<Tr> <Th> Published </Th> <Td> c. 1744 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Songwriter (s) </Th> <Td> Unknown </Td> </Tr> <P> "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" is an English nursery rhyme, the earliest surviving version of which dates from 1731 . The words have not changed very much in two - and - a-half centuries . It is sung to a variant of the 1761 French melody Ah! vous dirai - je, maman . Uncorroborated theories have advanced to explain the meaning of the rhyme . These include it is a complaint against taxes levied on the Medieval English wool trade and it is about the slave trade . In the twentieth century it was a subject of controversies in debates about political correctness . It has been used in literature and popular culture as a metaphor and allusion . The Roud Folk Song Index classifies the lyrics and their variations as number 4439 . </P> <P> Recent versions tend to take the following form: </P>

When does the earliest surviving version of baa baa black sheep date from