"Aiken Drum" is a popular Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 folk song and nursery rhyme

Nursery rhyme

The term nursery rhyme is used for "traditional" poems for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the 19th century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.-Lullabies:...

, which probably has its origins in a Jacobite

Jacobitism

Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...

 song about the Battle of Sheriffmuir

Battle of Sheriffmuir

The Battle of Sheriffmuir was an engagement in 1715 at the height of the Jacobite rebellion in England and Scotland.-History:John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar, standard-bearer for the Jacobite cause in Scotland, mustered Highland chiefs, and on 6 September declared James Francis Edward Stuart as King...

 (1715). It has a Roud Folk Song Index

Roud Folk Song Index

The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of 300,000 references to over 21,600 songs that have been collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world...

 number of 2571.

Aiken Drum is Scots for "oaken drum", i.e., a drum made from the wood of an oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

 (aik) tree. . The word aiken is now obsolete.

Lyrics

Modern versions of the lyrics include:

There was a man lived in the moon, lived in the moon, lived in the moon,
There was a man lived in the moon,
And his name was Aiken Drum.

Chorus
And he played upon a ladle, a ladle, a ladle,
And he played upon a ladle,
and his name was Aiken Drum.

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

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

And his buttons made of penny loaves, of penny loaves, of penny loaves,
And his buttons made of penny loaves,
And his name was Aiken Drum.

And his waistcoat was made of crust pies, of crust pies, of crust pies,
And his waistcoat was made of crust pies,
And his name was Aiken Drum.

And his breeches made of haggis bags, of haggis bags, of haggis bags,
And his breeches made of haggis bags,
And his name was Aiken Drum.

Origins

The rhyme was first printed by James Hogg

James Hogg

James Hogg was a Scottish poet and novelist who wrote in both Scots and English.-Early life:James Hogg was born in a small farm near Ettrick, Scotland in 1770 and was baptized there on 9 December, his actual date of birth having never been recorded...

 in Jacobite Reliques

Jacobite Reliques

Hogg's Jacobite Reliques is a collection of songs related to the Jacobite risings, compiled by James Hogg on commission from the Highland Society of London in 1817. Most of the songs in the collection are Jacobite, and a minority are Whig...

in 1820, as a Jacobite

Jacobitism

Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...

 song about the Battle of Sheriffmuir

Battle of Sheriffmuir

The Battle of Sheriffmuir was an engagement in 1715 at the height of the Jacobite rebellion in England and Scotland.-History:John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar, standard-bearer for the Jacobite cause in Scotland, mustered Highland chiefs, and on 6 September declared James Francis Edward Stuart as King...

 (1715) which includes the words:

Ken you how a Whig can fight,
Aikendrum, Aikendrum?
Ken you how a Whig can fight, Aikendrum?
He can fight the hero bright,
With swift heels and armour light,
And his wind of heav'nly might, Aikendrum, Aikendrum!
Is not Rowley in the right, Aikendrum?

Sir Walter Scott in his novel The Antiquary

The Antiquary

The Antiquary is a novel by Sir Walter Scott about several characters including an antiquary: an amateur historian, archaeologist and collector of items of dubious antiquity. Although he is the eponymous character, he is not necessarily the hero, as many of the characters around him undergo far...

(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.

Aiken Drum is also the name given by William Nicholson to the fairy

Fairy

A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...

 the "Brounie o Blednoch" (1825) in the poem of that name. 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 before this point, and it may have been borrowed from the existing song.

Performances

The Scottish folk group, The Singing Kettle

The Singing Kettle

The Singing Kettle is a folk music group who are well known for performing traditional children's songs with a distinctly Scottish flair.-Career:...

, performs this song for children in a 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

Singalong Songs from Scotland

The Singing Kettle: Singalong Songs From Scotland is a record containing 17 children’s songs. This is The Singing Kettle's first recording to be widely distributed outside the United Kingdom. The songs are performed by Cilla Fisher, Artie Trezise and Gary Coupland...

, produced in 2003 for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.

Popular Armenian-Canadian children's singer Raffi

Raffi (musician)

Raffi Cavoukian, CM, OBC , better known by his stage name Raffi, is a Canadian-Armenian singer-songwriter, author, essayist and lecturer...

 played a version of the song, called "Aikendrum," on his album Singable Songs for the Very Young

Singable Songs for the Very Young

Singable Songs for the Very Young is a music album by Canadian children's entertainer Raffi, released in 1976.The album contains a mixture of traditional and original songs. Simple instrument arrangements and clear, forward vocals make each track easy to follow and sing along with. Despite its...

(1976).