Froggy went a'courtin'

Cafe Society
1

Okay, this is TRULY mundane and pointless but please help just the same. I have this song stuck in my head, but I only know the first verse, so it has been playing OVER AND OVER in my head until I’m resisting the urge to shoot myself to make it stop!

Actually, I don’t think I need to shoot myself; I think my usually sunny disposition would be restored if I could just think of the rest of the song. So . . .

Froggy went a courtin’ he did ride, uh huh
Froggy went a courtin’ he did ride, uh huh
Froggy went a courtin’ he did ride,
Sword and pistol by his side, uh huh

THEN WHAT HAPPENS??? Apologies to anyone who may now have this song stuck in their head as well.

Jodi

Fiat Justitia

2

http://judyanddavid.com/Songbook/F.html

Scroll down to “Froggy went a courtin’”. But I’ve got to warn you, it’s pretty ugly! It’s a freakin’ bloodbath! And they sing this to kids?

3

Just doesn’t mean what it used to…

4

Jeez Jouise! Whay are nursery rymes and old childrens stories ala. Hansel and Gretel and little Red Riding Hood so sinister!?

5

This is an old folk song with many variations. I’m typing in the closest to what you have now.

Froggie Would a Wooing Go

A froggie would a-wooing go,
Uh-hum,
Froggie would a-wooing go,
Whether his mother would let him or no,
Uh-hum

Said the frog “Miss Mouse, will you marry me?”
Uh-hum,
Fro said, “Miss Mouse, will you marry me?”
“I’ll have to ask Uncle Rat,” said she,
Uh-hum

“Who shall the wedders thay all be?”
Uh-hum,
“Who shall the wedders thay all be?”
“Bear, the bug, and the bumble bee.”
Uh-hum.

“Where shall the wedding supper be?”
Uh-hum,
“Where shall the wedding supper be?”
“Down in the trunk of a hollow tree.”
Uh-hum.

First to come was a little brown bug,
Uh-hum,
First to come was a little brown bug,
He had whiskey in a jug,
Uh-hum.

The last to come was a big tom cat,
Uh-hum,
The last to come was a big tom cat,
He ate the bride up, just like that
Uh-hum.

Froggie jumped into the lake,
Uh-hum,
Froggie jumped into the lake,
He got eat by a big black snake,
Uh-hum.

Big black snake, he swum to land,
Uh-hum,
Big black snake, he swum to land,
He got killed by a black man,
Uh-hum.

Black man, he came from France,
Uh-hum,
Black man, he came from France,
T’teach the ladies how to dance,
Uh-hum.

The original song doesn’t use black for the man, but I’m not going to type the original word.

6

Violent, racist, and 900 verses long – great! There’s got to be some other song I can subconsciously obsess over.

::sings::

Jeremiah was a bullfrog . . .

Jodi

Fiat Justitia

7

I seem to remember an animated commercial that did this song back in the early 80s.

Don’t remember what it was for, though.

8

My father used to sing this to us back when he played guitar and we were still wee sprats. I don’t remember his version being quite so… gnarly.

9

I heard it from this storyteller we went to listen to at Lincoln’s birthplace when I was a little kid in Illinois. I’m the same though, it wasn’t as gruesome at it seems there.

“The idea of a walk-in closet sounds frightening. If I’m ever sittin’ at home and a closet walks in, I’m gettin’ outta there.” ~George Carlin

10

We sang a weird version in grade 5:

Froggie went a courtin’ and he did ride, rinkum-boyd-michie-cambo.
Sword and pistol by his side, rinkum-body-michie-cambo.

Chorus (sung quite fast): Kee-mo Kie-mo, domie-nicky rye-mo, kee-mo kie-mo nero, straddle-addle-addle bob-a-laddle bob-a-linkum, rinkum-body michie-cambo.

Like, what the hell? I wasn’t able to finally get my tongue around that version of the song until I was 18.

11

Zulu this is closest to yours.

Froggie Went to Take a Ride

Froggie went to take a ride,
Rigdom body mid-ak ki-mo,
Sword and pistol by his side,
Rigdom body mid-ak ki-mo,
Ki-mo ka-ro dout-oh shar-oh, ki-mo, ka-ro,
String strang come-a-diddle, anybody rig,
Rigom body mid-ah ki-mo.

He rode up to Miss Mouse’s door,
Rigdom body mid-ak ki-mo,
He jumped in the middle of Miss Mouse’s floor,
Rigdom body mid-ak ki-mo,
Ki-mo ka-ro dout-oh shar-oh, ki-mo, ka-ro,
String strang come-a-diddle, anybody rig,
Rigom body mid-ah ki-mo.

He took Lady Mouse upon his knee,
Rigdom body mid-ak ki-mo,
Said, “Lady Mouse, will you marry me?”
Rigdom body mid-ak ki-mo,
Ki-mo ka-ro dout-oh shar-oh, ki-mo, ka-ro,
String strang come-a-diddle, anybody rig,
Rigom body mid-ah ki-mo.

Uncle Rat came riding down,
Rigdom body mid-ak ki-mo,
To get his niece a wedding gown,
Rigdom body mid-ak ki-mo,
Ki-mo ka-ro dout-oh shar-oh, ki-mo, ka-ro,
String strang come-a-diddle, anybody rig,
Rigom body mid-ah ki-mo.

He took her home where he did dwell,
Rigdom body mid-ak ki-mo,
That was in the bottom of a well,
Rigdom body mid-ak ki-mo,
Ki-mo ka-ro dout-oh shar-oh, ki-mo, ka-ro,
String strang come-a-diddle, anybody rig,
Rigom body mid-ah ki-mo.

The water took her up to the chin,
Rigdom body mid-ak ki-mo,
She wished she were a maid again,
Ki-mo ka-ro dout-oh shar-oh, ki-mo, ka-ro,
String strang come-a-diddle, anybody rig,
Rigom body mid-ah ki-mo.

I’m only your wildest fear, from the corners of your darkest thoughts.

12

According to the liner notes on the Doc Watson CD “Home Again” this song was published in 1580. I doubt that anyone would have been too disturbed by a cat eating a rat or a duck eating a frog, most people back then would have had some experience with the way nature works.

Doc does a very fine rendition of this song, by the way.

13

Anyone else remember the Uncle Pecos version from Tom and Jerry?

Froggie went a’courtin’ and he did ride
HAMBONE!
Froggie went a’courtin’ and he did ride
Sword and a p-p-p-p-and a revolver by his side
Froggie went a’courtin’ and he did ride
::guitar string breaks::

14

“Y’know DURN WELL I cain’t play witout ma GEE-tar string!” (I was thinking of that the whole time I was reading, lol!)

“It was us versus them and it was clear who them was. Today we are not so sure who the they are, but we know they’re there.”
– Texas Gov. George W. Bush, presidential candidate.

15

But, luckily, Tom was always nearby.

16

I remember a version from Pete Seegar that we have on LP here somewhere that went:

Froggy went a courtin’ and he did ride
Ding dang dong go the wedding bells…
[lines I don’t remember]
Chorus:
Here’s to Cheshire, here’s to cheese
Here’s to the pears and the apple trees
And here’s to the lovely strawberries
Ding dang dong go the wedding bells

SanibelMan - My Homepage
“Hey, you sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There’s a frood who really knows where his towel is.”

17

BTW, the “Froggy Went A-courtin’” commercial was a PSA touting good eating habits.

And, I seem to recall Uncle Pecos as sounding sorta like “Crusty” from “The Incredible Mr Limpet.”

Wonder if they were both (or if either was) Paul Frees.

18

Mjollnir–nope, Uncle Pecos was voiced by Shug Fisher, a member of the Sons of the Pioneers. He also used to play “Shorty” Kellems on “The Beverly Hillbillies.”

19

I’m familiar with a somewhat different version than any of the posted so far.

I can’t really remember all the lyrics, but there was reference to the stitching on Froggie’s britches - why I remember this I don’t know…

There’s a little animated thing done of the song (Probably National Film Board - these things usually are.) which was pretty much the version I knew from school.

I love the way the last verse was done in that one…

In the calmest voice humanly possible, more slowly than the rest of the song:

Well, they all sailed off, across the lake, uh hun, uh hun.
Well, they all sailed off across the lake,
(Spoken)And they got gobbled up by the biggest…snake…uh hun, uh hun, uh hun…

Eschew Obfuscation

20

Bob Dylan did a nice little version of this on his 1992 album GOOD AS I BEEN TO YOU. Folks were a mite surprised he’d sing something this wholesome.

Little piece a cornbread sittin on the shelf
If ya want any more, ya can sing it yourself.