Hot Cross Buns

“Hot Cross Buns” is a popular traditional Easter song as well as street cry about the sweet, which is eaten on Good Friday. They are small pieces of spicy cakes; also called buns made with raisins and candied citrus fruits. They usually have a “cross” made of icing on their top.

During the 18th century there was no standard version of the rhyme, which was sung on Good Friday to accompany the selling of the buns. The earliest version of the song was published in ‘Christmas Box’ in 1798 in London. After the street cry had made the transition to nursery use, it was also commonly used in music classes and schools for continuing as such to this day.

“Hot Cross Buns” Lyrics

Hot cross buns!
Hot cross buns!
One a penny, two a penny.
Hot cross buns!

If you have no daughters,
Give them to your sons!
One a penny, two a penny.
Hot cross buns!

Some of the older versions of this song are:

Good Friday comes this month, the old woman runs,

With one or two a penny hot cross buns.

Yet another version was recorded as:

One a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns,

Butter them and sugar them and put them in your muns (i.e.mouths)

And a further, different version was later recorded as:

Hot cross buns, hot cross buns;

One a penny poker,

Two a penny tongs,

Three a penny fire shovel,

Hot cross buns