The Fox (folk song)

Typical lyrics are as follows: {{quotation| The fox went out on a chilly night, he prayed to the Moon to give him light, for a many a mile to go that night before he reached the town-o, town-o, town-o, many a mile to go that night before he reached the town-o. He ran till he came to a great big bin where the ducks and the geese were put there in. "A couple of you will grease my chin before I leave this town-o, town-o, town-o, a couple of you will grease my chin before I leave this town-o." He grabbed the grey goose by the neck, threw the duck across his back; he didn't mind their quack, quack, quack, and their legs all a-dangling down-o, down-o, down-o, he didn't mind their quack, quack, quack, and their legs all a-dangling down-o. The old gray woman jumped out of bed; out of the window she cocked her head, Crying, "John, John! The grey goose is gone and the fox is on the town-o, town-o, town-o!" Crying, "John, John, the grey goose is gone and the fox is on the town-o!" He ran till he came to his cozy den; there were the little ones eight, nine, ten. They said, "Daddy, daddy, better go back again, 'cause it must be a mighty fine town-o, town-o, town-o!" They said, "Daddy, daddy, better go back again, 'cause it must be a mighty fine town-o." Then the fox and his wife without any strife cut up the goose with a fork and knife. They never had such a supper in their life and the little ones chewed on the bones-o, bones-o, bones-o, they never had such a supper in their life and the little ones chewed on the bones-o. ==History==

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: 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.) ==Modern covers==

"The Fox" has been recorded or covered by: ;1950s • J. R. R. Tolkien, singing Sam Gamgee's song of the Stone Troll to the melody of The Fox. • 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) • Bob Grossman, from the Album Bob Grossman (1961) EKL 215 B • 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) • Husband and wife folk duo The Hound+The Fox on the album Moon Songs: Lullabies for Baby and Parent (2017) • Peter Hollens on his album Legendary Folk Songs (2018) • The Petersens & Ger O'Donnell (2019) ==Notes==