A-Hunting We Will Go
A variant of the melody
A-Hunting We Will Go is a popular folk song and nursery rhyme by English composer Thomas Arne.[1]
The a- is an archaic intensifying prefix; compare Here We Come A-wassailing/Here We Come A-caroling and lyrics to The Twelve Days of Christmas (e.g., “Six geese a-laying”).
Lyrics
A-hunting we will go,
A-hunting we will go
Heigh-ho, the derry-o,
A-hunting we will go.
A-hunting we will go,
A-hunting we will go
We'll catch a fox and put him in a box
And never let him go
(Modern versions often change the last line to “And then we’ll let him go”.)
Each consequent verse gets modified by putting in a different animal:
- "...a fish and put him on a dish..."
- "...a bear and cut his hair..."
- "...a pig and dance a little jig..."
- "...a giraffe and make him laugh..."
- "...a mouse and put him in a house..."
- ...
Earlier versions of the song switch the words "a-hunting" with "a-roving", dating back to old roving drinking songs from the 16th century.
See also
- A-Haunting We Will Go – title a play on this song
- Daddy's Gone A-Hunting – similar construction
- Farmer in the Dell - a similar song in lyrics, content and music
References
- ↑ Ian Kelly (2012). "Mr Foote's Other Leg: Comedy, Tragedy and Murder in Georgian London". p. 15. Pan Macmillan
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