“Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater” is a well known nursery rhyme in the USA and more recently in the UK.
Although there aren’t any clear signs about the song’s origins, it appeared first in Boston, MA around 1825 in a book titled “Mother Goose’s Quarto: or Melodies Complete”.
There is some debate over the song’s actual origins. A very similar song was found in 1868 in Scotland, but that song did not use pumpkin in its lyrics (as pumpkins were popular in the US only). But it might be possible that the Scottish song was taken to the USA and adapted there, although there is no evidence to support this assumption.
The lyrics of “Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater” can be found below:
“Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater” Lyrics
Peter, Peter pumpkin eater,
Had a wife but couldn’t keep her;
He put her in a pumpkin shell
And there he kept her very well.
Peter, Peter pumpkin eater,
Had another and didn’t love her;
Peter learned to read and spell,
And then he loved her very well.