The Muffin Man

"The Muffin Man" is a traditionalnursery rhyme, children's song, orchildren's gameofEnglishorigin. It has aRoud Folk Song Indexnumber of 7922.
The rhyme was first recorded in a Britishmanuscriptcirca 1820, that is preserved in theBodleian Librarywith lyrics very similar to those used today:
Victorianhouseholds had many of their fresh foods delivered, such as muffins, which were delivered door-to-door by a vendor known as a muffin man. The "muffin" in question was the bread item also known as anEnglish muffin, not the typically sweeter U.S. variety ofmuffin.Drury Laneis a thoroughfare borderingCovent GardeninLondon.
The rhyme and game appear to have spread to other countries in the mid-nineteenth century, particularly the US and the Netherlands. As with many traditional songs, there are regional variations in wording; for example, another popular English version substitutes "Dorset Lane" for Drury Lane,while in the Dutch version (entitledZeg ken jij de mosselman),musselsare substituted for muffins, andScheveningen, the fishermans harbour near the Hague, for Drury Lane.
In Volume 5 of his contemporary account of the London Prize Ring,Boxiana, published in 1829,Pierce Eganwrites of an attempted fix (or "cross") of a match scheduled for 18 October 1825, between Reuben Marten and Jonathan Bissel ("Young Gas"). Young Gas refused to take the bribe and one week later identified the person who offered him £200 to throw the fight as a "Mr. Smith, a muffin-baker inGray's Inn Lane".  Young Gas also identified the "gentlemen" who employed the muffin-baker to act as go between, but those gentlemen denied involvement claiming they did not have "the slightest knowledge of the muffin-man".
Urban legend claims that a local baker named Frederick Thomas Lynwood who lived onDrury Lanein London lured children into a dark alley by tyingbaked goodssuch asEnglish muffinsonto a string in order to murder them.There are no historical records of Lynwood.
The most widely known lyrics are:
It then repeats on and on.
Iona and Peter Opieobserved that, although the rhyme had remained fairly consistent, the game associated with it has changed at least three times including: as a forfeit game, a guessing game, and a dancing ring.
InThe Young Lady's Book(1888),Matilda Anne Mackarnessdescribed the game as:
Verses beyond those described in the book have been sung. For example, the song may be concluded, "We all know the Muffin Man ..."
"The Muffin Man" is referenced several times in theShrekseries. First mentioned inShrek(2001), a variant of the lyrics are used in a scene where the villainLord Farquaadtortures and interrogates Gingythe Gingerbread Man. This scene was recreated inShrek the Musical(2008–2018) and the fan filmShrek Retold(2018), and was shared on social media in 2022 to mockAmber Heardand her lawyers for a fifteen-minute discussion about muffins during the court caseDepp v. Heard.
The Muffin Man appears as a character in the 2004 sequelShrek 2and the 2010Halloweentelevision specialScared Shrekless. He is revealed to be Gingy's "father", being the creator of Gingy; Mungo inShrek 2; and Sugar in "The Bride of Gingy", the latter of which is a short spoofingBride of Frankenstein(1935) with the Muffin Man analogous to Dr. Frankenstein.