Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater
Version 1
Peter, Peter, pumpkin-eater
Had a wife, and couldn't keep her.
He put her in a pumpkin shell,
And there he kept her very well.
Source: Smith, The Little Mother Goose (1912)
Version 2
Peter, Peter pumpkin eater,
Had a wife but couldn't keep her;
He put her in a pumpkin shell
And there he kept her very well.
Peter, Peter pumpkin eater,
Had another and didn't love her;
Peter learned to read and spell,
And then he loved her very well.
Source: Betts, The Complete Mother Goose (1909)
Version 3
Peter, Peter Pumpkin-eater,
He will hungry go.
For Joe and Ed and Bob and Ned
And Phil and Fred and John and Jed,
And even little Tom and Ted
And every boy I know
Has made a Jack-o’-lantern
(And some are making two).
Poor Peter, Peter, Pumpkin-eater!
What will Peter do?
Source: Hill, The Children’s Friend (1912)
Historical Background
Unlike most nursery rhymes, the origins of “Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater” lie not within Europe, but in America. The earliest known version of the rhyme was found in “Mother Goose’s Quarto: or Melodies Complete,” published in 1825 in Boston, Massachusetts. Because pumpkins were not well-known in Britain, the rhyme was not relatable or popular in to the English until recently.
Download the sheet music of this rhyme
