DOGS AND FERRETS
As sung by Bob Copper on “Sweet Rose in June” (1977)

I keep my dogs and my ferrets too,
I have them in my keeping
To catch good hares all in the night
While the gamekeeper lies sleepin'.

My dogs and I went out one night
'Twas to view their habitation,
Up jumped poor puss and away ran she
Straightway to our plantation.

She had not gone so very far in
Before someone caught her runnin',
So boldlye then she called out, Aunt,
I said, Uncle's just a-comin'.

I then drew out my little pen-knife
All quickly for to paunch her.
She turned out to be one of the female kind
How glad I was I'd catched her.

Now I'll go down to some ale-house by
And drink this hare quite mellow.
I'll spend a crown and a jolly crown too
And say I'm a right good fellow.

This song is from the Coppersongs2 CD and also from The Copper Family Song Book—A Living Tradition.

Under the title "Hares in the Old Plantation" a song with similar words but a different tune is sung by The Watersons on Green Fields. Those words were collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams from Noah Fisher, according to A. L. Lloyd's notes from the sleeve and insert. Another, different song by that name is sung by Martin Carthy on Common Tongue. The words on the latter, collected from Shadrach Haden, are similar to those above.

from: http://wwwmcc.murdoch.edu.au/~gillard/copper/dogs.html