Beast
The Derby Ram
His wool reached the sky, his horns the moon.
See it clearly
- What's there
- Ram statues and carvings in the city
- Legend from
- Traditional song; in print c. 1790
- Tone
- Light-hearted
As I was going to Derby, I met the biggest ram that ever was seen.
The Derby Ram is a tall-tale folk song about a ram so enormous that butchering, tanning and using its carcass becomes absurd. It appeared in print around 1790, and was so popular that a Derby Ram Tavern existed in Philadelphia by 1798. It was claimed in 1876 that George Washington had sung it to children. Some say it comes from ancient ram worship, but there is no real evidence. In Derby it was tied to the Old Tup custom. Llewellyn Jewitt published it in 1867. The city adopted the ram as its emblem, and its football club are the Rams.