To Market, to Market

"To Market, To Market" is a traditional English nursery rhyme with roots tracing back to the 15th century, reflecting the customary rural practice of visiting markets to buy and sell agricultural products. The phrase "Home againe, home againe, market is done" was noted in John Florio's 1598 dictionary "A Worlde of Wordes," and an earlier version appeared in Thomas Tusser's 1573 book of farming advice, "Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry." The first complete recorded version was published in 1805 in "Songs for the Nursery," though interestingly this version mentioned buying a "penny bun" rather than the now-familiar "fat pig" or "fat hog," which gained prominence later in the 19th century. The mention of buying a fat pig highlights the significant role these animals played in household provisioning in earlier times. The playful refrains "jiggety-jig" or "jiggety-jog" are thought to simulate the jostling motion of a cart or horse ride to and from the market, and the rhyme also functions as an interactive game, often involving bouncing a child on a knee.