In my youth, we invariably sang it to the hymn tune St Bees(or a slight variation thereof). Then the Froggie Went a Courting version started coming in, in the 60's, possibly influenced by a commercial recording of rugger songs(performed by the Jock Strapp Ensemble), which used the latter tune.I much prefer the stately measured tones of the hymn tune.] I don't see it is particularly sexist or mysogynistic, far from it. The version we sang recounted the genuine and caring attempts of an engineer to provide his wife with some fun which he was incapable of providing himself. Her end was a tragic and unforeseen accident, and in no way presented as any kind of judgement on her. What we sang was "now we come to the painful bit" (nothing about a biter being bit or anything).
|