Lyr ADD: A Hunting We Will Go

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: A Hunting We Will Go
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 18 Apr 22 - 03:35 PM

The tune to that little ditty I have heard is the same as some used for The Nut Girl. In fact I have a vague recollection that the ditty was sometimes used as a chorus for The Nut Girl, but very likely a late addition.

Subject: RE: Lyr ADD: A Hunting We Will Go
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 17 Apr 22 - 01:20 PM

Getting back to the original request by Margo, about putting a fox in a box, the oldest citation I can find is from

Shropshire Folk-lore: A Sheaf of Gleanings,
edited by Charlotte Sophia Burne from the collections of Georgina F. Jackson,
London: Trübner & Co., 1883, page 514:


16. ‘A-hunting we will go.’ No ring; the players march two and two along the play-ground, and at the end turn from each other to right and left; the two lines march to the other end and meet again, as in the country-dance Sir Roger de Coverley.

Chorus. ‘A-hunting we will go,
A-hunting we will go!
We'll catch a little fish,
And put him in a dish,
And never let him go!’

[found in] Ellesmere


A later reference is in:

English Folk-rhymes: A Collection of Traditional Verses Relating to Places and Persons, Customs, Superstitions, etc.
By G. F. Northall
London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1892, page 387.

The players march two and two along the playground, and, at the end, turn from each other to right and left; the two lines march to the other end and meet again as in Sir Roger de Coverley—

“A hunting we will go (repeat),
We'll catch a little fish,
And put him in a dish,
And never let him go.”

Ellesmere, Shropshire. AP. 514. In Derbyshire they say—

We'll catch a fox, and put him in a box,
And a-hunting, etc.-AR. i. 387.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: a hunting we will go
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 21 May 10 - 06:13 PM

You're right about the Fielding origin: it came from a play, Don Quixote in England by Henry Fielding (London: J. Watts, 1734), page 29.

It identifies the tune as "THERE WAS A JOVIAL BEGGAR &c."

"There was a jovial beggar" is the first line of a song that has the refrain "A-begging we will go." Either line is sometimes used as the title.

There is another thread abound A-BEGGING WE WILL GO.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: a hunting we will go
From: ClaireBear
Date: 19 May 10 - 04:16 PM

I suppose I might as well post the version I know, while we're at it:

FIELDING HUNT SONG

(Adaptation of a lyric by Henry Fielding)

THE DUSKY night rides down the sky,
And ushers in the morn;
The hounds all join in glorious cry (2x)
The huntsman winds his horn (2x)
And a-hunting we will go (4x)

The wife around her husband throws
Her arms to make him stay;
'My dear, it rains, it hails, it blows (2x)
You shall not hunt to-day!' (2x)
But a-hunting we will go (4x)

Th'uncavern'd fox fox like lightning flies
His cunning's all awake
To gain the race he eager tries (2x)
His forfeit life the stake (2x)
When a-hunting we do go (4x)

At length his strength to faintness worn,
The hounds arrest his flight;
Then, hungry, homeward we return (2x)
To feast away the night (2x)
Then a-drinking we will go (4x)

Subject: Lyr Add: HUNTING SONG (Henry Fielding)
From: ClaireBear
Date: 19 May 10 - 03:12 PM

That lyric is, roughly, Henry Fielding's. Here are Fielding's exact verses, which are commonly titled "A Hunting Song":


HUNTING SONG
(Henry Fielding)

THE DUSKY night rides down the sky,
And ushers in the morn;
The hounds all join in glorious cry,
The huntsman winds his horn,
And a-hunting we will go.

The wife around her husband throws
Her arms, and begs his stay;
'My dear, it rains, and hails, and snows,
You will not hunt to-day?'
But a-hunting we will go.

'A brushing fox in yonder wood
Secure to find we seek:
For why? I carried, sound and good,
A cartload there last week,
And a-hunting we will go.'

Away he goes, he flies the rout,
Their steeds all spur and switch,
Some are thrown in, and some thrown out,
And some thrown in the ditch;
But a-hunting we will go.

At length his strength to faintness worn,
Poor Reynard ceases flight;
Then, hungry, homeward we return,
To feast away the night.
Then a-drinking we will go.


We used to sing a similar but not quite identical version that, I believe, came from an old art-song book I have at home. It too was credited to Fielding.

C

Subject: Lyr Add: A HUNTING WE WILL GO
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 19 May 10 - 02:19 PM

I wonder if the familiar kids' song somehow evolved from this one:

From The Columbian Songster: Being a Large Collection of Fashionable Songs for Gentlemen & Ladies (printed by Nathaniel Heaton, Jun., 1799), page 61:

[No title is given]

The dusky night rides down the sky,
And ushers in the morn.
The hounds all join the jovial cry.
The huntsman winds his horn.

[CHORUS]
And a hunting we will go,
A hunting we will go,
A hunting we will go,
A hunting we will go.

The wife around her husband throws
Her arms to make him stay.
My dear, it rains, it hails, it blows,
You cannot hunt to day.

Yet a hunting, &c.

Sly reynard now like light'ning flies,
And sweeps across the vale,
But when the hounds too near he spies,
He drops his bushy tail.

Then a hunting, &c.

Fond echo seems to like the sport,
And join the jovial cry.
The woods and hills the sound retort,
And music fills the sky.

Then a hunting, &c.

At last his strength to faintness worn,
Poor Reynard ceases flight.
Then hungry homeward we return
To feast away the night.

And a drinking, &c.

Ye jovial hunters in the morn
Prepare then for the chace.
Rise at the sounding of the horn,
And health with sport embrace.

When a hunting, &c.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: a hunting we will go
From: Margo
Date: 09 Nov 99 - 11:34 PM

Thank you MMario! I was looking for something like that! I sing at my son's preschool every morning and your version is just the kind of thing they'll like. This week's theme is hunting, and I've been hunting for some songs.... haha

Thanks all, Margo

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: a hunting we will go
From: MMario
Date: 09 Nov 99 - 12:42 PM

If it's not already in the DT or forum, why not post it to a new thread, or here, or somewhere....

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: a hunting we will go
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 09 Nov 99 - 12:29 PM

Nah, the one I have is a serious folk song, based on an 18th Century poem, do you want it??

LTS

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: a hunting we will go
From: MMario
Date: 09 Nov 99 - 10:50 AM

per the "Kididdles" site:

A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go
Heigh ho, the dairy-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 then we'll let him go

A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go
Heigh ho, the dairy-o, a hunting we will go
A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go
We'll catch a fish and put him on a dish
And then we'll let him go

A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go
Heigh ho, the dairy-o, a hunting we will go
A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go
We'll catch a bear and cut his hair
And then we'll let him go

A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go
Heigh ho, the dairy-o, a hunting we will go
A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go
We'll catch a pig and dance a little jig
And then we'll let him go

A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go
Heigh ho, the dairy-o, a hunting we will go
A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go
We'll catch a giraffe and make him laugh
And then we'll let him go
^^

Subject: a hunting we will go
From: Margo
Date: 09 Nov 99 - 09:39 AM

The song we sang when kids: "A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go; we'll catch a fox put him in a box, and then we'll let him go!" That is all I remember. Does anyone have more words or verses? Thanks.

Margarita