"There was a farmer who had a dog and Bingo was his name-o."
It's a bonafide classic. It's a hit. It slaps, or whatever else the cool kids say.
Yes, the nursery rhyme "Bingo" still sounds as fresh today as it did when Bingo was still walking among us, presumably proud as punch that everyone was singing their name. But who was Bingo?
In fact, what was Bingo? Bingo could be the dog, but could Bingo be the farmer? (And trust us, if Bingo was a German Shepherd, that makes things even more complicated).
Let's head back through the archives and do some detective work, as we uncover the story behind the nursery rhyme.
Bingo is the dog (not the farmer)
Is Bingo the farmer or the dog? It’s a question that has plagued civilisation since we just asked it this moment. Here's the pBone Music theory. The first line of the rhyme is:
There was a farmer who had a dog,
And Bingo was his name-o.
Now, if there was an extra comma, like this:
There was a farmer, who had a dog,
And Bingo was his name-o,
then we’d possibly agree that the farmer was called Bingo.
Bingo began as a drinking song
Experts think that the tune to Bingo is Scottish. It was first written down in 1780 by an actor called William Swords. It was originally a drinking song, and we think drinkers would take a glug of something at the end of each verse.
Over time, it became a nursery rhyme and a counting game. Singers spell out B-I-N-G-O in the first verse and replace the letters one by one with a clap as the song goes on.
Leap o’er the stile
There was a Victorian comic writer (and clergyman) called Richard Barham. He wrote funny stories and poems for a magazine, and eventually put them all together in a book called The Ingoldsby Legends in 1840.
He wrote about a jackdaw who steals a Cardinal’s ring, gave a recipe for salad, and wrote a pretend-old version of Bingo called A Franklyn’s Dogge, a parody if you will.
It is so convincing that many people still believe it was a Medieval poem.
Nursery rhymes often have a story to tell, but we know that there are so many other musical narratives waiting to be written by the next generation of musicians. For young children who are creating their first sounds, check out Soundbops.
Soundbops is designed to ensure young children are truly inspired in their first musical experiences. It introduces the basics of sounds, chords, and even reading music. As your little one grows, Soundbops grows with them. And with its intuitive, ergonomic controls and portability, Soundbops is accessible and fun to play for all children. Find out more in this article.
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