There Was a Piper Had a Cow

DESCRIPTION: The piper has no food for his cow but plays her a tune for consolation. The cow is either happy enough to give the piper a penny to play "corn rigs are bonny," or tells the piper to play for money and use that to feed her.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1805 (Songs for the Nursery, according to Opie/Opie-OxfordDictionaryOfNurseryRhymes)
KEYWORDS: poverty food music animal humorous
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber,Bord))
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Greig/Duncan8 1655, "Corn Rigs" (2 texts)
Lyle-Andrew-CrawfurdsCollectionVolume2 188, "There Was a Piper Had a Cow" (1 text)
Opie/Opie-OxfordDictionaryOfNurseryRhymes 416, "There was a piper had a cow" (1 text)
Baring-Gould-AnnotatedMotherGoose #156, p. 117, "(There was a piper had a cow)"
Roud #13046
File: OO2416

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