The Derby Ram

According to A.L. Lloyd, the ram (known as "Old Tup") may be "a distinct relative of the Greek god Pan" or a representation of "the Devil himself".[2]

The tradition could have originated as the Anglo Saxon pagan midwinter ram-ritual (most prevalent in the Midlands and South Yorkshire), which involved a singing and dancing procession of men accompanying a figure dressed as a sacred animal (often a goat or a ram) which represented a life-giving, seed-proliferating god. This tradition may have survived as the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance.

As the Christianisation of England took place, the religious aspect faded but the celebrations remained, as the procession became a means of raising beer-money.[2] A.L. Lloyd stated that the song was sung by village youths who travelled house-to-house at midwinter (as with many other traditions such as wassailing and souling), one of whom was "dressed in sheepskin to represent the old Tup". At this point, Tup still "had the power to confer or withhold good luck for the coming year" and was linked to fertility.[2]

In the Middle Ages, mummers performed plays which involved far-fetched tales and men dressed as animals, which probably included the Derby ram.[3] In parts of Derbyshire, plays involving the song are still performed[2] as part of the "Old Tup" hoodening tradition.

In 1739, the vicar of St. Alkmund's Church, Derby, wrote at the end of a letter to his son, "And thus I conclude this long story; almost as long a tale as that of the Derby Ram",[3] which suggests that the song was widely known at least in Derby by the early eighteenth century.

Llewellyn Jewitt wrote about the song in his The Ballads and Songs of Derbyshire (1867), asserting that song had been alluded to for at least a century before that.[4]

By some accounts, US President George Washington once sang "The Derby Ram" to the twin sons of Oliver Ellsworth, William Wolcott Ellsworth and Henry Leavitt Ellsworth (b. 1791), while staying at the Reeves - Wright mansion home in 1796 during one of his visits to Hartford, Connecticut.[5][6]

Charlie Wills of Symondsbury, Dorset was recorded singing a lively rendition to Peter Kennedy in 1952.[7] Dozens of other traditional English singers from all over England have been recorded singing variants of the song, including William Rew of Devon (1954),[8] Ben Baxter of Norfolk (1955),[9] Kathleen Gentle of Westmorland (1968),[10] Adge Blackburn of Lincolnshire (1970),[11] Les Hartley of Yorkshire (1975),[12] Bob Mills of Hampshire (1981),[13] and naturally many traditional singers in Derbyshire.[14][15][16][17][18]

The song appears to have been popular in Scotland. The traditional singer Jeannie Robertson sang a version learnt from her mother to Hamish Henderson in 1960,[19] which can be heard on the Tobar an Dualchais website.[20] Alan Lomax recorded a singer named Arthur Lennox of Aberdeen singing a version to in 1949,[21] which he learnt from his father and was known to be performed by his great-grandfather; the recording can be heard via the Alan Lomax archive.[22] James Madison Carpenter recorded several versions in the 1920s and 1930s, around northeastern England and Scotland, all of which can be heard on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website.[23][24][25][26]

Irish traditional singer Robert Cinnamond sang "Derby Ram" in 1955,[27] whilst Danny Brazil of Gloucestershire, England, sang a version called "Salsbury Ram" learnt from his Irish traveller parents.[28]

Since the eighteenth century when George Washington sang the song, many versions have remained in the oral tradition of rural Americans. Notable American performers of the song include the famous Appalachian singer Jean Ritchie, who sang her family version to Alan Lomax in 1949,[29] which can be heard online.[30] Fellow Appalachians Bascam Lamar Lunsford (1928, 1937 and 1956),[31][32][33] Fiddlin' John Carson (1930),[34] Doug Wallin (1983)[35] also recorded versions learnt within their communities. Many other recordings were made in the southern United States, and Helen Hartness Flanders collected many versions in the New England region.[36] Lots of traditional recordings were also made throughout Canada by folklorists such as Helen Creighton, Edith Fowke and Kenneth Peacock.[37][38][39][40][41][42]