Rub-a-Dub Dub

Today "Rub-a-Dub-Dub" is three men in a tub, off to sea. The original was a good deal saucier: three respectable tradesmen caught gawping at a fairground peep show, which "tub" was slang for. Victorian editors cleaned it up, swapping the maids for men and the sideshow for the sea.

Origins

The song was first printed in 1798 in the second volume of A Christmas Box, a children's collection composed by James Hook. In this initial publication, the piece was titled "Dub a dub dub."

Early versions differed significantly from the modern text. A version printed in Boston around 1825 in Mother Goose's Quarto or Melodies Complete featured "three maids in a tub" rather than "three men." It also ended with the characters going "to the fair" instead of going "out to sea."

Meaning & Interpretation

Historians suggest that the "tub" in the original lyrics did not refer to a washing tub. Instead, it was likely slang for a popular fairground sideshow attraction, such as a wooden viewing tub or peep show. The rhyme originally mocked respectable local tradesmen (the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker) who were caught visiting these suggestive sideshows.

During the nineteenth century, as publishers began sanitizing traditional rhymes for younger audiences, the suggestive elements were removed. By 1842, the collector James Orchard Halliwell recorded the characters as "three fools in a tub." Eventually, the maids were replaced with men, and the setting shifted to the sea, turning a satirical song into an innocent children's rhyme.

What is the original meaning of Rub-a-Dub-Dub?

The rhyme originally served as a satirical commentary about three respectable tradesmen caught visiting a suggestive fairground sideshow, which was referred to slangily as a "tub." Over time, the lyrics were sanitized to make them appropriate for young children.

Who were the three men in the tub?

The three men are identified as the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker. In early versions, they were depicted as onlookers at a fairground attraction, while later versions changed them to fools or men sailing out to sea.