Aiken Drum
When my son Gregory was a small lad, we had a CD for the car which included a folk song/nursery rhyme called Aiken Drum. I had never heard this nursery rhyme before but we both enjoyed it a lot and this was the first nursery rhyme Greg learned off by heart.
The nursery rhyme originates from Scotland and is thought to date back to the Jacobite rising in 1715 and to be about the Battle of Sheriffmuir. Jacobitism was a political movement in Great Britian and Ireland between 1688 and 1746. The aim of the Jacobites was to restore the Roman Catholic Stuart King James VII of Scotland, II of England and Ireland and his heirs to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland. The song was first printed in 1820 by James Hogg in his two-volume collection of songs about the Jacobite rising called Hogg’s Jacobite Reliques.
Sir Walter Scott, a Scottish historical novelist, playwrite and poet, referred to Aiken Drum in his gothic book The Antiquary. In the book, an old beggar refers to Aiken Drum with reference to the origins of what is believed to be a Roman fort. The beggar tells the antiquary, the character after who the book is named, that the fort was actually built by him and others for Aiken Drum’s wedding. He said that one of the stone masons had cut the shape of a ladle into the stone as a joke on the bridegroom.
But who or what was Aiken Drum? He is possibly a mythical creature called a “brownie”, a kind of fairy or elf that featured in folklore around Scotland and Northern England. Aiken Drum, the brownie, is also described in the 1825 poem, “The Brounie o Blednoch”, by William Nicholson.
The song, Aiken Drum, in general is about a man who lives on the moon, plays on a ladle and whose clothing is made of food and these are the lyrics:
“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”
About Robbie Cheadle
South African author, photographer, and artist, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated seventeen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, written and illustrated four poetry books and written and illustrated one celebration of cake and fondant art book with recipes. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.
Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
You can find Robbie Cheadle’s artwork, fondant and cake artwork, and all her books on her website here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/
Social Media Links
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/robbiecheadle.bsky.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVyFo_OJLPqFa9ZhHnCfHUA
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15584446.Robbie_Cheadle
TSL Publications: https://tslbooks.uk/product-tag/robbie-cheadle/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Robbie-Cheadle/author/B01N9J62GQ
Unsplash profile: https://unsplash.com/@r_cheadle
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