Taffy Was a Welshman

TAFFY was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief,
Taffy came to my house and stole a leg of beef.
I went to Taffy’s house, Taffy wasn’t in,
So I jumped upon his favourite hat and poked it with a pin.

Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a sham,
Taffy came to my house and stole a leg of lamb.
I went to Taffy’s house and Taffy was away,
So I filled his socks with sawdust and stuffed his shoes with clay.

Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a cheat,
Taffy came to my house and stole a piece of meat.
I went to Taffy’s house, Taffy was not there,
So I put his coat and trousers to roast before the fire.

The origins of this rhyme are believed to lie in Welsh mythology, in which Taffy may be equated with Amaethon, son of Don, and the Celtic god of agriculture. The myth has it that Amaethon once stole a lapwing, a roebuck and a dog from Arawan, the king of the otherworld. This theft led to a battle between the king and Amaethon, the latter aided by his siblings. One of them, Gwydion, used his magic powers and turned trees into brave warriors who then helped the Children of Don to victory.

The rhyme reflects the rivalry between the nations of England and Wales, historically pitted against each other. Taffy, as a corruption of ‘Dafydd’, Welsh for ‘David’ (Wales’s patron saint), would have been the standard name for a Welshman; hence the rhyme was aimed at the Welsh in general and reflects how the English might have taught their children from the cradle never to trust their Celtic neighbours – that they were thieves, cheats and liars. Periodically, the Welsh – under English rule from 1284 – have rebelled against the English; this rhyme would appear to advocate harsh punishment for any Welshman stepping out of line. It’s hardly surprising that when there was a referendum the Welsh decided to devolve from a government based in London.