running 'round and 'round, Aikendrum But the Chief cannot be found, and the Dutchmen they are drowned And King Jaime he is crowned, Aikendrum, Aikendrum But the dogs will get a stound, Aikendrum. We have heard of Whigs galore, Aikendrum, Aikendrum We have heard of Whigs galore, Aikendrum But we've sought the country o'er, with cannon and claymore, And still they are before, Aikendrum, Aikendrum We may seek forevermore, Aikendrum! Ken ye how to gain a Whig, Aikendrum, Aikendrum Ken ye how to gain a Whig, Aikendrum Look Jolly, blythe and big, take his ain blest side and prig, And the poor, worm-eaten Whig, Aikendrum, Aikendrum For opposition's sake you will win! Sir Walter Scott in his novel The Antiquary (1816) refers to Aiken Drum in a story told by an old beggar about the origins of what has been perceived by the protagonist as a Roman fort. The beggar tells him that it was actually built by him and others for "auld Aiken Drum's bridal" and that one of the masons cut the shape of a ladle into the stone as a joke on the bridegroom. The reference suggests that the rhyme, and particularly the chorus, was well enough known in the early nineteenth century for the joke to be understood. The Brownie of Blednoch Aiken Drum is also the name given by the Scottish poet William Nicholson to the brownie in his poem "The Brownie of Blednoch" (1825). Although this has led some folklorists to speculate that the song may derive from older fairy legends, there is no evidence of the name being used for a brownie prior to Nicholson. Performances The Scottish folk group The Singing Kettle performs this song for children in an interactive way by allowing the children to decide the foods of which Aiken Drum is made. A version is included on their CD Singalong Songs from Scotland, produced in 2003 for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. Popular Armenian-Canadian children's singer Raffi played a version of the song, called "Aikendrum", on his album Singable Songs for the Very Young (1976). Raffi's version of the song replaces the various foods with ones that would be more familiar to an American audience: spaghetti for Aikendrum's hair, meatballs for his eyes, cheese for his nose, and pizza for his mouth. This version was also the Barney & Friends version. The album Classic Scots Ballads (1961) by Ewan MacColl and