The Fox (folk Song)

The Fox is a traditional folk song (Roud 131) from England. It is also the subject of at least two picture books, '' The Fox Went out on a Chilly Night: An Old Song'', illustrated by Peter Spier and ''Fox Went out on a Chilly Night'', by Wendy Watson. The earliest version of the song was a Middle English poem, dating from the 15th century, found in the British Museum.

Modern lyrics

Typical lyrics are as follows:

Origins

In Joseph Ritson's ''Gammer Gurton's Garland'' (1810), the song is recorded (under the name "Dame Widdle Waddle") thus:
(The cover of 'The Fox' by Marty Robbins has the same lyrics as below.)

The two earliest versions both date from the fifteenth century ( 1500), and are written in Middle English. The first, usually called "The Fox and the Goose", goes as follows:

The second, called "The False Fox" ("false" here meaning "deceitful"), is as follows:

Modern covers

"The Fox" has been recorded or covered by:

;1950s
* Harry Belafonte, on ''Mark Twain and Other Folk Favorites'' RCA LPM-1022, LP (1954)
* Pete Seeger, on ''Birds, Beasts, Bugs and Little Fishes'' Folkways, LP (1955)
* Burl Ives, on '' Burl Ives Sings... For Fun'' (1956)
* Odetta, on ''Odetta at the Gate of Horn'' (1957)
* Gateway Singers, on ''Live at Stanford'' (1957)
* Salli Terri, on ''Songs of Enchantment'' (1959)

;1960s
* The Brothers Four, on the album ''Rally 'Round!'' (c. 1960)
* Jimmie Rogers, from the album ''Jimmie Rogers Sings Folk Songs'' (1960)
* Tom Glazer, from the Album ''Come On and Join in the Game'' (1960s)
* The Smothers Brothers, on the comedy album '' Think Ethnic'' (1963)
* Jon Pertwee, on the album ''Children's Favourites'' (1966) MFP 1175
* The Young Tradition, as "Daddy Fox," on the album ''So Cheerfully Round'' (1967) TRA 155

;1970s
* MacLean & MacLean, as a parody with vulgar lyrics on ''MacLean & MacLean Suck Their Way to the Top''
* Estil C. Ball, on '' High Atmosphere: Ballads and Banjo Tunes from Virginia and North Carolina'' (1975)
* Roger Whittaker, on the album ''The Magical World of Roger Whittaker'' (1975)
* Tom Glazer, on the album ''Children's Greatest Hits, Vol II'' (1977)

;1980s
* Tim Hart, as "A Fox Jumped Up" on the album '' The Drunken Sailor and other Kids Favourites'' (1983)
* Fred Penner, on ''Special Delivery'', LP (1983), later reissued as ''Ebeneezer Sneezer'', (1994), CD
* A cartoon made by Weston Woods Studios (1988)
* Benjamin Luxon and Bill Crofut, on the album ''Simple Gifts'' (1989)

;1990s
* Peter, Paul and Mary, on the album ''Peter, Paul and Mommy, Too'' (1993)
* Bill Staines, on his album ''One More River'' (1998)
* Charlie Zahm, on his album ''The Celtic Balladeer'' (1999)

;2000s
* Nickel Creek, on their eponymous album (2000)
* Da Vinci's Notebook, parodied as "The Gates" about a disgruntled laptop PC user going after Bill Gates on ''Brontosaurus'' (2002)
* Shira Kammen ("The False Fox", vocals by Shay Black) on ''The Almanac'' (2003)
* Eddie Blazonczyk and the Versatones, on ''Under the Influence'' (2005)
* Tom Chapin, sung/narrated as an audio book with Chapin providing all the voices (2006)

;2010s
* Garrison Keillor and Guy's All Star Shoe Band, performed on a broadcast of ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (2011)
* Laura Veirs, on her album ''Tumble Bee'' (2011)
* We Banjo 3, released as a single with Sharon Shannon (2015)
* Misha Collins and Darius Marder, on a livestream (2016)
* Little Baby Bum "The Fox Song" (2016) and "The Fox and the Moon" (2019)
* Peter Hollens on his album ''Legendary Folk Songs'' (2018)
* The Petersens & Ger O'Donnell (2019)

References

External links

Folk Music Performer Index - Gro to Gz

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15th-century songs
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English folk songs
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Legendary Folk Songs by Peter Hollens