Peter Piper
Version 1
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
Source: Wright, The Original Mother Goose (1916)
Version 2
A peacock pick’d a peck of pepper:
Did he pick a peck of pepper?
Yes, he pick’d a peck of pepper:
Pick pecker peacock
Source: Girl’s Book of Diversions (1835)
Version 3
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers off a pewter plate.
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked off a pewter plate.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers off a pewter plate,
Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked off a pewter plate?
Source: Alcott, Merry’s Museum (1849)
Historical Background
“Peter Piper” is a classic tongue-twister. This rhyme practices speech and articulation. In “Literary Leisure, Or Recreations of Solomon Saunter” (1802), satirist Hewson Clarke said the rhyme should be practiced “three times a two without drawing breath,…[rendering] it as useful lesson in the art of elocution."
Download the sheet music of this rhyme
