Froggy Went A-Courtin'

When Ellie was a newborn, although she wasn't very fussy, there were still times when the only thing that would calm her was my BB singing "Froggy Went A-Courtin'." Nowadays it remains our most reliable lullaby. Its most soporific advantages are that it's very repetitive and there are a whoooole lotta verses.

It's changed in many ways since it was first written down - in mid-15th century Scotland, as it turns out, when Froggy went a-courtin' riding a snail - but there are some lines which haven't changed at all, to my surprise. The BB and I combined our favorite versions, by Doc Watson and Bob Dylan, to come up with a mere 20 verses describing the ill-fated marriage of Froggy and Miss Mousie.

I can tell how tired Ellie is according to how early in the song she falls asleep. Occasionally we make it through the entire song, at which point I know I need to pick her back up and wear her out a little more before putting her back down for her nap.

Here's our version of the song, in its entirety.

Froggy went a-courtin' and he did ride, mm-hmm,
Froggy went a-courtin' and he did ride, mm-hmm,
Froggy went a-courtin' and he did ride,
a sword and a pistol by his side, mm-hmm, mm-hmm.