A-Hunting We Will Go

For the Goodies episode, see Hunting Pink.

A variant of the melody

A-Hunting We Will Go is a popular folk song and nursery rhyme by English composer Thomas Arne.

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 then we'll 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 – title a play on this song
• Daddy's Gone A-Hunting – similar construction
• Farmer in the Dell - a very similar song in lyrics, content and music