This nonsense song has a surprisingly long history, having been first published in 1720 in Pills to Purge Melancholy. It seems to have gone on its merry traditional way for nearly 300 years without the aid of being printed on broadsides and a version is still sung today at Yorkshire hunt suppers. Most of the collected versions come from south or midland England and only one transatlantic version has been noted.

Notes by Gwilym Davies 4 May 2015