Commerce can be a wonderful thing. Not only is the ability to purchase something an indication that you’ve done good work and have something to trade, it’s also fun (and necessary) to receive goods. In truth, it’s much of the basis for what online shopping has become today.
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[RELATED: Behind the Hard Working Nursery Rhyme “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe”]
Well, before there were sites like Amazon or Barnes & Noble, there was the physical marketplace. And that’s where the nursery rhyme “To Market, to Market” takes us. Let’s dive into the meaning of the rhyme and some of its history here below.
Making The Shopping List
Unlike some nursery rhymes (like “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe”) there is no real underlying meaning to “To Market, to Market.” What you see is what you get. It’s all about the thrill of the purchase.
First published as a complete work in 1805 in Songs for the Nursery, the work was first cited in part in John Florio’s A Worlde of Wordes, the first comprehensive Italian-English dictionary, which itself was first published in 1598.
In either case, it was about that giddy feeling you get after getting what you need for yourself and your family. The rhyme lists a litany of things—from animals to pastries—the subject of the work purchases and then their joyous dancer-like feeling on the way home.
The rhyme also, in this way, rightly glorifies the marketplace and, if anything, perhaps that is its subtle underlying meaning. You can get anything there!
Pig or Penny Bun?
Today, the rhyme is known by folks to begin with the purchase of a pig. But the original rhyme as written began with the shopper purchasing a “penny bun.” But a penny bun isn’t common today (or over the past 100 years), nor is it as visually memorable. So, the line was changed. As for the rest of the work, it reads,
To market, to market, to buy a fat pig,
Home again, home again, jiggety-jig.
To market, to market, to buy a fat hog,
Home again, home again, jiggety-jog.
To market, to market to buy a plum cake,
Home again, home again, market is late.
To market, to market, to buy a plum bun,
Home again, home again, market is done.
To market, to market to buy a fat dog,
Home again, home again, jiggety jog.
To market, to market to buy a small chick,
Home again, home again, jiggety jig.
Of course, readers may see various lines or items changed. Nevertheless, this is the basic framework.
Final Thoughts
It was in the 1800s when the world began to explode. Industry boomed. Pace increased, options amassed. So, it’s possible this nursery rhyme began to come of age in its own right thanks to the increased focus of business, the market, and even the soaring population. With prosperity often comes population. So, perhaps this rhyme is the anthem for that reality.
In that way, it has another meaning. It’s a reflection of the times from when it became popular, recorded in full, and passed on to the next generation of shoppers.
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