![]() ![]() In 2014, the Australian state of Victoria also considered changing the rhyme. In 2006, two private nurseries alerted the song to go: Baa, Baa Rainbow Sheep, with the word “black” being changed to other adjectives like happy, sad, hopping, and pink. Similarly, in 1999, a group working to eradicate racism in children’s resources submitted to the Birmingham City Council sought to change the lyrics but this move was not implemented. One local nursery sought to change the piece-it was not a move by any local government, to be clear. Controversyĭue to the alleged racial implications, in 1986 in Britain, a controversy emerged over changing the lyrics of the rhyme because it was thought by some to be racially brought. The song was published in a songbook in 1892. The original translation appears in Barnen i skoge and a melody for it was written by musician Alice Tegnér. It is one of the most popular Swedish kids’ songs to date. ![]() The lyrics were translated to Swedish by August Strindberg in 1872 but the black sheep is turned into a white lamb. In the next surviving printing, in Mother Goose’s Melody, from 1765, the rhyme remained consistent, except for the final lines, which went: “But none for the little boy who cries in the lane.” In Sweden the Lamb is White The lyrics are very similar to the modern version, and they go like this: The nursery rhyme was originally printed in Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Song Book, which is the oldest surviving collection of English language nursery rhymes, from 1744. It’s even possible that black wool would have been prized, or more expensive, as no dye would be needed to color it. But there is likely no supporting evidence that this kid’s song has anything to do with slavery, per se. In more modern times as race and racism have entered into common conversations-in often very heightened ways-”Baa, Baa, Black Sheep” has taken on new meanings and connotations. Others more recently, however, contend that the rhyme is about (or at least lasted as a result of) the slave trade, particularly that of the southern United States. Black wool, how fun.īut author Katherine Elwes Thomas in The Real Personages of Mother Goose (1930) argues that the rhyme implies resentment at the heavy taxation on wool in earlier centuries, particularly the “Old Custom” wool tax of 1275, which lasted until the 1400s. So, to characterize one as black is, well, silly and memorable. Sheep are often considered to be white, though many are a brown hue. On the face of it, it’s a subversive little ditty. When looking for a meaning to the nursery rhyme, it can be hard to find solid evidence. ![]()
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