The Crabfish

"The Crabfish" (Roud 149, also known as "The Crayfish", "The Codfish", "The Old She-Crab", "The Lobster", "Tommy Doddler", or "A Combat Between an Ale-Wife and a Sea Crab") is a ribaldhumorousfolk song of English origin. It is one of the most widespread English-language folk songs, being found in almost every English-speaking country and still being sung to the present day. The oldest known mention is in the seventeenth century, appearing in Bishop Percy's Folio Manuscript as a song named "The Sea Crabb" based on an earlier tale. The moral of the story is that one should look in the chamber pot before using it.

Owing to the coarseness of the lyrics, this ballad was excluded from Francis James Child's The English and Scottish Popular Ballads as well as many other academic publications.