Every nursery rhyme has its own backstory. Some are nice and whimsical, while others are a bit more mysterious. One such rhyme is Scrub-a-Dub-Dub, although it is more properly known as Rub-a-Dub Dub or Three Men in a Tub. It has gone through a number of different versions since its 18th century origins.
The original went like the following:
Hey! rub-a-dub, ho! rub-a-dub, three maids in a tub,
And who do you think were there?
The butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker,
And all of them gone to the fair.
This version may have been referring to a peep show. A number of travelling circuses and other entertainers would sometimes have sideshows that featured a box decorated with various paintings inside it and they would charge a minimal fee to look into the box. Originally the drawings would have been of works of art or pictures, but those innocent pictures would be replaced by more scandalous paintings. In that regard, the rhyme is referring to three men looking at a picture of three women in a tub.
The first recorded version of this rhyme was in the Christmas Box, published in London in 1789. However, when published in 1825 in Boston as part of Mother Goose’s Quarto or Melodies Complete, the words had been changed slightly. While the original version featured three maids, they would eventually be written out for more Victorian tastes. So it is believed that the lyrics were changed so as to not offend Victorian tastes. James Orchard Halliwell found the following version in 1842:
Rub a dub dub,
Three fools in a tub,
And who do you think they be?
The butcher, the baker,
The candlestick maker.
Turn them out, knaves all three.
Suffice to say that a few more changes were made until it reached its modern form. Not every rhyme history is this sordid, but it does make diving into the history interesting.