Froggy Went A Courtin'
Posted at 6:00 AM on January 14, 2010
by Dale Connelly
(39 Comments)
Radio Heartland has tickets to give away to a show by Mark O'Connor and his Hot Swing Trio at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis next Wednesday, January 20th, at 9:30 pm.
Enter the drawing.
Obey the rules.
Good luck!
Yesterday's blog turned into a discussion of the struggle between felines and vermin, launched in part by Barb's discovery of a drowned rat in a bucket in the barn. This led to a wealth of memories and advice regarding pests and pets, generously shared by the Heartlanders in attendance.
The ensuing collision of cats, rats, mice, terriers and parakeets reminded me of the events of the song "Froggie Went A-Courtin'".
This tale of the wedding of a frog and a mouse is an old one, dating back to 1549 according to a website devoted to the story and it's many versions.
The story usually unfolds in this way - Frog wants to marry Miss Mouse.
She is willing, but Uncle Rat has to give his OK, which he does because ... well, he's a Rat and who is he to criticize what others are up to?
In fact, everybody appears to be delighted with the idea of a Frog/Mouse union until the arrival of an unwelcome guest who is offended on some unexplained, fundamental level.
The result?
In the most benign versions of the song, the wedding supper is left in disarray. In the more gruesome renditions the events take on the grim aura of a slasher movie.
What a lovely children's song it is!
Perhaps it is the darkness that lends a timeless element to this old chestnut. Even today, the disapproval of some at the marriage plans of others grabs headlines.
It seems an update is required for the song to reflect our complicated times.
Froggy went a courtin' and he did swim, uh huh.
Froggy went a courtin' and he did swim, uh huh.
Froggy went a courting and he did swim
And he fell in love with a frog like him, uh huh.The frog said "frog would you marry me, uh huh?"
Frog said "frog would you marry me, uh huh?"
Frog said "frog can we married be?
Those mice are nice but they're not for me, uh huh. "Other frog said "That would be great, uh huh. "
Other frog said "That would be great, uh huh. "
Other frog said "I'll be your mate,
But we cannot do that in this state, uh huh."The frog and the frog looked far and wide, uh huh.
The frog and the frog looked far and wide, uh huh.
The frog and the frog looked far and wide
For a state where two frogs could be groom and bride, uh huh.New Jersey and Delaware said no, uh uh.
Wyoming and Oklahoma? No, uh uh.
In California they thought they could
But I guess that they misunderstood, uh huh.They finally found a place in Ioway, uh huh.
Finally found a place in Ioway, uh huh.
Finally found a place in Ioway
And a nice B & B where they could stay, uh huh.The first to come in was their legal team, uh huh.
First to come in was their legal team, uh huh.
First to come in was their legal team.
With permits and papers by the ream, uh huh.Next to come in was their publicist, uh huh.
Next to come in was their publicist, uh huh.
Next to come in was their publicist.
For some spin control on their wedded bliss, uh huh.The last to come in was the TV crowd, uh huh.
The last to come in was the TV crowd, uh huh.
Last to come in was the TV crowd
And the protesters were cruel and loud, uh huh.You can see the rest on the evening news, uh huh.
You can see the rest on the evening news, uh huh.
Pandemonium on the evening news.
No matter which channel you may choose, uh huh.
It helps if you sing it with a drawl like Tex Ritter, though I doubt Tex would have been able to get his head around these particular words. I'll play a couple of versions of "Froggie Went a Courtin'" today.
What's your favorite children's song?
Comments (39)
we had a great 4th grade teacher who taught us all kinds of songs. one i loved especially was Kookaburra.
Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree,
Merry, merry king of the bush is he,
Laugh, Kookaburra, Laugh, Kookaburra,
Gay your life must be.
i just finished Charlotte's Web - for the first time in my life. Templeton seems rather benevolent, in his own ratty way - kind of how you paint Uncle Rat, Dale. delightful version of the song; i don't know how you keep coming up with these things. and then we run amok. :-)
I was a Captain Kangaroo kid. I really can't remember the actual song, but I remember that I liked the opening of Tom Terrific (and his dog Manfred). Of course, I liked everything about Captain Kangaroo.
Hey Barb...lots of fun to read kids' lit, isn't it? Last summer my daughter and I read several of the Newbery winners from over the years and we really enjoyed it!
Morning Heartlanders.
On their TV show they made were a howl, uh, huh.
On their TV show they made were a howl, uh, huh.
But the attention caused them to get a divorce.
And now one's set to replace S. Cowell, uh huh.
When I was a little girl, one of my school teachers began teaching me French, and I liked many of the songs I learned. My favorite children's song, because of its beautiful melody, i s À la claire fontaine. The lyrics are pretty, too.
Sherrilee, I liked Captain Kangaroo, too. There was a version of English Country Garden that I loved from that program.
Good morning, all.
Dale, that was downright delightful. You topped yourself again!
I remember the playmate song. It may have been on Captain Kangaroo:
Say, Say, Oh Playmate,
come Out And Play With Me
and Bring Your Dollies Three
climb Up My Apple Tree
shout Down My Rain Barrel
slide Down My Cellar Door
and We'll Be Jolly Friends
forever more.
Barb - did you tear up at the ending of Charlotte? I could never read it and not.
Greetings! I remember singing "Smokey the Bear" alone in front of my kindergarten class -- then I broke down crying I was so scared. And I had volunteered to sing it, too!
Loved Capt Kangaroo -- remember Romper Room? I always waited for her to say my name in her magic mirror thingy.
So Barb, do you now, with your larger understanding of Rat motivation, feel more a sense of tragedy than revulsion at the idea of drowned rats? Paul Lynde voices Templeton wonderfully in the movie version, not sure if you want your rats to have voices though.
My mom is pretty much tone deaf, but she did teach us Johnny van(?) Bek. My son is a natural vegetarian and loves animals, so I could never sing it for him-too gruesome.
"There was a little Dutch boy
whose name was Johnny van Bek.
He made the finest sausages and sauerkraut and speck
He made the finest sausages that you have ever seen
until one day he invented, a sausage making machine.
Whoop bang!
Chorus:
oh Mr, Mr Johnny van Bek how could you be so mean?
I told you you'd be sorry for inventing that machine.
Now all the neighbors cats and dogs will never more be seen
They've all been ground to sausages in Johnny van Bek's machine."
It goes on and on and does not end well for poor old Johnny.
Completely ghastly, but we loved it.
Note to all you Germans out there, don't be deceived, Dutch meant German in our family.
Haven't thought of this in years, thanks for the smile, Dale!
Catherine - sounds like the storyline of "Sweeney Todd" -- yikes!
I still cry at the end of "Charlotte's Web" -- and Paul Lynde was the perfect voice of the rat in the animated movie.
my favorite is "you are my sunshine" i had a guitar next to my kids beds and would send them to sleep and wake them up with it, what a great song.
remember how many great things captain did with shoe boxes? i still have a hard time throwing them away. think of all the cool projects. and how about the ping pong balls between mr moose and bunny rabbit?he fell for it every time! my name is mr green jeans on my facebook farm.
dylans this old man is a wonderful cut if you have a chance.
Here's to tuning into Froggy Went A Coutin' in Cleveland, OH this morning. It turns out Radio Heartland is just as great to listen to in OH as it is in MN (business trip).
Nice to be able bring a bit of the home country with me to this foreign land.
An edit and an addition:
On their TV show they were a howl, uh, huh.
On their TV show they were a howl, uh, huh.
The attention caused them to get in a row.
And now one's set to replace S. Cowell, uh huh.
Big events happen but we have few clues, uh huh.
Big events happen but we have few clues, uh huh.
But we never see it on TV news,
And there is so little from which to choose, uh huh.
hey eric, it is great for travel to have the radio heartland trick in your bag. if you have a smart phone there is a radio app for 99 cents that allows you to go to 500 radio stations. you go to public radio stations in minnesota and listen to radio heartland anywhere. it might be worth a buck huh?
Thanks, Clyde. Additiional verses are always welcome! How do you think the song got so dang long in the first place?
I was also a Captain Kangaroo kid, as well as a Romper Room kid - though there was never an "Anna" in the magic mirror, so I gave up on that one. Sesame Street was also a favorite - I was just the right age for it when it hit the airwaves...the Ladybugs Picnic is one song from that show that stuck.
Tim - my mom sung "You Are My Sunshine" to me, too! Good memories.
How about something from the Schoolhouse Rock collection? I bet there are a certain number of the RH listeners who got through civics and grammar lessons singing "I'm Just a Bill" or "Conjunction Junction" (or for that matter, the preamble to the Constitution)...
But I'm just not on this morning like you were when you wrote this, Dale.
Lots of things by PP & M on Peter Paul and Mommy especially, if you have it. Leatherwing Bat would fit this morning.
From childhood I recall my great grand uncle singing Daisy with us. However upon aging my favorite has become I see the Moon.
Donna - uncharacteristically, i didn't tear up at the end of CW. i had been prepared by our local naturalist (and spider maniac) Larry Weber (Web - er, get it?) who loves spiders and thinks CW is the best book in the world because it shows the natural cycle of things. and he had told me that she would die, as all barn spiders do, at the end of the year. i haven't seen the film and now that i know Paul Lynde is Templeton, i gotta see it.
Clyde, yes, it pains me to see a drowned rat. think of the screams and struggling that went on during the dark, cold night. i hope the goats aren't traumatized for life. by the same token i wish all of those Templetons would just move somewhere else and stay out of the water buckets!
we loved This Old Man, Clyde. my Dad sang "Du, du, liegst mir im herzen" (sorry for butchering the German) to us and i still love it. we'd all yell, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH! in the chorus.
The newer CW movie with "live" animals and new voices, such as Julia Roberts as Charlotte, is very good. My wife the children's librarian is a great fan of CW. I am a great fan of everything else by E. B. White, one of the great essayists of all times, and stylists, the White of Strunk and White, still a true guide to style.
I grew up in a very non-musical family; I doubt my mother ever sang to her children. But I had the power to play music to mine. Thery wore out several copies fo Peter, Paul, and Mommy
Barb, you just reminded me, tone-deaf mom also taught us John Jacob Jingleheimerschmidt. Plenty of yelling, not much pitch.
How did I ever become a respectable singer?
Anna-love Schoolhouse Rock and discovered the science series they made after my time. Interplanet Janet is my new favorite.
Oh Dale, Thanks for the new version of Froggy Went a "Courtin'! I read it to my partner of 14 years. The 2 of us have an Iowa marriage license and we are planning to go down and make it legal...at least in our home state of Iowa...sometime this spring.
My Dad used to sing lots of silly songs to me. One was about abusing a poor chicken to the tune of oh, what's that fiddle tune called? Chicken Reel?
Oh I had a little chicken and she wouldn't lay an egg.
So I poured hot water up and down her leg.
And the little chicken hollered and the little chicken yelled.
And the little chicken laid a hard boiled egg.
This afternoon, I will be at your workplace, Dale. My chorus is going to record a little of our upcoming concert. Janet Horvath, the Principle Cellist of the Minnesota Orchestra is going to play in our upcoming concert and it will be part of a story about her, from what I understand.
Have a great day, Heartlanders!
Good Morning All,
I like the song old Mcdonald because it ties into a children's book where Old Mcdonald was the manager of an apartment building. He turned the building into a multi-story farm with livestock on some floors and crops on other floors.
If any one is interested in attending the the Orange Mighty Trio show on Sunday that will include a dance program, they can identify me because i will wear my goat pin that I got at the Radio Heartland state fair show. I think Beth-Ann made those pins.
The show is at the Byant-Lake Bowl in Minneapolis.. I will be at the 3:00 show. There is also a 7:00 show. The trio will play dance music for the Maggie Bergeron dance company.
Hi everyone,
Folk singer Ed McCurdy had an album called, simply, "Children's Songs" that I played over and over, still have it. It has many classics like "Froggy went a courtin'", and others like "My Bonnie lies over the ocean", "The Noble Duke of York", and more. How about one of those?
This last Monday, I started a semester-long 22-credit program at Riverland Community College for a certificate in solar photovoltaic technology. I have classes 4 mornings a week starting at 8 a.m., so won't be able to listen much live I'm afraid. Thursday is my day off.
I liked the "itsy bitsy spider". (I see that Carly Simon did a version.) It did a lot, as all good children's songs do, to teach me about life. You know, climbing the corporate ladder (water spout in the song), getting washed up (the rain thing), and then through grace (the sunshine effect) picking oneself up by the boot straps and continuing on the journey of life. Sorry for the mixed metaphors. ...maybe all children's songs don't teach about life. I'm thinking about "I'm a little teapot." A cry for help in times of stress for the body image challenged?
Both ou kids have many children's books and we still give them children's books -- to them and not the grandchidlren, who do end up with some of them. One of their favorites we gave then as adults is "Good Families Don't" by Robert Munsch, author of "Love You Forever," which is required reading. I repeat REQUIRED.
At the end of A.P. English when we were all burned out from heavy lit study, I would have the students do a report on their favorite children's book, one of the best ideas I ever had.
My favorite song was one my father sang to the tune for Brahms Lullaby. He made up the words using the names of all the people and creatures who loved me, including all my relatives and friends, the postman, and neighborhood cats and dogs.
My favorite children's song was Paul McCartney & Wings, "Silly Love Songs." And if you don't think it was a children's song, 1) it was a hit when I was a kid and 2) what did John Lennon have to say about most of McCartney's solo/Wings material...?
Mike, do visit us on Thursdays and as you can. South Central has to hold up its end of RH.
Morning! One of the family favorites at our house ws "Bill Grogan's Goat." That the naughty goat could also be seen as a hero was inspiring!
Also loved, "She'll Be comin' Round the Mountain." My older brother could sing all of "Pecos Bill", and I thought he was the best - still do, in fact.
Any of those songs in the music library this late in the morning?
Clyde - I can't remember the ping pong ball thing, but I remember Mr. Bunny Rabbit!
And yes to Leatherwing Bat, and maybe Little Black Bull, both of 'em are on Pete Seeger's "Birds Beasts and Little Fishes" (?) I think.
Sherilee -
I'm Tom Terrific, greatest Hero ever
Terrific is the name for me, 'cause I'm so clever
I can be what I wanta be, and if you'd like to see
Follow, come follow me...
:) I sang this song to wake up my sister while she was visiting; rather surreal, but she laughed for quite a while.
Darcy - tune of Turkey in the Straw?
Burl Ives also had a great collection of kids song, a lot of them about animals - including The Goat. We had a set of 78 records, and they were reissued as an album called Little White Duck in the 60s... had Froggy Went a-Courtin' and I Know an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly, etc. - looks like some of them show up on a current disc called "Junior's Choice".
Doug - I just ordered a disc (reissued apparently), the Simon Sisters Sing Songs for Children, think it was originally called The Lobster Quadrille... a leftover from teaching days that has been on my mind for some reason.
How rich your childhoods were with this music. I have a theory about the importance of music, poetry, literature to brain and social development, not my alone I know. Sensitivity and empathy are porbably learned in large measure this way. Any way, in case some of you are not aware of this, the modern child, such as m y two grandchildren, listens to these and newer songs for children on the child version of MP3 players.
Speaking of empathy--don't know about the rest of you, but hard to have a light feeling today, what with Haiti, and related stupid news stories: powerful and indffierent nature and human insensitivity are an overwhelming combination for me.
oh, wish i'd been up earlier today---children's songs is a great topic for me!
(btw, clyde, so glad you're on the blog--i find so much of what you write resonates with me! perhaps cuz my dad was an english lit prof, and i was an english major...? i adore strunk and white's Elements of Style)
i was a huge captain kangaroo fan; loved his big ring of keys; love the hippopotamus that built things from empty cardboard boxes (e.g., dog house) and then a real puppy would come out...so magical.
great children's songs:
Oh, the bear went over the mountain, the bear went over the mountain, the bear went over the mountain...to see what he could see.
and all that he could see, and all that he could see, was the other side of the mountain, the other side of the mountain, the other side of the mountain, was all that he could see.
also, from the lamb chop show!
This is the song that doesn't end,
yes, it goes on and on, my friend.
some people started singing it not knowing what it was
and they'll continue singing it forever just because
this is the song that doesn't end.....ad infinitum
guess i like these sort of zen songs!
my dad played the ukelele when i was a kid, and sang things like Blue-tail Fly and Jimmy Crack Corn and so forth....
mom had us singing all the songs from Mary Poppins, etc....
musical family!
safe back home in utah--but 3 flights in one day is brutal.
Just a quick note to give credit where it's due-Sherilee is the clever and generous source of the goat pins.
I am glad for Dale's new words this morning. As a geneticist I never like to think of the implication of tadpoles covered with fur.
For those of you re-reading Charlotte's Web let me recommend EB White's Trumpet of the Swan.
Thank you for the compliment, Kay.
I made the comment to my wife last night that I have not known a group with which I was so in sync since I was at the U of Chi over 40 years ago. That's because this group has a similar mix of intelligence, diversity of interests, openness, and creativity. Sort of oddly there I hung around with a group that included a folk music trio: one died in Viet Nam, one has doctorate in biogeology and works at the Jet Proplusion Laboratory as part of the Mars exploration, and one who has a doctorate in physiology and works for the City of Hope project.
I thank you all and apologize for the heavy post of an hour ago. I am listening to Fellowship of the Ring while I do indoor biking. So maybe this group should be called Fellowship of the Grin.
I see none of us paused to wish Darcy the best, which I do. Let us know when you are going to go to Iowa.
Clyde - I love Fellowship of the Grin.
And it's all right to give a nod to the more sober aspects of life in the 21st Century. I tend to block a lot out... but we don't need to stay in a bubble.
Anna - for some reason I had you pegged as a LOT younger than I am (sneaking up on 62), yet if you watched Captain K... or did he just go on for a couple of decades after I "left"?
Speaking of the Captain - is he still alive? Wish he could read today's entries.
p.s. Darcy - let us know when your upcoming concert will be.
Just checking in to be counted as enjoying eavesdropping later in the day. I listen to RH, drag my laptop all around my house and listen at work.
Topic of kid's songs Remember Romper Room and waiting to hear my name...Also was a big fan of
When my kids were Sesame Street age my favorite song on SS was The Alligator King and as a kid my mother sang to me "lullabye and goodnight..."Brahms lullabye?" Has anyone heard the collection of kids songs by the Grateful Dead "Not for Kids Only"? played that for my kids...
Thanks for being here RH
Robert Keeshan--1927 2004. I just looked it up.
Re-checking in late today-
Barbara, I was watching the Captain in the late 60s early 70s-I had to google it (because I HAVE to know). The show ran from 1955 to 1984-I had no idea! That's a lot of ping pong balls.
Bob Keeshan (the Captain) died in 2004.
I don't see that anybody else has said it, so maybe it is just me, but I see a lot of new names here-welcome to the Fellowship if indeed you are new.
Darcy, as a fellow Iowan, did you ever think Iowa could surprise you more than it did at the last presidential caucas?
Clyde, I know it doesn't help a lot, but my son's entire school is packing meals to send to Haiti next week-this was scheduled long before the earthquake and is an annual service project for the school.
On another note, I've got The Little Ice Age on request from the library, but am going to have to wait for it until February.
It is indeed a fine thing to have found kindred spirits, and thanks for making it possible, Dale
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