Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son the Hills and Far Away", in which the hero is called Tom. Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son "Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son" is a popular English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19621. Modern versions of the rhyme include: 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. Another version of the rhyme is: This rhyme is often conflated with a separate and longer rhyme: Both rhymes were first printed separately in a "Tom
Nursery rhyme poem, similar to "Thirty days hath September", numbering the days of the month, was recorded in the 13th century. From the later Middle Ages there are records of short children's rhyming songs, often as marginalia. From the mid-16th century they begin to be recorded in English plays. "Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man" is one of the oldest surviving English nursery rhymes. The earliest recorded version of the rhyme appears in Thomas d'Urfey's play "The Campaigners" from 1698. Most nursery rhymes were not written down until the 18th century, when the publishing of children's books began to move from polemic and education