“Oats, Peas, Beans, and Barley” for Ukulele – FREE TAB

Click here to jump straight to the TAB for “Oats, Peas, Beans, and Barley.”

“Oats, Peas, Beans, and Barley Grow” (Or “Oat and Beans and Barley Grow.” Which way do you sing it?) is a wonderful song and action game for children, but you probably shouldn’t use it as an instruction manual for growing crops. I’m no expert, but I think there’s more to running a farm than stomping your feet, clapping your hands, and turning around to look at the land.

The lyrics to the children’s song and game were first published in 1898, but the melody is based on a jig called “Baltimore” that goes back at least another 100 years. It isn’t clear when or where the lyrics or the game that goes along with them appeared, but kids have been playing it ever since. The tune even made it into Raffi’s rotation, so you know it has to be good.

(Raffi is an “Oats and Beans and Barley” guy, for what it’s worth.)

“Oats, Peas, Beans, and Barley” Playing Tips

Like many of a the catchiest children’s songs, “Oats, Peas, Beans” has a 6/8 time signature, which might look a bit intimidating at first, but it’s actually pretty simple. A measure of 6/8 has two main beats, and then each of those beats can have up to three notes, known as a triplet.

Using the rhythm syllable system, a measure of 6/8 with two full triplets would sound like:

TRI-o-la TRI-o-la

The tune doesn’t have many full triplets, however. In fact, it only has one in measure 6. The most common rhythm figure throughout the song is this:

The rhythm syllables for these pairings of quarter notes and eighth notes are TA ti, making the full two measures pictured above:

TA ti TA ti | TA ti TA ti

Even though the time signature is 6/8, you still use the same rhythm syllables that you would if this song were in 4/4. It all still works the same way, which is why rhythm syllables are so cool.

Simple Chord Melody

To spice things up a bit since this is a short tune, I put some simple chords into the second verse. The low G version of the sheet music is a little more challenging than the high G for these two-note chords (also called dyads).

If you are struggling with the chords in the low G version of the tune, try switching over to the high G arrangement, which works just fine on a low G uke. The chords there are mostly open string pairs, so you can focus more on hitting the pair of strings with your right hand without having to worry about your left quite as much.

Click the Download button below if the embedded PDF doesn’t display properly. The high G sheet music is the bottom button. Happy picking!

“Oats, Peas, Beans, and Barley” Low G Sheet Music Download

“Oats, Peas, Beans, and Barley” High G Sheet Music Download