Oats Peas Beans and Barley Grow facts for kids
"Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley Grow" is a very old and popular folk song from Britain and America. It's often sung as "Oats And Beans and Barley Grow". This song is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as number 1380, which means it's a well-known traditional tune.
The music for this song is usually called "Baltimore." This tune first appeared in a book called "The Fifer's Companion" in 1790, written by Joshua Cushing.
According to Alice Bertha Gomme's book "The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland" (1894), this is a "play song." This means children don't just sing it; they also do actions while singing. They often stand in a ring and act out the words. The earliest known words for the song were written down in 1898 by Gomme.
Popular Recordings
Many artists have recorded "Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley Grow" over the years. Here are a few well-known versions:
- Tim Hart and Maddy Prior included it on their album "Folk Songs of Olde England" Vol 2 in 1968.
- Raffi sang it as Oats and Beans and Barley on his popular album Baby Beluga in 1980.
- The Kidsongs Kids and the Biggles performed it as "Watch Our Oats and Barley Grow" on "Country Sing-Along" in 1994.
- James Turner sang it in a 1992 episode of Barney & Friends called "Eat, Drink And Be Healthy."
- David Holt featured the song in a 2005 episode of Muffin The Mule called "Muffin's Harvest Home."
Published Versions
The lyrics and music for "Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley Grow" have also been printed in many collections:
- Lucy Broadwood included it in her book English County Songs.
- It appeared in "Notes and Queries" in 1870.
- G. F. Northall's book English Folk-Rhymes from 1892 also featured the song.
- More recently, it was in "Hampshire Dance Tunes" by Bob Shatwell & Paul Sartin in 2007.
- An article about this song was even in the very first edition of the Journal of the EFDSS.
