

Let the learned decide when they convene
What spell was him and the breeks between;
For frae that day forth he was nae mair seen,
And sair missed was Aiken-drum.

He was heard by a herd gaun by the Thrieve,
Crying, "Lang, lang now may I greet and grieve;
For alas! I ha'e gotten baith fee and leave,
O luckless Aiken-drum!"

Awa'! ye wrangling sceptic tribe!
Wi' your pros and your cons wad ye decide
'Gainst the 'sponsible voice o' a hale country-side
On the facts 'bout Aiken-drum?

Though the "Brownie o' Blednoch" lang be gane,
The mark o' his feet's left mony a stane;
And mony a wife and mony a wean
Tell the feats o' Aiken-drum.

E'en now light loons that jibe and sneer
At spiritual guests and a' sic gear
At the Glasnoch mill ha'e swat wi' fear
And looked roun' for Aiken-drum.

And guidly folks ha'e gotten a fright
When the moon was set and the stars gi'ed nae light
At the roaring linn in the howe o' the night
Wi' sughs like Aiken-drum.

Aiken Drum is also mentioned in Sir Walter Scott's 1816 novel, "The Antiquary". An old beggar claims that a building thought to be an old Roman fort was actually built by him and others for "auld Aiken Drum's bridal" and that the shape of a ladle was cut into the stone as a joke. This suggests that the rhyme was well enough known by 1816 for the joke to be understood.

Origins text ©2011 TwinkleTrax Children's Songs.