The first recognizable ancestor of the rhyme was recorded in
William Camden's (1551–1623)
Remaines of a Greater Worke, Concerning Britaine, printed in 1605, which contained the lines: "If wishes were thrushes beggars would eat birds". The reference to horses was first in James Carmichael's
Proverbs in Scots printed in 1628, which included the lines: "And wishes were horses, pure [poor] men wald ride". The first mention of beggars is in
John Ray's
Collection of English Proverbs in 1670, in the form "If wishes would bide, beggars would ride". The first versions with close to today's wording was in James Kelly's
Scottish Proverbs, Collected and Arranged in 1721, with the wording "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride". The rhyme above was probably the combination of two of many versions and was collected by
James Orchard Halliwell in the 1840s. The last line was sometimes used to stop children from questioning and get to work: "If if's and and's were pots and pans, there'd surely be dishes to do." ==Notes==