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'{{short description|Children's song}} {{about||the science fiction story by Mike Resnick|Old MacDonald Had a Farm (short story)|the 1946 Noveltoons film|Old MacDonald Had a Farm (film)}} {{Infobox song | name = Old MacDonald Had a Farm | cover = | alt = | type = [[Nursery rhyme]] | written =1706 or earlier | published = 1706 |recorded=1925| writer = [[Thomas D'Urfey]] | lyricist = Frederick Thomas Nettlingham }} {{listen | filename = OldMcDonaldHadAFarm.ogg | title = "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" | description = A 1927 recording of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" by [[Gid Tanner|Gid Tanner and his Skillet Lickers]] | pos = }} "'''Old MacDonald Had a Farm'''" (sometimes shortened to '''Old MacDonald''') is a traditional [[children's music|children's song]] and folk song about a [[farmer]] and the various [[animal]]s he keeps. Each verse of the song changes the name of the animal and its respective noise. In many versions, the song is [[cumulative song|cumulative]], with the animal sounds from all the earlier verses added to each subsequent verse.<ref name=Index>{{cite web|url=http://www.csufresno.edu/folklore/ballads/R457.html|title=Old MacDonald Had a Farm|website=www.csufresno.edu}}</ref> The song was probably written by [[Thomas d'Urfey|Thomas D'Urfey]] for an opera in 1706, before existing as a folk song in Britain, Ireland and North America for hundreds of years in various forms then finally being standardized in the United States in twentieth century. It has a [[Roud Folk Song Index]] number of [[List of folk songs by Roud number|745]]. The lyrics to the standard version are as follows, with the animal sound changing with each verse: {{Farm|animal=cow|sound=moo}} {{Farm|animal=sheep|sound=baa}} {{Farm|animal=pig|sound=oink}} {{Farm|animal=horse|sound=neigh}} {{Farm|animal=hen|sound=cluck}} {{Farm|animal=rooster|sound=cock}} == History == [[File:Google Books Thomas D'Urfey.jpg|thumb|347x347px|Thomas D'Urfey (1653-1723)]] === Thomas D'Urfey === The earliest variant of the song is "In the Fields in Frost and Snow'''"''' from a 1706 [[opera]] called ''The Kingdom of the Birds'' or ''Wonders of the Sun'' written by the English writer and composer [[Thomas D'Urfey]]. This version begins:<blockquote>In the Fields in Frost and Snows,<br> Watching late and early;<br> There I keep my Father's Cows,<br> There I Milk 'em Yearly:<br> Booing here, Booing there,<br> Here a Boo, there a Boo, every where a Boo,<br> We defy all Care and Strife,<br> In a Charming Country-Life.</blockquote>It is unknown whether this was the origin of the song, or if his version of the song was based on a traditional song already in existence. Like modern versions, the animals change from verse to verse and the rhythm is very similar, but it uses a different minor key melody. D'Urfey's opera was largely unsuccessful, but the song was recycled, being expanded and printed in D'Urfey's own ''Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy'', vol. 2 (1719) and appearing in several operas throughout the eighteenth century such as [[John Gay]] and [[Johann Christoph Pepusch]]'s [[Polly (opera)|Polly]] (1729). It also appeared on song sheets for decades, so it was presumably popular among ordinary English people in the eighteenth century whether it originated from the opera or not.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-05-06|title=In the Fields in Frost and Snow|url=https://tunearch.org/wiki/Annotation:In_the_Fields_in_Frost_and_Snow|access-date=2021-03-04|website=[[The Traditional Tune Archive]]|language=en}}</ref> === Traditional English versions === Several versions were collected in [[England]] in around the turn of the twentieth century by folklorists, such as one called "The Farmyard Song" taken from a John Lloyd of [[Manchester]] in the 1880s by [[Anne Gilchrist (writer)|Anne Gilchrist]], and another called "Father's Wood I O" collected in 1906 in [[Scotter]], [[Lincolnshire]] by [[Percy Grainger]]; both of the original transcriptions of these versions are available via the [[Vaughan Williams Memorial Library]] website.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Farmyard Song (Harry Albino Manuscript Collection HHA/21/1)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/HHA/21/1|access-date=2021-02-27|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Father's Wood I O (Percy Grainger Manuscript Collection PG/5/155)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/PG/5/155|access-date=2021-02-27|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref> [[File:St Marylebone workhouse (1).jpg|thumb|301x301px|St. Marylebone Workhouse, 1867]] The famous folk song collector [[Cecil Sharp]] collected a version called "The Farmyard" in 1908 from a 74-year-old named Mrs. Goodey at [[Marylebone]] Workhouse, [[London]];<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Farmyard (Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) CJS2/10/1984)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/CJS2/10/1984|access-date=2021-02-27|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref> and the lyrics began with the following verse: <blockquote>Up was I on my father's farm<br> On a May day morning early;<br> Feeding of my father's cows<br> On a May day morning early,<br> With a moo moo here and a moo moo there,<br> Here a moo, there a moo, Here a pretty moo.<br> Six pretty maids come and gang a-long o' me<br> To the merry green fields of the farm-yard. </blockquote> Frederick Thomas Nettleingham's 1917 book ''Tommy's Tunes'', a collection of [[World War I]] era songs,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005894433 |title=Catalog Record: Tommy's tunes; a comprehensive collection of... |publisher=Catalog.hathitrust.org |access-date=25 June 2016}}</ref> includes a variant of the song called "Ohio" which lists nine species: [[horses]] (neigh-neigh), [[dogs]] (bow-wow), [[chickens|hens]] (cluck cluck), [[ducks]] (quack quack), [[cows]] (moo moo), [[pigs]] (oink oink), [[cats]] (meow meow), a [[goat]] (baa baa) and a [[donkey]] (hee-haw).<ref>"Ohio," ''Tommy's Tunes'', collected and arranged by F.&nbsp;T. Nettleingham (London, W.C. 1: Erskine Macdonald, Ltd., October 1917), [https://books.google.com/books?id=spNQAAAAYAAJ&q=Ohio pp. 84–85].</ref> The farmer is called "Old Macdougal", unlike in most other traditional versions where the farmer is unnamed.<blockquote>Old Macdougal had a farm. E-I-E-I-O,<br> And on that farm he had some dogs. E-I-E-I-O,<br> With a bow-wow here, and a bow-wow there,<br> Here a bow, there a wow, everywhere a bow-wow. </blockquote> === Traditional Ozark versions === The song seems to have been particularly popular in the [[Ozarks|Ozark]] region of the [[United States]] before being standardised. A version was published in [[Vance Randolph]]'s ''Ozark Folksongs'' (1980) called "Old Missouri", sung by a Mr. H. F. Walker of [[Missouri]] in 1922. This version names different parts of the [[mule]] rather than different animals:<blockquote>Old Missouri had a mule, he-hi-he-hi-ho,<br> And on this mule there were two ears, he-hi-he-hi-ho.<br> With a flip-flop here and a flip-flop there,<br> And here a flop and there a flop and everywhere a flip-flop<br> Old Missouri had a mule, he-hi-he-hi-ho.</blockquote>Several traditional [[Ozarks|Ozark]] versions which differ significantly from the standard version were recorded in the 1950s and 60s by different collectors; these recordings are available on the [[University of Arkansas]] online digital collection.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CONTENTdm|url=https://digitalcollections.uark.edu/digital/collection/OzarkFolkSong/id/1633|access-date=2021-02-27|website=digitalcollections.uark.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=CONTENTdm|url=https://digitalcollections.uark.edu/digital/collection/OzarkFolkSong/id/3687|access-date=2021-02-27|website=digitalcollections.uark.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=CONTENTdm|url=https://digitalcollections.uark.edu/digital/collection/OzarkFolkSong/id/292|access-date=2021-02-27|website=digitalcollections.uark.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=CONTENTdm|url=https://digitalcollections.uark.edu/digital/collection/OzarkFolkSong/id/4838|access-date=2021-02-27|website=digitalcollections.uark.edu}}</ref> [[File:TheSkilletLickers.jpg|thumb|328x328px|The [[Skillet Lickers]], c.1926]] ==Early recordings and origin of the famous version== The oldest version listed in The Traditional Ballad Index, is the Sam Patterson Trio's "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," released on the Edison label in 1925,<ref>{{cite web|title=Old macdonald had a farm|website = [[YouTube]]|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gzIs8wCt4g |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/2gzIs8wCt4g |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> followed by a version recorded by [[Skillet Lickers|Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers]] in 1927. These recordings may be the first known versions to use the now standard tune, and the first to name the farmer "Old MacDonald". It is unknown what the traditional source of these iconic elements was, but the American versions seem most similar, with their E-I-E-I-O refrains and "old" farmers mentioned in the first line. == Popular recordings and appearances in media == In 1941, [[The Walt Disney Company|Walt Disney]] produced a film called ''[[Old MacDonald Duck]]'' where [[Donald Duck]] worked on a farm and sang "Old MacDonald Had a Farm".<ref>{{Citation|last=King|first=Jack|title=Old MacDonald Duck|date=1941-09-12|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033974/|type=Family, Comedy, Animation, Short|others=Clementine, Clarence Nash|publisher=Walt Disney Productions|access-date=2021-03-09}}</ref> In 1947, [[Nat King Cole]] recorded a version on his album ''[[King Cole for Kids]].'' The song was played (with some cast participation) in the 1951 movie ''[[The Lavender Hill Mob]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=IMDb Lavender Hill Mob soundtracks|website=[[IMDb]]|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044829/soundtrack|access-date=3 February 2017}}</ref> A variant was used in a [[1952 United States presidential election|1952]] campaign ad for [[Adlai Stevenson II]]'s unsuccessful campaign for [[President of the United States|President]] with slightly altered lyrics promoting the Stevenson campaign's appeal to farmers.<ref>{{cite web|date=29 March 1952|title=Commercials - 1952 - Let's Not Forget the Farmer|url=http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1952/lets-not-forget-the-farmer#3950|access-date=25 June 2016|publisher=[[The Living Room Candidate]]}}</ref> [[Bing Crosby]] included the song in a medley on his album ''[[Join Bing and Sing Along]]'' (1959), then [[Frank Sinatra]] ([[Capitol Records|Capitol]], 1960), [[Elvis Presley]] (in his movie ''[[Double Trouble (1967 film)|Double Trouble]]'', 1967), and [[Ella Fitzgerald]] (on her 1967 Verve album ''[[Whisper Not (Ella Fitzgerald album)|Whisper Not]]'') recorded versions.<ref>{{cite web|last=alan moores|date=10 July 2009|title=Old MacDonald Had A Farm - Spike Jones|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlQ8dDJK0Ww |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/GlQ8dDJK0Ww |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Wonderful World! {{pipe}} The Kelly Family Album {{pipe}} Yahoo! Music|url=http://new.music.yahoo.com/kelly-family/albums/wonderful-world--16895845|access-date=19 September 2011|publisher=New.music.yahoo.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Old MacDonald {{pipe}} Ella...of Thee I Swing|website = [[YouTube]]|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHb5sLLYV_U}}</ref> In 1959, [[David Seville and the Chipmunks]] sing a cha-cha version of the song on the album "[[Let's All Sing with The Chipmunks]]". In 1985, the Kidsongs Kids and a scarecrow sing it in the [[Kidsongs]] video "A Day at Old MacDonald's Farm". Perhaps the most famous version was by the Baby Einstein Music Box Orchestra for the Baby Einstein video, Baby MacDonald. This version of the song plays in the Animals segment of the video. In [[Thomas and the Magic Railroad]], a song which Diesel 10 sings the same tune to Old Macdonald is "Old MacDiesel had a Plan." During a performance at the 2014 [[Ultra Music Festival]] in [[Miami]], electronic musician [[deadmau5]] played a remix of the [[Martin Garrix]] song "[[Animals (Martin Garrix song)|Animals]]" that had its [[Drop (music)|drop]] changed to follow the tune of the song.<ref name="djmag-mau5troll">{{cite web|title=Deadmau5 trolls Martin Garrix live at Ultra|url=http://www.djmag.com/node/45302|access-date=March 31, 2014|work=DJMag}}</ref> On an episode of [[Cheers|''Cheers'']], "Do Not Forsake Me O' My Postman", Sy Flembeck (portrayed by [[John Mahoney]]) used this melody as the bar's [[jingle]], but the words he made up were, ''"Beer and Pretzels that's our game, C-H-E-R-S"''. ==Translations== {{more citations needed section|date=October 2017}} The lyrics have been translated from English into other languages and modified slightly to fit rhythmic and cultural requirements. In most languages below, it is still sung as a children's song to the same tune. * In [[Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]] the song is called ''Ou Oom Klasie het 'n plaas'' (meaning "Old Uncle Claus has a farm").<ref>{{youtube|qSRC2RVpVDU|Ou Oom Klasie}}</ref> * An [[Egyptian Arabic]] version of the song exists, with ''Geddo Ali'' (in Egyptian Arabic: جدو على, meaning "Grandpa Ali") as the farmer character. * In [[Armenian language|Armenian]], there is a translation under copyright by Karenn Presti published in 2017's ''My First Armenian Songbook.'' * In [[Chinese language|Chinese]], there are several versions of the song with same tune. The most popular is ''Wáng lǎo xiānshēng yǒu kuài dì'' (in Chinese: 王老先生有块地, meaning "Old Mr. Wang had some land"). * In [[Czech language|Czech]], it is ''Strýček Donald farmu měl'' (meaning "Uncle Donald had a farm"). * In [[Danish language|Danish]], it is ''Jens Hansen havde en bondegård'' (meaning "Jens Hansen had a farm").<ref>{{cite web|title=Jens Hansen havde en bondegård|url=http://sangetilboern.dk/jens-hansen-havde-en-bondegard/|website=Danske børnesange|access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> * In [[Finnish language|Finnish]], it is ''Piippolan vaarilla oli talo'' (meaning "Grandpa Piippola had a house").<ref>{{cite web|title=Finnish Children Songs - Piippolan vaarilla oli talo (English translation)|url=https://lyricstranslate.com/en/piippolan-vaarilla-oli-talo-grandpa-piippola-had-house.html|website=Lyrics Translate|access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> * In [[French language|French]], it is ''Dans la ferme de Mathurin'' (meaning "In Mathurin's farm").<ref>{{Citation | author1=Adams, Pam | author2=Lazure, Jacques | title=Sur la ferme à Mathurin | date=1990 | publisher=Child's Play (International) | isbn=978-0-85953-461-1 }}</ref> * In [[German language|German]], it is ''Onkel Jörg hat einen Bauernhof'' (meaning "Uncle Jörg has a farm").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kinder-lieder.com/onkel_joerg_hat_einen_bauernhof.html |title=Onkel Jörg hat einen Bauernhof|access-date=24 August 2016}}</ref> An alternative version is ''Old MacDonald hat 'ne Farm'' (short for ''eine Farm''), keeping the English name of the farmer, and translating the rest quite literally (meaning "Old MacDonald has a farm"). * In [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], it is ''LaDod Moshe hayta chava'' (in Hebrew: לדוד משה הייתה חווה, meaning "Uncle Moses had a farm"). This version was translated by Avraham Broshi.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hebrew Children Songs - Ledod Moshe Hayta Chava (לדוד משה היתה חווה) (English translation)|url=https://lyricstranslate.com/en/ledod-moshe-hayta-chava-%D7%9C%D7%93%D7%95%D7%93-%D7%9E%D7%A9%D7%94-%D7%94%D7%99%D7%AA%D7%94-%D7%97%D7%95%D7%95%D7%94-uncle-moses-had-farm.html|website=Lyrics Translate|access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> * In [[Italian language|Italian]], it is ''Nella vecchia fattoria'' (meaning "In the old farm"). The farmer is ''Zio Tobia'' (meaning "Uncle Tobias").<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=877|website=Mama Lisa's World of Children and International Culture|title=Songs & Rhymes From Italy|access-date=30 March 2018}}</ref> * In one [[Japanese language|Japanese]] version, it is ''Yukai-na Makiba'' (in Japanese: ゆかいな牧場, meaning "Happy farm"). Ichiro, Jiro, and Saburo are the farmers who have animals. ** In another Japanese version, it is ''Makku no Ojisan'' (in Japanese: マックのおじさん, meaning "Old man Mac"), sounds playfully like the Western version. ** In [[Kansai dialect|Kansai Japanese]], there is a parody song called ''Osaka Umaimon no Uta'' (in Japanese: 大阪うまいもんの歌, meaning "Yummy foods in Osaka") made by an Osakan puppet play troupe in 1993. * In [[Korean language|Korean]], it is ''Geulae geulaeseo'' (in Korean: '그래 그래서', meaning "Yes, so"). In this version, the farmer "Old Mr. Park" has a farm and animals. * In [[Malay language|Malay]], it is ''Pak Atan Ada Ladang'' (meaning "Uncle Atan had a farm"). * In [[Persian language|Persian]], it is ''پیرمرد مهربون'' (meaning "Kind old man"). * In [[Polish language|Polish]], it is ''Stary Donald farmę miał'' (meaning "Old Donald had a farm") or ''Pan McDonald farmę miał'' (meaning "Mr. McDonald had a farm"). * In [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], the most common version is ''Na quinta do tio Manel'' (meaning "On the farm of Uncle Manel"), with alternate versions being ''Seu Lobato tinha um sítio'' (meaning "Mr. Lobato had a site") or even ''O velho McDonald tinha uma fazenda'' (meaning "Old MacDonald had a farm"). * In [[Russian language|Russian]], unofficial variation:"Дед МакДональд напевал И-ай,и-ай,О!" Translated by Leonid Zuborev cyril.: Леонид Зуборев<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stihi.ru/2017/12/05/2021|title = Дед МакДональд напевал Old MacDonald had a farm (Леонид Зуборев Зубарев) / Стихи.ру}}</ref> * In [[Serbian language|Serbian]], it is, "Na salašu dede mog" (meaning "On my grandpa's farm"). ** In another Serbian version, it is ''Стари Мек Доналд има фарму'' (meaning "Old Mac has a farm"). * In [[Slovene language|Slovene]], it is ''Na kmetiji je lepo'' (meaning "On a farm it is beautiful"). It can be a children's song, but in some versions of the song, the lyrics have been made from childish into vulgar, like a drinking song. * Some [[Spanish language|Spanish]] versions include ''En la granja de Pepito'' (meaning "On Pepito's farm"), ''El Viejo MacDonald tenía una granja'' (meaning "Old MacDonald had a farm"), ''El granjero tenía un campo'' (meaning "The farmer had a field"), or ''En la vieja factoría'' (meaning "In the old factory").<ref>{{cite web|title=Canción infantil de animales: En la granja de pepito|url=https://www.conmishijos.com/ocio-en-casa/letras-de-canciones/canciones-en-la-granja-de-pepito.html|website=Conmishijos|access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref> * In [[Swedish language|Swedish]], it is ''Per Olsson hade en bonnagård'' (meaning "Per Olsson had a farm"). * * In [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]], it is ''Дід Іван корівку має'' (meaning "Uncle Ivan has a cow"). * In [[Urdu language|Urdu]], it is ''عبد اللہ کا تھا ایک گاؤں'' (meaning "Abdullah had a village"). ==See also== {{Portal|Children's literature}} *[[List of animal sounds]] *[[Mary Had a Little Lamb]] ==References== {{Commons category|Old MacDonald Had a Farm}} {{Reflist}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Year of song unknown]] [[Category:American folk songs]] [[Category:Elvis Presley songs]] [[Category:Frank Sinatra songs]] [[Category:American children's songs]] [[Category:Traditional children's songs]] [[Category:Songs about animals]] [[Category:Songs about farmers]] [[Category:Songs about fictional male characters]] [[Category:Fictional farms]] [[Category:Fictional farmers]] [[Category:American nursery rhymes]] [[Category:Cumulative songs]] [[Category:Songwriter unknown]] [[Category:1917 songs]]'