Rub-A-Dub-Dub - The Nursery Rhyme Collections

Hey, Rub-a-dub-dub, 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 potato,
It was enough to make your mum stare
Oh yeah

Hey, Rub-a-dub-dub, rub-a-dub-dub,
Three mates in a tub,
And who do you think they were there?
The butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker,
And all of them had gone to the fair
It was enough to make any mum stare
Yeah yeah

Hey, Rub-a-dub-dub, rub-a-dub-dub,
Three men in a tub,
And who do you think they be there?
The butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker,
Turn them all out, knaves all three
It was enough to make your mum stare
Yeah yeah

Oh, rub a dub dub,
Hey hey, rub-a-dub dub,
Three men in a tub,
They all went out to sea;
The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker,
"How cool this is!"
Said the three

Then the seahorse gave the butcher a fright,
And the ocean roll gave the baker a bite,
And the candlemaker's head grew real light,
All I have to say is that it
Served them all right,
For who but a fool
Would think it was cool,
To take a tub to sea?
To take a tub to sea?

Words: Traditional
Music: Ian J Watts

Background notes

Rachel Hudson's illustration of the little story has become the cover of The Nursery Rhyme Collection 2.
The first version of this song was published in a the songbook Christmas Box (1798) and later on in Mother Goose's (1825):

Hey! rub-a-dub, ho! Rub-a-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

Obviously in that original version there happened to be 3 ladies in the tub instead of 3 lads. According to The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, this might be interprted like that: The 3 ladies in the tub were part of a dubious sideshow at a local fair whereas the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker (propably well respected men of the local area) had spent their money in order to watch the exciting show.

Due to the fact that it was certainly difficult to explain that plot to a toddler, the ladies have been exchanged, so we can provide a politically correct version of the charming nursery rhyme.

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