"Pease Porridge Hot" Roud #19631
Music from The Song Play Book.[1]
Music by	Traditional
Published	c. 1760
Written	England
Language	English

"Pease Porridge Hot" or "Pease Pudding Hot" (also known as "Peas Porridge Hot") is a children's singing game and nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19631.

Contents 1 Lyrics 2 Origin 3 The game 4 In popular culture 5 Notes 6 References

[edit] Lyrics

The lyrics to the rhyme are:

	Pease Porridge Hot Tune for Pease Porridge Hot
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold,

Pease porridge in the pot, nine days old;

Some like it hot, some like it cold,

Some like it in the pot, nine days old.^[2]

[edit] Origin

The origins of this rhyme are unknown. The name refers to a type of porridge made from peas, pease pudding, also known as pease pottage (in Middle English). ("Pease" was treated as a mass noun, similar to "oatmeal" and the singular "pea" and plural "peas" arose by back-formation.)

The earliest recorded version of Pease Porridge Hot is a riddle found in John Newbery's Mother Goose's Melody (c. 1760).^[2]

Pease Porridge hot,

Pease Porridge cold,

Pease Porridge in the Pot

Nine Days old,

Spell me that in four Letters?

I will, THAT.^[3]

Where the terms "pease pudding" and "pease pottage" are used, the lyrics of the rhyme are altered accordingly.

[edit] The game

Schoolchildren often play Pease Porridge Hot by pairing off and clapping their hands together to the rhyme as follows:

Pease (clap both hands to thighs) porridge (clap own hands together) hot (clap partner's hands),

pease (clap both hands to thighs) porridge (clap own hands together) cold (clap partner's hands),

Pease (clap thighs) porridge (clap own hands) in the (clap right hands only) pot (clap own hands),

nine (clap left hands only) days (clap own hands) old (clap partner's hands).

(Repeat actions for second stanza)^[5]

NOTE: The actions are performed during recitation of the word or phrase, not following.

[edit] In popular culture

• The 1959 Billy Wilder film Some Like It Hot derives its title from this rhyme.

• In the 1966 Blake Edwards World War II comedy What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?, Major Pott (Harry Morgan) includes the last lines of the rhyme in his rantings after he is driven mad from getting lost in a maze of catacombs under the Sicilian village.

• In the Little House books, Laura muses that she likes pease porridge hot and cold, but in her house it never lasts as long as nine days.

• In the De La Soul song, "Pease Porridge", the rhyme is sampled repeatedly.

• In the short flash animations by David Firth, a character known as Salad Fingers recites this poem during episode 5.

• The poem was mentioned in the very first episode of BBC One Soap opera, EastEnders in 1985. Between Lou Beale, Ethel Skinner, Saeed Jeffery and Naima Jeffery.

• DJs Tripledouble and Diplo sample the rhyme in their turntablism album AEIOU

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Miller, Olive Beaupré. In the Nursery of My Bookhouse. Chicago: The Bookhouse for Children Publishers (1920).
• Whitmore, William H. The Original Mother Goose's Melody, as First Issued by John Newbery, of London, About A.D., 1760. Albany: Joel Munsell's Sons (1889).
• Wollaston, Mary A. (compiler). The Song Play Book: Singing Games for Children. New York: A.S. Barnes and Company (1922).