The Muffin Man facts for kids

"The Muffin Man" is a very old and well-known children's song or game from England. It's a type of nursery rhyme that many kids still learn today. This song is so famous that it has a special number in a list of folk songs, called the Roud Folk Song Index, which is 7922.

Lyrics

The words to "The Muffin Man" song are usually sung like this:

Do you know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man.
Do you know the muffin man,
Who lives on Drury Lane?

Yes, I know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Yes, I know the muffin man,
Who lives on Drury Lane.

A "muffin man" was a person who used to walk around the streets in England. They would sell fresh muffins and crumpets from a tray on their head. They often rang a bell to let people know they were there! Drury Lane is a famous street in London.

The Muffin Man Game

The game played with "The Muffin Man" song has changed over many years. Experts who study children's games, like Iona and Peter Opie, found that the game used to be played in different ways. Sometimes it was a "forfeit game," where players had to do something silly if they made a mistake. It was also played as a guessing game or a dancing game in a circle.

London Cries: A Muffin Man by Paul Sandby (around 1759). This picture shows what a muffin man might have looked like.

In a book from 1888 called The Young Lady's Book, a writer named Matilda Anne Mackarness described how the game was played back then. It was a fun way for groups of children to play together.

How to Play the Game

Here's how the game was described:

• One player starts by singing the first part of the song to the person next to them. They sing:

 :"Do you know the muffin man? The muffin man, the muffin man.  :Do you know the muffin man who lives in Drury Lane?"

• The person they sang to then replies, using the same tune:

 :"Yes, I know the muffin man. The muffin man, the muffin man.  :Oh, yes, I know the muffin man, who lives in Drury Lane."

• After that, both players sing together:

 :"Then two of us know the muffin man, the muffin man,".

• Next, the second player turns to the third person in the group. They sing the same question. The third person replies in the same way.
• This time, when they sing together, they say: "Three of us know the muffin man."
• The game continues around the room. Each time, the number of people who "know the muffin man" gets one bigger.
• The game keeps going until everyone in the group has had a turn. At the very end, everyone can sing, "We all know the Muffin Man!"