The oldest known printed version from the 14th century goes:
Hey! Rub-a-dub-dub! Ho! Rub-a-dub-dub! Three maids in a tub,
And who do you think were there?
The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker,
And all of them gone to the fair!
This is interpreted as describing otherwise respectable tradesmen attending a peep-show.
Another version runs:
Rub a dub dub,
Three men in a tub,
And who do you think they be?
The butcher, the baker,
The candlestick maker.
Turn them out, knaves all three!
The use of "be" instead of "are" may be an early modern English variant, an example of the subjunctive mood, or simply poetic license to achieve a rhyme. A knave is a journeyman or apprentice.
An alternative ending line is:
They all sailed out to sea.
A further alternative version exists which seems to be popular more in the United States than in the other English speaking countries. It goes as follows:
Rub-a-dub-dub
Three men in a tub,
And how do you think they got there?
The butcher, the baker,
The candlestick maker,
They all jumped out of a rotten tomato!
T'was enough to make a fish stare.
Though recently the word fish is sometimes replaced with the word man. Also, "potato" commonly replaces "tomato."
Yet another version goes:
Rub-a-dub-dub
Three men in a tub,
The butcher, the baker, the candle stick maker,
If their boat had been stronger
My story would have been longer
Matt: CORRECT
Record: 34-19
1 comment:
It's a fact!
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