Old macdonald is a very well-known kids song. It is one of favorites of children not only in the US but also in many parts all over the world. The lyrics of this song have been translated in plenty of languages such as Chinese, Danish, etc. However, it is still sung as a children's song to the same tune.
This song has a lot of versions. And we will find more about them.
The earliest known of "Old macdonald had a farm" is the version in 1917 book Tommy's Tunes:
Old Macdougal had a farm in Ohio-i-o,
And on that farm he had some dogs in Ohio-i-o,
With a bow-wow here, and a bow-wow there,
Here a bow, there a wow, everywhere a bow-wow.
Two of these variants were released in Vance Randolph's Ozark Folksongs in 1980. One was "Old Missouri" published in 1922, a version that names various parts of the mule rather than various animals:
Old Missouri had a mule, he-hi-he-hi-ho,
And on this mule there were two ears, he-hi-he-hi-ho.
With a flip-flop here and a flip-flop there,
And here a flop and there a flop and everywhere a flip-flop
Old Missouri had a mule, he-hi-he-hi-ho.
Another version of the song, called "The Farmyard" was collected in 1908 from a 74-year-old Mrs. Goodey at Marylebone Workhouse, London:
Up was I on my fa-ther's farm
On a May day morn-ing ear-ly;
Feed-ing of my fa-ther's cows
On a May day morn-ing ear-ly,
With a moo moo here and a moo moo there,
Here a moo, there a moo, Here a pret-ty moo.
Six pret-ty maids come and gang a-long o' me
To the mer-ry green fields of the farm-yard.
The earliest recorded member of this family of songs is a number from an opera named The Kingdom of the Birds, published in 1719-1720:
In the Fields in Frost and Snows,
Watching late and early;
There I keep my Father's Cows,
There I Milk 'em Yearly:
Booing here, Booing there,
Here a Boo, there a Boo, every where a Boo,
We defy all Care and Strife,
In a Charming Country-Life.
This song has a lot of versions. And we will find more about them.
The earliest known of "Old macdonald had a farm" is the version in 1917 book Tommy's Tunes:
Old Macdougal had a farm in Ohio-i-o,
And on that farm he had some dogs in Ohio-i-o,
With a bow-wow here, and a bow-wow there,
Here a bow, there a wow, everywhere a bow-wow.
Two of these variants were released in Vance Randolph's Ozark Folksongs in 1980. One was "Old Missouri" published in 1922, a version that names various parts of the mule rather than various animals:
Old Missouri had a mule, he-hi-he-hi-ho,
And on this mule there were two ears, he-hi-he-hi-ho.
With a flip-flop here and a flip-flop there,
And here a flop and there a flop and everywhere a flip-flop
Old Missouri had a mule, he-hi-he-hi-ho.
Another version of the song, called "The Farmyard" was collected in 1908 from a 74-year-old Mrs. Goodey at Marylebone Workhouse, London:
Up was I on my fa-ther's farm
On a May day morn-ing ear-ly;
Feed-ing of my fa-ther's cows
On a May day morn-ing ear-ly,
With a moo moo here and a moo moo there,
Here a moo, there a moo, Here a pret-ty moo.
Six pret-ty maids come and gang a-long o' me
To the mer-ry green fields of the farm-yard.
The earliest recorded member of this family of songs is a number from an opera named The Kingdom of the Birds, published in 1719-1720:
In the Fields in Frost and Snows,
Watching late and early;
There I keep my Father's Cows,
There I Milk 'em Yearly:
Booing here, Booing there,
Here a Boo, there a Boo, every where a Boo,
We defy all Care and Strife,
In a Charming Country-Life.
