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A-Hunting We Will Go
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Wikipedia article
'"A-Hunting We Will Go"' is a popular folk song and nursery rhyme composed in 1777 by English composer Thomas Arne. Arne had composed the song for a 1777 production of 'The Beggar's Opera' in London.
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 well 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 (disambiguation), a title play on this song
* "Bye, baby Bunting, Daddy's Gone A-Hunting", a similarly constructed song
* "The Farmer in the Dell" - a song with similar lyrics, content, and music
* Omar Little
References
Category:1777 songs
Category:Songs about hunters
Category:Compositions by Thomas Arne
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