It is not enough to wish for something, you have to take action to make it happen
The oldest existing record of this expression is in Proverbs in Scots, collected and arranged by James Carmichaell: And wishes were horses pure (poor) men wald ryde. At this time, "and" could be used as a conditional, essentially meaning "provided that." The date of the collection is unclear but Carmichaell died in 1628 and it is believed it was published during his lifetime.
Other variations can be found such as "if wishes were thrushes beggars would eat," in Remaines of a Greater Worke, Concerning Britaine published by William Camden. Camden lived from 1551-1623 so would have recorded this variation in the same general time frame as Carmichaell.
At least one other 17th century version exists, recorded in John Ray's A Collection of English Proverbs, 1670: "If wishes were buttercakes, beggers might bite."
Today, you likely know this expression as "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride;" but what you may not know is the full nursery rhyme as recorded by James Orchard Halliwell around 1840:
If wishes were horses
Beggars would ride:
If turnips were watches
I would wear one by my side.
And if if’s and an’s were pots and pans,
The tinker would never work!
More expressions and their source
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