“Aiken Drum” is a very well known Scottish folk song and nursery rhyme. The song is about a man who lives in the moon and his body parts are made of different foods. “Aiken Drum” probably has its origins in a Jacobite song about the Battle of Sheriffmuir of 1715. The nursery rhyme was first printed in 1820 in Scotland in James Hogg’s Jacobite Reliques. In 1976, Raffi, a popular Armenian-Canadian children’s singer, played a version of the song called “Aikendrum » on his album Singable Songs for the Very Young. In his version, Raffi replaces the various foods with ones that would be more familiar: spaghetti for Aikendrum’s hair, meatballs for his eyes, cheese for his nose, and pizza for his mouth.
“Aiken drum” is a strange, but very funny nursery rhyme that is the perfect accompaniment to a food and nutrition unit in preschool and elementary grades. We can also use this song to learn parts of the face. Children will love singing along to this old classic and creating Aikendrum’s face!
Version from 1899:
Aiken Drum
Languages: English, French
Ressource Type: song, nursery rhyme
Themes: food, clothing
Age-range: 5 – 8 years
Download the words of the song:
♦ Aiken Drum Lyrics (1899)
English Version:
Aiken Drum
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,
Good cream cheese, good cream cheese,
And his hat was made of good cream cheese,
And his name was Aiken Drum.
Chorus
And his coat was made of good roast beef,
Good roast beef, good roast beef,
And his coat was made of good roast beef,
And his name was Aiken Drum.
Chorus
And his buttons were made of penny loaves,
Penny loaves, penny loaves,
And his buttons were made of penny loaves,
And his name was Aiken Drum.
Chorus
And his waistcoat was made of crust of pies,
Crust of pies, crust of pies,
And his waistcoat was made of crust of pies,
And his name was Aiken Drum.
Chorus
And his breeches were made of haggis bags,
Haggis bags, haggis bags,
And his breeches were made of haggis bags,
And his name was Aiken Drum.
Chorus
There was a man in another town,
Another town, another town,
There was a man in another town,
And his name was Willy Wood;
And he played upon a razor,
A razor, a razor,
And he played upon a razor,
And his name was Willy Wood.
And he ate up all the good cream cheese,
Good cream cheese, good cream cheese,
And he ate up all the good cream cheese,
And his name was Willy Wood.
And he ate up all the good roast beef,
Good roast beef, good roast beef,
And he ate up all the good roast beef,
And his name was Willy Wood.
And he ate up all the penny loaves,
Penny loaves, penny loaves,
And he ate up all the penny loaves,
And his name was Willy Wood.
And he ate up all the good pie crust,
Good pie crust, good pie crust,
And he ate up all the good pie crust,
And his name was Willy Wood.
But he choked upon the haggis bags,
Haggis bags, haggis bags,
But he choked upon the haggis bags,
And there was an end of Willy Wood.
French translation:
Aiken Drum
Il y avait un homme qui vivait sur la lune,
Vivait sur la lune, vivait sur la lune.
Il y avait un homme qui vivait sur la lune.
Et il s’appelait Aiken Drum.
Refrain :
Et il jouait sur une louche,
Une louche, une louche,
Et il jouait sur une louche,
Et il s’appelait Aiken Drum.
Et son chapeau était en bon fromage à la crème,
Bon fromage à la crème, bon fromage à la crème,
Et son chapeau était fait de bon fromage à la crème,
Et il s’appelait Aiken Drum.
Refrain
Et son manteau était en bon rosbif,
Bon rosbif, bon rosbif,
Et son manteau était en bon rosbif,
Et il s’appelait Aiken Drum.
Refrain
Et ses boutons étaient en petits pains,
Petits pains, petits pains,
Et ses boutons étaient en petits pains,
Et il s’appelait Aiken Drum.
Refrain
Et son gilet était en pâte brisée,
Pâte brisée, pâte brisée,
Et son gilet était en pâte brisée,
Et il s’appelait Aiken Drum.
Refrain
Et son pantalon était en panses de brebis farcies,
Panses de brebis farcies, panses de brebis farcies,
Et son pantalon était en panses de brebis farcies,
Et il s’appelait Aiken Drum.
Refrain
Il y avait un homme dans une autre ville,
Une autre ville, une autre ville,
Il y avait un homme dans une autre ville,
Et il s’appelait Willy Wood ;
Et il jouait sur un rasoir,
Un rasoir, un rasoir,
Et il jouait sur un rasoir,
Et il s’appelait Willy Wood.
Et il a mangé tout le bon fromage à la crème,
Bon fromage à la crème, bon fromage à la crème,
Et il a mangé tout le bon fromage à la crème,
Et il s’appelait Willy Wood.
Et il a mangé tout le bon rosbif,
Bon rosbif, bon rosbif,
Et il a mangé tout le bon rosbif,
Et il s’appelait Willy Wood.
Et il a mangé tous les petits pains,
Petits pains, petits pains,
Et il a mangé tous les petits pains,
Et il s’appelait Willy Wood.
Et il a mangé toutes les bonnes croûtes de tartes,
Bonnes croûtes de tartes, croûtes de tartes,
Et il a mangé toutes les bonnes croûtes de tartes,
Et il s’appelait Willy Wood.
Mais il a calé sur les panses de haggis,
Panses de haggis, panses de haggis,
Mais il a calé sur les panses de haggis,
Et ce fût la fin de Willy Wood.
Culture and Vocabulary:
- A penny bun or a penny loaf was a small bread bun or loaf which cost one old penny at the time when there were 240 pence to the pound. A penny loaf was a common size loaf of bread in England regulated by the Assize of Bread and Ale act of 1266.
- The haggis is a Scottish dish consisting of a sheep’s or calf’s offal mixed with suet, oatmeal, and seasoning and boiled in a bag, traditionally one made from the animal’s stomach.
- Food: cream cheese, roast beef, penny loaves, crust of pies, haggis bags.
- Clothing: hat, coat, buttons, waistcoat, breeches.
Grammar:
- his… was made of… /his… were made of…
- Past simple: lived, played, was, were, ate, choked.
Phonology:
- Pronunciation of cream cheese /kriːm tʃiːz/, roast beef /rəʊst biːf/, penny loaves /ˈpeni ləʊvz/.
- Pronunciation of coat /kəʊt/, buttons /ˈbʌt(ə)nz/, waistcoat /ˈweɪs(t)kəʊt/, breeches /ˈbrɪtʃɪz/.
Teaching suggestions:
- Children have to write and draw their own version of Aiken Drum.
- Discover the French song “Il était une dame tartine” where the people are also made of food.
Video of the song “Aiken Drum” in English:
More Modern Version:
Aiken Drum
Languages: English, French
Ressource Type: song, nursery rhyme
Themes: food, parts of the body
Age-range: infant-preschool, 3 – 8 years
Download the words of the song:
♦ Aiken Drum Lyrics
English Version:
Aiken Drum
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 hair was made of spaghetti,
Spaghetti, spaghetti,
His hair was made of spaghetti,
And his name was Aiken Drum.
Chorus
And his eyes were made of meatballs,
Meatballs, meatballs,
His eyes were made of meatballs,
And his name was Aiken Drum.
Chorus
And his nose was made of cheese,
Cheese, cheese,
His nose was made of cheese,
And his name was Aiken Drum.
Chorus
And his mouth was made of pizza,
Pizza, pizza,
His mouth was made of pizza,
And his name was Aiken Drum.
Chorus
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.
French translation:
Aiken Drum
Il y avait un homme qui vivait sur la lune,
Vivait sur la lune, vivait sur la lune.
Il y avait un homme qui vivait sur la lune.
Et il s’appelait Aiken Drum.
Refrain :
Et il jouait sur une louche,
Une louche, une louche,
Et il jouait sur une louche,
Et il s’appelait Aiken Drum.
Et ses cheveux étaient en spaghettis,
Spaghettis, spaghettis,
Ses cheveux étaient en spaghettis,
Et il s’appelait Aiken Drum.
Refrain
Et ses yeux étaient des boulettes de viande,
Boulettes de viande, boulettes de viande,
Ses yeux étaient des boulettes de viande,
Et il s’appelait Aiken Drum.
Refrain
Et son nez était en fromage,
Fromage, fromage,
Son nez était en fromage,
Et il s’appelait Aiken Drum.
Refrain
Et sa bouche était en pizza,
Pizza, pizza,
Sa bouche était en pizza,
Et il s’appelait Aiken Drum.
Refrain
Il y avait un homme qui vivait sur la lune,
Vivait sur la lune, vivait sur la lune.
Il y avait un homme qui vivait sur la lune.
Et il s’appelait Aiken Drum.
Culture and Vocabulary:
- food: spaghetti, meatballs, cheese, pizza.
- parts of the body: hair, eyes, nose, mouth.
Grammar:
- his… was made of… /his… were made of…
- Past simple: lived, played, was, were.
Phonology:
- pronunciation of spaghetti /spəˈɡeti/, meatballs /ˈmiːtˌbɔːlz/, cheese /tʃiːz/, pizza /ˈpiːtsə/.
- pronunciation of hair /heə(r)/, eyes /aɪz/, nose /nəʊz/, mouth /maʊθ/.
Teaching suggestions:
- Children have to write and draw their own version of Aiken Drum.
- Discover the French song “Il était une dame tartine” where the people are also made of food.
Videos of the song “Aiken Drum” in English:
