“Yep, English. Then, Yankee. It was first printed in England in 1611 with the title, “A Most Strange Weddinge Of The Froge And The Mouse”. It first crossed the pond to New England with the Pilgrims & Puritans in the 1620s & 1630s before migrating south to the Blue Ridge & Appalachian areas where it became a “traditional American” tune.”
Unfortunately, the web page that offers this bit of history, offers no proof of citation for the information. Nonetheless, it seemed worth posting here, if for no other reason, than to send the next reader on a hunt to prove it!
Well, Froggy went a-courtin’ an’ he did ride, uh huh,
Froggy went a-courtin’ an’ he did ride, uh huh,
Froggy went a-courtin’ an’ he did ride,
Blablablablablablasumthin’ Bender is great,
Froggy went a courtin’ an’ Bender is great, uh-huh!
Well, that was the end of him and her, uh-huh
that was the end of him and her, uh-huh
that was the end of him and her,
you won’t see no tadpoles covered in fur, uh-huh
There is a version of this song on a CD of children’s music I play in the car for my daughter. In that version, the happy couple goes on a honeymoon to France after the wedding supper.
I know this song from a Doc Watson album I have. His version of the lyrics can be found here. Not sure his version is for kids, either; part of it goes:
He rode right up to Miss Mousie’s door, ah hah, (repeat)
And he hit it so hard that he made it roar, ah hah, ah hah, ah hah.
Then Miss Mousie let him in, ah hah, (repeat)
And the way they courted, it was a sin, ah hah, ah hah, ah hah.
[light-hearted snark]You know, there’s this website called “Youtube” that has all sorts of songs and videos and things. You can search on them and everything. Going there and searching “froggy went a courtin” turns up 721 videos. [/LH snark]
There have probably been 180 new versions released since this thread started.
Besides the good Dylan version mentioned above, I have one by Mike Oldfield, of all people, which has the marry the president verse and then
Uncle Rat laughed and slapped his fat side
Uncle Rat laughed and slapped his fat side
To think his niece would be a bride.
They all get swallowed up by a big black snake in the end, but not as bloodily.
I’m betting there is a Folklore PhD dissertation out there somewhere evaluating all the versions.
“That’s it, Clyde, better hit the road, farewell.
That’s it, Clyde, better hit the road, goodbye.
That’s it, Clyde, better hit the road,
You ain’t no frog you’re a horny toad,
Farewell, goodbye, adios.
Farewell, goodbye, adios.”
I think it’s super weird that “King Kong Kitchie Kitchie Ki-Me-Oh” (spelling may vary, I think) is the same (sort of) as “Froggy Went a’ Courtin’”. It’s not the same melody, but it IS the same story and much of the same text.
