Mary Had a Little Lamb

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"Mary Had a Little Lamb" is a nursery rhyme of 19th century American origin.

Contents 1 Original text 2 History 3 Song 4 Other versions/uses 5 Media 6 References

[edit] Original text

Mary had a little lamb,
Its fleece was white as snow;
And everywhere that Mary went,
The lamb was sure to go.

He followed her to school one day;
That was against the rule;
It made the children laugh and play
To see a lamb at school.

And so the teacher turned it out,
But still it lingered near,
And waited patiently about
Till Mary did appear.

"Why does the lamb love Mary so?"
The eager children cry;
"Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know,"
The teacher did reply.

[edit] History

The nursery rhyme was first published as a poem by Sarah Hale on May 24, 1830, and was inspired by an actual incident.

As a girl, Mary Sawyer (later Mrs. Mary Tyler) kept a pet lamb, which she took to school one day at the suggestion of her brother. A commotion naturally ensued. Mary recalled:

"Visiting school that morning was a young man by the name of John Roulstone, a nephew of the Reverend Lemuel Capen, who was then settled in Sterling. It was the custom then for students to prepare for college with ministers, and for this purpose Mr. Roulstone was studying with his uncle. The young man was very much pleased with the incident of the lamb; and the next day he rode across the fields on horseback to the little old schoolhouse and handed me a slip of paper which had written upon it the three original stanzas of the poem..."^[1]

There are two competing theories on the origin of this poem. One holds that Roulstone wrote the first four lines and that the final twelve lines, more moralistic and much less childlike than the first, were composed by Sarah Hale; the other is that Hale was responsible for the entire poem.

Mary Sawyer's house can still be visited in Sterling, Massachusetts. A statue representing Mary's Little Lamb stands in the town center. The schoolhouse was purchased by Henry Ford and relocated to Sudbury, Massachusetts. It now sits on the grounds of Longfellow's Wayside Inn.

[edit] Song

Lowell Mason set the nursery rhyme to a melody in the 1830s, adding repetition in the verses:

Mary had a little lamb,
little lamb, little lamb,
Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went,
Mary went, Mary went,
and everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go.

It followed her to school one day
school one day, school one day,
It followed her to school one day, which was against the rules.
It made the children laugh and play,
laugh and play, laugh and play,
it made the children laugh and play to see a lamb at school.

And so the teacher turned it out,
turned it out, turned it out,
And so the teacher turned it out, but still it lingered near,
And waited patiently about,
patiently about, patiently about,
And waited patiently about till Mary did appear.

"Why does the lamb love Mary so?"
Love Mary so? Love Mary so?
"Why does the lamb love Mary so," the eager children cry.
"Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know."
The lamb, you know, the lamb, you know,
"Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know," the teacher did reply.

[edit] Other versions/uses

• Thomas Edison recited the first stanza of this poem to test his invention of the phonograph in 1877, making this the first audio recording to be successfully made and played back. In 1923, Edison friend Henry Ford moved a building to the grounds of the Wayside Inn from Sterling, Massachusetts, which he believed was the original schoolhouse mentioned in this poem.
• Paul McCartney and Wings released a version of the song, with a new melody by McCartney, as a single in 1972.
• British Glam-rock band Slade used a reference to this rhyme on their song "Did yer mama ever tell ya".
• Nu-metal band KoRn also included a part of this rhyme in their song "Shoots and Ladders".
• Blues artist Buddy Guy combined it with elements from other nursery school rhymes. This version of the song was later covered by fellow bluesman Stevie Ray Vaughan.
• The alternative rock band Smashing Pumpkins included a variation of this nursery rhyme in their song "XYU" from their album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, with the lines "Mary had a little lamb/Her face was white as snow/And everywhere that Mary went/I was sure to go/Now Mary's got a problem/And Mary's not a stupid girl/Mary's got some deep shit/Mary does not forget..."
• The house-rap group SNAP recorded in the 1990s a song called "Mary Had a Little Boy".
• In late 2006, rock group Evanescence played with the nursery rhyme in their song "Lose Control", with the lyrics "Mary had a lamb/His eyes black as coal/If we play very quiet, my lamb/Mary never has to know".
• In recent science fiction, the rhyme has been used as an archetypal mantra against telepathy, featured in Babylon 5 and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. Focusing on the rhyme helps shield one's thoughts from intrusion.
• Also crude versions have been created in light of current affairs such as: "Mary had a little lamb, And his name was Ralph, Now he's burning in the field, 'cos of foot and mouth."
• In 2002 Jordan Rudess (known of dream theater), made a version of Mary had a little Lamb under the name Lamb Chops. In this version no lyrics are included. the part is completely played on keyboards.
• Various jokes have been made referring to "having" (i.e., eating) a little lamb as part of a meal.

[edit] Media

[edit] References