The Muffin Man: Difference between revisions
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[[Victorian era|Victorian]] households had many of their fresh foods delivered; muffins would be delivered door-to-door by a muffin man. The "muffin" in question was the bread product known in the U.S.A. as [[English muffin]]s, not the much sweeter cupcake-shaped [[Muffin|American variety]].<ref>K. F. Kiple, and K. C. Ornelas, ''The Cambridge World History of Food'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), p. 1224.</ref> [[Drury Lane]] is a thoroughfare bordering [[Covent Garden]] in [[London]]. |
[[Victorian era|Victorian]] households had many of their fresh foods delivered; muffins would be delivered door-to-door by a muffin man. The "muffin" in question was the bread product known in the U.S.A. as [[English muffin]]s, not the much sweeter cupcake-shaped [[Muffin|American variety]].<ref>K. F. Kiple, and K. C. Ornelas, ''The Cambridge World History of Food'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), p. 1224.</ref> [[Drury Lane]] is a thoroughfare bordering [[Covent Garden]] in [[London]]. |
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The rhyme and game appear to have spread to other countries in the mid-nineteenth century, particularly the USA and the Netherlands.<ref name=Opie1985/> As with many traditional songs, there are regional variations in wording. Another popular version substitutes "Dorset Lane" for Drury Lane.<ref name=Opie1985/><ref>In the Dutch version of the nursery rhyme, [[mussel]]s are substituted for muffins. The first line runs: "Zeg ken jij de mosselman". As well, the Dutch version may substitute "Zuiderzee" for Drury Lane.</ref> |
The rhyme and game appear to have spread to other countries in the mid-nineteenth century, particularly the USA and the Netherlands.<ref name=Opie1985/> As with many traditional songs, there are regional variations in wording. Another popular version substitutes "Dorset Lane" for Drury Lane. not blueberry lane! <ref name=Opie1985/><ref>In the Dutch version of the nursery rhyme, [[mussel]]s are substituted for muffins. The first line runs: "Zeg ken jij de mosselman". As well, the Dutch version may substitute "Zuiderzee" for Drury Lane.</ref> |
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==The game== |
==The game== |
Revision as of 14:12, 30 March 2015
"The Muffin Man" | |
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![]() A Muffin man, illustrated in a Punch cartoon from 1892 | |
Song | |
Written | England |
"The Muffin Man" is a traditional nursery rhyme or children's song of English origin. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 7922.
Lyrics
The most widely known lyrics are as follows:
Do [or "Oh, do"] you know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Do you know the muffin man,
Who lives on Drury Lane?
Yes [or "Oh, yes"], I know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Yes, I know the muffin man,
Who lives on Drury Lane.[1]
Origins and meaning
The rhyme is first recorded in a British manuscript of around 1820 preserved in the Bodleian Library with lyrics very similar to those used today:
Do you know the muffin man?
The muffin man, the muffin man.
Do you know the muffin man
Who lives on Drury Lane?[1]
Victorian households had many of their fresh foods delivered; muffins would be delivered door-to-door by a muffin man. The "muffin" in question was the bread product known in the U.S.A. as English muffins, not the much sweeter cupcake-shaped American variety.[2] Drury Lane is a thoroughfare bordering Covent Garden in London.
The rhyme and game appear to have spread to other countries in the mid-nineteenth century, particularly the USA and the Netherlands.[1] As with many traditional songs, there are regional variations in wording. Another popular version substitutes "Dorset Lane" for Drury Lane. not blueberry lane! [1][3]
The game
Iona and Peter Opie observed that, although the rhyme had remained fairly consistent, the game associated with it has changed at least three times including: as a forfeit game, a guessing game and a dancing ring.[1]
In The Young Lady's Book, published in 1888, Mrs Henry Mackarness described the game as:
The first player turns to the one next her [sic], and to some sing-song tune exclaims:
- "Do you know the muffin man? The muffin man, the muffin man.
- Do you know the muffin man who lives on Drury Lane?"
The person addressed replies to the same tune:
- "Yes, I know the muffin man. The muffin man, the muffin man.
- Oh, yes, I know the muffin man, who lives on Drury Lane."
Upon this they both exclaim:
- "Then two of us know the muffin man, the muffin man," &c.
No. 2 then turns to No. 3, repeating the same words, who replies in the same way, only saying, "Three of us know the muffin man," &c. No. 3 then turns to No. 4, and so on round the room, the same question and answer being repeated, the chorus only varied by the addition of one more number each time.[4]
Verses beyond those described in the book have been sung. For example, the song may be concluded, "We all know the Muffin Man..."
Notes
- ^ a b c d e I. Opie and P. Opie, The Singing Game (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985), pp. 379-82.
- ^ K. F. Kiple, and K. C. Ornelas, The Cambridge World History of Food (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), p. 1224.
- ^ In the Dutch version of the nursery rhyme, mussels are substituted for muffins. The first line runs: "Zeg ken jij de mosselman". As well, the Dutch version may substitute "Zuiderzee" for Drury Lane.
- ^ Mackarness, Matilda Anne Planche (1888) The Young Lady's Book: A Manual of Amusements, Exercises, Studies, and Pursuits. London: George Routledge and Sons. pp. 278–280. Full book from Google Books.