Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man
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"Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man", "Pat-a-Cake", "Patty-cake" or "Pattycake" is an English nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 6486.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Verse
- Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man.
- Bake me a cake as fast as you can
- Pat it, and roll it, and mark it with a B
- And Put it in the oven for Baby and me.<ref name="Opie1997">I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 341–2. Template:ISBN.</ref>
Origins
The earliest recorded version of the rhyme appears in Thomas D'Urfey's play The Campaigners from 1698, where a nurse says to her charges:
...and pat a cake Bakers man, so I will master as I can, and prick it, and prick it, and prick it, and prick it, and prick it, and throw't into the Oven.<ref name="Opie1997" />
The next appearance is in Mother Goose's Melody (c. 1765) in the form:
- Patty Cake, Patty Cake,
- Baker's Man;
- That I will Master,
- As fast as I can;
- Pat it and prick it,
- And mark it with a T,
- And there will be enough for Tommy and me.
Marking pastry or baked goods with an identifiable mark may stem from a time when households without an oven of their own could take their items to a local baker or bake house, paying to have their items finished for a small fee. Marking the pastry would have been a way to ensure the return of the proper item.<ref>Horrible Histories:Gorgeous Georgians</ref>
The earliest version set to music appears in James Hook's "A Christmas Box" (1796).<ref>Christmas Box by Mr Hook (p.13)</ref>
Game
The rhyme often accompanies a clapping game between two people. It alternates between a normal individual clap by one person with two-handed claps with the other person. The hands may be crossed as well. This allows for a possibly complex sequence of clapping that must be coordinated between the two. If told by a parent to a child, the "B" and "baby" in the last two lines are sometimes replaced by the child's first initial and first name.<ref name=Opie1997/>
The "pat-a-cake" song and clapping game was used by Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in their series of "Road to" films. The gag worked by means of adding a synchronised punch into the clapping game routine, allowing them to make their escape.<ref>The "Road..." Films of Hope, Crosby and Lamour</ref>
Patty-cake appears as a plot point in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, where it is made out to be the toon equivalent of sex.<ref>Cotter, Padraig (January 12, 2020). "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?: Yes, 'Patty-Cake' Is The Toon Equivalent Of Sex". Screen Rant. Retrieved February 10, 2024.</ref>