Aiken Drum

Aiken Drum
Sångtext från 1899.
Folkvisa / Barnramsa
Publicerad	1820
Genre	Folkvisa
Språk	Engelska
Katalog	Roud 2571

Aiken Drum, Roud 2571, är en populär skotsk folkvisa och barnramsa, som antagligen har sitt ursprung i en Jacobitisk sång om Slaget vid Sheriffmuir (1715).

Text

Moderna textversioner inkluderar:

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.

Refräng
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.

Övriga versioner av låten inkluderar:  

His hat was made of guid cream cheese,
His coat was made of fine rost beef,
His buttons were made of bawbee baps, (a bread roll, costing a halfpenny),
His breeks (/breechs) were made of haggis sacks,
His hair was made of spaghetti.

Ursprung

Ramsan trycktes först av James Hogg i Jacobit Reliques 1820, som en Jacobitisk sång om Slaget vid Sheriffmuir (1715):  

Ken ye how a Whig can fight, Aikendrum, Aikendrum
Ken ye how a Whig can fight, Aikendrum
He can fight the hero bright, with his heels and armour tight
And the wind of heavenly night, Aikendrum, Aikendrum
Is not Rowley in the right, Aikendrum!
Did ye hear of Sunderland, Aikendrum, Aikendrum
Did ye hear of Sunderland, Aikendrum
That man of high command, who has sworn to clear the land
He has vanished from our strand, Aikendrum, Aikendrum,
Or the eel has ta'en the sand, Aikendrum.
Donald's running 'round and 'round, Aikendrum, Aikendrum,
Donald's running 'round and 'round, Aikendrum
But the Chief cannot be found, and the Dutchmen they are drowned
And King Jaime he is crowned, Aikendrum, Aikendrum
But the dogs will get a stound, Aikendrum.
We have heard of Whigs galore, Aikendrum, Aikendrum
We have heard of Whigs galore, Aikendrum
But we've sought the country o'er, with cannon and claymore,
And still they are before, Aikendrum, Aikendrum
We may seek forevermore, Aikendrum!
Ken ye how to gain a Whig, Aikendrum, Aikendrum
Ken ye how to gain a Whig, Aikendrum
Look Jolly, blythe and big, take his ain blest side and prig,
And the poor, worm-eaten Whig, Aikendrum, Aikendrum
For opposition's sake you will win!

Sir Walter Scott hänvisar i sin roman The Antiquary (1816) till Aiken Drum i en berättelse som berättas av en gammal tiggare, om ursprunget till det som har uppfattats av huvudpersonen som ett romersk fort. Tiggaren berättar för honom att det faktiskt byggdes av honom och andra för "Auld Aiken Drums bridal" och att en av frimurarna skar ut formen av en slev i stenen som ett skämt. Referensen antyder att ramsan, och i synnerhet refrängen, var tillräckligt välkänd i början av 1900-talet för att skämtet skulle förstås.