Aiken Drum: A Classic Nursery Rhyme

Aiken Drum is a very old nursery rhyme that kids used to sing while playing singing games. This poem in the form of a folk song dates back to 1715. In this poem, the man named Aiken Drum lived on the moon and had dresses that are made of food. The lyrics to Aiken Drum intrigue the imagination power of the kids and take them to a world of fantasy.

Who is Aiken Drum?

Aiken Drum is the name of a man who lived on the Moon. He used to play with a ladle and wore clothes that are made of different kinds of food. His hat was made of cream cheese and his coat was made of roast beef. The description of the man has been given in detail in this poem.

 Aiken Drum and his ladle

This is a funny poem as no man wears a cloth made of food. It is designed to make kids think someone like Aiken Drum lived on the Moon. Kids will be fascinated to think of this story and will indulge in playing singing games.

Lyrics of Aiken Drum

Here are the lyrics of this classic Scottish rhyme.

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.

It is fascinating to think that the common food kids love to eat has been used to make the man’s clothes.

 Aiken with Clothes Made of Food

Significance of Aiken Drum

This man in the moon song nursery rhyme describes a man with weird clothes. He played a ladle, a cooking instrument used in the kitchen. He wore clothes that are made of cheese, roasted beef, haggis bags, penny loaves and crust pies.

If we observe, we will find out that these food items were the favourite ones of the kids back in the 1700s in Scotland. To this day, this type of food is still available. Hence, this rhyme tells us about the traditional food of Scottish people of the same era.

This popular nursery rhyme is then adopted by many countries in due course of time and the lyrics have been transformed based on the savoury of that land. Kids learned words of delicious food that the countrymen ate at that time. 

This original version of this rhyme was designed to make singing games more entertaining. Kids played a lot of games singing this rhyme. It has become a classic and taught to the kids of the modern world to increase their vocabulary.

Kids also come to know what food was popular among the kids back then. All the food items mentioned in the original Scottish version of this poem were delicacies.

Kids also learn words that rhyme with drums and other words. They learn to maintain a rhythm while singing this rhyme and playing a game.

Tips for Parents

Explain the lines of this rhyme to the kids. Help them to memorise it and teach them how to use it in a singing game. The kids will be able to learn new words and can use this rhyme to bring rhythm to their outdoor activities.