"The Sow Took the Measles ,,," is a good example of how farmers used "everything except the squeal" in a pig. It is related to the old English song "My Jolly Herring". It was printed in Fuson's Ballads of the Kentucky Highlands (1931), Brunnings' Folk Song Index: A Comprehensive Guide to the Florence E. Brunnings Collection (1981), Brown's Collection of North Carolina Folklore, Volume 3 (1952), Ives' Burl Ives Songbook (1953), Lomax's Folk Songs of North America (1960) and Silber and Silber's Folksinger’s Wordbook (1973). It is in the Roud Folksong Index as #17759. It was recorded by Burl Ives, Dean Rathje, The Great American String Band and others. The song has apparently gained some interest as a humorous choral piece for middle and senior high school groups.