<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Life is such a dream . </Td> <Td> Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> Life is but a dream . </Td> </Tr> <P> It has been suggested that the song may have originally arisen out of American minstrelsy . The earliest printing of the song is from 1852, when the lyrics were published with similar lyrics to those used today, but with a very different tune . It was reprinted again two years later with the same lyrics and another tune . The modern tune was first recorded with the lyrics in 1881, mentioning Eliphalet Oram Lyte in The Franklin Square Song Collection but not making it clear whether he was the composer or adapter . </P> <P> People often add additional verses, a form of children's street culture, with the intent of either extending the song or (especially in the case of more irreverent versions) to make it funny, parody it, or substitute another sensibility for the perceived innocent one of the original . In Bean, where Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) and Peter MacNicol (David Langley) also used this parody singing in the film . Versions include: </P>

Where did row your boat song come from