Annotation:Aiken Drum (1)

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AIKEN DRUM [1]. The title is taken from a Scottish folksong or nursery rhyme that begins:

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.

Aiken played a ladle as a musical instrument, and his clothing was adorned with various food objects. Versions of the song have also been collected in North America. The song may originally derive from a Jacobite song ("Will ye go to Sherrifmuir") from the early 18th century, which has a burden of 'Aikendrum, aikendrum'. Yet another early version tells of a recruit named Aikendrum, who adorns himself with various food objects.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Carlin (Gow Collection), 1986; No. 583. Gow (Fourth Collection of Niel Gow's Reels), 2nd ed., originally 1800; pg. 12.

Recorded sources:

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