Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son

Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son is a nursery rhyme. As it mentions a song from the eighteenth century (Over the Hills and Far Away), it is probably from the same period.

If features in Benjamin Britten's opera 1954, The Turn of the Screw. The two children, Miles and Flora, sing it in Act I, scene 5, at the window.

There is a song by the rock group Led Zeppelin called "Over the Hills and Far Away" from their 1973 album, Houses of the Holy.

The 'pig' mentioned in the song is almost certainly not a live animal but rather a kind of pastry (often made with an apple filling) smaller than a pie.

:Tom, Tom, the piper's son,:He learned to play when he was young.:But all the tune that he could play:Was "Over the hills and far away."

Alternative version:

:Tom, Tom, the piper's son,:Stole a pig, and away did run.:The pig was eat,:And Tom was beat,:And Tom went crying (or roaring, or howling, in some versions):Down the street.

Second Alternative (with suggested chords)::D_____________G________ :Tom, he was the piper's son,:D____________________A__________:He learned to play when he was young.:________D___________G__________:(But) the only thing that he could play:____D_______________A_____:Was "Over the hills and far away."

In Popular Culture

* A segment of The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show provided a mock legal review of the case of Tom stealing the pig.

* The 1969 experimental film, "Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son", by Ken Jacobs, consists of retouched footage of a 1905 film of the same name. It was placed on the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 2007.

External links

* [http://www.rhymes.org.uk/a106-tom-he-was-pipers-son.htm Entry at rhymes.org.uk]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0378889/| Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son (1969)] at IMDb.com