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reservations about the rhyme were submitted to
Birmingham City Council by a working group on racism in children's resources. Two private nurseries in Oxfordshire in 2006 altered the song to "Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep", with "black" being replaced with a variety of other adjectives such as "happy", "sad", "hopping" and "pink". Commentators have asserted that these controversies have been exaggerated or distorted by some elements of the press as part of a general campaign against
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In 1986 the
British popular press reported a controversy over the rhyme's language, suggesting that "black" was being treated as a racial term. This was based on a rewriting of the rhyme in one private nursery as an exercise for the children there. A similar controversy emerged in 1999 when
277:(1930) suggested the rhyme referred to resentment at the heavy taxation on wool. This has been taken to refer to the medieval English "Great" or "Old Custom" wool tax of 1275, which survived until the fifteenth century. More recently the rhyme has been alleged to have a connection to the
750:
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The phrase "yes sir, yes sir, three bags full sir" has been used in reference to an obsequious or craven subordinate. It is attested from 1910, and originally was common in the
British
56:, the earliest printed version of which dates from around 1744. The words have barely changed in two and a half centuries. It is sung to a variant of the 18th century French melody "
171:
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As with many nursery rhymes, attempts have been made to find origins and meanings for the rhyme, most of which have no corroborating evidence. Katherine Elwes Thomas in
515:
212:(1892). "Bä, bä, vita lamm", in which the black sheep is replaced with a white lamb, has become one of the most popular Swedish children's songs.
492:
285:
and the use and reform of nursery rhymes in the 1980s, but has no supporting historical evidence. Rather than being negative, the wool of
270:(c. 1765), the text remained the same, except the last lines, which were given as, "But none for the little boy who cries in the lane".
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741:"Racial connotations over black sheep prompts changes to Baa Baa Black Sheep at Victorian kindergartens"
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A Dictionary of Catch
Phrases: British and American, from the Sixteenth Century to the Present Day
124:
classifies the song as 4439; variants have been collected across Great
Britain and North America.
586:
384:", "Baa Baa Black Sheep" was the first song ever to be digitally saved and played on a computer.
83:
281:, particularly in the southern United States. This explanation was advanced during debates over
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In 2014, there was reportedly a similar controversy in the
Australian state of Victoria.
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metre, common in nursery rhymes and relatively easy for younger children. The
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144:". The words and melody were first published together by A. H. Rosewig in
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may have been prized as it could be made into dark cloth without dyeing.
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304:'s illustrations for "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep", from the 1901 collection
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The rhyme is sung to a variant of the 18th century French melody "
351:
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The rhyme has often appeared in literature and popular culture.
781:(2nd revised & abridged ed.). Routledge. p. 547.
529:, English Folk Song and Dance Society, retrieved 20 July 2024.
240:
of about 1744, with words very similar to the modern version:
489:
International
Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature
582:
580:
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The Book of World-Famous Music: Classical, Popular, and Folk
803:
Once They Were Eagles: The Men of the Black Sheep
Squadron
668:. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 85–107.
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377:
82:
Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can
483:(2004). "Playground rhymes and the oral tradition". In
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for "Barnen i skogen" (1872), a
Swedish edition of "
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491:. Vol. I (2nd ed.). Routledge. p.
451:(2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. p.
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204:". To this Swedish text a melody was written by
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380:from 1976 until 1978. In 1951, together with "
146:(Illustrated National) Nursery Songs and Games
693:. London: Taylor & Francis. p. 321.
542:(Courier Dover Publications, 5th ed., 2000),
749:. Melbourne. 17 October 2014. Archived from
666:Culture Wars: The Media and the British Left
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366:was used for a book by its leader Colonel
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636:. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes. p. 8.
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370:and for a TV series (later syndicated as
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691:Encyclopedia of Race and Ethnic Studies
447:The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes
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315:Loony left § "Baa Baa White Sheep"
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69:The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes
14:
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196:The text was translated to Swedish by
32:Baa, Baa, Black Sheep (disambiguation)
215:
148:, published in Philadelphia in 1879.
71:gives the following modern version:
275:The Real Personages of Mother Goose
264:In the next surviving printing, in
24:
715:"Nursery opts for "rainbow sheep""
153:
25:
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443:& Opie, Peter, eds. (1997) .
348:semi-autobiographical short story
140:", "Little Polly Flinders", and "
63:
828:"Oldest computer music unveiled"
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346:used it as the title of an 1888
224:Illustration for the rhyme from
208:for publication in the songbook
187:Problems playing this file? See
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116:The rhyme is a single stanza in
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660:Curran, James; Petley, Julian;
234:The rhyme was first printed in
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516:"Search 'Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
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473:
237:Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book
13:
1:
634:Understanding Children's Play
138:Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
888:Traditional children's songs
807:University Press of Kentucky
402:Children's literature portal
330:
79:
41:The rhyme as illustrated by
7:
834:, retrieved 15 August 2012.
387:
10:
904:
591:The Annotated Mother Goose
360:United States Marine Corps
356:Marine Attack Squadron 214
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109:And one for the little boy
29:
689:Cashmore, Ernest (2004).
368:Gregory "Pappy" Boyington
230:, first published c. 1765
127:
111:Who lives down the lane.
883:English children's songs
593:(Bramhall House, 1962),
415:
362:from 1942 and the title
259:That lives in the lane.
245:Bah, Bah, a black Sheep,
134:Ah! vous dirai-je, maman
58:Ah! vous dirai-je, maman
632:Lindon, Jennie (2001).
589:and Ceil Baring-Gould,
587:William S. Baring-Gould
84:download the audio file
868:English nursery rhymes
775:; Beale, Paul (1986).
410:List of nursery rhymes
310:
262:
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158:
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97:Baa, baa, black sheep,
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568:Sjung med oss, Mamma!
322:political correctness
313:Further information:
300:
283:political correctness
267:Mother Goose's Melody
257:One for my Little Boy
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227:Mother Goose's Melody
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210:Sjung med oss, Mamma!
157:
107:And one for the dame,
94:
50:Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
40:
27:English nursery rhyme
373:Black Sheep Squadron
352:Black Sheep Squadron
293:Modern controversies
122:Roud Folk Song Index
30:For other uses, see
560:"Bä, bä, vita lamm"
364:Baa Baa Black Sheep
165:"Bä, bä, vita lamm"
105:One for the master,
101:Yes, sir, yes, sir,
18:Baa Baa Black Sheep
878:English folk songs
873:Songwriter unknown
719:BBC News Education
525:2014-03-08 at the
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253:One for my Master,
247:Have you any Wool,
232:
216:Origin and meaning
159:
136:", also used for "
99:Have you any wool?
46:
43:Dorothy M. Wheeler
863:Songs about sheep
801:Frank E. Walton,
354:was used for the
249:Yes merry have I,
202:Babes in the Wood
198:August Strindberg
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255:One for my Dame,
251:Three Bags full,
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103:Three bags full;
52:" is an English
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562:, p. 10, in
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538:J. J. Fuld,
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475:
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826:J. Fildes,
662:Gaber, Ivor
485:Hunt, Peter
382:In the Mood
350:. The name
287:black sheep
279:slave trade
858:1744 songs
847:Categories
757:20 October
746:Herald Sun
441:Opie, Iona
337:Royal Navy
189:media help
817:, p. 189.
809:, 1996),
614:"Ariadne"
481:Iona Opie
331:Allusions
832:BBC News
664:(2005).
601:, p. 35.
523:Archived
388:See also
118:trochaic
487:(ed.).
358:of the
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725:4 July
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128:Melody
416:Notes
811:ISBN
783:ISBN
759:2014
727:2008
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670:ISBN
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544:ISBN
497:ISBN
457:ISBN
179:Tune
493:276
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